[at-l] The Cheap Hike

[ellen at clinic.net (Bob C.)]

My food bag for a 4-5 day hike would be:

 Quick-cooking oatmeal divided into sandwich baggies. In the beginning of a long
 hike I follow the package directions for the amount, but after a week or 10
 days I double the amount claimed to be "one serving." I add to each bag
 appropriate amounts of salt, a spoonful or so of brown sugar, enough dried milk
 to make a cup of liquid, and a handful of raisins. Coffee bags -- at least
 enough for a couple of cups per day. Hot chocolate packets. Swiss Miss are best
 in my opinion.

 Pita bread, Peanut butter, hard salami, sliced cheese. Un opened American
 cheese lasts the best. Swiss tastes the best. I eat Swiss early on. Amercan
 towards the end of a resupply cycle. All combined with the hard salami or
 summer sausage.

 A concoction of pasta, bouillon, quick-cooking brown rice, and spices -- enough
 to make a cup or so of dry stuff. Add any extra salami, you may have.

 The basic rule: add twice as much by volume of liquid for every unit of
 oatmeal, pasta or rice. A little extra liquid make cooking easier and adds
 important fluids to your diet, but makes for a sloppy meal, which gets tiresome
 after awhile.

  Snacks include Snicker Bars, peanuts, raisins, dried fruit, granola cereal,
  packets of lemonade mix, instant cider etc.

  If you plan ahead and buy carefully, you can eat well for $1.50 a day using
  mail drops. Prices tend to be higher in trail side stores,  but you save
  mailing costs. So it comes out about the same in the end, though trail
  selections vary widely.

  Weary