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#182072 - 01/17/14 04:37 PM Food Volume
rodwha Offline
member

Registered: 06/25/11
Posts: 131
Loc: Texas...for now
We've ( 2 adults and 4 yr old) generally only been going on weekend camping forays. SWMBO makes a lot of our dehydrated foods and packs it in.

We've been talking about a potential 30 day hike (all 3 of us) down a good trail, likely the AT. From what little I understand is that it's fairly easy to mail yourself packages of supplies ahead of time to PO's along the way.

Considering this, as well as the desire to bathe and wash clothes so we don't need much, the idea of a once a week stop into a town along the way sounds great. Get a room, clean up, and walk to the PO to pick up your stuff.

The Osprey daypack (Daylite 13 lit) pack sounds like an option for lugging the stuff back to the room and any stops to a grocery store for any other needs, but I'm afraid that 13 liters of capacity will be far too short for 2.5 people.

We will be replacing SWMBO's pack before we got this far, and so the idea of an Osprey pack and a Daylite pack would then double this ability. But I'm unsure of what a typical dehydrated food stuff and granola bars kind of diet would actually require as far s space. I just kinda estimated a day's worth of food would take up about 3 liters. Therefore a Daylite pack would handle 4.3 days of food.

And then I think of just rolling up my simple normal backpack and finding room to stuff it somewhere. I'd guess it's 20 something liters...
_________________________
Bob


"Were I to leave where else would I go? Your words of life and of truth You hold." - Third Day

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#182074 - 01/17/14 05:43 PM Re: Food Volume [Re: rodwha]
ETSU Pride Offline
member

Registered: 10/25/10
Posts: 933
Loc: Knoxville, TN
Depending on what stretch of the AT, there are towns where you can just buy food instead of mailing yourself stuff.
_________________________
It is one of the blessings of wilderness life that it shows us how few things we need in order to be perfectly happy.-- Horace Kephart

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#182075 - 01/17/14 06:00 PM Re: Food Volume [Re: ETSU Pride]
rodwha Offline
member

Registered: 06/25/11
Posts: 131
Loc: Texas...for now
Yea, but I figure mailing stuff ensures that we know what we are getting, it's available and nutritious, and not from some company she doesn't want to give her money to. Plus I figure it saves time and effort from shopping, especially if you'd prefer to spend your time relaxing in a room.

But I might want to stop by the store for some craft beer or wine, and anything we may have overlooked or that broke or got lost.

We'll be eating some more backpacker dinners soon to see what else is good or needs improving upon.

And even if we were going to a store for supplies we'd need a bag to pack it back to the room.


Edited by rodwha (01/17/14 06:01 PM)
_________________________
Bob


"Were I to leave where else would I go? Your words of life and of truth You hold." - Third Day

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#182077 - 01/17/14 06:16 PM Re: Food Volume [Re: rodwha]
rodwha Offline
member

Registered: 06/25/11
Posts: 131
Loc: Texas...for now
As to the stretch of AT I'd think it might begin (and end?) in VA as we might move there, and I have some family in VA and MA, or it could be further north around NJ as I have an aunt up there who says she's more than down with going on a long backpacking trip. Her husband (a surfer) thinks it might be fun for a moment, but then he's gotta get back to the water.
_________________________
Bob


"Were I to leave where else would I go? Your words of life and of truth You hold." - Third Day

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#182098 - 01/18/14 10:33 AM Re: Food Volume [Re: rodwha]
BrianLe Offline
member

Registered: 02/26/07
Posts: 1149
Loc: Washington State, King County
Quote:
"The Osprey daypack (Daylite 13 lit) pack sounds like an option for lugging the stuff back to the room and any stops to a grocery store for any other needs"


I would definitely not factor in "lugging stuff back to the room" in selecting a pack. Most stores still offer plastic sacks, which you'll find uses for along the way anyway. Or just bring your own very light plastic sack if concerned.

In terms of resupplying on the AT in particular, it's by far the easiest of the "big three"; thru-hikers typically carry just 2 - 4 days of food on that trail as resupply options are so frequent. When I hiked the AT in 2010 I had just 5 resupply boxes for the whole trail, and that was plenty (mostly to send myself new shoes and prescription med's).

I'm not saying that you're "wrong" to do it another way. Most folks, however, who start out with the idea of sending lots of boxes end up regretting it. I certainly learned my lesson on this the hard way, and fortunately dialed it in right (for me, anyway) for the AT.

