[pct-l] Vegetarians

["Robinson, Brian A" <brian.robinson@compaq.com>]

Hi all,

Of course vegetarians can thrive on the PCT, however it's my experience that
they often lapse.  The reasons:

1.  Many vegetarians are also into healthy low-fat diets.  This is a mistake
on the PCT.  Your body needs lots of fat calories to hike all those miles.

2.  It's harder to get complete nutrition in a vegetarian diet.  Those who
don't, succumb to cravings as their bodies cry out for whatever lacks.
Adequate protein for muscle repair is one of these.

3.  Many people underestimate the amount of food they'll consume on the
trail.  In '97 I lost 20 pounds eating 5,000 calories per day while hiking
25 miles per day.

4.  Trail towns don't have much vegetarian food.  If any of the above
problems arise, there's fewer options for the vegetarian.

Brian

PS  As others have noted, peanut butter and vegetable oils should be high on
ALL hikers' food lists.  They're among the most weight efficient foods
available. 

-----Original Message-----
From: Eric Lee (Office) [mailto:elee@MICROSOFT.com]

I can't speak from experience, because I've never tried it, but I've heard
others say that getting enough calories for a thru-hike via a vegetarian or
vegan diet can be quite difficult.  It's very tough to get the
calorie-to-weight ratio to where you need it using only vegan foods.  That's
not to say that it's impossible, but be aware of the challenge.

Maybe someone who knows what they're talking about can elaborate on this?

Eric
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