Food.
Here's something I learned on my PCT: Oregon trip in 2014. For me, it didn't really matter what I ate, as long as I ate a LOT. My metabolism was like the fiery mountain or Mordor and it did not give one rip about what I threw into it. It was a calorie consuming machine in absolute full-production. This is a win for some folks, because they can eat all the junk they want on a through hike and still be 15 lbs lighter at the end of the trek. It's nearly impossible to overcome the calorie deficit of full-time backpacking. Watch out, Jenny Craig.
Something else I learned in 2014? You'll get absolutely sick of whatever you bring with you for a long-term trip. It's not just the types of food you grow tired of, but the textures as well. The variety pack of Clif Bars is still a pile of Clif Bars, the Mountain House meals are still just the opposite of what you actually crave once you reach camp. Food bartering with other hikers becomes one of the most important negotiations of your day. Multiple times in 2014, I traded a Snickers Bar for a fully prepared Mountain House meal that served two. The food always smells better on the other side of the fence. Fact! With that being said, I really tried to focus on variety of texture more than different brands & types of energy bars. Some tuna pouches & almond butters might go a long way to break up the depressing reality of another nutrition bar when the hunger-bunnies come.
On another note, I ALMOST brought a little stove for 2017, but just couldn't convince myself that I'd actually want to sit down and prepare a meal after some of these 25 mile/5,000 ft days. So there you have it, stoveless for the win (again) in 2017.
Below you can see my full complement of food for PCT: Washington. Each bag contains about 4300 calories and weighs in at ~2lbs. I won't be carrying more than 4 days of food at any given time, so quick Kentucky math suggests that my max food weight at any given time will be 8lbs. I can deal with that.
Here's something I learned on my PCT: Oregon trip in 2014. For me, it didn't really matter what I ate, as long as I ate a LOT. My metabolism was like the fiery mountain or Mordor and it did not give one rip about what I threw into it. It was a calorie consuming machine in absolute full-production. This is a win for some folks, because they can eat all the junk they want on a through hike and still be 15 lbs lighter at the end of the trek. It's nearly impossible to overcome the calorie deficit of full-time backpacking. Watch out, Jenny Craig.
Something else I learned in 2014? You'll get absolutely sick of whatever you bring with you for a long-term trip. It's not just the types of food you grow tired of, but the textures as well. The variety pack of Clif Bars is still a pile of Clif Bars, the Mountain House meals are still just the opposite of what you actually crave once you reach camp. Food bartering with other hikers becomes one of the most important negotiations of your day. Multiple times in 2014, I traded a Snickers Bar for a fully prepared Mountain House meal that served two. The food always smells better on the other side of the fence. Fact! With that being said, I really tried to focus on variety of texture more than different brands & types of energy bars. Some tuna pouches & almond butters might go a long way to break up the depressing reality of another nutrition bar when the hunger-bunnies come.
On another note, I ALMOST brought a little stove for 2017, but just couldn't convince myself that I'd actually want to sit down and prepare a meal after some of these 25 mile/5,000 ft days. So there you have it, stoveless for the win (again) in 2017.
Below you can see my full complement of food for PCT: Washington. Each bag contains about 4300 calories and weighs in at ~2lbs. I won't be carrying more than 4 days of food at any given time, so quick Kentucky math suggests that my max food weight at any given time will be 8lbs. I can deal with that.
I'll have 5 resupplies on this trip. 1 mailed, 3 delivered by Jesse & Trekker, and 1 delivered by my comrade, Brad. Surprisingly, resupplies worked much better than anticipated, and strung together quite well. No hitchhiking into town to pick up resupplies this year, yay! All the food pictured above fit nicely into the 5 resupply boxes shown below. A few more items sprinkled in over the next day, and we'll be golden. Almost time to seal them up and stage them for delivery.
