The Ultimate Guide to Dry Climbing Snacks

There are many benefits to packing extremely dry snacks for a day of climbing, hiking, and any other type of adventuring that involves cramming food in the bottom of a backpack. First, they won’t get your backpack incredibly sticky or damp when they are crushed against the rest of your gear like the bananas I attempt to pack. Dry snacks generally take up very little room and usually force you to hydrate in order to swallow each bite.

But with so many dry snacks out there, it’s sometimes hard to decide what to pack. You can only eat so many carrot cake Clif bars before you’d rather starve than open another package. Here’s the ultimate guide to picking the best thirst-inducing, real-food snacks for any adventure.

First, you need to find a dry carbohydrate base to build off of (or simply eat alone):

• Graham Crackers: One of my personal favorites. Their neat rectangular packages take up very little room, and they remind me of kindergarten snack time. Graham crackers are good alone, but for even more sticky, parching enjoyment, and higher calorie content to fuel long days, add peanut butter.
• Trail mix: The saltier the better (and drier). You can go on the cheap with “GORP”—good old raisins and peanuts—or you can add additional dry carbohydrates such as goldfish or granola and nuts for variety and M&Ms or yogurt covered fruits for a sweet twist.
• Day-Old Bagels: They’re cheaper and three times drier than fresh bagels. Add any nut butter to ensure that they stick to the roof of your mouth.
• Crackers: The cracker aisle can be a bit overwhelming. Go for rice crackers if you’re gluten free (or if you’re me and just like them), Triscuits for whole grains with random flavors, or wheat thins ranch for funzies. If you’re opposed to packaged foods you can also make your own pumpkin and flax seed kale crackers; I’m sure those are quite dry too (and just sound healthy). As always, add nut butters for gluey variety or cheese if you’re new to dry snacks and are having trouble eating things akin to the desert.

Now, if you’re just looking for a solo dry snack go for any of the following:

• Goldfish, preferably flavor-blasted and not artificial pizza flavor
• Pretzels
• Homemade granola (the Honeybunches of Oats kind from the store is good too)
• Plain dry cereal, the more it resembles small twigs and the larger the word fiber is written on the box the better
• Rice cakes if you’re into eating 50 percent air with each bite

Other favorites:

For a dry high protein alternatives try salted, dried edamame. You’ll need at least 8 ounches of water per handful to wash them down.

FOR ULTIMATE SENDING FUEL: Stale donuts, preferably from Dunkin and covered in coconut. The sugar provides fast energy for the approach and the high fat content will keep you full and sending throughout the day. The benefits increase exponentially the more you eat until 7.43 donuts, and then a food coma ensues.

Now, what do you do for hydration to allow for the swallowing of all of these goodies? According to Matt Birkebak, all one needs is half a gallon of chocolate milk, half a gallon of lemonade and 32 ounches of green goodness smoothie.