Wolverine Hikes

People who know me know that I belong on the Trail. I've thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail (three times, now),the Pacific Crest Trail and the mighty Continental Divide Trail. I've hiked many of the long trails here in Michigan including being the first to hike both the Ironwood Trail and the Great Lake To Lake Trail. In 2017, I hiked the Israel National Trail and the Golan Heights Trail. I was the first to hike the Baja Divide Trail in Mexico but failed miserably to thru-hike the Bruce Trail in Canada. In 2019, I hiked the TEMBR in Ecuador and 1,150 miles of the North Country Trail as it runs through my home state of Michigan.

The purpose of this blog is to keep anyone who is interested informed of my progress and to encourage those who are able to support me in these endeavors.

Saturday, April 8, 2017

What We Eat on the INT


There were several questions about this hike that went unanswered even as I flew into Tel Aviv. One of them was: What do hikers eat on the Israel National Trail? I know what we eat when hiking in the US: Ramen noodles, Minute Rice, sliced pepperoni, cheese, protein bars, etc...  but this isn't the kind of trail where friends and family can just send you a box full of yummy food. I would have to learn what works and what doesn't and buy my food along the way.  


First, a note about dietary restrictions: I have NONE. I am an opportunistic omnivore. That means that I will gladly enjoy any and every bit of food that comes my way. I do not discriminate and I am thankful for every bit of it. 


When my trusty hiking buddy Nightmare and I first went to a 'supermarket' (really a glorified convenience store with 5-6 tightly packed aisles full of stuff), I really had no idea what to buy. He, on the other hand, had already been in Israel for more than a month and knew what he liked to carry. "First things first," he said, "we need pita bread and hummus." 


 



This seemed like a good idea. I had eaten and enjoyed hummus many times before. I kinda always thought it should be kept refrigerated. "Nonsense," says Nightmare, "it will last for days!" Turned out to be true. Actually, the pita bread (which is made fresh and without preservatives) will go bad before the hummus does. The problem with it, as one southbound hiker warned me, is that you will get sick of it. Fast. That was also true. I needed something more. 


 


Ahhh... Tahini. This is something that seemingly every hiker in Israel carries and they all claim to make it 'the best'. 


Tahini is a goopy brown liquid made from sesame seeds that comes in a plastic carton. You pour it into a cup or pot and add some water. Add a pinch of salt and stir it for a long time and it actually thickens up - perfect for dipping or spreading on bread. You can dip anything in tahini and it will taste good. Most Israelis add a bit of lemon juice to it but hikers can't realistically carry that so we go without. Still tastes good. 


 


From there we branched off into egg noodles (that cook pretty quickly) and individual packs of tomato sauce. We can usually find Knorr sides that look like lentils and rice and sometimes we get soup mixes to which we add tons of little yellow 'soup nuts' for some crunch. 


 


Snack-wise, we eat lots of chocolate wafers and cookie-type biscuits. 


 


We found a granola mix that we like called 'Energy' which proudly proclaims 'Live life extreme!' on the label. We love dates and Israel has some of the best dates in the world. Juicy, fat, sweet dates.... so yummy. 


 


Oh! And Boomba. Lots and lots of Boomba. Boomba is like a 'cheese puff'-type snack but it tastes like peanut butter, not cheese. Like cheese puffs, it is made of styrofoam. 


Other than that, we take what we can get. We share food with other hikers and they share with us. Sometimes we luck into a family out camping who may offer us fresh fruits and vegetables. 


We even ran into a hiker from Boston (Sweet Tea AT '06) who was just on a day hike and loaded us up with all kinds of goodies - AND he packed out our trash for us!


 


Of course, my buddy Chuck Wolfe would be upset if I didn't mention coffee. Every morning I heat up some water and pour some strong instant coffee into it. Or I pour some into a Nalgene bottle 1/4 filled with cold water and shake it up. It's good either way. Sometimes Israeli hikers will cook up finely ground Turkish coffee. That is a particular delight. 


Are these the kinds of things you eat on the trail? Leave me a comment either way!

12 comments:

Martha said...

Those little ibexes looked kinda of good.

Unknown said...

It sounds like you're eating healthier than on a typical hike! haha
When I got to a town along the AT, I found a box of powdered hummus. Perfect snack. I ate that stuff until I thought I would burst. Those boombas sound like they're pretty good too, but I'm on a pretty big peanut butter kick lately. Good to see things are going well.

Chris Hillier said...

The sign in Mitzpe Ramon said not to FEED the Ibex. Didn't say not to deep fry them in beer batter.

Chris Hillier said...

Thanks, Z. I've barely had any meat since I got here. Not by choice - people here just don't eat that much meat. I feel great!

Unknown said...

Strawberry frosted poptarts. Keep posting. I am enjoying reading and sharing this adventure with you.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Chris Hillier said...

I actually saw Pop Tarts in a store but I want to stick to local foods while I'm here.

lilfroggiebrown7 said...

Glad to hear you're doing well!!! Can't wait to hear about your adventure when you return home!!!Be safe my friend!!!

Chris Hillier said...

Thanks for the kind words, Darlene. And congrats on your promotion!

Unknown said...

Very interesting Chris. Thanks for posting. The dates and the hummus sound yummy!

Chris Hillier said...

Thanks for your comment, Nancy. Dates ARE yummy!

Richard Smith said...

Chris, these are great reports. I'm glad Michael is featuring you on the website. I think you will be the model for the site as he makes changes and brings it into the future. Also my commendations to Nightmare for hauling junk out of the desert. I didn't see car bumpers and stuff but plastic does seem to find its way everywhere. He provides a great example for hikers who wish to clean up the desert and also not be confined to those rather desolate "night camps." I never stayed in one. I think you are headed to the Galilee now and that is a separate world from the Negev. I look forward to reading more from you.