[CDT-L] Dehydrated Food

Does the weight drop from using say a Lipton type dinner?  How easy are they
to re-hydrate?  How much extra water will be needed?  How much is a
"typical" serving size?  How many Calories per "servings"?  Cooking Time???
But most important were you satisified with those meals!!!!
 
Would appricate your response!
 
Doug Banks
Planning a Section Hike on the PCT in '99
 

Hi Doug,
 
I was very happy with Lipton Noodles and Sauce dinners during my '97 PCT
thru hike.  I switched between the Alfredo and Chicken Noodle flavors.
Together, they were about 1/3 of my dinners for 140 days and I didn't get
tired of them.  Don't pay attention to what the package says about serving
size.  I added 1/2 cup of extra pasta to each package to stretch it.  That
made one package reasonable for one person.  But I started every dinner with
an entire package of Ramen and had two pop-tarts for dessert.  If memory
serves, that was about 1500 calories for dinner as part of  5000 calories
per day.  (And at 6' 1", I _still_ decreased from 165 to 150 pounds.)
 
The only down side to noodles is cooking time.  7-8 minutes simmering is
recommended and that takes more fuel than some other dinners.  I think
noodles are worth it though.
 
After the hike, I've come to believe that this dinner was a favorite partly
because of its high salt content.  I didn't consiously plan for electrolyte
replacement, but did well because I know what tastes good to me out there.
I suspect that many hikers get tired of some foods because of cravings for
salt.  Those doing planning now should think about this.
 
Does anyone know how much salt is enough?  Should potassium be planned for
as well?
 
Brian
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