No Cook vs. Cooked

A 3 day backpacking trip is so short you could probably fast from all food and barely notice. A couple years ago I did a 3 day backpacking trip and started it on the 6th day of a fast and completed it on the 9th day of the fast. The last day's 2,000 feet gain in elevation kicked my butt and so I don't recommend backpacking during a long fast.

I pulled a 19 day trip recently and went totally No Cook so it's easy. You just don't carry a Cookables food bag and focus all your attention on your Snackables food bag. I soaked cold oatmeal in water and ate it raw which is easy enough. Add some raisins.

Much prefer a stove though as it greatly expands your food choices and on a long 20+ trip that's nice.

Hop Pea Slop, Sunny Salad, Pesto, and Switchback Stuffer from Outdoor Herbivore are all super yummy. They taste like salads from the local deli. Big portions, high calorie, and they make me feel rejuvenated. Give them a try.

If going stoveless and saving weight matter most, cold hydration meals make a lot of sense. Hop Pea Slop, for example, has 141 calories/oz and 10.5 grams of protein per serving. I don't like to bring all meat-based entrees because of the odor and because it requires too much water to process while providing too few calories of energy. These are great to have on hand for rainy days when you don't want to use a stove. I use 70% meat-free and 30% traditional Mountain House meals, alternating them. Saves on weight and fuel. I notice much higher energy levels after Outdoor Herbivore meals versus MH, irrespective of taste preference. YMMV.

My breakfast must not be holding up -- I looked at the website and it all looked amazing. Thanks for the link - I'm definitely going to try some of these!

My wife just finished a 70 mile, no cook, solo trip of 5 days. Her decision was based on no-fuss over weight. Her packweight at the onset (pack, water, food, 10E's, stream crossing shoes, sleep system, tent, and the like) was 27.3 pounds. Her meals were around 2200 cal per meal, she then added in snacks and jerky (her only meat source). When I picked her up, at the end of the trip, I drove her to a place, just before Stanley, Idaho, that had BBQ ribs. She ate a full rack of ribs, cole slaw, pie, and she had beer to drink. She finished her ribs before I was done, with my 1/2 rack, so I gave her a few of mine. Today, she eats fruits and veggies to balance her meat binge.

My wife has IBS. The last few years, after a 5ish day trip, she'd get an IBS episode that would send her to the Dr. and we'd have to cancel any further trips. We found the fruit/veggie binge after a 'long' trip stops her IBS from flaring up.

I crush it up before I take it out of the wrapper to pack into the freezer bag. Makes it easier to easy with a spoon once rehydrated and the only time I had a poke was when it was really crammed into my food bag.