I'll be hiking about a month on the AT starting in mid-March, and plan on one resupply box at Fontana Dam (NC) just because my recollection was that it was somewhat of a hit-or-miss PITA to resupply there, depending I think on lodging options.
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Brian Lewis
http://postholer.com/brianle

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#182100 - 01/18/14 01:34 PM Re: Food Volume [Re: BrianLe]
rodwha Offline
member

Registered: 06/25/11
Posts: 131
Loc: Texas...for now
The idea of walking, potentially, several miles carrying plastic grocery bags with enough stuff to last a week for 3 doesn't sound goos to me.

Shopping at a grocery store when you are tired doesn't sound good compared to picking up a box that takes 5 minutes.

We want a daypack for while we are on the trail, and the little Osprey Daylite seems ideal for what it is, but certainly not enough alone for what I'm considering.

Going to the store would likely be for anything we didn't have the foresight to consider, or that we found what we packed wasn't quite enough, or that something was broken or lost, and quite possibly for craft beer or wine to enjoy back in our room while we relax.

I'm curious why people would regret sending themselves boxes? Or is it that they often send too much stuff?

I've been trying to find maps of the AT with the trailheads that head into towns so I can get a better idea of distances and towns to stop in, but it doesn't seem to be quite that detailed.
_________________________
Bob


"Were I to leave where else would I go? Your words of life and of truth You hold." - Third Day

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#182102 - 01/18/14 02:02 PM Re: Food Volume [Re: rodwha]
rockchucker22 Offline
member

Registered: 09/24/12
Posts: 751
Loc: Eastern Sierras
I use this http://gossamergear.com/packs/backpacks/riksak.html for day hikes and a pillow at night, weighs nothing and works great. Should be perfect for you.
_________________________
The wind wont howl if the wind don't break.

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#182104 - 01/18/14 02:14 PM Re: Food Volume [Re: rockchucker22]
rodwha Offline
member

Registered: 06/25/11
Posts: 131
Loc: Texas...for now
As much as I like shopping at REI (we have a membership), it seems shopping around is a very good idea since I've been shown so many better options! Thanks!
_________________________
Bob


"Were I to leave where else would I go? Your words of life and of truth You hold." - Third Day

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#182142 - 01/20/14 03:48 AM Re: Food Volume [Re: rodwha]
BrianLe Offline
member

Registered: 02/26/07
Posts: 1149
Loc: Washington State, King County
Quote:
"I'm curious why people would regret sending themselves boxes? Or is it that they often send too much stuff?"


Too much stuff is a small part of it; no biggie unless you're on a tight budget, you just put the excess in a hiker box.

The wrong stuff can be part of it. Folks think they know what they'll like but find that they're sick of that after a while and are leaving stuff in hiker boxes and buying other food to replace. Certainly not all the time; on the PCT I had too many boxes, but was generally satisfied with what I sent to myself.

The biggest issue is being tied to going in to specific towns, and/or tied to the hours of the post office or business establishment where the box is waiting. For example, in the Sierras on the PCT I pushed my pace faster than I wanted to in the snow to barely get in to a town in time to get a resupply box. But I'd pushed hard enough that I ended up taking a zero anyway just to recover a bit. This sort of thing happened more than once.

On the AT there are so very many places to resupply that you don't go to them all. So imagine that you're hiking with someone whose company you enjoy, and they're going off trail in town X, but you have to split with them as your box is waiting in town Y.

Buying along the way gives flexibility.

I'm not trying to talk you into or out of anything here, just sharing ideas. Have a good trip however you do it!
_________________________
Brian Lewis
http://postholer.com/brianle

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#182152 - 01/20/14 02:19 PM Re: Food Volume [Re: BrianLe]
rodwha Offline
member

Registered: 06/25/11
Posts: 131
Loc: Texas...for now
I'm all for the ideas, especially since I'm unfamiliar.

To me, shipping boxes just makes sense for the reasons I've listed, but as you mentioned, there could be good reasons to do it differently.

And quite frankly, if there's a known place to have a plethora of foods SWMBO would be able to and choose to eat, it might be nice just to do something differently for the experience of it. But I suppose that also is a little dependent on not being tired/dirty and not wanting to go shopping. Neither of us care that much for it when it's not something exciting.

Being tied to certain places by certain times can be a drawback I suppose.
_________________________
Bob


"Were I to leave where else would I go? Your words of life and of truth You hold." - Third Day

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#182166 - 01/21/14 08:46 AM Re: Food Volume [Re: rodwha]
BrianLe Offline
member

Registered: 02/26/07
Posts: 1149
Loc: Washington State, King County
Quote:
"But I suppose that also is a little dependent on not being tired/dirty and not wanting to go shopping. Neither of us care that much for it when it's not something exciting."

