Date: 2015-05-11
From: Damascus, Virginia

To: Damascus, Virginia
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: light rain

Damascus Post #4: Trail FoodWhen in town, I try to eat as much as I reasonably can, at restaurants, of course. I hope to eat a lot in the next couple days. Oddly, I am not that hungry. I have yet to have any dreams in my tent of 12 pound burgers or juicy steaks.   They say your appetite really kicks in after three weeks, but it has not happened to me.   I am often trying to force myself to eat more.   Not because I want to, just because I know I should.   Strange. I have the ability to eat 6000 calories a day (in town) if I want to, but still don¢t. Maybe that will come later. It IS a side benefit of hiking the AT that I know I can and should eat AS MUCH AS I can.   Very few other people have that luxury.   Most people are trying to do the opposite. OK, here is my typical trail food diet. I attempt to carry 2 pounds of food a day.   So, for 5 days on the trail, I will carry 10 pounds of food.   Brad and I prefer to resupply less often, just because it¢s a hassle to get to town.   We have yet to hitchhike to town.   Presumably we will soon have to do that, but not yet.BreakfastHas been consistently this. 4-6 packages of instant Oatmeal, or just plain 1-minute oatmeal. Into this I try to add, if I have it: 1) powdered milk, 2) sugar, 3) craisons, or 4) protein powder (more on that below) I also eat 2 Instant Breakfast snack toaster pastries. Of course I have no toaster!This is breakfast everyday. I heat water for the oatmeal.   Brad does not do the oatmeal. Lunch This is really constant snacking. I rarely stop and ¢have lunch¢ Instead, I try to eat something every hour or so. I eat: Gorp, make my own usually, from almonds, M&M¢s and craisons. Snack-type bars.   But I have already gotten tired or eating Cliff bars, so I eat other kinds. Wheat Tortillas. .   Usually with nothing on them.   But they are good. Snickers or other candy bars. Occasionally beef jerky, but not often. Supper Is now consistently Lipton rice sides or Knorr¢s rice or pasta sides. Into that I add one package of spam, tuna or salmon.   I started the trip eating Mountain House freeze dried foods, but have stopped.   I could afford to eat them, but they are four times the cost, and not many more calories nor nutrition, so I stopped them. For evening ¢dessert¢ a couple weeks ago I ate three jumbo-king sized chocolate bars, one a night.   But I won¢t do that because they are too heavy. Most other thru-hikers also eat this same stuff. It is commonly available at any grocery store, or, at Dollar General, which seem to be everywhere.   And all hikers eat as much as they can in town, and drink a lot of beer, which also has calories.   Hardly anybody eats much fruit nor vegetables, as it¢s calorie count is too low.   We think we are not suffering from this fruit and vegetable deficiency, but nobody is sure.   One thing is sure, when we come to town, we want a 1/2 pound burger and fries, not some lousy salad. Protein Powder: At the Mall of America. of all places, I bought a couple pounds of protein powder. Some if it was chocolate, and so awful I tossed it. But the remainder is vanilla or neutral. I try to add it to both the oatmeal, and to the suppers.   Presumably it is giving me more protein, which I think I need. OK, that completes this post of what I eat. After posting these, I hope to post my most recent pictures. I still don¢t take that many pictures, but that¢s OK with me.