Meet Dave Nelson: Freeze-Dried Meals for the Trail

Dave Nelson, a 36-year-old world traveler from Salt Lake City, Utah, has explored Canada, Alaska, Mexico, Costa Rica, Iceland, Norway, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Cambodia, and Thailand. He loves nature, animals, and cooking — and in April 2017, he set out on the biggest trip yet: a 2,200-mile thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail, from Springer Mountain, Georgia, to Maine, carrying everything he needed on his back for five to six months.

Building a Custom Trail Menu

Dave can't eat high-potassium foods and is lactose intolerant, which ruled out a lot of off-the-shelf backpacking meals. Instead, he used a home freeze dryer to build his own menu from scratch, avoiding the excess salt and additives common in commercial freeze-dried options, and tailoring every meal to what he could actually eat.

Before committing to the trail, he tested his recipes on 30 to 40 mile weekend hikes with friends — long enough to find out what worked and what didn't before his food choices actually mattered for months at a time. Once he had a menu that worked, he pre-shipped boxes of freeze-dried meals ahead to stopping stations along the route, so resupply was waiting for him instead of something he had to plan around.

Water Is Heavy

Dave's reasoning for going freeze-dried was simple: "Water is heavy, and unless you're going to drink it, there's no reason to carry it in food." Freeze-drying removes that water weight from every meal without changing the food itself, which matters enormously when every ounce is on your own back for months.

He even built his own trail food warmer — a windshield sunshade, repurposed to trap heat and warm up meals packed in Harvest Right mylar bags, right on the trail.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did Dave Nelson make his own freeze-dried meals instead of buying trail food?
He has food allergies (he can't eat high-potassium foods) and is lactose intolerant, so off-the-shelf backpacking meals didn't fit his diet. Freeze-drying his own meals let him control every ingredient.

How did he prepare for a 2,200-mile hike?
He tested his recipes on 30 to 40 mile weekend hikes with friends before starting the full Appalachian Trail thru-hike, and pre-shipped boxes of freeze-dried meals to stopping stations along the route.

Why is freeze-dried food useful for backpacking?
It removes the water weight from meals without changing the food itself — a meaningful savings when you're carrying everything you eat for months on your own back.