[pct-l] Cannister stove for thru-hik

[Diane Soini]

It doesn't really matter what most people do. You do have more  
choices than you think and can choose what you want to do. Most  
people eat really poorly (I did too) and eat a lot of top ramen,  
instant potatoes, Lipton pasta sides, poptarts and stuff like that.

1. You can carry some fresh food with you. Certain fruits and  
vegetables carry well for a day or two depending on how hot it is. I  
carried an onion, broccoli and chard torn up and stored in a bag with  
a little water at various times.

2. You can cook regular pasta noodles without simmering. Just use the  
pot cozy method. I have not tried rice but I imagine white rice might  
work since it's edible in about 15-20 minutes normally. Red lentils,  
available in Asian markets, might work since they cook way faster  
than regular lentils. Potatoes cut up small might work. Experiment at  
home. For sauces, some people dehydrate marinara sauce into a  
leather. You can purchase Alfredo sauce powder and other similar  
sauces in the same aisle where they keep taco seasoning. Rice stick  
noodles cook in 3 minutes and you can make hobo Pad Thai with peanut  
butter mixed with soy sauce.

3. Lately I have been dehydrating cooked and raw vegetables and  
cooked meat for use on the trail. I mix them all together in random  
combinations. I rehydrate in a plastic peanut butter jar for a few  
hours and eat it cold with tons of the most gourmet real olive oil I  
can find. Ingredients include
- Dehydrated cooked and mashed sweet potatoes and yams
- Dehydrated slow-cooked chicken, pork or beef that is in a shredded  
consistency
- Dehydrated baked chicken breast cut in chunks (stays kinda chewy  
when rehydrated but I like it.)
- Dehydrated cooked beets, rutabaga, celery root
- Dehydrated raw carrots, kale, chard, zucchini, tomatoes, beet greens

4. A friend of mine ate a lot of quinoa. I guess it cooks pretty  
quickly. I might try quinoa sometime. There is instant quinoa but I  
think it tastes rancid.

5. Polenta cooks fast. I don't really like it so I don't use it. Oats  
cook fast. You don't even have to cook them, you can just soak them  
over night and eat them cold in the morning.

6. You can purchase freeze-dried fruits and vegetables from various  
companies online. There are a lot of quality freeze-dried products  
that are way better than Mountain House.

7. Fresh hard cheeses carry well. Cream cheese carries pretty well,  
too. As do regular cheeses, although the warmer the weather the more  
of an oily mess they become.

8. Tuna, salmon, spam and sometimes chicken breasts come in foil  
packets. Tortillas carry well. Peanut butter. I've carried a loaf of  
bread, peanut butter and jelly. The bread did not get smashed up.  
Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were probably the least satiating  
food I've ever brought though, maybe second least after Danish pastries.

9. Instant pudding with instant Nido powdered milk makes a great  
snack. Carnation instant breakfast or protein shakes are other  
options. People trade Starbucks via packets like money and cigarettes  
on the trail to mix in their shakes.

10. Avocados travel well and are probably the most amazingly  
delicious thing you can eat on the trail.

More and more people just shop as they go rather than prepare  
everything in advance. There's a market approximately every 2-5 days  
on the trail until after about Crater Lake. Then the markets are  
further apart.

Good news is you can mix and match all these things and make up your  
own ideas. It does not have to be all one method, and probably  
shouldn't be in case it turns out your planned food is no longer  
appealing out there.


On May 26, 2013, at 2:15 PM, Simon Deleersnyder wrote:

> Thanks all for your advice!
> I'm rethinking my plan of going with a cannister stove. Think I'll  
> pick up
> a Caldera Cone and go with that. I didn't like the fact that I had  
> to eat
> dehydrated food but seems like I'll have to :-) Just doesn't seem as
> nutritious and tasty as normal food but maybe that's just me..
>
> One other question: do most people cook their food at home, then  
> dehydrate
> it and send it to themselves on the trail, or do most people just  
> buy those
> Mountain House type ready to eat packages? Or another option that I've
> looked over? :)
>