Date: 2015-08-29
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This entry will explain what types of food we ate and the evolution of our menu. We initially began with a MSR stove (which worked with isobutane canisters) and the MSR Trail Lite Duo System, a kit including a cooking pot, two bowls and two cups. Our two sporks were bought separately. Our dinners were always cooked meals at first and we sometimes cooked something for lunch. We snacked often and took breaks every 2-3 hours. We usually carried around 4-5 days¢ worth of food. Sometimes we needed to carry more¢¦ we usually carried wayyy more food than necessary in case that we needed an extra day to arrive at our planned destination. I didn¢t like going into town as it usually involved a detour yet I didn¢t like being overburdened with food. Food is your heaviest variable but it is not advisable to ration food too much. Less food will necessarily mean a lighter pack and many equate lighter packs with hiking longer distances; however, limiting food will only help performance to a certain point. Proper nutrition is very hard to achieve on the Trail so it is necessary to fuel one¢s body properly. Here is a sample of our menu during the first few months: Breakfast-One pack of Carnation¢s ¢Breakfast Essential¢; it is a breakfast supplement that mixes with cold water. It tastes alright, like a vaguely chocolaty, watered-down chocolate drink. I added a pack of instant coffee to mine. -One Cliff bar Lunch-Hot oatmeal mixed with a bit of peanut butter (added protein) and dried fruit -Alternative: tortillas with beef jerky or salami. We also had peanut butter, Nutella or jelly. In cold weather we had hard cheese (like cheddar) to go with the meat. We also bought bagels or English muffins. Bagels are good, but they are bulky. Dinner-¢Side Kick¢ Noodles or rice (one pack each) plus a pouch of ¢StarKist¢ tuna. Some people added Spam instead of tuna. We had a pack of instant potatoes that we added (in small quantities) to the noodles to thicken the sauce. We also had couscous packs sometimes. Ramen Noodles were very popular but I personally could not stand them. -Very occasionally we bought the freeze-dried meals (Backpacker¢s Pantry or Mountain House.) They were usually very good and seemed relatively healthy (compared to the noodle packs we usually had.) However they were very expensive so we couldn¢t afford to have many. Snacks (eaten throughout the day) -GORP, that is ¢Good Old Raisins and Peanuts¢. We usually made our own GORP: mixed nuts, raisins and other dried fruit; chocolate pieces; granola; other type of candy (like gummy bears)-Crackers. We usually bought the cracker sandwiches that were sold in ¢snack packs¢ (cheese flavored, peanut butter, etc.) Sometimes we bought a box of crackers and dumped it into a Ziploc bag. -Chocolate bars. We started out with Snickers, the ultimate ¢hiker crack¢, though we did buy other types for variety. We also had an assortment of candy sometimes.-Pastries, mainly Honey Buns (or other Little Debbie cakes) and Rice Crispy Squares. -Clif Bars (we tried to eat a couple a day because they are probably the most nutritious item on our menu)We didn¢t have any multivitamins although many did. We didn¢t feel that they were necessary because many of the energy bars are supplemented with additional vitamins and minerals. After a few weeks, we stopped buying oatmeal as a way to save on fuel. Our lunches were then mainly tortillas with beef jerky/salami or peanut butter and Nutella/jelly. As time went by though, we stopped eating lunch; lunch was just another snack (see the ¢Snacks¢ section). As we were approaching New Hampshire, we were contemplating ways to cut down weight as we were awaiting our winter gear. At this point, we were really tired of the noodles/tuna dinners so we decided to get rid of our cooking gear. From that point on, we had our normal breakfasts and we ate snacks for the rest of the day. For dinner, we had tortillas (with peanut butter and jelly, mainly.) At this point we only had a little over a month left on the Trail so we didn¢t get tired of our ¢no-cook¢ method. I think had we started out forgoing our cooking wear, we would probably have wanted to diversify our dinners a bit more. I guess we would have tried a few different types of sandwiches (with different types of meat, cheeses, tuna or peanut butter with different condiments or spices.) Also, when we left town we usually tried to pack out something for dinner. Subway sandwiches were a good choice. Cold pizza was also great! In general, aside from the importance of proper nutrition, my best piece of advice would be to eat things that you enjoy. Variety is limited on the Trail and it is supremely depressing and so demoralizing to eat the same unappealing foods over and over again. Even if that means spending a bit more money or stuffing your pack with 20 jumbo-sized Rice Crispy squares, it¢s worth it. Next entry will discuss finances and budget. Justine