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Meticulously dehydrating your own trail food has its benefits. But it also takes a heck of a lot of organization and preplanning—aspects of adulthood some of us have yet to master. If you fit into that category, have I got an alternative for you: the ad-hoc gas-station resupply.
Though resupplying at gas stations is a respected logistical strategy in the bikepacking and thru-hiking worlds, hikers are sometimes reluctant to take full advantage. Most folks worry they won’t find enough variety—or options with sufficient nutritional value. While that latter concern is a fair one, I have to point out that peak nutrition is usually not a top concern when you’re hiking 10 to 20 miles a day. I once met a thru-hiker on the Appalachian Trail who claimed he was hiking the whole thing on Honey Buns. He was about 65 years old, flat-nosed and ham-fisted, and his trail name was Meat. I ran into him along the Tennessee-North Carolina border. I don’t know if he finished, but he did make it that far.
Whether you’re hoping to follow in Meat’s footsteps—or do what I do and supplement dehydrated food with occasional convenience store top-ups—knowing what to get in the gas station is a useful skill to have in your back pocket. Note that food options vary, and can sometimes be a bit repetitive. So, if you’re on a long trip, be sure to bring a bottle of olive oil and a lightweight spice kit. Soy sauce packets, mayonnaise packets, hot sauce, and other condiments also go a long way toward keeping mealtime interesting.
Here’s the gas station shopping list I tend to mix and match from, plus a few trail recipe ideas to jump-start your imagination.
Breakfast items
Oatmeal
Fresh apples or oranges
Raisins
Cereal
Powdered milk
Dried fruit
Poptarts
Honey buns
Powdered donuts
Instant coffee
Lunch items
Salami
String cheese
Tortillas
Peanut butter
Nutella
Nuts
Trail mix
Starkist Tuna pouches
Saltines
Pringles
Potato chips
Snacks and desserts
Snickers
Peanut M&Ms
Sour Patch Kids
Goldfish
Cheez-Its
Hot cocoa packets
Brownie mix (stir in water for instant trail pudding)
Dinner items
Kraft Mac ‘n Cheese
Starkist Tuna or chicken pouches
Instant mashed potatoes
Ramen noodles
Roasted peanuts or walnuts (to top noodles or pasta)
Angel-hair noodles
Pizza sauce or tomato paste
Jerky or summer sausage
Cheddar cheese
Fritos
Refried beans
Minute Rice
Taco seasoning
Canned jalapeños (Repackage them in the parking lot and toss the can)
Eggs (Buy hard-boiled, or boil them in the parking lot and eat within a couple of days)
Ramen noodles: the duct tape of backcountry cooking (Photo: Yiming Chen / Moment via Getty)
5 Gas Station-Gourmet Trail Recipes
Here are a few of my go-to convenience-store concoctions. While the below backpacking recipes all involve a meat of some kind, you can make most of them vegetarian by subbing in textured vegetable protein (pack this in yourself), or adding extra nuts or cheese in lieu of meat .
Chicken Pad Thai
Soy sauce
Ramen noodles
Sweet roasted peanuts
Lime (if available)
Chili flakes
Sriracha (if available)
Starkist chicken pouch
Open the noodles and set the flavor packet aside. Cook the noodles until al dente, then strain, retaining just two tablespoons of pasta water in the pot. Stir in the peanut butter while the noodles are warm. Then stir in the soy sauce and powder from the flavor packet. Top with chicken and peanuts, then drizzle with lime, chili flakes, and hot sauce to serve.
Mac Mash
Instant mac
Mashed potatoes
Cheese (or crumbled Cheez-Its)
Olive oil
Summer sausage (or crumbled beef jerky)
Salt
Pepper
Cook the mac ‘n cheese according to package directions. Once the noodles are al dente, add a scoop of instant mashed potatoes and extra water as needed to reach the desired consistency. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with cheese and a protein of your choice.
Pizzadillas
Pepperoni
Tomato paste or pizza sauce
String cheese
Tortillas
Canned jalapeños, repackaged into a zip-top bag (optional)
Canned pineapple, repackaged into a zip-top bag (optional)
Deli ham, bologna, or summer sausage (optional)
Olive oil
Heat some oil in a pan over medium-low heat. Meanwhile, spread tomato paste over one hemisphere of a tortilla. Add string cheese and other toppings, then fold in half to make your pizzadilla. When the oil starts to shimmer, add the pizzadilla. Toast on both sides until cheese is fully melted.
Nacho Bowls
Refried beans
Minute rice
Fritos
Cheese
Taco seasoning
Canned jalapeños, repackaged into a zip-top bag
Hot sauce
Cook the minute rice according to the package directions. When cooked through, stir in taco seasoning. Top with beans, jalapeños, cheese, and Fritos. Drizzle with hot sauce, then serve.
Tuna Salad Sandwiches
Bread
Tuna pouch
Mayonnaise packet
Mustard packet (if available)
Relish packet (if available)
2 hard-boiled eggs
Salt and pepper, to taste
Olive oil
Pour the condiment packets and seasonings into the tuna pouch. Stir to mix. Separately, cut the hard-boiled eggs into thin slices. Drizzle two slices of bread with olive oil and toast in a pan. When toasted, build a sandwich from the seasoned tuna and sliced hard-boiled eggs..
Dining and Cooking