How to store food while hiking
If you have ever fallen victim to spoiled food, behold, my tips for storing it for maximum shelf life. I guess most of them won’t be new to seasoned thru-hikers, nevertheless, here they are.
Zip Locks.
This is the most common advise. Ditch all original packaging that makes things bulkier. Put everything in sandwich sized zip locks.
Put spices in those tiny zip locks.
Keep one large zip lock for rubbish.
Storing veggies
Vegetables sweat. If you can avoid it - don’t wash them. Instead wash them right before eating (except for when you are in places where you should be saving water - then pre-wash). Discard any parts you won’t be eating (e.g., seed ball from a paprika). Put them in a ziplock together with a piece of paper kitchen towel, napkin or a couple of squares of toilet paper. The paper will absorb moisture as veggies sweat and it will keep them fresh longer. Change the paper once too wet.
Chocolate when it’s hot.
If licking the contents of your food bag off chocolate doesn’t sound like your preferred lunch - opt for:
Nutella - chocolate in a jar - solved!
MnMs - the coating doesn’t let chocolate escape.
Choose dark chocolate - it has a melting point of 46 Celsius (114 Farenheit), so unless you are in Mojave in June (the only time I measured, it was 53 Celsius), you should be good.
In any case, it’s good to keep it in a zip lock.
Safety!
Animals will want your food wherever you are. Anyone from mice and possums to bears. If small rodents are your only potential problem - I’d go with either hanging it (but mostly I’m too lazy for that) or stuffing my food bag deep into my backpack and putting backpack near my head (so I can hear them if they come for my snacks). I usually just had simple waterproof bags, but if you are afraid someone might bite through them - there are food bags on the market (check out Ursack or steel mesh bags).
If you are in bear country - read the rules of the place you’re about to visit! You may be required to carry a bear can. I actually liked my bear can. Yes, it’s bulky, but you just stick it downwind, 100m from your (or anyone’s) tent (not near a lake or a cliff - bears tend to roll them around), and forget your troubles. If having a bear canister isn’t a requirement - you have to hang your food, but mastering a bear hang is a pretty tough business (also finding a perfect tree. Yes, even in a forest full of trees), so you’d better train beforehand.
And if you choose to do none of those thinking “I’m not scared of bears” - here’s a thought - it’s not about you. Nobody cares if you’re afraid of bears. The problem is if you keep “feeding” bears, the bears start to not be afraid of you. And when a bear is not afraid of you, a ranger comes and shoots it. How would you like to be shot while you’re shopping for food? Maybe you should lose your bravado and start caring for the environment around you.