What to eat on a hike

On a walk, it is best to eat little and often, choosing foods that are easy to digest and will keep for hours in your rucksack. A heavy meal halfway through usually leaves you feeling sluggish and walking more slowly in the second half.

A simple plan for a day

• Breakfast one or two hours before starting: carbohydrates with some protein, without too much fat.
• Every 60–90 minutes, a small snack: nuts, dates, dried apricots, a bar or half a banana.
• A light main meal during the long break: a sandwich, an omelette, rice or pulses in a lunch box.
• An emergency reserve: an energy bar and a handful of nuts, only to be opened if something unexpected happens.

Foods that work well

• Nuts and seeds: plenty of energy for their weight.
• Dried fruit: quick-release sugars and easy to eat while walking.
• Bread with mature cheese, cured meat or tinned fish: these keep without refrigeration.
• Dark chocolate in cool weather; it melts in summer.
• Something salty (olives, salted nuts) to replace sodium if you sweat heavily.

What to avoid

Sauces and fresh dairy products that spoil in the heat, very fatty meals before a climb, and trying a gel or supplement for the first time on the day of a long walk. It is also worth limiting alcohol: it dehydrates you and affects balance and decision-making.

Everything you take up must come back down, including fruit peel, shells and wrappers. Organic waste takes a long time to break down in the high mountains and disrupts wildlife.