Abstract

Instant mashed potatoes, dehydrated meals, snickers bars and beef jerky; why do some hikers eat these foods –which are very different from their normal life, while backpacking? Simply, hiking trips present conditions to hikers, which draw them into special eating practices. Drawing on hiker-generated photos of food, eating experiences, and fieldwork conducted at four popular hiking locations in the United States, this thesis documents and analyzes extraordinary food consumption, defined as food consumption different than everyday life. Examples of such eating practices, from 50 short and long-distance backpackers, are examined in detail. What leads hikers into extraordinary eating? Certain in situ conditions foster its adoption. Specifically, hikers must be under the difficulties of the hiking trips and be socialized to these practices, making extraordinary eating the only possible avenue to eat. Notably, this thesis speaks of socialization during adulthood, by strangers, as an influencer of food choices. For academics, this underscores the importance of contexts in eaters’ decisions and its place in a food decision-making process. Notably, compartmentalization is discussed as a strategy allowing hikers to cognitively separate their behavior based on the context in which they appear, and justify their unhealthy extraordinary consumption on the trails. For practitioners, the findings reported in this thesis speak about hiker food and provide managerial insights to understand their needs. For both practitioners and academics, this thesis provides in depth accounts of eating during hiking trips, an extraordinary activity rarely discussed in marketing.