Food for a High Peaks Hike From Lake Placid

Food for a High Peaks hike from Lake Placid should give you energy, survive a pack and still taste good at the top: sturdy sandwiches, nuts, cheese, fruit and something salty, bought early from a deli or bakery in the village. Leave routes, conditions and safety to the official trail sources; the food is the part you control.

The Adirondack High Peaks rise around Lake Placid, and the village is the base for many day hikes and longer trips.

What is the best food for a High Peaks hike?

Food you can eat with cold hands. Sandwiches, wraps, nuts, cheese, fruit, jerky, chocolate and something salty cover most of the list. Aim for a mix of fast sugar for a push and slow fuel for a long day. Bring more than you expect to eat, because cold air and hard climbs raise appetite. Pack it where you can reach it without taking your pack off.

A hot drink in a thermos is a small luxury that changes a summit.

Where do you get a Lake Placid trail lunch?

At the places that open early and make food in the morning. Delis, bakeries and cafes in and around the village build sandwiches and wraps to go, and some sell snacks, fruit and drinks for the trail. Order the night before if the place allows it, or arrive when the doors open. For a bigger group, call ahead.

The breakfast guide shows how to fit this stop into the first hour of the day.

How do you choose Lake Placid sandwiches to go?

Pick something that is sturdy. A sandwich with a lot of wet ingredients turns to mush by noon, and a baguette can be a hazard in a tight pack. Look for dense bread, cheese, meat and a spread that holds. Ask for the dressing on the side. Wrap it in paper or foil, and keep it away from the water bottle.

If you love a comparison, order a different sandwich each trip and rate it afterward.

What can a Lake Placid deli do for you?

Almost everything. A deli sells sandwiches, salads, cheese, cured meats, olives, bread and often homemade cookies. It is the one-stop stop for a trail lunch, and the people behind the counter tend to know which items travel. Ask for their advice and tell them how long you will be out. If you want a treat for the evening, buy it before the climb, since delis close early.

Which Adirondack hiking snacks are worth carrying?

Trail mix with some salt, nut butter packets, dried fruit, a few chocolate squares and something chewy. Maple candy is a local choice that fits a pocket. Salty snacks help on a hot day, and a sweet one helps on a cold one. Avoid anything that melts. Pack out every wrapper.

How much food should you carry for a long day?

Plan on a snack every hour or two and a proper meal at the halfway point. People differ, so start with what you eat on a normal busy day and add a third. Cold weather and steep climbs raise the number. If you are out for a full day, bring something you can eat even when you have no appetite, like a bar or a bag of nuts, because forgetting to eat is the usual mistake.

Pack lunch in portions rather than one big bag, so that you can eat while walking. Keep a small treat for the summit, because it makes the effort feel like a celebration. Check the US food guides for other mountain regions where the same rules apply.

What do you eat after the hike?

Something hot and big. A burger, a bowl of pasta or a plate of anything with a lot of potatoes is the usual reward. Many hikers go straight back to the village, and the dinner rooms fill early. See the Main Street guide for how to read the strip, or the winter guide in the cold months. Do not forget to book your own recovery: a long soak, a short nap and a plan for tomorrow.

How do you keep track of the best trail lunch?

Rate it when you are back in range. The place gets the stars, and the dish gets its own rating. Name the sandwich, add a tag such as Deli or Quick Service and write what mattered: "held together, big, ready at seven". Tag the friends who hiked with you, and they can add their own rating of the same lunch.

After you rate three places of a kind, the app offers to turn them into a list. A list of trail lunches is a gift to the next hiker.

What should you remember?

Check conditions and weather from official sources. Tell someone your plan. Carry water, a layer and a light. Food is part of safety, not an add-on.

This is one of many New York guides, and the Food in New York State page lists them all by town.

At the end of the day, open the Mosey app, rate the sandwich you carried the farthest and start a list called Trail lunches for the friends who ask what to pack.