Fuelling The Yorkshire Three Peaks Hike
Hiking
Hello I’m Annie, part of the team at OTE. Being a Yorkshire lass it’s probably an obvious choice to pick the Yorkshire Three Peaks as my favourite hiking adventure. It’s a big day out at just shy of 40km to stomp, of course conquering Pen-y-Ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough; which together equal around 1500m of ascent. You can see the route here.
It’s not the sort of walk I’d advise rocking up and doing with no preparation. Speaking from experience, the weather can be extremely changeable, be prepared for all four seasons in one day. My last attempt saw us complete the loop in a fraction under 8 hours; and I don’t know about you, but I can’t go for 8 hours just sat at my desk without a snack, let alone tackling the 3 peaks. My point being, planning and packing some hiking nutrition is a must and will make the day out a lot more enjoyable!
PRE-HIKE MEALS
Chances are you’ll be starting your hike early in the morning. Let’s just quickly rewind to the night before and your evening meal. This a good opportunity to top-up the carb stores ahead of the next day. Aiming for 50% carbohydrates on your plate is advised; pasta, rice, potatoes are all great ideas. For me it was a big bowl a Spag Bol; you can’t beat it!! With sunshine and showers forecast, the hike had to potential to be warm, (especially with a waterproof on!), so I made sure I was sipping on a bottle of Hydro Tabs most of the day before. Idea being I wanted to start the next day fully hydrated and full of energy.
LET'S TALK BREAKFAST
The morning of the Yorkshire Three Peaks hike it was porridge with syrup for me. Not a big bowl because it was an early 6am get up but enough to stop me getting hungry on the drive to the start (which was around an hour away). Porridge has always been a go-to breakfast for me before big days of exercise; I’ve found by making it will milk it gives a great balance of carbs and protein and really does help to keep hunger at bay.
WHAT TO PACK?
When it came to packing my backpack I wanted to be quite light. We weren’t planning for long, leisurely stops (although there’s nothing wrong with that!), we had a time to aim for so it was going to be short stops or eating and drinking on-the-go. This did dictate what I chose to pack.
- 5 x Anytime Bars
- 1 x Chicken sandwich
- 1 x Standard Energy Gel
- 1 x Caffeine Energy Gel
- 1 x waterproof jacket
- 1 x waterproof trousers
- 1 x Neck warmer
- 3 x 500ml soft flasks
- 1 x Tube of Hydro Tabs
