[pct-l] vegetarians/vegans

[Janet Grossman]

Just out of curiosity, how many of you thru hikers, future and former, are
vegan/vegetarian? How did that go on the thru hike? Any advice for a couple
of long-time vegetarians that are thru hiking this year? Any restaurants
along the trail, tips for food, etc? Vegetarians unite!

Andy

Andy, I've been a vegetarian for about 38 years, vegan for about 14. I did the AT back in '78-'79 (as 2 large chunks) and didn't have any problem as a vegetarian. Now it is so much easier to be even a vegan in public settings! When I set out to thru-hike the PCT in '07, I dehydrated lots of food that we eat at home (lentil-spinach-brown rice soup, mashed sweet potatoes (add peanut butter on the trail), cooked dried beans, etc.), ground it to powder in the blender, and bagged it so I just had to add water (boiling if possible) and let it sit a few minutes on the trail. I only managed 265 miles that year, so am still eating food I prepared for that year. I did encounter a guy on the trail in '07 who was a vegetarian and said he needed more protein, was going to town to buy powdered refried beans. I've also hit Chinese markets for fun stuff like dried tofu, mushrooms, etc. To date I've only done about 565 miles of the PCT, but I just don't see vegetarianism as a problem for a thru-hiker, so long as your diet at home and on the trail is a healthy one. By that I mean lots of vegetables and whole foods, not the white-flour pasta and white rice that so many people eat. Good luck and have fun!
Janet