trail mix

Trail mix or gorp is a type of snack mix, typically a combination of granola, dried fruit, nuts, and sometimes candy, developed as a food to be taken along on hikes. Trail mix is a popular snack food for hikes, because it is lightweight, easy to store, and nutritious, providing a quick energy boost from the carbohydrates in the dried fruit or granola, and sustained energy from fat in nuts. The combination of nuts, raisins and chocolate as a trail snack, dates at least to the 1910s, when outdoorsman Horace Kephart recommended it in his popular camping guide. Other names In New Zealand, trail mix is known as "scroggin" or "schmogle". In Australia, the term "scroggin" is used exclusively, although in more recent years, "trail mix" has been imported into the jargon from the US. Some claim that the name stands for sultanas, carob, raisins, orange peel, grains, glucose, and nuts or alternatively sultanas, chocolate, raisins and other goody-goodies including nuts; but this may be a backronym. The American word gorp, a term for trail mix often used by hikers in North America, is typically said to be an acronym for "good ol' raisins and peanuts", although the mix may contain M&M's and other nuts. The Oxford English Dictionary cites a 1913 reference to the verb gorp, meaning "to eat greedily", so the "good ol' raisins and peanuts" explanation may be folk etymology or a backronym.