What to Eat On Your Way Up Mt KK
I’m 10 days away from the Big Climb up Mt Kinabalu!
I’ve worked out what to wear and this weekend, I will start shopping for what to EAT while hiking up!
EATING
I used to think that hiking up a mountain trail can’t be that difficult. That’s because the only ‘mountain’ I’ve been exposed to in Singapore is a little hill that’s less than 500m high! And the other mountains I’ve visited in other countries were really comfy rides up the Cable Car! Alas, that’s how sheltered I was from the physical world of mountaineering!
For our climb, it would take up to 8 hours from the base camp to the rest house. I’ve heard of the very fit who made it up in 4 hours. I’ll be very conservative and try to do it in 5-6 hours. So we need the carbo for strength and energy to keep climbing, and we need the protein to rid of potential muscle cramps.
My first thought was BANANAS!! I’ll never forget my tennis heroes chomping down a banana in the middle of their long matches! Sweet and Yummy! But I’m not going to buy a banana casing to protect it from getting squished and squashed (which is highly probable).
Then I thought CHOCOLATE BARS!! The guys who go through army were given these in their ration packs! My husband says it kind of worked (based on his distant memory). And I spoke to some athletes, and they say, Chocolates are good but they are QUICK RELEASE (gosh new phrase I learnt!) of energy. So when I’m really tired, Chocolates are a good deal. But eating them alone, won’t last me long unless I Keep Eating Them!
So came the next snack–NUTS!! Wooooo these are energy releasing (and SLOW RELEASE) and they have Protein too! Double the power! Yet eating them alone won’t help, cos I need some quick release magic at times.
That brings us to SNICKER BARS!! Hahaha! Bet you didn’t think of that! Chocolates and Nuts all in one bar! Space saving and absolutely power pack! And when I googled, I realised this is a hot favourite among hikers too.
But as I researched a little more, I realised the top top top favourite food among hikers is something way simpler, way cheaper and a lot more power packed! Presenting to you… Good Old Raisins Peanuts (GORP). (also known as trail mix)
This is just random self packing of Dried Fruits (raisins, apricot, apples, mangoes, bananas), Chocolates (M&Ms, Snickers chunks), Nuts (Almonds, Peanuts, Cashews), Seeds (Pumpkin, Sunflower), Sweets (Marshmellows) and Granola! Look at the mix, isn’t it super filled with energy, protein, and all other nutrients? And it’s such an encouraging looking meal!
I’m on my way to buy some ziplog bags and make some GORP! Woohooo!!
Please let me know if there are other stuff to add! Now I’m really more excited about the climb!
This is a part of the series of posts on Adventures up Mount Kinabalu.
Trail mix makes sense. It will have a bit of everything you need.
I can’t wait to hear all about your climb and see some pictures.
Yes I agree with Rachel, I can’t wait to see pictures of your climb! I will be doing some hiking in Colorado (not to your extent) but now I’ll take a snickers with me LOL!
I’d definitely enjoy munching on that for some energy during the climb! I can’t believe it’s only 10 days away.
Trail mix sounds like the perfect treat to keep you satisfied!
That sounds like a great snack idea!
I usually take along some sort of protein bar, but Snickers sounds good too!
Trail mix sounds perfect, although Snickers would be tasty too!
We love eating trail mix when we’re on the go. It’s not fancy but it sure does give energy and those M&Ms satisfy the sweet tooth too 🙂