Trail Snacks 101: So You Can Keep Moving Mountains!

If you have attended Keely’s Camp, you know that we take our snack game very seriously! We are strong believers that tasty, hearty snacks hugely impact your experience whether you’re backcountry skiing in the Montana mountains, skiing on Mt. Hood, or out for a summer hike. I am personally a huge snack enthusiast on all my mountain adventures and find that fueling adequately, and tastily, can make or break the day.

I am pumped to share some of my favorite on-the-go snacks with all of you so that you can maximize your next adventure!

1. The best of the bars: Bobo’s Oat Bites Peanut Butter Jelly

Admittedly, I would probably roll my eyes seeing a bar as the first item on a trail snack list- but hear me out, these ones are actually delicious. This bar packs all the benefits of easy, pocket-able fuel while also maintaining that real food tastiness I often crave on a trail. The peanut butter jelly bites are my personal favorite but Bobo’s has many other flavors and bar types to check out as well.

2. On-trail charcuterie. Almost nothing beats cheese, salami, and crackers for me on a mountain adventure. Except maybe if you add apples into the mix. It is a simple-to-pack snack full of protein, carbs, and healthy fats to keep you cruising on any adventure. This winter I started adding a homemade focaccia into my mountain charcuterie kit- so yummy!

3. Skratch gummies. Out of all the energy gummies on the market, these are my favorite by far. I love the green tea and lemon flavor or the raspberry as a pocket snack! A package of these gummies is guaranteed to boost my energy levels, and mood via taste buds, on any adventure.

4. Let’s talk salt! Salty snacks are my -literal- bread and butter in the mountains. They are my favorite snack to eat and also the most effective at boosting my energy when I feel a crash coming. I always bring something salty and crunchy to eat on the trail- I specifically love peanut butter pretzels or the annie’s cheddar bunnies. I also like to replenish salt in my body by adding LMNT electrolyte packets into my water. The flavor is strong so I often start with half a packet.

5. The most unlikely of combos can sometimes be the best. I hope including this doesn’t invalidate the remainder of the post for all those reading; my recent go to mountain snack has been a snickers bar with pickles on top. Although admittedly bizarre, it satiates both my sweet and salty tooth and keeps me full of energy on a longer day. Everything tastes better in the mountains, so it is the perfect time to try out that strange combo you can’t help but wonder if it might be good.

6. I wanted to include one of my favorite cookbooks, Beyond Skid- A Cookbook for Ski Bums, in this post because it features so many fun and delicious mountain snack recipes. The authors are two teton-based mountain enthusiasts who have certainly nailed their adventure snack game.