Here is a list of VEGAN snacks that we discovered during our PCT thruhike…
Bought on trail:
After the desert hiker hunger started to set in for us, and we realized we needed more snack food than just the nuts, dried fruit, and granola bars we had sent ourselves in our resupply boxes. We quickly learned which junk foods available in town were vegan.
Skittles
We started calling them “Shittles” by the end of the trail.
Oreos
Kind of crazy, but Oreos are vegan! Be careful with the knockoff brands, as they are not always vegan.
Fritos
Great alone or on chili. Fritos don’t crush as easily as other chips.
Nature’s Bakery Fig Bars
Cheap compared to most granola bars, and somehow we never got sick of them. Fig Newtons are a good backup.
Nuts
Gas station fruit pies
Too cheap to contain milk or eggs.
Whiskey
Lighter weight than beer.
Cold Soaked Ramen
A lightweight snack. Top Ramen soy sauce flavor was easy to find on trail and vegan. Also good for lunch or dinner.
Gathered on trail:
No, we did not bring a gun or fishing pole, but we were able to gather plenty of vegan snacks off the land anyway.
Blackberries
in NorCal
Blueberries and Huckleberries
in Oregon and Washington
Hot Sauce
There weren’t too many fast food restaurants along the trail, but we stocked up when we could!
Sent from home:
These are the snacks we sent in our resupply boxes. We tried to send relatively healthy food. Snacks were the heaviest part of our resupply.
Coconut Milk Powder
Not exactly a snack, but a great additive for almost everything: granola, cereal, coffee, tea, instant pudding, or by the spoonful if you’re Tim! We also used it in many of our dinner recipes. (Tip: dissolves better in boiling water.)
Skratch Labs or Gatorade Powders
Sports drink powders contain electrolytes and calories in addition to flavor!
Homemade Dehydrated Fruit
Peanut Butter Pouches
Tasty alone or on crackers or tortillas. Peanut butter powder is a good option too–it’s lighter weight but doesn’t have as many calories or as much fat.
Nuts
Nuts were available on trail too, but it was nice to have the extra variety.
Granola Bars
It can be quite time consuming to scour the ingredients in the granola bar section of the grocery store, but many brands, including Kind, Cliff, Bear Naked, Kashi, and Nature’s Bakery, have vegan flavors. There were some available on trail too.
