A big bag of potato chips easily fits into a quart zip-lock if you smash them up first. Then you just eat them with a spoon or put them in your tortilla along with whatever else you are putting in there that day. If you are cooking, they also would be a good addition to hot meals.
I met a guy on the trail who’s favorite trail lunch was peanut butter, cheese, fresh onion, and crumbled up potato chips all rolled up into a tortilla.
Potato chips offer about 150 calories per ounce; One of the best calorie to weight ratios you can get.
Lots of calories to weight, but aren’t they empty calories? Wouldn’t a bag of olive oil accomplish the same thing?
Sure olive oil is great to add to hot food but it isn’t often available at the little stores along the way. It’s not good to just eat straight or to put on your tortilla.
Try this:
I like to think I’m a healthy person. I even read The Eater’s Manifesto on my hike. But I ended up eating mostly empty calories: cookies, candy, crackers. I was surprised how well I did. I think potato chips are actually the perfect hiking food. You have carbs, fat and salt all in one with plenty of calories.
Crow,
Hmm, I thought smashed up potato chips was my own personal backpacking trick. Of course, I do prefer Doritos but that’s just a quibble. The smashed-up chips are great when added to dinner, soup, whatever. It gives everything a bit more body, plus you can nibble as you walk, which is fine, too.
Carolyn H.