[pct-l] Food issues

[Stephen]

I've had the caps break (split).  I use them on shorter trips sometimes. 
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Brian Lewis" <brianle8 at gmail.com>
To: <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Sent: Monday, February 23, 2009 11:56 AM
Subject: [pct-l] Food issues


> Bill said that the reuseable squeeze tubes worked well for him on the
> JMT.  I suspect that those doing a longer distance trip (I'll avoid
> the term "thru-hiker" just for now ...) wouldn't be as happy with
> them.  While a few years old, my memory is of these being a PITA to
> get really clean.   Perhaps your plan would be to mail them home and
> get someone at home to clean and refill them, or ... ?
> 
> My suggestion is to buy peanut butter at smaller stores, gas station
> convenience store type of places rather than at a grocery store,
> because these places tend to sell smaller jars, whereas often at
> grocery stores you just find 18 oz jars.
> 
> W.r.t. vacuum sealing meals or other food, I did this too, and like
> Scott my experience was that for meals the contained sharp pasta or
> the like, I was more comfortable (confident) pouring my boiling water
> into an unused quart ziplock bag rather than using the vacuum bag,
> despite the fact that these are indeed useable for boiling water.
> Related, pasta etc decreased the odds that I would receive the food
> still vacuum sealed; per suggestion from Sarbar I think
> (www.freezerbagcooking.com) I lined the vacuum bag for these meals
> with paper towel.     I vacuum sealed a few other things too, dried
> fruit, for example.  And my wife sometimes included some vacuum sealed
> chocolate chip cookies, which was very nice.
> 
> If I were doing it again, however, I wouldn't bother with the vacuum
> sealer. It was kind of fun and interesting, and I ate most of the
> meals, but there are easier solutions unless you have particular
> dietary constraints/desires.
> Well, I should add as a caveat that now that I own a vacuum sealer and
> have some experience with it, I might "bother" for a few trail stops
> where the store options are particularly limited, but knowing what I
> know now I wouldn't buy a vacuum sealer just for backpacking trips.
> 
> 
> Brian Lewis / Gadget '08
> http://postholer.com/brianle
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