Hiking season is finally back in full swing here in Utah, and I couldn’t be more excited!

Hiking is my number one preferred way to work up a good sweat and put these lungs and legs of mine to work. In fact, hiking has become the best form of airway clearance for me. Plus, the views!

Over the years I have learned that in addition to eating a well balanced meal pre-hike, being prepared with snacks for the trail is key. Sticking with real foods that are nutrient dense with quality ingredients is still possible on the trail. Here are some of my favorite go-to’s for hiking season.

Bars:

RX Bars
Primal Kitchen Collagen Bars
Larabar (bars and bites)
Exo Protein Bars
Perfect Bars (these need to be refrigerated, but do just fine on shorter hikes)

Meat Treats:

Anything from EPIC (bars, jerky snacks, snack packs)
DNX Bars
Bricks Bars
The New Primal jerky and meat sticks
Chomps sticks
Roam Sticks
Tanka Bar

Fruity Goods:

Baby food pouches - Sounds weird but they work. The fruity ones (think applesauce with other fruits and sweet potato ones are my go to’s for an easy energy boost on the go)
Applesauce pouches
Dried fruit leathers
Dried Mango - my favorite!
Barnana bites
Fresh fruit - apple, banana, orange, etc.

Sweet Treats:

Justin’s Dark Chocolate PB Cups
Eating Evolved - chocolate bars + coconut butter cups
Dark Chocolate

Salty Snacks:

Small bags of Jackson’s Honest potato chips
Potato chips cooked in avocado or coconut oil
SeaSnax seaweed snacks - lime is my favorite flavor
Skinny Pop popcorn cakes
Plantain chips

Other goods:

-Easy open tins/packets of seafood (sardines/tuna/salmon) with hot sauce (mini bottles or packets are perfect) with chips - preferred for longer or harder hikes
-Veggies and mini cups of guac or hummus - sometimes fresh crunchy veggies just sound good on the trail!
-Homemade trail mix - My favorite combo: coconut chips, raw or sprouted nuts and seeds, UnReal chocolate gems (like better for you M&Ms), dried cherries
-Individual packets of nut butters

Staying Hydrated:
Staying hydrated is super crucial, and in CF hydration means salt. Add a couple of pinches of a good quality sea salt or Real Salt to your water bottle. Here’s the deal, you don’t want to add so much that you feel like you’re drinking ocean water. 

Add just enough that when you taste the water it actually tastes better than from the tap/filter. You’ll find that when you’re more dehydrated it will take more salt before you can even taste it!

I like Salt Stick caps and fast chews these days for the added electrolytes (in lieu of adding salt to my water), especially on longer hikes.

Coconut water (with no added sugar) is another good option. You can even make your own electrolyte drink by mixing 3 parts coconut water to 1 part pure pineapple juice (or juice of your choice) and good pinch of sea salt.

Keep in mind, dehydration can occur from drinking too much plain water too. Too much water begins to flush out the electrolytes, this is why staying on top of that with sea salt or Salt Stick caps is important.

A few last notes:

I like to take an orange and a La Croix (naturally flavored bubble water) to enjoy when I reach the summit/peak/destination. I take time to enjoy my snack and soak up all the scenery as well as take a break before heading back to the start. Sometimes I even take a book to read.

Post-hike? Nothing beats a big burger and side of fries post hike!

Keep in mind, take more water and food than you think you think you’ll need. Always be prepared out there! Hopefully you don’t, but if you get lost, that water and snacks can be life saving. There have even been a  few times I decided last minute to take a side trail to hike for longer than I had originally planned. It’s always better to have too much, than not enough.

Stay safe out there friends!

     Help Others Live STRONGER and LONGER- 

       

   

 

Aimee Lecointre is 31 years old with CF and is currently living in Salt Lake City, UT. She is a certified Nutritional Therapy Practitioner and registered yoga teacher. She is passionate about helping the CF community through movement and nutrition. In her free time you can find her hiking the beautiful mountains in UT, paddleboarding, doing yoga (in a studio, outdoors, or on a paddleboard), skateboarding, writing, reading or cooking! You can visit her website at www.thenourishedbreath.com, follow her on Facebook at The Nourished Breath or find her on Instagram @thenourishedbreath.

 

 

 

***Views expressed in the CFLF Blog are those of the bloggers themselves and not necessarily of the Cystic Fibrosis Lifestyle Foundation***   

 

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