What do they eat on the trail? Mushers share some of their favorite options for meals and snacks during the race

Prior to leaving for Nome, Iditarod mushers shared their favorite meals and trail snacks they prefer to consume throughout the race. To sustain themselves during the multi-day endurance demand on their bodies, food must not only be calorically dense and sustainable, but also desirable and palatable by the mushers.

Many mushers send out their favorite meals with their drop bags to various checkpoints throughout the route. Here are some of their favorite meals.

Sydnie Bahl from Wasilla prefers to eat pre-buttered banana bread during the race. She prebakes and vacuum seals her bread and sends them out on the trail. She can either warm up the bread in her coat or stick it in a cooker to eat hot.

“I look for that at every checkpoint,” Bahl said.

Bahl also eats pastas for her main meals along the way.

Speaking of pastas, Knik’s Ryan Redington enjoys his prepackaged meals of italian sausage and beef spaghetti at the checkpoints. He also purchases Qdoba and packages and freezes it to eat during the race.

“This year I cooked spaghetti for every checkpoint,” Redington said. “I also sent out some Qdoba.”

Riley Dyche from Big Lake enjoys meals that are prepared by Matt and Many Austin from Douglas Fir Mushing in Fairbanks. One of his favorite snacks is a peanut-buttery no bake bar.

“They make a no-bake bar that’s super high in butter. It never really freezes even at 40 below,” Dyche said. “And that’s one of my favorite things to eat out there.”

Dyche said he also enjoys homemade burritos and tacos from the Austins for his meals.

Iditarod Rookie Adam Lindenmuth from Willow sent out roughly 120 grape and strawberry uncrustables on the trail this year.

“I’ve tried all different things, but it’s the same thing with the dogs, you’ve got to feed them what they’ll eat, high incentive stuff sometimes,” Lindemuth said. “It’s like the only thing I grab.”

Lindenmuth said he also enjoys his mixed drinks and will be using Rec Packs, which are essentially full-calorie meals that only require water.

Eating cookies and cakes is a staple for Rohn Buser of Big Lake. But his new favorite trail snack is cold-smoked salmon lox that his father, four-time Iditarod champion Martin Buser, made for him. Made from Copper River reds, the salmon lox was cut into bite size pieces and sent to various checkpoints along the route.

“That’s the trail snack that’s, oh man, really good,” Buser said.

A new guilty pleasure on the trail for Bailey Vitello of Nenana are Dubai chocolates. The milk chocolate candy bars feature a pistachio-tahini cream filling and crunchy phyllo dough.

“I don’t know who thought of that, but they’re geniuses,” Vitello laughed. “Because they’re scary good on the trail. You would think, ‘oh, how does it not freeze solid?’ It does! But you bite corners off of it and you just put it in your mouth and you savor the flavor. You get a little protein in there and you feel so guilty for eating so much chocolate. [But] you’re like, ‘oh, this is awesome!’”

Vitello also enjoys blue jolly ranchers and Twinkies on the trail.