Introduction
I’ll never forget having a group of teenagers on the West Coast Trail. By the third day, we were a day behind when I realized I’d underestimated our food needs—big time. We had a food drop at Nitinaht Narrow waiting for us, but being a day behind schedule meant we would run out of food. We managed to scrape through everything except the dinner before we were to arrive at the narrows. We managed to scrounge up enough oatmeal packets and snack bars to at least have something to eat. That’s when I grasped a hard truth: you cannot wing your West Coast Trail food plan. Although our plan was well done, I had underestimated teens’ appetites, and then had very little left for an emergency backup meal, which we needed. I had planned just enough, thankfully, and barely, but only because I carry a bit extra, just in case.
Hiking the WCT is a serious undertaking. Between the challenging terrain, ladder climbs, and unpredictable weather, your body will burn more calories than on a typical backpacking trip. Food isn’t just about taste; it’s about fuel, morale, and sometimes a literal lifeline if bad weather forces you to stay put an extra day. In this article, we’ll dig into how to plan your meals, what types of food work best, and how to store everything so the local wildlife doesn’t crash your dinner.
(And if you’re craving a more comprehensive approach, Coastal Bliss Adventures offers guided treks where they handle the meal logistics, ensuring you don’t end up rationing your food like I did.)
This is the sixteenth article in our How To Hike The West Coast Trail series. You can access the fifteenth article in the series at West Coast Trail Packing Guide.
The Basics of Trail Nutrition
Your body’s main currency on a long hike is calories. On the West Coast Trail, you might be burning anywhere from 3,500 to 6,000 calories a day—sometimes more if you’re carrying a heavy pack or battling bad weather. The idea is to balance carb, protein, and fat intake so your muscles can recover and you have the energy to keep moving.
- Carbs provide quick energy, crucial for those ladder-climbing bursts. Think oatmeal, pasta, rice, or tortillas/dense breads or crackers.
- Proteins help rebuild muscle after a day of hauling your backpack over slippery logs. Dehydrated meats, jerky, and protein bars can be lifesavers, but nuts, seeds and legume pastas also add to this necessity.
- Fats offer dense calories, which is key when you’re trying to pack lightweight but need a lot of energy. Nuts, peanut butter, and cheese are common choices.
Most hikers aim for meals that can be cooked quickly—boil-and-eat setups or dehydrated meals that you just add hot water to. That said, some folks get creative with fresh ingredients for the first day or two, carrying, say, a few veggies or ready-cooked sausages. Just keep an eye on weight and spoilage. There is very little or no spoilage on the West Coast Trail, if managed right. Uncooked meats past the first day are not really appropriate, but fresh vegetables, breads, and cured meats are just fine.
Although there are different view on how much of each to bring, I have carefully analyzed how the recommended amounts of carbs, proteins and fats break down into foods we eat. If you are rule-of-thumb packing (appropriate for a multiday hiking trip, but maybe not an ultramarathon), you can get close to the recommended division by packing about one-third/one-third/one-third, by weight. How does that break down? Over the course of a day, I pack more carbs for breakfast and dinner, and keep the protein and fat heavy daily intake for lunch and snacks. Here is how I pack food, generally:
- Breakfast: rolled oats (whole grain) used to make mueslix, with a mix of dried fruits, nuts and seeds-I go a little carb heavy here, but with some protein and fat from nuts and seeds. Pretty much all dried food here.
- Lunch: this is where I roll out the meats, cheeses, nut and seed butters for more protein and fat intake. I like to pack one fresh vegetable for each lunch, to lighten up the feel and bulk up the protein going into the digestive system. Much more fresh meal content here.
- Dinner: this is another carb loading meal, but with a good portion of vegetables, this time dehydrated. The base is pasta, rice, mashed potatoe, cous cous, quinoa, or a bean/vegetable protein mix. The dehydrated vegetables get rehydrated for a good hour, then go into cooked carbs with some kind of sauce.
When I take all the base carbs and weigh them against the protein and fat components, the carb weight is usually about half the protein/fat weight. Although I have broke this down into exacting detail for several of my meals over the years, I use this method to keep proportions pretty close for a balanced set of meals because my detailed breakdown showed me this was adequately accurate.
Planning Meal by Meal
When organizing West Coast Trail food, separate your plan into breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. It’s tempting to just toss a bunch of bars in your pack, but variety keeps morale high.
Breakfast: A hot meal can set a comforting tone, especially if you wake up to mist or rain. Oatmeal with nuts and dried fruit, or instant eggs and bacon bits, can give you a solid energy boost. With oatmeal and cereals, go for whole grains when you can to slow down the breakdown into sugars for better hiking energy. Instant coffee or tea might lift your spirits too—never underestimate the power of a warm drink in a chilly rainforest morning.
