Perfect for hiking and on-the-go energy, these homemade stuffed clif bars have a hint of toasted coconut and are filled with almond butter.

You know how your taste buds change as you age? Children often dislike spicy and bitter foods but acquire an appreciation for those flavours later in life. White chocolate was my favourite as a kid, but now I much prefer dark chocolate. I think the same thing has happened to me and hiking. A few years ago, no amount of bribing would’ve convinced me to go on a hike in the sweltering humidity of Hong Kong but look where I am today.

Papa Leung has been an avid hiker since his 20s, so hiking and visiting Mother Nature’s wonders naturally weaved its way into our family vacations. Not gonna lie, I used to dread it; walking in the heat for hours to go look at oddly shaped rocks or trees, or take a photo with a waterfall. My parents would have to coax me for five minutes just to get out of the air conditioned car and snap a photo two metres from the car. I’d maintain my grumpiness and that was what the camera captured. Sometimes I surprise myself with how much I’ve changed in the past decade.

The moment you do something on your own will, without pressure from other people, an unpleasant activity becomes an enjoyable experience. I ventured into the forest to escape the noise, frustrations, and demands of daily life and find tranquility and fresh air; the same reasons that lead my dad to pick up hiking. Instead of trying to be the fastest, I just go at my own pace and allow my thoughts to wander wherever the want or just let my brain be empty. I direct my focus to the way the sunlight beams through the trees, or the snow-capped mountains in the distance, or the sound of the flowing river. My overactive brain keeps me from sleeping well most nights so it is so refreshing to not be thinking about anything.

I just came home from a trip to Hong Kong. Although I’ve visited the city multiple times before, I experienced it in a very different way this time. Shopping malls are no longer interesting to me (only a place of air conditioning refuge when the scalding heat becomes too much to bear) so I begged my dad to take me hiking. After all, those are the trails he frequented as a young adult.

He agreed and picked trails that were easy enough for my mom to complete too. We only had time to do 2 trails, Lion Rock and Dragon’s Back. Despite being rated easy, the views are excellent. The different views are what make hiking in other cities and countries so exciting. Lion Rock overlooks the skyscrapers in Kowloon while Dragon’s Back faces the big blue ocean and feels super tropical. Very different from what Vancouver hikes look like. The type of terrain also differs greatly from place to place. In the Pacific Northwest, the ascend is usually gradual with seemingly endless switchbacks. In Hong Kong, there are a lot of stairs (prepare for tight calves the day after). In Hawaii, there are neither and it’s just straight up a dusty side of a cliff. It’s fascinating how diverse the Earth is.

Summer is not the most ideal time to hike in Hong Kong (winter is), but if you choose to do so, here are a few lessons I learned:

Start as early as humanly possible

There was a heat wave when I was there and the temperature hit 30 degrees Celsius by the time it was 9am. Since these two hikes are under 3 hours long, it is best to complete them by 10 or 11am.

Bring more water than you think you’ll need

This is true for any hike, but especially crucial for very hot weather. I always bring along my Hydro Flask water bottle because it keeps my water ice cold, for up to 2 days (I tested it!) It’s heavier than a plastic bottle but when you’re sweating buckets midway through the hike, you’ll be glad you brought it along. (Not sponsored, I just really love Hydro Flask!) Typically, I sip my water minimally during the majority of the hike and chug the rest in the last quarter-ish stretch. 1L of water was sufficient for me for Lion Rock and Dragon’s Back.

Bring a towel to wipe your sweat

This will literally be a life saver. I didn’t know I was capable of sweating so much, to the point where my sweat was flowing into my eyeballs.

There is cell phone service pretty much everywhere

Meaning you can never really get lost. When you land in Hong Kong, purchase a local phone plan with data (it’s very very cheap) so you’ll be able to use Google Maps at anytime.

Do you see the lion’s side profile? It’s the rock mass to the right!

All that uphill walking quickly builds an appetite for a snack. To spare my hiking buddies from wrath of my mid-hike hangriness, I always pack some sort of energy bar. A well-rounded hiking snack includes complex carbohydrates for long-lasting energy and protein for muscle recovery. It’s also ideal if the snack isn’t so filling that it sloshes around in your stomach and wont disintegrate at the bottom of a backpack. Our favourite store-bought bars are LaraBars and nut butter stuffed Clif bars; this recipe is the best of both worlds.

While making these stuffed Clif bars, I couldn’t help but think these were like raw vegan Pop Tarts. The pastry is replaced with an oat and date mixture and the jam filling with creamy almond butter. I made mine quite large but you can definitely shape them smaller if you don’t snack much on the trail. I’m a constant nibbler so a bar this size would probably take me like several hours to finish eating. Chew has a compilation of videos with me nibbling on a pumpkin spice Clif bar over the course of, like, 3 hours.

Next time you hit the trail, bring one of these almond butter stuffed Clif bars with you! You may want to omit the chocolate drizzle if you’re going on a hot day.