FOOD TALK 2

what i wish i'd be eating every morning

3 weeks to go and so many chores left.  As I sit, gazing upon my food mountain, I am filled with complete bewilderment.  I haven't even started putting together my food boxes.  The food I've collected is still sitting in the middle of the floor.  I fill my time with distractions, happy hours, shopping (for gear), spending more money on MORE food (I do not need more food), hopping over the food pile, worrying about my physical state, finding other tasks to complete and basically... procrastinating.

I've come to the conclusion that I have acquired too much food, which should be a good thing, but most of it is stuff I already feel sick of...  For instance:

FD&C Yellow #5 and #6

These are the ingredients in Idahoan Potatoes.  I'm just not sure...how these foods are going to make me feel.  I know that, as hiking athletes, we need to a) stay well nourished b) get enough calories c) stay healthy d) GET ENOUGH CALORIES.  I am not used to regularly eating foods with such extensive ingredients lists.  As I've mentioned before, I try very hard to nourish my body with whole (real) foods.  I am both excited and revolted by the food I am about to be eating.  Mostly - it is going to be a blast  to create new and diverse menu items out of gas station snack selections....

A very bad recipe

Just check out this recipe for "CHEESY HOT POTATO SALAD"... Just add sugar, salt, BACON, flour and RAW onion to the steaming hot pile of mashed potatoes and - potato salad! Nothing. Sounds. Worse.

There are 2 methods of food resupply that a thru-hiker can choose (you can combine the 2 methods as well) ...

1. MAIL yourself food boxes along the way

This is a great method for people who choose to dehydrate their own food, have restrictive diets, are extremely organized, are picky eaters, and people who simply don't want to deal with the hassle of going into town and shopping and packing and shipping.  This can be an expensive method because you have to pay for postage and food boxes can be heeeavvvvvyyyy.

2. BUY food as you go

This is fabulous for those of us who want nothing to do with shopping for 6 months worth of food all at once.  Simply get into town, go to the store, shop, pack your food bag and hit the trail.  In terms of variety, this is a great method because you will always be able to buy what you are craving that day. You never know what you will start to love/hate/crave out on the trail.  Tastes and preferences will change and you will have absolutely no idea what foods you will want 3 or 6 months from now.  Buying as you go allows you the freedom to switch it up! If you pack all of your food ahead of time, you may not like what you sent yourself and ultimately ditch it in town. Obviously, this is a gigantic waste of money, time and energy.


Since we've opted for a "buy as we go" food strategy, we only have to plan so many (4) food boxes ahead of time.  Thank God.  So technically, we are doing a "hybrid" resupply approach because we are both shopping ahead of time AND getting food along the way.

Thru-hikers need to consume an unbelievably large amount of calories.   I don't even know how this is going to be possible for me considering I don't eat meat or meat products.  Lots of: olive oil, coconut junk, butter, (butter buds), and nuts/nut butter I guess? I'll probably wind up looking fairly emaciated.


Hiking for 10-12 hours a day.....5-7 days a week... for 6 months straight.  Today is the day I actually PACK my first food boxes.  Will post shortly on what this process looks like.

FOOD TALK

This weekend was a very productive weekend for us.  We went shopping for food to put in our first mail drops and OH MAN DID WE SHOP.  

First we went to Grocery Outlet - then we hit up Winco - and then ended our trip at Trader Joe's. 

GROCERY OUTLET

Why have I never been here?  I could not believe my eyes!  The deals!  It's a little creepy inside (especially the longer you stay in there) but I was enamored with the concept of this place.  Picked up some sunscreen, lotion, anti-itch soothing stuff, all of the oatmeal I could ask for, and more! 

WinCo

Usually a "no thank you" place - we were thrilled to make a trip out to WinCo.  It was nostalgic for me because, in college, I shopped there frequently.  Odd smells, strange characters, terrible location.... great prices!

Trader Joe's

WHO HAS BETTER SNACKS THAN TRADER JOE'S?

Having sketched out a general outline of how many meals we might need for the first few weeks, we went into this semi-prepared.  But... I didn't really end up sticking to the plan.  I completely forgot to even look at my carefully considered worksheet.  Here I was - impulsively throwing bag after bag of dried goods into my cart.  

Before the excursion, Ben and I sat down and listed every meal we would need for each and every mail drop.  Every breakfast, lunch and dinner was accounted for.  This definitely helped us wrap our brains around the whole notion of a "mail drop" and got us thinking about how much food specifically we were going to be eating each meal.  So we counted how many breakfasts, lunches, and dinners we had to purchase, generally made a list of some "good" food ideas, and called it a day.  

