[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

No Subject

Although my husband and I haven't done the PCT, we have done several
long trips of up to two weeks.  I prepare all our meals.  I feel like I
could write a book on the subject.  There's no easy way to figure
exactly how much food you'll need to bring, but I can give you a few
pointers.  I used to figure all the calories for a meal I made up on
paper.  Now I use a computer program called NUT (Nutritional Analyser
and Recipe Book) that figures out the calories of the recipes I enter in
it.  However, it's not foolproof.  It doesn't know the number of
calories of every ingredient under the sun, such as corn pasta.  Buy
yourself a good calorie counter, such as Netzer's _The Complete Book of
Food Counts_.  Look for one in the nutrition and diet section of your
local bookstore.  _The Expedition Cookbook_ by Carolyn Gunn (published
by Chockstone Press in Denver, CO) is excellent to help plan meals and
estimate how many calories you need per day.  For making your own meals
from food bought in the supermarket and food you've dried yourself,
consult the _Supermarket Backpacker_ by Harreitt Barker (published by
Contemporary Books in Chicago) and _The Well-Fed Backpacker_ by June
Fleming.  I own over a dozen cookbooks for the outdoors, but these three
are the ones I've used the most.  As well as your outdoors store and
local grocery store, check out health food stores, ethnic (Jewish,
Mexican, Asian, etc.) grocery stores, delis, and import and gourmet
stores.  Some people prefer to pack ingredients separately and make each
meal as they go along.  However, I like to mix all the ingedients for a
one pot meal together in a ziplock bag then put it along with drinks and
dessert into a larger ziplock bag that contains all the makings for a
single meal.  I prefer this method because we've had to make too many
meals in a hurry or in a downpour.  Double bag everything.  Water has a
way of seeping into even ziplock bags.  Double bagging also prevents
odors from escaping and attracting other animals to your food supply. 
We find it's wise to plan food for one extra day's meals per week on the
trail.  We've actually used this extra food.  Because tortillas and
bagles get moldy after a few days, we live off logan bars.  You can find
various recipes for them in outdoor cookbooks.  I like to put some soy
flour in mine for added protein.  They are more palatable if you put a
spread on them, such as cream cheese, peanut butter, or jelly.  We eat a
lot of TVP also for protein.  To cook macaroni using minimum water and
fuel:  Boil for three minutes, cover, then set for ten minutes. 
Obviously, You'll start to feel hungrier (ravenous?) after the first
three days.  It's easier, of course, to spread the calories out over the
day than to try to eat them all during three meals.  Buy a kitchen
scales to weigh and help divide the food into individual servings.  We
figure about two servings per person.  Write simple clear directions for
each meal.  For a two week (14 days) trip it can take (working
full-time) one week to dry and buy ingredients and another week to
assemble and package them.  Of course, if you know your local stores
well, you may be able to buy the ingredients faster.  Drying still takes
a week, however.  With practise, I have been able to cut the preparation
time somewhat.  Good luck!  Have a great trip!  Wish we could go with
you!  Let the list know how your planning and trip go.  If you have any
more questions on food preparation, I'd be glad to answer them as best
as I can.
* From the Pacific Crest Trail Email List | For info http://www.hack.net/lists *

==============================================================================