Do you guys consider it a good idea to eat or drink before you head out on the beginning of a trail for several days?

On one hand, it keeps you from having to carry it with you, but instead you are simply carrying it with you in your stomach instead of in your pack!

I will typically drink a liter of water before heading out on the trail and then carrying what I expect to need.

I always eat breakfast, so that is not any different for me when I'm hiking. Only difference is that I eat while I hike (cold breakfast on the trail).

T

> On one hand, it keeps you from having to carry it with you,
> but instead you are simply carrying it with you in your stomach
> instead of in your pack!

Is it doing you any good in your pack until you eat/drink it? There you go.

I typically view water as easier to carry in me than on me. So I typically have a good big drink before starting. (I also "fill up" as I pass water, so if I stop to fill up my bag, I'm drinking my fill then, as well as filling the bag)

I usually eat an hour before starting or so, but I don't like to be bloated by a large pig-out.
Typically at least something decent, - or if that's not possible both of the above are usually
accomplished for me by one large fast food burger or simlar with no fries coupled with a gigantic drink - water or diet coke. diet coke not being the best choice in the world because it's
horrid for you and a diuretic, but I drink it anyway :0

Yes, eat and drink or you will be hungry and thirsty. A good way to bonk for sure.

Chaz and Hector are absolutely right. Food and drink are fuel. Carrying it in your pack doesn't do you a darn bit of good.

If you have ever participated in any kind of endurance event such as a bicycle race or long distance touring, long distance swim or triathalon, you should understand the importance of carbo loading and hydration.

I've done all of these at various times and I can assure you, if you don't carbo load and drink, you are pretty much cooked. Try cross-country skiing towing a sled for a few hours without eating or riding 50 miles on a fully loaded touring bike and see how you feel.

I would start carbo loading a few days in advance-lots of pasta or whatever you like, but lots of calories.

Also, get plenty of electrolytes. When I was teaching scuba diving, I was constantly eating something, so I didn't get muscle cramps in my legs while diving and I was in pretty good shape at the time. I still got them once in a while, but if I didn't eat, it was pretty much a sure thing.

For any physical activity that lasts for more than an hour it is a good idea to eat and drink before, during and after.

It take a long time to drive to the trailhead because I have to stop to void my bladder often. I really like a good prehike breakfast.

I prefer not to overload my stomach immediately prior to strenuous exercise. A heavy meal in my gut makes it harder to hike. But that only applies to a heavy meal that is hard to digest.

Just 'eating' or 'drinking' before a hike is standard operating procedure. For example, when I am on the trail I always eat breakfast and hit the trail with a full pack within 1/2 hour. Doesn't bother me. Not eating or drinking before I set out hiking would be the big mistake.

The real bottom line is learning your own body's preferences. Listen to what it tells you about how much and when to eat or drink. It knows what it needs a whole lot better than the part of your brain that wants to give orders and boss your body around. And what works when you are at home and working in an office job may be totally different from what works when you backpack.

Another thing to remember is to eat and drink enough before going to bed, especially in winter. If you don't take in enough energy before going to bed, you may wake up cold in the middle of the night. Staying warm burns a lot of calories, even if you aren't doing anything else other than laying in your bag. A snack such as chocolate or some other high calorie food will make a big difference.

btw, Michael Phelps was eating about 14,000 calories a day, which is close to what most people eat in a week.

I eat/drink as much as I can as close as possible before hitting the trail. It just seems to make sense to me.

You're kidding! I never realized that about calories and staying warm. Thanks!

Folkalist...

It costs 70 kCal/hr just to warm 0 degree air to body temperature.

Hard shivvering costs 200 kCal/hr.

This is on top of your basal metabolism, which is the cost in energy to keep your body functioning at rest... usually around 1200 kCal per day.

Somewhere this subject has been covered pretty extensively... chack back in the archives, I'd say around November/December timeframe. I put together a presentation on hypothermia around that time and share some of what I learned (and now forgotten) with the group.

MNS

I really appreciate the information. This is an area that I know little about but obviously is critical when hitting the trail. I'll check out that search you suggested. I'm also following the thread about bonking on the trail and well as a few others that touch on this subject.

Once again, this forum is a true blessing - kind folks providing lots of information and experiences. And you're all rather goofy, too. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I've never really thought about it much, and usually stick to my normal eating pattern until I reach the trailhead. Frequently, that includes a stop an hour or two before reaching the trailhead, usually at a fast food place. I tend to avoid the greasiest of the greasy (preferring Wendy's or Arby's to McDonald's or Burger King) - but I tend to do that even when I'm not hiking.

I don't eat more or less than usual - so if your question is, "should I eat a huge meal on the way to the trailhead?" I'd probably say no - especially if you're going to start hiking immediately when you get there. (I admit to a personal exception here: I have been known to eat a Big Momma pancake breakfast at Cracker Barrel on the way to Mammoth Cave NP; it didn't seem to bother me when I arrived a couple of hours later and started walking, though I did end up eating a late lunch on the trail.)

Hiking all day will naturally burn more calories than whatever you normally do all day as a college student, but you shouldn't need to "stock up." If you're carrying a normal food supply (1.5 - 2 pounds per day, most of which isn't Hershey bars or Lucky Charms), you should be fine.

Something with fat in it helps before bed, in addition to a meal-like chocolate, which I mentioned above, or nuts or an energy bar. Hot cocoa is also good-a few calories, plus a hot liquid.

Hot chocolate with a nip of whiskey - and chuck in a dab of margarine or butter if you have it.. That's my pre-bedtime in cold weather treat. - usually with a piece of high cocoa chocolate. Just remember to keep the whiskey to a small nip.