[pct-l] planning priorities

[Jim & Jane Moody]

Kevin, 

I'll respond to the food part of your post.  Last year I also relied a lot on freeze-dried foods and would recommend it again.  I bought mine from Emergency Essentials ( www.beprepared.com ).  To save a little money, I would watch the specials each month, and if something was on my list, I'd order it then.  I made up some meat / veggie mixes in ziplocks ahead of time and mailed those.  In town I'd buy the easy-to-find bases (Lipton sides, instant potatoes, instant rice, cous-cous, etc. to cook with the f-d stuff.  I also bought some f-d cheeses and lots of fruits, which are great with cold or hot cereal or as a snack on the trail.  If I've done it right, this should link to a pic of my pre-hike inventory.  http://www.trailjournals.com/photos.cfm?id=518851 



Have a great hike, 

Mango 

  
Original Message ----- 
From: "Kevin Cook" <hikelite at gmail.com> 
Hello all, 

I'm well into planning for my 2011 thru hike. There are still many things 
undecided, but I'm having trouble prioritizing things. Here is my dilemma... 

Right now, cash flow is limited, but I'll have plenty for the hike in April. 
I planned to mail myself a substantial portion of my food along the way, but 
I also realize that most(?) hikers resupply along the way. I already have 
most of my gear, but I'm starting to reconsider some items for replacement. 

For my food, I'm planing to dry a lot myself and/or order some freeze dried 
ingredients in bulk. Freeze dried stuff is just soooo light, even compared 
to dried stuff! When I backpack, my food is always the heaviest part of my 
pack, so for me, that's the easiest place to try and save weight. In order 
to send myself resupplies along the way though, I need to gather up the food 
well in advance so I can package it all up and have my boxes ready to ship.