[pct-l] No cook food on the trail

[Steel-Eye]

Good morning, JoAnn,



As much as I like freshly brewed coffee made from clean water and freshly ground, high quality, beans I do indeed stop drinking coffee and tea entirely prior to a long hike.  The reason is a bit more strategic than wanting to avoid heating water in the morning.  People vary in their reaction to habitual doses of caffeine.  I enjoy the taste and all of the stimulant effects, but in my body caffeine is also a significant diuretic, and my logic is that I should avoid using a known diuretic during a sustained hike through SoCal.  Water is not abundant in much of SoCal, so an increase in unnecessary water loss means I have to carry more of it for the same overall hydration level.  That was my primary concern.  My secondary concern was the need to maintain appropriate electrolyte levels through long, strenuous days in a hot environment.  Unnecessary loss of water due to diuretic action also means needing to replace an inordinate amount of electrolytes.  The tertiary concern was chemical dependency.  I get a low-grade addiction to caffeine to the point that withdrawal involves headaches as well as generally feeling crummy.  It’s no big deal, and it goes away after about a week, but it’s a complication that I do not need.  My avoidance also applies to other significant sources of caffeine such as soft drinks.  I love chocolate, but its level of consumption, and the caffeine it contains, is seldom is sufficient to cause a problem.

 

For shorter trips I often cook, which means I can enjoy coffee in the morning.  I particularly like “mountain mocha”, which is instant hot chocolate mixed with a big dose of high-quality instant espresso coffee.  On shorter trips if I’m not cooking/heating I carry a candy called Coffee Nips that I enjoy, and which contain a fair amount of coffee and/or caffeine.

 

As I write this I’m well into my third cup of coffee.

 

Steel-Eye
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: JoAnn 
  To: chelin at teleport.com 
  Cc: pct-l at backcountry.net 
  Sent: Sunday, November 11, 2007 10:28 AM
  Subject: No cook food on the trail


  For breakfast I eat homemade granola every day on the trail.  It's high in 
  calories, dense to pack, and I can eat it right out of the Ziploc while 
  hiking.
  ********************************************************************************
  How very uncivilized...no coffee with breakfast? Do without my coffee while on the trail???...never!     :)

  are we there yet
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