[pct-l] Lost time, poor planning - is UL so great?

Mon Dec 10 22:05:22 CST 2007

Ned,

With all due respect, I planned, tested, trained, and literally have spreadsheets for my food planning and calorie intake.  What I wasn't prepared for was that the food I used on my first Sierra hike was almost inedible to me on the next.  I can't explain why, but I seriously had to force myself to eat it, almost gaggingHow could I have planned for that? I was so glad when we got to the northern Kennedy Meadows and I was able to get some other foods that were more tolerable to me.  

I've seen so many people pre-arrange their food and wind up hating it, and dumping it in hiker boxes. I agree that planning and preparation is important, but so is being flexible and dealing with Plan B.  

Besides, trips down into some of the Sierra's towns can be a lot of fun when there are other hikers about. I planned them into my journey just to have the experience, and I don't regret it.  They also provided rendevous opportunities to see my sweetie, so they were well worth the side trip to me!!!

L-Rod

-----Original Message-----
>From: Ned Tibbits <ned at mountaineducation.com>
>Sent: Dec 10, 2007 7:41 PM
>To: Alden Dale <alden at cedar-creek.com>, Pct-l at backcountry.net
>Subject: Re: [pct-l] Lost time, poor planning - is UL so great?
>
>My question is:  Why wait until the journey starts to figure out what you 
>like or what works for you?  Adjustments during the adventure = wasted trail 
>time. Hiking up and down lateral trails on the eastern escarpment of the 
>Sierra to spend time in towns figuring out my food needs instead of staying 
>on-trail sounds counter-productive to the intent of hiking a National Scenic 
>Trail, Mexico To Canada, especially when I could have figured it out before 
>by taking a few long-ish summer and winter hikes. That's Planning and 
>Preparation.
>
>I'm sorry, I still don't get it....
>
>Why hike as fast as possible risking injury and enduring misery for a few 
>days only to veer off on a lateral route to a trailhead down 2,000 feet to 
>hope to hitch a ride to a town farther away to hope to find a place to 
>sleep, eat, and wash up (recover) to hope to find a market that might have 
>acceptable foods you can carry back up the 2,000 vertical feet - if you can 
>hitch a ride to the trailhead - so you can get back on the trail and do this 
>cycle all over again in a few days!
>
>What a waste of time!!  To each his own.  If this is the "Modern Method" of 
>hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, I don't buy it.  Just because it is the 
>acceptable standard logically encouraged by the number-crunching crowd 
>doesn't mean it is the only way to do it. Take the time before your trip to 
>get to know yourself well enough to decide if this technique of hiking will 
>work for all your needs. Obviously, I don't embrace the Ultralight Bible. 
>Hiking as light as possible is excellent, but don't sacrifice health, 
>safety, and enjoyment to say you had the lightest pack. Light is good and 
>works for most people; ultralight is risky and may not work for you. How far 
>toward Ultralight do you go?  Try it on training trips and see if you can 
>stand the sacrifices to attain it, then decide what you want to do. There 
>are other ways to enjoy a hike.
>
>Don't go into this adventure-of-a-lifetime blindly accepting what seams to 
>be good for everyone else only to find it doesn't work for you and you 
>suddenly find yourself in the middle of the mountains in a foreign state! 
>No wonder so many people don't complete this hike! Talk about 
>disillusioning!
>
>If UL means I have to carry as little food as I can (requiring me to leave 
>the trail frequently) and to hike as far and as fast as I can to cover more 
>distance so the trip takes up less time costing me less, then, to me, this 
>style of hiking is dictated by time and money.  Have we lost sight of why we 
>originally liked spending time in wilderness?
>
>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>For Information on Programs, previous Trips, and Photo Gallery,
>
>Please visit: www.mountaineducation.com
>----- Original Message ----- 
>From: "Alden Dale" <alden at cedar-creek.com>
>To: <Pct-l at backcountry.net>
>Sent: Monday, December 10, 2007 12:12 PM
>Subject: Re: [pct-l] Question about food
>
>
>I agree with Donna. I started out this last summer, and I had to
>force myself to eat even 1000-1500 calories per day. I just wasn't
>hungry. But for me, about a week or two into it, I really started
>picking up momentum, and after about a month I was taking about 5,000
>per day, doing 30's.
>
>Just be flexible. Thats the beauty to buying most of your food along
>the way instead of doing mail drops. You'll find how much you eat and
>what you like to eat.
>
>This last summer I found I love tortillas. I normally hate them, but
>for some reason when I'm hiking I found they're awesome, and I
>started downing up to 8 a day.
>
>Also, I found in the colder weather, my calorie intake rose a lot. I
>had some 30° days through the sierras, and the nights were down to
>15° ish. During those times, I found I was eating about a third again
>as much (and much more at night, I was waking up four or five times a
>night to eat.)
>
>So- be flexible. You'll learn pretty quickly how much you need. The
>time until the first couple resupplies won't be too bad though-
>almost everyone (that I've talked to, including myself) overpacks for
>the first leg.
>
>Good Luck
>
>alden
>
>
>On Dec 10, 2007, at 11:25 AM, Scott Bryce wrote:
>
>> It is estimated that a through hiker burns about 6000 calories per day
>> on his hike. Do you carry enough food to consume 6000 calories per
>> day,
>> or do you carry less, and make up the difference during town stops?
>>
>> I know the answer is different for every hiker, but I am interested in
>> getting a rough idea how many ounces/calories per day a typical
>> through
>> hiker carries.
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