[pct-l] Purpose of a PCT FAQ

[Stephen Adams]

It'll still taste the same unfortunately.  But the season after I tried the corn elbows I started buying quinoa instead.  It has some corn in it, and cooks and tastes pretty much the same as the original corn stuff, but the nutritional value is even better.  I think Mr. Jardine raved about it because it packs a lot of energy and good stuff that's hard to maintain thru long hiking days.  I found this to be true when I experimented with it.  I don't care all that much for it, and while I like the ease and eatability of mashed potatoes or coos coos with tuna or something like that far better, I did come up with a couple soups and things to make the corn or quinoa palatable.  I don't know that it warrants basing a summer's trail diet on it.  I can only deal with it every couple days, and didn't even bring any on my hikes this last season.  That said, I did take along some prepackaged freeze dried meals (first time in years) to test that out against the theory that there isn't much in those packages but stuffing.  I sure missed the energy packed into a pot of quinoa.  A friend that hiked with me a for a couple seasons in the Sierra thought my soups were pretty good, but by then I was pretty tired of the stuff.  But not tired of being shot up the trail as opposed to feeling drained and lacking energy.  But good ol' Ray's book sure does make it sound like a person could and maybe should plan on eating this stuff almost every day all summer long, and it's a long summer.        
On Nov 21, 2009, at 7:48 AM, Diane at Santa Barbara Hikes dot com wrote:

> The FAQ is not that authoritative that you have to worry about  
> newbies going there and not seeking additional advice elsewhere. For  
> one thing, it's in a setting that is about discussion where lots of  
> people are posting about their plans. Excitement is high.
> 
> Anyone who plans to hike the PCT is going to be so excited about it  
> that reading a FAQ is just too boring a way to get information. In  
> fact, probably half the time they don't even want the information.  
> They just want an excuse to talk about it, think about it, know  
> someone else out there is doing it, obsess about it.
> 
> The FAQ is good but it can't take the place of talking and obsessing  
> and it never will.
> 
> Now, I suddenly have a hankering to try corn pasta again. Maybe this  
> time it'll work.
> 
> Hey, to totally go off on a tangent, I have a theory why Ray Jardine  
> thought corn pasta was so great. I suspect he has a low grade allergy  
> to corn and that the corn pasta stimulated his immune system enough  
> that it made him hyper. Well, it's a thought.
> 
> Diane
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