I've committed - resupply packages were dropped off at my local post offices headed for Finland and Grand Marais. This money can never be returned, although the packages can.
I sent seven days of food to Grand Marais and five days to Finland, a day extra per stop on the chance that I need the time - I am also starting with 5 days of food to get to Grand Marais, a 50 mile trip that should take me about four days. I have heard reports of two or three feet of snow on various, spread-out parts of the trail and nothing will slow me down like breaking trail on thick snow.
My first batch of jerky turned out excellent - the last pound is in the dehydrator right now. When this batch is done, it will be packaged and go in my initial trailhead pack. As for weight reduction, 63.7 ounces of meat reduced to 24.9 ounces of jerky.
There is little left to do but pack and drive. Just a few phone calls to be made and e-mails to be sent. And then, the North.
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Food for blitz
| Friday | Servings | cal/day | oz/day | cal/oz |
| Granola | 3 | 420 | 3.15 | 133.33 |
| Nature Valley | 2 | 360 | 3 | 120.00 |
| Daily Totals | 780 | 6.15 | 126.83 | |
| Saturday | Servings | cal/day | oz/day | cal/oz |
| Pop Tart | 3 | 1200 | 11.01 | 108.99 |
| Granola | 3 | 420 | 3.15 | 133.33 |
| Gorp (2/3 cup) | 1 | 1522 | 9.91 | 153.58 |
| Nature Valley | 1 | 180 | 1.5 | 120.00 |
| Cheeze-its | 2 | 320 | 2.1 | 152.38 |
| Potatoes | 4 | 400 | 3.64 | 109.89 |
| powdered milk | 0.5 | 40 | 0.405 | 98.77 |
| Butter | 2 | 200 | 0.98 | 204.08 |
| Chocolate bar | 1 | 230 | 1.55 | 148.39 |
| Daily Totals | 4512 | 34.245 | 131.76 | |
| Sunday | Servings | cal/day | oz/day | cal/oz |
| Pop Tart | 3 | 1200 | 11.01 | 108.99 |
| Granola | 3 | 420 | 3.15 | 133.33 |
| Gorp (2/3 cup) | 1 | 1522 | 9.91 | 153.58 |
| Nature Valley | 1 | 180 | 1.5 | 120.00 |
| Cheeze-its | 3 | 480 | 3.15 | 152.38 |
| Daily Totals | 3802 | 28.72 | 132.38 | |
| Trip Totals | 9094 | 69.115 | 131.58 | |
| Goal deviation (+/-) | 94 | -2.885 | ||
Above, you can see my food list. For the most part, it is a lot of snack-type foods with one hot meal built in. This is very similar to my SHT thru-hike, with the major change being a different supper.
The weekend is built around 150 cal/mile with food of at least 125 cal/oz. Hence, the goal was 9000 calories that weighed 72 ounces. The Goals (+/-) listing on the bottom shows that I am carrying 94 calories more than I intended and my food weighs almost 3 oz less than my goal. This is attributed to my over 131.58 cal/oz ratio. Not too shabby. The days are broken down to 5 miles, 30 miles and 25 miles for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively. This gives the total calories needed per day. The totals per day are listed underneath each day.
As you can see, the bulk of the calories per day are coming from early morning Pop-Tarts and mid-day/afternoon Gorp (a mixture of sunflower seeds, M&Ms and peanuts mixed in a 1:1:1 ratio of ~2/3 cup each). I added a little more M&Ms than the above calls for, so the calorie count is probably negligibly higher.
There are a few alterations from prior hikes. First, I am not taking a dedicated energy bar a la Clif Bar or PowerBar. Second, I am taking Bear Naked Granola - Original and there are no Snickers bars in the mix. The third change comes with Saturday night supper, which is instant garlic potatoes. I have had them several times at home and can vouch for their goodness. Finally, I am not taking any dedicated extra food. Normally, I would have food for an additional meal (we carried 12 days plus an additional breakfast and morning snack on our May SHT trip). I have packed just enough to get me through the weekend and no more. Last May, it was painful for my mother to watch my brother and I pack our food. She repeatedly attempted to make sure we had enough, and wanted to put more in. I packed food this morning with no one but the cat watching, and he didn't say anything.
The calories per mile ratio is the same as our May SHT thru-hike, despite the feeling at the end of that trip that we were not eating enough. I think this is appropriate on such a short-term blitz because I will not be depleting long-term reserves so severely.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Solo SHT blitz upcoming
I'm heading north this weekend for a solo trip on the SHT. As part of my preparation for my upcoming snowshoe trek, I'm going solo to see if my mind can handle being alone for that many hours under a large amount of physical and mental stress.
The destination is a 60-mile section of the SHT that looks to be one of the toughest sections on the trail. I will be starting from Oberg Mountain/FS 336 and hiking southbound. The plan is to camp Friday night near Britton Peak and Saturday just after Crosby-Manitou State Park. I will end at Highway 1 in Tettegouche State Park.
The only tougher section would include the Lutsen Ski Area sections. I'm bypassing Lutsen because of the length of the drive. I need to get some hiking in on Friday night, and it keeps costs down because I've got to pay double gas for everything north/east of Duluth.
My current plan is more dangerous than a simple out-and-back. By parking my car 60 miles away, I need to hike 60 miles to get home. This puts a definite distance on my weekend, and a visible goal to the weekend. However, the advantages are huge. I get to see more terrain, and I don't have to double back.
Now, all of this is assuming my ride comes through. I anticipate it will, but if it does not, I'll drive myself and do an out-and-back, doubling back on everything I do. The advantage to this is that if I don't feel up to the challenge in Saturday afternoon, I can simply turn around. [EDIT: My ride has come through. I will be doing the 60-mile stretch - 9.18.08 crg]
The weekend will also be a huge test for a a variety of gear. More on that in a separate post, along with a food list.
