[pct-l] what does 2 pounds mean

[Eric Lee]

Ellen wrote:
>
He's a little guy (67", 145 pounds) and older (=lower basal metabolic
weight) and feels that 4900 calories would be alot for him.  I do know that
we have lost weight on each of our JMT hikes, and will need to beef up the
calories from what we took on those trips (about 1 pound/day/person).
Of course, part of this is in my own self-interest!
>

On a short section hike you almost surely won't be able to consume 2 pounds
per day of typical, dense backpacking food.  I know I can't.  If you were
doing a very long hike, eventually your appetite would kick up to that point
but not in the first eight days.

I'm 38 years old, 180 lbs, and when I section hike I average about 25 miles
per day.  I've found that I shouldn't bother to pack more than 1.5 lbs of
dry food per day because I simply won't have the appetite to eat it all.  I
might come out a pound or two lighter than when I went in but for a section
hike it doesn't really matter.

It's really quite a challenge for me to pack my food because I go through
the store, grab a whole bunch of great stuff, and when I get home I usually
find I have about 12-15 lbs.  Doh!  I then have to cut it down to 9 lbs and
believe me, the whole pile doesn't look like it would sustain me for six
hard days.  But it always does and the last few years I've eaten my very
last bit of food the morning I finish which is exactly how I want it to
work.

Eric