Hey everyone,
I’m a junior at the University of Vermont working on my thesis. Last year I hiked the Long Trail with a high school friend, and it was on that trip that I got the idea to do my senior thesis on backpacking nutrition. As any experienced hiker knows, food is one of the most important aspects of a hike. We need it to move, we think about it with every step, and it is one of the leading topics for cabin discussion.
I’m working on creating a survey for distance backpackers from the nation’s major trails in order to figure out what is being eaten, why certain foods/methods are chosen, and eventually plan on analyzing the responses in order to gain a nutritional understanding of hikers diets.
So here we go, if you have the time/want to help, post away! Right now I’m looking for:
- How consistent was your diet? How much variability?
- What was your regular on trail diet (be as vague as top 5 foods or as specific as what you ate each meal)
- What was most important in deciding the foods you brought (weight, cost, taste, size, nutritional quality, etc.)
Answer all of the questions or whichever ones you want. Or just add your own insights/comments.
Thanks so much!
Todd Stanley