I'm going backpacking for the first time in 3 years, on a 5-day hike. Last time I went backpacking, I brought fig newtons for breakfast. I really enjoyed them, but after a couple of days they all fused together and produced a new substance never seen before.

So I'm curious what sort of no-cook low maintenance breakfasts people like to bring. For what it's worth, the hike will be in the Glacier Peak wilderness, in the North Cascades.

If a couple days I carry bagels and stuff to go on them. Bagels are pretty high in calories, carry well and can go savory or sweet. Buy a commercial brand like Sarah Lee for best carrying time.

I'm a cold cereal person. I've also been a meusli fan (cold) since i first encountered it in Norway 10 years ago. In a ziplock sandwich bag I put:

1/3 C. to 1/2 C meusli (Bob's Red Mill) or Grapenuts
1/3 C. dried milk
1/2 ounce freeze-dried berries or bananas (unless I'll be where there are ripe huckleberries)
1/4 c. slivered almonds or other chopped nuts

Add water (1/2 to 3/4 C) to bag, mix thoroughly to dissolve dried milk, grab spoon and eat out of sandwich bag.

breakfast bar/power bar assorted breakfast flavor
pop tarts
dehydrated fruit

but when i do it up, i make brown sugar oatmeal and throw a handful of crushed freeze dried strawberry/apples/mangos (edit for tom, you can get these at trader joes, light as a feather).

Edited by rbeard on 07/23/2010 20:22:09 MDT.

Most big grocery stores carry these and there's no prep work:

Emerald Nuts has some trail mixes that I've been buying lately. Berry Blend and Breakfast Blend are my favorites. There's a tropical one too that I haven't tried. The bags they come in make good heavy duty zip trash bags too.

Nature Valley Sweet and Salty Nut Bars. I like the almond ones most, but all of them are good--peanut, cashew, etc.

Clif Bars--Black Cherry Almond is my fav

Lara bars--Cherry pie

Chocolate espresso beans in the bulk food section in some stores.

"So I'm curious what sort of no-cook low maintenance breakfasts people like to bring."

+1 to the granola/powdered milk suggestion, above. Also, if you have access to a Trader Joe's, check out the Sesame Crepes. Tasty, ~140 calories/oz, cheap, and pack well. Trader Joe's also has an excellent assortment of trail mixes, nuts, dried fruit, and granola, all at very reasonable prices, and all of which can be used in a no hassle breakfast. They're a great source for backpacking food. Have fun up here. Glacier Peak Wilderness is a great place to backpack.

Edited by ouzel on 07/23/2010 17:41:00 MDT.

Bagel or tortilla + cream cheese, lax or smoked salmon and capers will last a couple of days maybe more in the north cascades. It will be the salmon that goes bad first. After that I like some kind of delicious sugary cereal, that I would never eat at home with nido full fat instant milk. Great way to start the morning with some quick energy. I've carried raisin bran, honey bunches of oats, even captain crunch. It's hard to beat the captain for fond memories of childhood.

Don't forget second breakfast (hobbits where definitely on to something) about 2 hours into the morning. Some bars or nutella and cream cheese on a tortilla is a nice boost. You could also go for PB&J. Nice way to take a quick break and means you don't need to eat a ton to power through til lunch first thing in the morning.

At home, in a snack-sized ziplock, place half a cup of dry quick oats, quarter cup of hot chocolate mix, and some powdered spices (allspice, nutmeg, lots of cinnamon, a little clove). In camp, add enough water to wet all of the ingredients in the opened ziplock. Let it set for a few minutes then eat.

Try that first at home. You will wonder why you have been cooking oatmeal for all of those years.

I use an empty spice shaker to mix the spices in advance, so I just shake the mixture into the bag when packing.

You could probably add a Starbuck Via or similar and take care of your morning caffeine at the same time.

Big Sur bars are great.

Definitely *not* a typical trail bar - very tasty - IMO. Depending on your tastes you can get it plain ("original" flavor), or go a bit sweet ("white zest" with a little white choc.), or in between with "blind date" (with dates, of course).

They vary slightly, 600-630 cal. per bar.

They'll stay fresh for 7-10 days in your pack.

I'm not affiliated with the company, just Very glad I found out about them (through another post here at BPL)!

.02

thanks everyone. I decided to go the grazing route and buy a little of everything: dried fruit; nuts; clif bars; candy; savory crackers; and cookies. Breakfast and lunch will be anything from the above list. This trip involves some plane travel and driving, so I figured I didn't want to mess with anything perishable.

Next trip I want to try some of the oatmeal ideas people gave. Looking forward to that, but first this trip!

Nido powdered milk with Trader Joe's Granola, both super high calories per ounce and requiring no cooking. That granola has lots of fruits in it too, so the kids love it (so do I).