Hiking food: How to stay fed on an End-to-End Hike

1 November 2023

Preparing the right kind of food for an overnight or extended walk on the Bibbulmun Track is one of the most important considerations walkers need to make. Food can add considerably to the weight of one’s backpack, significantly affecting the level of enjoyment experienced on the walk.

You will need to take a fuel stove and make sure the stove you take is right for you. Don’t rely on being able to cook on fires at campsites as many campsites have a year-round total fire ban.

If you wish to increase your recipe repertoire and learn more about appropriate food for bushwalking, then attend one of our fantastic Food In A Fuel Stove courses!

Tips for your food preparation

As with other gear, weight is very important when considering which food items to pack.
On a longer hiking trip (say three days or more), aim to pack about 700 grams – 1kg per person per day.
A balanced hiking diet includes more fat and sugar than a normal diet.
Buddy-up and share as much as you can – you don’t need more than one container of coffee, etc.
Remove as much packaging as you can – re-pack in snap lock bags, they’re light and reusable. Better still, avoid buying heavily packaged items in the first place. Shop to Leave No Trace!
Label the snap lock bags (eg Lunch Day 1).
Canned food is too heavy, bottles and glass jars are heavy and may break and you have to carry out the empties.
Pack breakfast and dinner in one big strong stuff-bag, and lunch and snacks in another of a different colour – it makes it easier to find what you want when you need it.
Do you really need a bowl? Can you eat from your pot? Do you really need a fork and a spoon?
Luxuries are fine, but you’ve got to carry them – think before you pack! Some high-energy and dehydrated foods, which may seem like luxuries, are actually very sensible on a walk eg sun-dried tomatoes, fruit leather, chocolate. Take small quantities of highly flavoured, compact ingredients such as capers, herb and spice sprinkles, sambals and pickles, relishes and garlic, to add interest to the bland staples.
Things that take a long time to cook or prepare can be a hassle if it’s cold, wet or late.
Think! How much can you really eat during the time you are out there?

Support and food drops

Not only will you need to think about the type of food you take and indeed develop a menu plan, but you will also need to think about possible food drops.

Whilst it is possible to just rely on resupplying in the towns, consider that your first town (Dwellingup) from the Northern terminus in Kalamunda is approximately 12 days walk away! If you do not have someone who can deliver food drops to you, you could consider joining the Bibbulmun Track Facebook Group and check the list of Track Angels willing to help.

If you are lucky enough to have someone joining you or meeting you with food and other supplies on your walk, you need to know where they are permitted to access the Track. No vehicles are permitted at any campsites or on many roads that cross the Track. The access points shown on this website, or the ones shown in the official Bibbulmun Track maps by a red or green car are the only legal access points people can use.

For this reason, it is impossible to walk the entire Track as a series of day walks where you are collected each day. For example there is no vehicle access permitted on roads from the Perth Hills Centre in Mundaring to Mt Dale (approx. three days walk), Albany Highway to Inglehope Crossing near Dwellingup (four days walk), Harvey-Quindanning Rd to Harris Dam, near Collie (three to four days walk) to name but a few.

Hiking food: How to stay fed on an End-to-End Hike

Tips for your food preparation

Support and food drops

Other helpful resources: