I recently ventured out for a 40-mile section of the AT in North Carolina and Tennessee. As I was packing, I quickly realized that I had no idea what to pack for food. I decided put together a short guide for you all to see what I brought just in case any of you are struggling to pack too.

During my 2018 thru-hike, I was not vegan. I wasn’t even vegetarian! I now consider myself a vegetarian. I primarily eat vegan, but I’ll occasionally have cheese or fish at a restaurant and I still take cream in my coffee.

Let me preface this by saying: this particular weekend was my relaxing ‘glamping’ weekend. Yes, I brought some expensive things like Probars and Hippeas. Yes, I brought an Espro and an XL-Bowl.

Some of you may feel those things are too heavy or expensive for a thru-hike. I will admit, though, I carried a frying pan and tongs for three states on my thru-hike along with fresh veggies and meat. That was so worth it to me. Obviously, I’m not ultralight!

I’ll be posting a complete list of vegan foods you can find along the trail during a thru-hike or that you can easily order a carriable quantity of through the internet soon! Keep an eye out for recipes using those ingredients too!

What I brought this weekend: (vegan items marked (v))

Kit

· MSR Pocket Rocket + Isopro fuel canister

· Toaks 750mL titanium pot + Snow Peak Spork

· Sea-To-Summit XL-Bowl and 20L Lightweight Dry Sack

· Bic Mini

Breakfast

· Pro-Bars (v)

· Coffee (v)

· Powdered Coconut Cream (v)

Snacks

· Welch’s Fruit Snacks

· Popcorn (v)

· Complete Cookies (v)

· Hippeas (v)

· Clif Bars (v)

· Olives (v)

Dinner

· Korean Noodles (sort of like Ramen)

· Dried, Fried Tofu

· Assorted Dehydrated Veggies from TJ’s

o (comparable Amazon option)

· Dehydrated mushrooms

Dessert

· Hot Chocolate (v)

· Oreos (v)

· Pocky

· Protein Powder

The Korean noodles and tofu I found at a local Asian Market. The noodles were amazing and came with sauces like sour and spicy or mushroom umami. They were about $1.75 per serving so they were a bit pricey. You could substitute these for ramen, noodles, pasta, or minute rice.

The vegetables and mushrooms can be harder to find in small or rural towns. If it makes a difference in how you feel when hiking, I personally think it’s worth it to mail drop some veggies to yourself or order some off of Amazon once in a while. They’re not heavy, you can carry a couple weeks’ worth at a time. I did it during my thru-hike. I like to get a mixed blend from Harmony House to give myself variety.

Recipes from the weekend: (All recipes use 1.5 cups of water!)

Mushroom Noodles

· Korean Noodles (mushroom umami flavored)

· Dried Mushrooms

· Dried Okra

· Tofu

I boiled the noodles and pulled them out of the water with my spork and put them in the XL-Bowl. I used the noodle water to cook the mushrooms, okra, and tofu and then added them to the bowl as well with the water. Then added the sauce and had a nice soup!

Sour + Spicy Noodles

· Korean Noodles (spicy and sour flavored)

· Dried Carrots

· Dried Broccoli

I decided the first night that I didn’t love the tofu I brought (the one I linked above is a different kind than I brought!). I left it out for this one. I cooked the noodles and the veggies the same way as the first recipe but I drank the water after cooking the veggies instead of adding it to the bowl so it wasn’t soupy. I supplemented some vegan jerky that Paul (my hiking partner for the weekend) brought.

TVP Tacos

· Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP)

· Taco Shells

· Taco Sauce

Paul, my hiking partner for the weekend, brought TVP tacos so you won’t see this on the list above. He prepared the TVP in a freezer baggie with taco spices (cumin, paprika, chili powder, red pepper flakes, garlic, onion, oregano). We put boiling water in the bag and let it soak for five minutes. We added sauce to the tortilla and topped it with the TVP! The tacos were, admittedly, missing something but not bad. In the future, I’d like to pack out spinach or lettuce for tacos on the first night or add some dehydrated veggies or veggie chips. But this is a good base!

Coconut Hot Cocoa

· Hot Chocolate Mix

· Coconut Cream

I added coconut cream powder to the hot chocolate mix and it was so rich and good! Try it!

I’ll be posting some other recipes soon along with a comprehensive list of vegan foods you can find on the trail soon! Comment below with your favorite vegan backpacking food!

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What’s in my Food Bag?