Lunch on a mult-day hike

What do the high fuel consumers on this board do for lunch on a multi-day hike?

I normally take 2 or 3 PBJ on good bread sandwiches for lunch on a day hike. This is in addition to a few pieces of fruit and a power bar and assumes I've had a good breakfast.

For a multi-day hike I've packed essentially the same thing but the sandwiches are usually getting pretty soggy toward the end. I suppose I could forego the jelly but I can only go so far on PB alone. I have, on occasion, stopped and cooked up a dehydrated lunch but don't usually want to spend that much time (or sodium intake) for lunch.

Breakfast is usualy a big bowl of oatmeal/couscous/dried fruit and dinner a Mountain House meal.

Any suggestions on something relatively moist for sandwiches that will pack for a few days without soaking through the bread? Other options for a quick but calorie-rich lunch? I'd bonk by 2:00 on some of the nuts and berries I know some of you seem to be able to survive on.

THANKS!

StashZdanuk said:

For a multi-day hike I've packed essentially the same thing but the sandwiches are usually getting pretty soggy toward the end. I suppose I could forego the jelly but I can only go so far on PB alone.

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Carry the jelly separately ... many suggestions in an old thread Mustard and/or Mayo in tubes?.

I survive on bars, but I know that's in the "nuts and berries" category.

For moist sandwiches, I like apple slices. Turkey, apple and cheddar is a great day hike sandwich. Unsliced apples keep forever, so if you can find something that keeps, and goes with apple, they might help. Lots of moisture in the apple flesh, and just a thin slice alleviates the "dry sandwich" effect.

On trips longer than a day I will carry foil tuna pouches and pita and make it on the go. Can also carry foil mayo packs to add flavor.

During my AT section hiking days, I didnt find anything more destruction proof and spoil proof than buritto shells with peanut butter and Nuttella. These were week long trips so I carried the peanut butter and nuttela containers and the burrito shells in a ziplock bag and made them up every day. I usually had some beef or turkey jerky to go with it and fruit rolls ups for a sugar buzz to get me going after lunch. On occasion, tuna with mayo packs from a restaurant in a burrito shell.

If it's refrigerator-temperature I put my sandwich filling in a separate container and pack the bread separately. In warmer weather I'm a fan of these nut butter packets squeezed onto a Clif Bar or other granola-type bar.

For more than a 1-2 night, though, I find that I don't eat a "lunch" and instead keep the snacks going at a moderate rate all day. Also wet sandwich fillings get heavy. For longer trips I carry bags of cereal, seasoned and toasted nuts, dried fruit (which can also be tasty with nut butter spread on it), jerky, granola bar with nut butter, candy for a quick sugar rush...
-vegematic

On really long hikes, I only carry enough bread for the first day or two - after that I eat peanut butter and jelly straight from the tube, as suggested above. A week's supply of bread takes up too much space in a bear can, you need to save room for denser forms of energy.

For weekend and day hikes, I like non-mushing forms of bread - bagels or "crispbread" (Wasa brand, found in the health food aisle - beware some flavors are extremely high in fiber)

Tuco said:

On trips longer than a day I will carry foil tuna pouches and pita and make it on the go. Can also carry foil mayo packs to add flavor.

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I've done this before and it's worked out well.

I generally carry tortillas, humice, and cheese (and occasionally some peperoni as well). It's easy to make a wrap or two that is tasty and filling.

I also carry a piece of fruit for lunch on each day. Bananas for the first day or two, and then apples for every day after that since they'll last longer without getting smushed.

The Secret to Making Cheese Last in the Woods:

Don't touch it with your fingers or any part of you skin. The bacteria that makes cheese go moldy lives on your skin. By keeping the cheese in a zip-loc bag, and breaking it up inside the bag, or holding it with the bag while you cut slices off of it, you can drastically extend the life of your cheese in the woods, even during the summer. I've had cheese last 5 days in August, and it looked and tasted just like it did on day 1.

On multi-day hikes I generally carry pepperoni sticks, cheese, and fruit (apples, oranges, grapes, etc). Provides plenty of fat and protein for a hard day of hiking. The cheese and fruit will last for several days without going bad, and it leaves very little trash to pack out. Be sure to hang your food though. Pepperoni has an odor that carries.

You are making your PB&J sandwiches wrong that's why they get soggy.

Triple deckers are the correct method. I always save the ends as outter slices for my creations. Thick PB on 2 outside slices n lots of jelly inside.

PB rim to rim, then blob the jelly in the center of one PB slice. Keep the jelly off the rim of the PB slice leaving a margin all the way around. Lay on the 2nd slice, then do another blob on that, again leaving a margin. On goes the outter PB slice... see you make a PB seal so no jelly leaks out of the sides this way.

The PB oil saturates the outter slices, while the inner slice gets nice n soggy with the jelly. Man, it's cake!

Great responses... Thanks!

Variety and "sandwich artistry". Nice stuff.

I like the thought of pita or similar breads and packing the ingredients separately. I'd thought about the latter but never the former. That's why you ask questions...

I look for durable bakery items, like burrito's and store bagels (like Lenders) that don't get hard. Then, it's either PB & J, or tuna packets or Underwood deviled ham or other spread.

And lots of GORP

DSettahr said:

cheese (and occasionally some peperoni as well)

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I'll second CHEESE (and pepperoni option). I tend to go with blocks of cheddar (Cabot, what else?) because they are easy handle within a ziploc.

I'm also big on carrots. They are durable, you can snack on them and you can add them to just about everything.

StashZdanuk said:

For a multi-day hike I've packed essentially the same thing but the sandwiches are usually getting pretty soggy toward the end.
THANKS!

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i actually prefer my bread soggy from the jelly/jam. thats good eatin'