3. I'm not going to go too deeply into your menu, but I'm wondering how you plan to cook all that stuff - you don't include a stove and pot on your list. (I know you can use a fire, and roast the hot dogs on a stick - but it's a bit hard to do the same with mac-n-cheese. ) I tend to avoid perishable foods like hot dogs, myself, but I know people who take them, so I won't quibble too much. If you're interested in simplifying trail life, you might want to move to a simpler menu, but there's nothing inherently wrong with what you list.

4. Once you add that pot, you might be able to eliminate the bowl (just eat from the pot) and, if you decide you can live with just water to drink, you can eliminate the cup, too.



Two liters of water capacity is a bit sketchier than I'd choose personally, but I don't know the area you'll be hiking in - you may never need to carry extra water between sources, or have to make a dry camp. I tend to carry only a liter between sources, so I usually bring a 1-liter bottle with a 2 or 3 quart reservoir (Dromlite, Nalgene Cantene, Platypus, or Camelbak) empty in pack. The collapsible reservoir doesn't take up much space in the pack, and 4 quarts is plenty to get me from the last source of the day to camp, cook supper and breakfast, and get me to the first source the next day. (The exact amount you'd need for overnight depends on what you're cooking and how messy it will be to clean up - I might pass on mac-n-cheese at a dry camp.)