[pct-l] packaging your own fresh food in resupply towns

[Scott Williams]

I find instant brown rice fine without any cooking at all, as are instant
mashed potatoes and other basics.  Mixed with the dried, precooked beef,
pork and chicken and tons of dried veggies I send to myself on trail, it is
all so delicious, that I'm not even tempted to carry the water weight of
already cooked rice or quinoa.

What I found kept well for several days on my PCT hike were leftover pizza,
calzone, and even a few of those really cheepo hamburgers from Micky D's,
although that time I probably came close to killing myself.  They just
tasted so good I bought a bunch and had them for lunch in town and then
dinner on trail and breakfast and lunch after that.  I kept sniffing them
to see if they had turned, but I think the amount of preservatives is so
high, they'd probably last till doomsday.  Nonetheless, I don't recommend
doing it with hamburgers.

When we hit Drakesbad, we were treated to one of the best BBQ's on trail
and then given all the leftovers, BBQ'd NY steaks, bangers and grilled
shitake.  All of those were heavy, but worth it.  We carried them all next
day, a bunch of us feeding on the Drakesbad leftovers till dinner at
Firefly's in Old Station.

Then at Stehekin, there's the bakery to die for and we all carried savory,
cheesy and sweet baked things from it, feeding ourselves  for several days
on the crumbs.

What real stuff to take from town depends on the quality of the food, and
your willingness to carry a bit of water to enjoy some real food for
variety.  Three day old pizza always tasted delicious to me.  Some of the
best on trail is at "The Mobil" in Lee Vining, just down the hill from
Tuolumne Meadows.  It has some of the best food on the East Side of the
Sierra, and it's at a gas station!  Officially known as the "Whoa Nellie
Deli" it was upgraded years ago by a former sous chef from the Chez Panisse
restaurant.  Worth the hitch down to Hwy 395, where it sits at the
intersection of Tioga Pass Rd and 395.  After the stretch from VVR, it's a
welcome respite, and the wood fired pizzas dry really well over a couple of
days.

Several basic starches are light and so easy to prepare that I think it a
waste to carry them cooked.  But meat, tofu, a couple of pieces of fruit
and a carrot or two are real treats out there in the woods, and I think
most of us hoard a bit of the good stuff just to have a treat in the woods.

So I'd say, go ahead, but go for the quality.

Shroomer

On Sat, Feb 9, 2013 at 1:04 PM, Ann Marie <dbanmrkr at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Since we are back to the dreaded mountain biking topic, time for a
> diversionary topic (my apologies, but not really....hint, hint):
>
> I'm curious. Has anyone prepared fresh food to package in their next leg's
> resupply (a max of 4-5 days forward) while actually on the trail?  For
> example, buying fresh eggs and boiling them in hot water from the microwave
> oven in their motel room, pre-cooking long-grain brown rice or quinoa, or
> baking multi-grain cookies/muffins in their room's microwave?  It seems to
> me that a number of foods could be pre-cooked and be safe to eat for the
> first 2 or 3 days on trail, leaving the expensive pre-packaged food for the
> last days. Yeah, it's heavier, I get that. However I also get that
> experienced hikers gain food knowledge within a month and hike their
> sections faster and probably are better at carrying the exact food they
> need. Unlike us section hikers who still end up with 2 days of food in our
> packs at the end of our sections, most of it stuff we no longer want to
> eat.  And I'm not asking about putting fresh produce in your pack, like
> apples, cucumbers,
>  or lettuce. I'm interested in foods that need to be prepared before
> leaving the front door of the motel.
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