I relearned a few lessons this summer. None of those to be brought up here though. For another thread I think.

My Merrell Moab mids worked better than expected on granite slab. I was able to go up and down stuff with a full load and confidence . On the other hand....they sucked on Ice and hard snow; could not kick step effectively 'cause these things are essentially beefy tennis shoes, and the tread was ineffective in gripping hard snow . So much so that I chose fourth and low fifth class on rock vs some of the snow pack. I wish I could find something a little more boot like that was comfortable for me in these cases. I can't easily do back to back 18+ mile days with mountaineering boots on.

My home made version of Laura bars work well for me. I can tell because I wasn't sick of them by the end of any trip I used them on. Dried figs were a hit also. A little heavy, but with tons of energy packed inside (3-4 figs = 250 cal), the figs were also good for passing out to new friends.

On the other hand, I got tired of dried cranberries REAL fast for some reason. But they were good for sharing with other people in goodwill gestures.

Approximately 2 lb of food a day was plenty for me to go all day up to 20 miles a day mixed trail and off trail. NEVER got hungry once. Always woke up energized and stoked to get moving.

Chris