My experience with long distance hikers is that they quite like "going shopping" insofar as this allows them to scarf down lots of calories in a sometimes wide variety of tasty forms. It's also a way to get fresh food --- fruit, vegetables. And some of us, at least, like to eat certain foods "when in town" that a mailed box or a restaurant is less likely to offer --- an active yoghurt for example. And it leads to more variety of things to carry out of town to eat later.

Mind you, often the "shopping" experience is limited to what's available in a gas station mini-mart or perhaps even worse a touristy "just snacks" venue, but that can nevertheless seem quite appealing when you've been mostly feeding off of what you carry on your back. And occasionally even those will have a piece of fruit or some other "actual food" items! :-)
_________________________
Brian Lewis
http://postholer.com/brianle

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#182167 - 01/21/14 09:12 AM Re: Food Volume [Re: BrianLe]
lori Offline
member

Registered: 01/22/08
Posts: 2801
After a nine day trip - for which I was provisioned adequately and never felt hungry, having a bear can packed with cheese sticks and nut butters and all kinds of REAL foods, not chemical based food substitute meals that cost an arm and a leg and taste like spicy paper towels - we were picked up by a nice person who brought us fresh strawberries and Shock Tops.

On the way home we all three ate massive burgers (mine had potato chips in addition to the usual condiments) and drank beer.

Once home, I found myself craving and ate an entire pizza BY MYSELF.

Each day, taking a reasonable lunch to work, I found myself in a drive through with a body craving hamburgers that I rarely eat under normal day to day operations - most of the time I am a soup, fruit, veg and pasta kind of grazer.

Five days after the trip, my body stopped screaming for fats and carbs and proteins.

I may hike sections of long trails as I have been doing, but I will never be a thru - else I would end up one of those monotonous thrus that leaves the trail at every opportunity and sucks down endless stacks of pancakes, sticks of butter, sausage, hamburgers, etc while obsessing through the miles about the next meal. Read a few books written by people who have hiked the PCT and you see what I'm talking about. Halfway through the book the hiker becomes so focused on food you never hear about scenery much after that.

I hiked a resupply in for a good friend who did the JMT last summer. The experience completely changed him. When we met him, one of the hikers with me had brought - I kid you not - a six pack of Starbucks frappucinos in glass bottles, a sack of baby carrots, a bag of apples, and various other things straight from the grocery store (newbie backpacker unknowingly becomes jackpot for thru hiker - story at 11!) He sat with us for dinner and repeatedly, we would hand him food and it would VANISH in seconds. The narrative of his last week on the trail was one of bumping into other thrus and swapping food items, and the wonders of digging through the buckets at Muir Trail Ranch for stuff other hikers left there. Now, on backpacking trips of a weekend, he continues to obsess about food items.

Don't underestimate the power of increasing caloric needs beyond what you can carry in the pack.
_________________________
"In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities. In the expert's mind there are few." Shunryu Suzuki

http://hikeandbackpack.com

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#182420 - 02/02/14 01:34 AM Re: Food Volume [Re: lori]
rodwha Offline
member

Registered: 06/25/11
Posts: 131
Loc: Texas...for now
This has me really grinning as I can just see it!

And I would certainly be walking down the beer isle while SWMBO's getting after me about not being there for that! And I'd be more than willing to carry that extra weight!

Though we'd both likely enjoy some experience with shopping, a Quickie Mart just isn't going to do it for her, and not even so much for me.

She does a lot of research and testing of our dehydrated meals, which we try before we use them.

But we've also not eaten them strictly for more than maybe 4 days. 30 might get to be a bit much, and maybe the exertion would demand more.

Maybe the answer, which I've been reading up on, is good places to stop, and staggering that with mailed supplies.

I must say the idea of shopping while dirty and a little tired doesn't sound all that good though.

_________________________
Bob


"Were I to leave where else would I go? Your words of life and of truth You hold." - Third Day

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#182424 - 02/02/14 09:08 AM Re: Food Volume [Re: rodwha]
scratchtp Offline
member

Registered: 09/11/12
Posts: 64
Loc: New York
I think you just get used to shopping dirty and tired after a while, and hope you don't offend anyone too badly.

I remember on one particularly long bike touring trip I was on, my friends and I struck up a conversation with someone, talking about where we were going, where we had come from, etc. After about 5-10 minutes, the person said "You guys are really cute, but you also really stink. I'm going to move over there."

If you are making your own dehydrated meals it seems you would be able to plan for more variety of foods. That way you wouldn't get tired of your options on a longer 30 day trip. I would also say though that you should expect to eat 3 times as much as you do on a normal day by the end of the trip. Something about doing something like hiking or bicycling for a month straight changes how your body treats food. I never calculated it, but I ate 5000+ calories a day while bike touring.

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