BUT - once we got to Grocery Outlet we sort of decided to abandon the "organized list" idea and instead, agreed to take buy frivolously, bring the mass of food home, lay it on the floor, and ration it all out AFTER we had purchased it.   

For those of you curious about where we are sending food drops: 

1. Scout & Frodo's (the Trail Angels who are hosting us the night before our trip in San Diego) - I'm considering this a "mail drop" since we are going to package up our food and send it to their house a few weeks prior to leaving.  We don't want to have to deal with shopping the day before we leave - nerves will be high enough.  Essentially - this box will contain the food that will get us to Mt. Laguna.

2. Mt. Laguna - I know, I know, it's only 43 miles in but we are starting off rusty and slow so we want to carry as little food weight as possible the first leg of the trip.

3.  Warner Springs - Obviously.  This is where most people mail themselves food even if they plan on using a "buy as you go" food resupply strategy.  

4.  Ziggy & the Bear (Trail Angels)

We are only sending ourselves food to these 4 places from home, ahead of time, and then we will switch to a "buy as you go" strategy and simply shop in town as we go.  There are exceptions to this rule once we hit Oregon/Washington that I will discuss later.... but for now - we are only focusing on getting our food together for Southern California!

mandatory fast food break in order to stay calm

in it's glowing glory

It is safe to say that all three of us have a very short fuse when it comes to shopping under fluorescent lights.  I can typically spend a maximum of 1 hour in a windowless store filled with shopping carts, children, humans, and bright lights.  Avoiding large (chain) grocery/department stores is something I do with skill.  This shopping trip was different.  It was an event.  We have been planning planning planning and thinking thinking thinking about this facet of our preparations for so long!  Our spirits were high and we got a kick out of it.  There were so many great backpacking options!  Such good people watching!

yep

It definitely gives you a rush to throw any and all food items that look appealing into a shopping cart willy-nilly.  This is not how i usually operate, but it was how I decided to handle the daunting task of shopping for 30+ meals all at once.  In real life, I love to browse recipes, make lists, carefully stick to these lists, make meals at home, eat healthy, and otherwise enjoy the process of eating.  However....... this new mode of operation was fun.  What flavor of pop tart?? Should I get 5 boxes? Sure.  How about Triscuits?? Do I even like those? I'm not sure.  Maybe I'll try 3 flavors.  GUSHERS ARE STILL AROUND? YES PLEASE.

This makes it sound like I am a junk food fiend.  I'm quite the opposite - but maybe that is why I am taking so much pleasure in buying copious amounts of it?  I did buy my fair share of gross-ness at WinCo but I also made sure to buy a lot of "healthy" food too....

I don't think I can wait to eat these

It's getting serious - this is only a sample

1 MONTH

WOW. We are almost exactly 1 month from boarding a plane to San Diego.  Nerves are high, anxieties through the roof, anticipation, night panic, eagerness, pure terror and intermittent excitement. Mostly I feel overwhelmed but there are moments of pure feeling-lessness.  It doesn't seem real.  Is this really going to happen? Are we really going to be greeting sunrise at the border of Mexico a month from now? What will those first steps feel like? OKAY.

I thought I would touch on a few things we've been doing to prepare for our trip - although, honestly, underprepared-ness is the dominant feeling resonating within me these days...

In terms of gear - we are SOLID. We have all of our gear and have been accumulating it for quite some time.  The REI Used Gear Sales were our primary source of gear for years!  We have been going to these sales since 2009.  Almost everything of mine is used (or lightly used) and I saved thousands of dollars this way.

In terms of food - we are only slightly panicking.  We have a long way to go in terms of shopping, packing and shipping our first mail drops to ourselves.  Not even going to worry about it. We'll be fine.

Our travel plans have been solidified! We will be flying to San Diego on April 20th where we will be retrieved by two Trail Angels (Scout and Frodo).  We'll be put up overnight at their house (so amazing), eat dinner with other hikers, and get shuttled to the trailhead at 6am the following morning.  Couldn't be happier about this arrangement!

Training.  Training has been going slowly.  We have been going on regular "training hikes" but I don't think any amount of exercise is going to make me feel prepared enough to hike 20+ miles a day.  We will hopefully be ramping up our training hike intensities this final month... Quitting my job ahead of time would help...

Here are some photos from our training hikes over the past few months:

Rock of Ages

Triple Falls family photo attempt

Ice axe training is hilarious?

Mt. Hood in her late summer best

Not really a training hike

Angel's Rest - Portlanders favorite place to go on a Saturday

Ice axe contemplation

Colorado

Tomlike Mountain in the distance