Sustaining your hike with mind, body & diet
Having spent many years hiking trails throughout the world and in my homeland of Australia, I could see the effects on others who had not considered their nutrition fully while on the trail. As a long-distance hiker, I know all too well how the body responds and can break down over time if the nutritional needs are not met.
We tend to spend the big bucks on getting the best gear for our adventures, making sure our equipment is going to last the journey. This is important and will certainly help in making the journey a better one to enjoy. However, one thing I had started to notice was people did not tend to put that same money and effort into looking after their most valuable piece of equipment – their body!
If your equipment like your tent gets a rip or your backpack has a hole you will manage and it can be fixed. This does not necessarily mean you are on the trail or your adventure is over. If your body breaks down then more often than not you are off the trail or adventure over!
Not having enough good fuel to feed your body, you will start to notice it getting more lethargic, your mind hazes over and you lose concentration. Your focus just is not as sharp as it can be leading to a great risk of injury or getting lost, you might not be making the best choices or decisions and that can lead to making mistakes and in some case serious and dangerous mistakes. The list of effects just keep going but I think you may see what I am talking about. Look after your number one and most important piece of equipment and you will give yourself the best chance of having an amazing adventure and then many more after.
At Feed the Hike, we are offering yummy homemade dehydrated meals for when you are in the great outdoors. We have a range of delicious homemade wholesome meals packed full of healthy nutrients, very lightweight, do not take up much room in your pack and are also multi-purpose.
Soup is what I have on trial all the time for lunch as well as dinner. Lunchtime favourite soup would have to be the Spring vegetable or French Vegetable. These ones are so packed with nutrients I always get that pick me up and go without being too full so I can finish the day strong.
A Western Australian long-distance hiker that walks throughout the world and especially here in her home of Western Australia.
She is a freelance writer, a published author and a documentary maker having much of her work in numerous magazines throughout the world and also online.
Michelle produced a documentary, Bibbulmun Journeys, in 2018 on the 1000km Bibbulmun Track that showcases its beauty and the people who love it, walk it and care for it.
In 2018 she published her first book, The Capes, this is a guidebook to walking the popular Western Australian Coastal Track, the Cape to Cape.
In 2019 Michelle published her second book, Feed the Hike, on sustaining your hike with mind, body and diet. It was this book that has led her to create a tasty range of healthy soups for hikers and adventurers of all kinds to enjoy while on their journey.
You can also see Michelle sharing more of her knowledge online through her various Social Media site and YouTube channel – walkingtwobytwo.
As well as sharing the same first name, Michelle #2 is also very passionate about getting out into nature to balance our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being and loves spending time in the kitchen creating delicious whole food recipes for her family & friends, as the motto goes “food is your medicine”. She has worked as an accountant for 30 years and is a great advocate in using natural therapies to balance and sustain ourselves as we try and balance our very busy lifestyles.
Michelle has been a behind the scenes support both as an amazing friend, hiking companion and business advisor in developing my hiking passion into my dream job. She is now officially joining the team to manage the finance and administration role and to join me in the kitchen to create more delicious recipes for the Feed the Hike range.
While you most likely not see Liam hiking up a storm he is very much an integral part of Feed the Hike. Liam has worked alongside Michelle for many years on various projects in the behind the scenes capacity.
In 2017/18 he played a huge role in the making and producing of the documentary – Bibbulmun Journeys – adapting himself between cameraman to administration and again in 2018/19 with both of walkingtwobytwo books – The Capes and Feed the Hike – where he worked hard behind the scenes in an administration role and even got into the kitchen to share his cooking talents and creating his own recipes.
Now you will find Liam hard at work again behind the scenes as he puts together the Feed the Hike website. Definitely, a team member much needed.