[Jake Neiffer]

note: linked article contains cussing Matt made some interesting observations during his long duration hike in the Wind Rivers a number of years ago. Relates it to the current dieting and weight loss craze. Somewhat related, I perform best hiking best on highly palatable food. And lots of calories. So what I eat on a hike is different than day to day. My staples as of late are chocolate milk, bugles, and skittles. http://180degreehealth.com/the-wind-river-diet/

[Schenk]

All I would ask is this: Why would anyone think that Oatmeal and Polenta is a balanced diet?? Is there someone out there recommending this as having a complete protein, carbo, and vitamin compliment? Trout would help on the protein side of things but it is no wonder to me he seriously "bonked"; and I am not a nutritionist.

[Ski]

hey since you mentioned that..... guess it didn't click when I read the article, but I recall a couple summers ago I was experimenting with the dehydrator and cooked up a batch of a pork-tomatillo stew. my mother suggested putting it on top of polenta. I looked up the nutritional value on it, which was rather meager compared to basmati rice or pasta. I went with orzo. besides, polenta (corn meal mush, essentially) is great once in a while, but unless one was living in early 20th-century panhandle Texas and lacked any options (like my father) I don't know how you could eat it more than twice in a week.

[forest gnome]

uuhhh.. ...a horse drop for a pack of food is what 100$??...wow piss poor planning on the food..sounds like it was on purpose though..interesting

[Jake Neiffer]

Ya, Matt was trying to be too self sufficient on that trip and learned a harsh lesson. I saw a post a while back when I was lurking about how people experience a large drop in appetite during high exertion while hiking. i think some highly palatable junk food can be the ticket sometimes, at least for me. here's some more up to date stuff from Matt. http://180degreehealth.com/how-many-carbohydrates-should-you-eat/

[Jake Neiffer]

here's the thread on loss of appetite https://www.nwhikers.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=8012247&highlight=appetite Ironically enough, I just saw the first post mentioned polenta, lol. Maybe that's the common variable here. Cyclopath- if you happen to read this, i suggest packing some Bugles on your next hiking trip. While I'm sure they're GMO, there more palatable than polenta, therefore more appropriate for hiking.

[PorcupinePhobia]

I still can't nail down a full trail diet, but I do know I've been perfectly happy transitioning to no-cook. I feel like sweet and salty after most hard days. Like jerky.

[wanderwild]

I was really hoping this post was about Matt Stone the South Park co-creator and a diet that was designed to make one fart a lot.