12 Days of Trail Gifts For Under $50
Gift 6: Snack Attack
Good trail snacks never stick around long enough to reach their expiration dates, and most hikers would rather eat a delicious bar than some granola thingy they can find in the store down the street. I have a secret bar stash that I draw from to keep me fueled on weekend trips, and I love finding tasty bars in my christmas stocking to replenish the cache. Below you will find a list of some of my favorite bars, and a little movie of Adam having a snack attack during a hot day on our Japhy Ryder Route hike in 2011.
Mowing down a Huppy Bar on Steens Mountain, the highest point of the Oregon Desert Trail
1) Huppy Bars are yummy and nutritious bars created by my friend Lyndsay Hupp in Flagstaff. These bars have mostly organic ingredients & spirulina to get your greens in the backcountry. There are 5 excellent flavors, Coconut Date Ginger and Chocolate Berry Love are two favorites. Huppy Bar has a Bundle Of Yum holiday pack that I hope finds it’s way into my stocking this season.
2) Nut butter single serve packets. Not much beats the protein punch you can get from nut butters, and there are some absolutely delicious options in little packets these days. One of my favorite nut butters is Wild Friends Vanilla Espresso Almond Butter.
3)Picky Bars make delicious bars here in Bend, OR. The texture & flavor of these bars are great, and they are really good for you.
Snack stack for the Yuba River section of the Japhy Ryder Route
4)Honey Stinger makes all kinds of honey based treats, but their protein bars are really something special. There is not much better than sinking my teeth into a 20g Mint Chocolate Honey Stinger when I get the 10am snack attack. The chocolate coating can get a bit unruly in hot weather, but it doesn’t really matter. Their energy gel is a nice alternative to traditional gels, and the stroop waffles are tasty too.
5) ProBar has enough variety in texture and flavor to keep a hiker from slipping into the snack doldrums. Recently I discovered their mint chocolate meal bars and will probably order up a box for the summer.
6) Trader Joes treats. When bars get old it can be great to mix it up with some candy. Last summer I sent myself a bag of Trader Joes Dark Chocolate Honey Mints for each of the 5 resupplies on the Bigfoot Trail. This was an excellent choice, as was sending out little baggies of the chocolate covered espresso beans. These treats do get melty, so I always keep them in a ziplock buried down in my pack a bit.
