Date: 2014-07-30
From: Seth Warner Shelter, Mile 1595.6

To: Goddard Shelter, Mile 1617.2
Miles today: 21.6

After settling in my tent last night, I heard some more folks come into the shelter and thought I might have heard Achilles name. Sure enough, when I got up this morning Achilles was there. Princess North Star was still in his hammock, so I told Achilles he ought to talk with him if he gets the chance.I got on the trail about 7:30. My shoes and socks were still wet and I hiked fairly slowly. Kansas Express soon passed me, but was planning to hitch into Bennington at VT-9 to get some Aqua Mira water purifier since his had leaked out on his bus ride to the trail. So I'll probably see him again.My left knee started aching going downhill to VT-9, but felt better going up the other side. That's usually the case - knees and feet prefer going uphill, heart and lungs prefer going downhill. :-)Sure enough, Kansas Express passed me again going uphill from VT-9. They don't have an outfitter type store in Bennington, so he got some iodine drops at Walmart. Aqua Mira is preferred because it doesn't leave the nasty taste of iodine or chlorine. I caught up with Kansas Express at the side trail junction to the Melville Nauheim shelter where he was taking a break - 13 miles into my day at that point. I stopped and we chatted for a while and I called Linda, got water and rested a bit. After the break, I felt much better (probably from talking with Linda!) and the rest of the day went well. It was a beautiful day for hiking - in the 70s with no rain!I got to the Goddard Shelter about 7 o'clock. (I doubt it is named after Robert Goddard, the famous pioneer in liquid fueled rocketry in the 30's.) At the shelter were two section hikers doing the Long Trail, a Sobo hiker and Calves. I chatted a bit, then set up my tent and called it a day. 'Twas good to finish the day's hike on a stronger note than I started it!Food! In the Guest Book, Tic asked me to talk about what food I'm eating. Since I don't carry a stove, it limits my options somewhat. My basic staple is the same thing I love to eat at home: tortillas with peanut butter and Cliff bars! Although I've experimented over the years with many additions to the peanut butter on the tortillas, I got some new ideas from other hikers: add craisins to get a PB&J taste, or add nuts or any kind of trail mix items. Sometimes on the first day or two after resupply I'll add some cheddar cheese. At my last resupply, I bought some baby spinach which lasted a few days (see picture above). At home I like to add Romaine lettuce. (A great snack at home I like is just spreading peanut butter on Romaine lettuce leaves!) I've also used tuna and salmon that come in the foil packs on my tortillas, but I tired of that. When I can't get tortillas, I've used rye bread, bagels, and other breads.I supplement that with other kinds of bars, cheese crackers, all sorts of trail mix and dried fruit. Pop Tarts are popular on the trail due to lots of calories per ounce of weight and cost. I've eaten them just to get the calories, but they certainly don't fit into the nutritious food category! I've also carried a container of olive oil (high calories per ounce of weight) but found I didn't use it that much. I've seen other hikers use it and/or a container of honey. I'll often pack out an apple and/or a sandwich to eat on the first day out of town. The main objective for me is somewhat nutritious calories per ounce of weight. Hikers on a more constrained budget will also consider price - I've seen some buy Snickers bars rather than Cliff Bars in trail towns because they have the same calories at half the price.I doubt that going no-cook saves much weight. I'm guessing the water content of the foods I take vs. dehydrated cooked foods make up for the weight of a stove. I just like not fussing with cooking while I'm out hiking. Camping with family and friends is another story.Later addendum: See August 1. Swede shared his warm Mountain House meal with me for dinner on a chilly evening. Nice! I'm now considering taking a stove with me when I finish the trail in Maine in September!