Dry goods and other musings
Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2023 11:23 pm
I was posting in response to a somewhat related question on Facebook, and it turned into a fairly neat and concise account of how I approach carrying foodstuffs. Thought I'd prefer a discussion here with you fine folks to flesh it out a bit.
There's lots of talk in here about making a solitary traveler feasible without a pack pony/boat for carrying large amounts of food necessary to be out and about for long periods.
To do this, consider a short period of time to be out, and try to aim for preparing to carry enough for that time. Get that weekend figured out, then try to grow to longer treks. Get used to the idea of rationing your food, and understand that you will not be eating the same food at the beginning as you will at the end. You'll leave with bread, but you'll run out in a few days and resort to cram or dumplings from raw flour. Your cheese will dry and harden, so you won't want to save it for later days on the trail. You'll leave with some cold meats but within a day or two be solely on dried meats and smoked sausages. You'll leave with a few Apples for Walking(TM), but you'll run out shortly and be eating dried fruit slices or fruit leathers, as you don't want to carry lots of apples anyway (they're heavy and take up space). If you plan well, your oats (hot cereal is right good ballast for an empty morning belly) are a staple, and the anchor for a dry goods, lightweight diet. Flour should be carried in fairly large quantities. As long as you can stew something to make broth, you can make dumplings which are an awesome, easy, and delicious calorie dump in the evenings.
I measure out my dry goods with the same cup I ration them, and carry at least two days' more of each item than I plan to be out. Once you're on the trail, you have to stick to your rations, no matter how you feel, or you'll be running out. If you said "One apple a day" at your start, then you don't eat more than one a day. If you're hungry after dinner, drink more water. Comfort at home and comfort on the trail are VERY different things.
The ultimate goal for our hobby, I think, is a fortnight...and a LOT can happen in 14 days. We spend so much time focusing on so many neat little tools and kit items, but when you're ready to pick up and put dozens of miles behind you, how much of it are you really willing to carry?
Does anyone have any lighter-weight dry goods they're fond of that help bolster their trail rations? Other approaches they take for carrying food for multiple days? Bear in mind, I'm talking about multiple days putting miles underfoot, not multiple days staying at one site and exploring around. I feel like we've discussed this to death here, but every time it comes back up, we all learn something new, so it can't hurt to go at it again!
There's lots of talk in here about making a solitary traveler feasible without a pack pony/boat for carrying large amounts of food necessary to be out and about for long periods.
To do this, consider a short period of time to be out, and try to aim for preparing to carry enough for that time. Get that weekend figured out, then try to grow to longer treks. Get used to the idea of rationing your food, and understand that you will not be eating the same food at the beginning as you will at the end. You'll leave with bread, but you'll run out in a few days and resort to cram or dumplings from raw flour. Your cheese will dry and harden, so you won't want to save it for later days on the trail. You'll leave with some cold meats but within a day or two be solely on dried meats and smoked sausages. You'll leave with a few Apples for Walking(TM), but you'll run out shortly and be eating dried fruit slices or fruit leathers, as you don't want to carry lots of apples anyway (they're heavy and take up space). If you plan well, your oats (hot cereal is right good ballast for an empty morning belly) are a staple, and the anchor for a dry goods, lightweight diet. Flour should be carried in fairly large quantities. As long as you can stew something to make broth, you can make dumplings which are an awesome, easy, and delicious calorie dump in the evenings.
I measure out my dry goods with the same cup I ration them, and carry at least two days' more of each item than I plan to be out. Once you're on the trail, you have to stick to your rations, no matter how you feel, or you'll be running out. If you said "One apple a day" at your start, then you don't eat more than one a day. If you're hungry after dinner, drink more water. Comfort at home and comfort on the trail are VERY different things.
The ultimate goal for our hobby, I think, is a fortnight...and a LOT can happen in 14 days. We spend so much time focusing on so many neat little tools and kit items, but when you're ready to pick up and put dozens of miles behind you, how much of it are you really willing to carry?
Does anyone have any lighter-weight dry goods they're fond of that help bolster their trail rations? Other approaches they take for carrying food for multiple days? Bear in mind, I'm talking about multiple days putting miles underfoot, not multiple days staying at one site and exploring around. I feel like we've discussed this to death here, but every time it comes back up, we all learn something new, so it can't hurt to go at it again!