[pct-l] Food on the trail

[jbrewster at cp.berkeley.edu (Janet B)]

Ron -- I try to have as much variety as possible in my lunches, and I do 
snack throughout the day as well.  A lot depends on what kind of mileage 
I'm doing, i.e. whether or not I have to really cruise or if it's a 
leisurely hike kind of day.  I find this difficult to do at altitude 
because my appetite changes (and sometimes goes away), but I try to stay 
in touch with what my body needs.  If I'm hungry, I eat -- doesn't 
matter if I've just eaten breakfast an hour earlier.  If I'm craving 
protein, I'll make sure to have salami or peanut butter instead of humus.

My favorites for lunch and snacks are Triscuits, Wheat Thins, cheese, 
salami, humus (dried, just add water), pnut butter (in a roll-up tube), 
turkey jerky, dried fruit or fruit roll-ups, Pop Tarts, Rice Krispy 
Treats (make 'em ahead of time), ginger snaps, and pnut m&m's.  Some 
folks like bagels or pitas, which can be good options, too.  I'm not a 
big fan of tortillas since they disintegrate easily.  I like Jardine's 
advice of having different food in resupply, so that's something to 
consider.  Also, right after resupply, you can plan a meatier meal -- if 
you mail a can of tuna or turkey or whatever, you can have lunch at your 
resupply location and leave the heavy trash there.

I've used the bulk foods you mention, and I've really liked them.  If 
you haven't done this, check the aisle at the grocery store that has the 
mac & cheese, rice a roni, etc.  A lot of these boxed meals are cheaper 
versions of the expensive freeze dried foods -- maybe some of them have 
meat in them.  Something else I like is miso soup with dried tofu -- you 
can buy it by the package in the Asian foods section.  It's got some 
protein and it's a nice appetizer while you're waiting for dinner to cook.

Re one of your earlier emails, I'll be bringing a bear cannister, but 
since I'll only be doing one resupply, I'll probably have to hang some 
food as well.  A friend of mine did the JMT a few years ago and he 
didn't bring one -- just did a good job of stealth camping, and keeping 
himself and his campsite clean.  I'm not sure I want to take the risk, 
esp since I'm going solo.  It just sucks that the cannisters are so 
heavy, but so far, they're the only 'approved' things by the forest 
service.  I always see rangers in the backcounty, so I really don't want 
to risk a fine if they're getting that hard-assed about it.

I'm heading out the end of August, going north to south.  Yahoo!  Have a 
great trip -
Janet