The main job of a food storage bag is to prevent moisture and air from permeating the contents inside. Standard household freezer bags are readily available and inexpensive, making them appealing for storing homemade dry foods or repacking commercial backpacking food to reduce space. Storing dry food long-term in non-barrier packaging like plastic freezer bags will allow oxygen and moisture from the surrounding air to absorb into the food, where bacterial contamination and growth can occur. Eventually, the food will become soggy and mold. If this happens, the food will be unsafe to eat. Freezer bags will work okay for […]
Meal Planning
35 posts
Are you looking to create delicious, lightweight, and nutritious meals for your next backpacking trip? By making your own backpacking food, you can customize it to suit your taste and dietary needs while controlling portion sizes, spice levels, and sodium content. To achieve this, you’ll need to dehydrate or freeze-dry your meals to remove the water content, making them lightweight and shelf-stable. Don’t have drying equipment? You don’t necessarily need to cook and dehydrate or freeze-dry all your food at home. Purchasing pre-cooked and dried bulk ingredients can save you time and money on long hikes. Simply portion out the […]
[updated for 2025] The John Muir Trail (JMT) is located in the Sierra Nevada mountain range of California, spanning 211 miles from Yosemite Valley to Mt Whitney plus 11 more miles to Whitney Portal. Most of the JMT is shared with the longer Pacific Crest Trail. Except for a few miles, the JMT stays above 8,000 feet (2,400 m) in elevation. Due to the high elevation, JMT hikers will have to time their hike to minimize snow depth. This often gives hikers a short window of travel in the late summer months, commencing in July or August and ending by […]
As the temperatures warm up and backpackers begin sorting and reorganizing gear, they often find a few expired meals or trail snacks. Consequently, this is the time of year we get asked if it is safe to consume expired backpacking food. Most likely you can! Make sure you have left the packaging intact and kept the food stored properly. Right before your trip, open up the seal and take a whiff. Does it smell or look funky? Here are a few tips to keep in mind.
Trekking season is ramping up in Australia, and a common question we get from customers is, “What vegetarian backpacking meals do you suggest for taking to the Australian outback?” To make food planning easy and quick, consider our combo meals. Outdoor Herbivore’s 5-day backpacking food combo is perfect for multi-day hikes such as the Overland Track, Three Capes Track, Western Arthurs Traverse, and other trails in the outback. The 5-day combo contains 3 meals per day or 15 meals in total. If you plan to stay out longer, we also have 7-day and 10-day bundled backpacking meal combos. Combo packs contain […]