[at-l] re: dehydrated weight savings? (kinda obtuse)

[Michael Henderson <mhat92@tidepool.com>]

paddler and sloetoe were discussing weight benefits/costs of having to
rehydrate food.  i do a lot of dehydration myself, and this is how i
rationalize it:

i don't just look at the nominal weight of something.  i consider the
product "weight x miles carried", or "ounce-miles."  i figure that it is
not just the weight of the pack, it's carrying a pack over long distances,
that determines your comfort level and health.

for example, consider toothpaste.  i like to hike with powdered toothpaste
because of its weight.  6oz will last me a thruhike (~ 5 months).  so that
works out to be approximately 3 x 2160 = 6480 ozmiles (or even less if i
don't start out with all 6 oz).   a small travel tube of toothpaste weighs
about 4oz, but would only last a month at most (i use very little), so i
would use 5 in a thruhike.  that would be approx 5 x 2 x 2160 = 21,600
ozmiles, more than 3 times as much.

look, the numbers themselves don't mean much (clearly  :), but it's obvious
to me that the tube equates to 3 times as much wear on the body as the
powder (assuming wear = miles that you have carry weight).  granted, that's
only a little wear, but the concept applies to everything in the pack.

so, dehydrated food.  the main reason i "carry" is taste, with nutrition
being a close second.  for each meal i have a little seal-a-meal packet of
meat (beef turkey, etc, some flavored, some not) and one of veggies (all
kinds).  [thanks, solophile, for the great tip of using 4oz disposable baby
bottles with the seal-a-meal!!!]  they each weigh an ounce or less.  these
i add to basic staples like grits, pasta, potatoes, cous cous, etc.  so 5
days of dehydrated food weighs 10oz.  for half of each day, i also carry
the 4oz of water needed to rehydrate.  assume five 15 miles days.  this
amounts to:

(10 + 8 + 6 + 4 + 2) x 15 = 450 ozmiles    -  for the food itself
(4 x 5) x (15/2)          = 150 ozmiles    -  for the water
                            600 ozmiles    -  total

now, i don't know what exactly i would do to produce similar taste and
nutritional additions *without* dehydrating, but a conservative estimate
would be at least twice the weight.  i'm assuming there would be more
complex instant meals with more stuff in them, some fresh food maybe,
things like that.  so that works out to:

(20 + 16 + 12 + 8 + 4) x 15   =  900 ozmiles  total.  
i think this is conservative.

so there you have it, a savings of 300 ozmiles over 5 days or 75 miles.  a
thruhike is 2160 miles, so you could save up to (2160/75) x 300 = 8640
ozmiles over the course of a thruhike by using dehydrated food.  and your
body will be 8640 ozmiles happier.  note that this didn't even consider the
saving in fuel. 

if the concept of ozmiles doesn't hit home, consider this:  8640 ozmiles is
540 pound-miles.  so that's like carrying one whole pound less from
springer to damascus!  or about 3.5 pounds less from springer to fontana!
if you could have done this when you started your thruhike, would ya?  i
woulda.

however, and those that have tried it will agree, the real benefit of your
own dehydrated food on a thru hike is psycological.  it just tastes so
good!  nothing like an amazing meal at the end of a long, tiring day to
restore the spirit.  it's even better when you grew the vegetables
yourself.  i'm sure it's as satisfying if you raised the chicken or cow,
but i haven't tried that.

was that just too weird or what?  check with felix, he'll confirm i really
do think like that...


mike
ke kaahawe, AT92  TYT94  PCT99
mhAT92@tidepool.com
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