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

[David Thibault]

I boiled eggs in town many times on my thru hike.  I usually did 6 before
heading out of town.  Did this at trail angels and motels.  Never used
microwave always just boiled them in my cook pot.  Carried them in the egg
carton they came in - never had one break.
The eggs were great but a bit on the heavy side.  You can't carry enough of
these for them to ever go bad.

I also carried an onion and garlic out of many towns.  Along with Olive Oil
they go a long way spicing up meals.  Other than eggs I didn't really cook
anything in town.  I did carry fresh food out from restaurants a few times
too - actually this was typically my first meal out of town - mostly pizza,
subs, etc.
Fresh food can actually last a long time - several days.  The biggest issue
is more the weight.  If I have a section with a short resupply (like 3
days) I tend to carry a bit more food per meal and more fresh food too.

We I left Stehekin I think everyone that left that day had at least 3 meals
just from the bakery...

I occasionally walk into town with food.  Sometimes I over pack others I
happen upon unexpected meals.  It a learning thing.  Of course, once or
twice I've run out of food the day before hitting town.  This usually had
to do with me screwing up, or arriving at a store after it closed and just
heading on.

Day-Late


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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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