Three Things That Make the Perfect Hiking Picnic

No hike is complete without a picnic accompaniment. Good food is essential for keeping up both your energy and your spirits during the more testing hikes! It’s something to look forward to and to drive you up the highest peaks.

There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to packing your picnic basket – a lot of what you include will come down to personal preference. Here are recommendations we think should be staples in all good picnic baskets:

1. A Flask of Soup

This is a favourite among seasoned hikers and is all the more important if you’re planning your hike in the colder winter months.

A good thermo flask is a worthwhile investment for anyone who hikes regularly. You don’t necessarily have to fill it with soup; tea, coffee and Bovril are other cornerstones of the thermal flask.

2. Pasta Salad

If you are going on a particularly long hike, then you’ll need to keep yourself filled with plenty of slow releasing carbohydrates in order to keep your energy up.

Keeping your energy-levels high is imperative and carbs are the key to doing this. Pasta is full of carbohydrates, which is why pasta salad is a great shout for inclusion in your picnic basket. There are plenty of different recipes so you can cater your pasta salad to all tastes.

Most common is the tuna pasta salad, where the tuna has the added benefit of being rich with protein.

3. Chocolate Cake

This one will be a staple in all those hikers who have a sweet tooth and a penchant for rich chocolate cake. Whether you want to bake it yourself before the hike, or take the slightly more convenient route of a premade cake from the supermarket.

Although not the healthiest of options, we still think it’s important to have a sweet treat included in your picnic. That sweet reward can be what motivates you to get up those difficult climbs and the sugar can really boost your energy.