Lunch: Many hikers opt for something no-cook. Tortillas with peanut butter, cheese, or salami are staples. Protein bars and energy chews work if you’re on the move. However, consider at least one “luxury” lunch if you’re the type who needs a mental break mid-day. Maybe that’s a freeze-dried soup or an easy pasta cup if you can boil water quickly, and if you want to switch your carb/protein/fat breakdown.
Dinner: This is where freeze-dried meals shine. They’re light, easy, and packed with calories. If you bring a small stove, you can boil water in minutes, pour it into the meal pouch, and wait. Alternatively, some hikers dehydrate their own meals pre-trip (chili, curry, pasta sauces). Most dehydrated meals can just be rehydrated with hot water and time, without cooking, as well. For cooked meals, be mindful of cooking times—long simmer meals can sap your fuel.
(For more elaborate dinners—or if cooking isn’t your forte—Coastal Bliss Adventures can handle meal planning, so you just show up and eat. Talk about a treat!)
Snack Strategy and Morale Boosters
Snacks are your lifeline during the day’s challenges. You’ll need small bursts of energy to get you up a ladder or through a muddy section. Trail mix, jerky, dried fruit, and energy bars are classics. Keep them accessible in side pockets so you can munch on the go.
I also recommend having at least one “morale snack”—something you only break out when you’re at your wit’s end. Maybe it’s a little chocolate bar, gummy candy, or a tiny flask of your favorite hot beverage. On a rainy day, when you’re trudging along wishing for a warm bed, that small indulgence can flip your mood right around.
Food Tips from the WCT Veterans
- Test your gear at home: Make sure your stove and pot setup is efficient. Know how to clean and maintain your stove on the trail! The sand on the coast can mess up stove function in a heartbeat!
- Pre-portion meals: Ration each day’s worth of food in separate bags so you don’t accidentally overeat early.
- Don’t skimp on coffee or tea: Hot drinks can be a daily morale booster in damp conditions.
- Aim for ~1.5–2 lbs of food per day: Adjust based on your metabolism and how much you typically eat. Ok, let’s be clear here. If you are taking dehydrated meals, then this is a good rule of thumb. Pack 1.5 to 2.0 lbs of food based on the dry weight. If you are not taking dehydrated meals, the weight of your food might me a lot higher.
- Practice safe water: Even with the best food, you need to purify your drinking water to avoid nasty GI issues.
Food Storage and Wildlife Considerations
Because the WCT is wilderness, you’re sharing it with bears, cougar, mink, river otters, mice and other critters. Keeping your food secure is non-negotiable. Designated campsites have bear boxes or cables for hanging food. Always store anything with a scent—food, toothpaste, garbage—inside these caches.
If a campsite lacks a bear cache, hang your food from a tree branch, well away from your tent. Don’t keep snacks in your sleeping bag “just for convenience”—that’s the fast track to uninvited nighttime guests. And always pack out any garbage. The last thing you want is to train local wildlife to associate humans with easy meals, which can lead to dangerous encounters.
Adapting for Weather and Emergencies
Bad weather can throw a wrench in your cooking plans. It’s tough to start a stove in heavy rain without a decent shelter or tarp. Make sure you have waterproof matches or a reliable lighter, plus a backup fire starter. If you’re stuck in your tent for a day due to a storm, you’ll be grateful for extra snacks or a backup freeze-dried meal. (Although, in 20 years, I have never been forced to sit in place on the West Coast Trail, and I have been in some gnarly conditions.)
It’s also wise to bring at least one day’s worth of emergency food. Think of it as an insurance policy. Maybe you get delayed by a ferry closure or an injury that slows your pace. Those extra calories could save you from going hungry when you least expect it.
Conclusion: Savor the Journey
The West Coast Trail is as much about resilience as it is about raw beauty. And your food strategy plays a huge part in staying motivated, healthy, and content throughout the trek. A well-thought-out meal plan ensures you don’t end up gnawing on your last energy bar, wishing you’d packed more variety—or more calories.
Ultimately, the experience is richer when you can settle into camp each night, fire up your stove, and enjoy a hearty meal (or at least a hot cup of tea) while recounting the day’s muddy triumphs. The taste of success, quite literally, goes hand in hand with having the right meals on hand. So, plan carefully, experiment with recipes beforehand, and don’t be afraid to pack a few treats. Because trust me, when you’re standing on a windswept beach with salt on your lips and your muscles screaming for relief, the right bite of food can remind you this is all part of the grand adventure.
If you’d rather not fuss over every detail, remember that guided treks—like those offered by Coastal Bliss Adventures—can shoulder much of the meal prep, leaving you free to focus on the trail itself. Whichever route you choose, prioritize nutrition and variety. Your body, your mind, and possibly your hiking buddies (who might otherwise have to hear you grumble about hunger) will thank you.