06 thru hiker
i posted this on the 06 planning group. im just pasting it here. im using ration planning vs meal planning. i want nutrition more than convenience. im not eating liptons for 3/4 of my dinners. ill be on the trail cooking better foods than i will find in some resturants! decided to give waltonfeed a test run. slow on shipping, about 2 weeks. 50 lbs of food cost about $130. this can easily become less expensive. ill be mailing some things and buying at the grocery. im not relying on any places to have quinoa, tvp, yerba mate, or emergencee.
i used to use a dehydrator. then i found these stores.
www.waltonfeed.com
www.suttonsbaytrading.com
www.beprepared.com
i urge all thru hikers to check these sites out.
what i thought about was:
1. how long would it take me to dehydrate all/many/most of my meals?
2. how much will fresh produce cost?
3. what is the nutritional value of the foods i want to eat?
so in thinking about all these things i decided to scrap the idea of
dehydrating everything on my own. especially once i found the above
listed sites. upon further inquiry to the value of goods i decided
it was well more valuable to purchase staple foods full of nutrition
rather than purchasing poorly processed foods by guess and hope
while hiking.
if we just look at veggies:
would you seriously take 5 days of fresh vegetables with you? when
you have the food dehydrated it is of near equal nutrition as the
fresh equivalent plus it weighs much much less since the water has
been taken out. fresh/canned(water packed)/frozen veggies cost a ton
but the dehydrated veggies cost considerably less. there is high
demand for the former and a low demand for the latter.
of course you could go insane by trying to meal pack everything. its
a matter of switching gears and ration packing. ration packing gives
you even greater flexibility when you are out there. It also Saves
Weight by using less packaging. Think of it as creating a
backcountry pantry vs ordering from a predetermined menu.
the companies that dehydrate food are pros! it would be horrible to
have spent months prepping your food, get out on the trail and find
a maildrop a la moldy. let the pros dehydrate, you ration pack. turn
your attention to what you want to make, stir fry is uber easy and
yummeroo!
planning in advance gives you flexibility later. purchase your
staples ahead of time and while you are on the trail be prepared to
purchase the perishable food stuffs. sure go into town and grab the
fresh cheese and bagels!
some of the things i Know i will want:
Yerba Mate- tea
Quinoa- like rice sized spaghetti but packs a nutritional punch
emergencee- powder drink mix
TVP- texturized vegetable protein
dehydrated fruits and veggies- hell ya!
braggs soy sauce- contains amino acids to create complete proteins
just be careful remember what we put into our bodies directly
relates to our physical and mental health. people can not survive on
ramen alone. i know, ive seen some college folks try while saving
money...
well i just wanted to share some things ive been thinking about.
stay healthy,
chris