The destination is a 60-mile section of the SHT that looks to be one of the toughest sections on the trail. I will be starting from Oberg Mountain/FS 336 and hiking southbound. The plan is to camp Friday night near Britton Peak and Saturday just after Crosby-Manitou State Park. I will end at Highway 1 in Tettegouche State Park.
The only tougher section would include the Lutsen Ski Area sections. I'm bypassing Lutsen because of the length of the drive. I need to get some hiking in on Friday night, and it keeps costs down because I've got to pay double gas for everything north/east of Duluth.
My current plan is more dangerous than a simple out-and-back. By parking my car 60 miles away, I need to hike 60 miles to get home. This puts a definite distance on my weekend, and a visible goal to the weekend. However, the advantages are huge. I get to see more terrain, and I don't have to double back.
Now, all of this is assuming my ride comes through. I anticipate it will, but if it does not, I'll drive myself and do an out-and-back, doubling back on everything I do. The advantage to this is that if I don't feel up to the challenge in Saturday afternoon, I can simply turn around. [EDIT: My ride has come through. I will be doing the 60-mile stretch - 9.18.08 crg]
The weekend will also be a huge test for a a variety of gear. More on that in a separate post, along with a food list.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Caloric needs experiment
I went walking this past weekend. 18 miles, in fact. Most was roads, some was boardwalk with an inch of packed snow.
It was msotly an experiment of caloric intake- I wanted to see how much food my body wanted over the miles. In the morning, I went to a grocery store and bought the following:
3x Generic poptarts, 420 calories per package (two tarts)
4x Snickers, 280 calories per 2.07 oz bar
Nature's valley peanut butter granola bar, box of six; 180 calories per 1.5 oz package (two bars)
32 oz Gatorade, 50 cal/8oz; 200 cal total. (only purchased b/c I needed a water bottle)
I was carrying a lot of food for how long I anticipated traveling. In the end, I ate one package of pop tarts, one snickers and three bars. I drank the gatorade and 1.5L of water. I consumed 1440 calories over 6 hours and 18 miles; that is 80 calories per mile and 240 calories per hour.
I ate the Pop Tart right away; the first granola bar two hours later; the next granola bar an hour after that; the next granola bar an hour after that; an hour later, the snickers, an hour later, third granola bar. At six hours, I was home and hungry, having not eaten in an hour. Had I been camping, I would have been ready to cook supper.
The 80 calories/mile seems in tune with Ryan Jordan's rough estimates of 100-150 calories per mile on trails. I knew I would be on the low end of that spectrum, but I did n't realize (though I should have) that I would be beneath the spectrum. It made sense - I was walking with minimal packweight (2 lbs, maybe), with running shoes and on roads with minimal hills.
So what should I figure for the SHT? Well, I'm going to guess at 125 calories/mile. Some days a hella-hilly (3K+ ft cumulative elevation gain), while some days have a minimal amount of hills (600 ft cumulative elevation gain). THat puts me at 2125 calories/day. That seems low, but I don't want to pack too much food. I've never, ever run out of food on a trip, and I'd like to push my food rations as close to minimal as possible. Once I establish a cushion for safety, then I need to be able to calculate what is a needed amount.
I'll probably pack 2500 calories/day @17 miles per day. That is a difference of 375 calories, about 3 oz of food. I realize that that is potentially two pounds of food extra being carried, but If I eat it and keep from bonking at the end of the day, so be it.
My idea is to have a calorie drip i.e. eat about every hour to two hours, depending on the last food consumption, and not stop for lunch unless necessary. The rests will come in stretch breaks, conveniently timed for when we eat.
The current setup is a package of opo-tarts; two hours later, a granola bar; one hour later, a candy bar; one hour later, "lunch," a calorie dense mixture of chocolate and nuts; two hours later, a granola bar; one hour later, a candy bar; one hour later, we should be at camp and cooking.
This leaves us with two four hour sections of hiking at 2 mph. at 2.5 mph, we're looking at 20 miles.
---
How far we hike is another questions; this one, appears, tobe settled. Our current time-frame leaves us with about two weeks; I'm planning 13 days - the first day is travel, the second is a three hour drive up to the northern terminus and then a full day; every other day is a full day.
If we do not resupply, the first six days will be 15 miles/day, the last six will be 20 miles/day. If we do resupply, we'll do somewhere in the middle, probably about 17 miles (17x12 = 204, the length of the trail).
Calories will also change with respect to the amount of miles we put in; 20 miles will require ~625 more calories than a 15 mile day would; that is about five ounces of food. We haven't decided what we're going to do yet.
- -
It's all going to get figured out; I think it's really a guess.
With the walk
It was msotly an experiment of caloric intake- I wanted to see how much food my body wanted over the miles. In the morning, I went to a grocery store and bought the following:
3x Generic poptarts, 420 calories per package (two tarts)
4x Snickers, 280 calories per 2.07 oz bar
Nature's valley peanut butter granola bar, box of six; 180 calories per 1.5 oz package (two bars)
32 oz Gatorade, 50 cal/8oz; 200 cal total. (only purchased b/c I needed a water bottle)
I was carrying a lot of food for how long I anticipated traveling. In the end, I ate one package of pop tarts, one snickers and three bars. I drank the gatorade and 1.5L of water. I consumed 1440 calories over 6 hours and 18 miles; that is 80 calories per mile and 240 calories per hour.
I ate the Pop Tart right away; the first granola bar two hours later; the next granola bar an hour after that; the next granola bar an hour after that; an hour later, the snickers, an hour later, third granola bar. At six hours, I was home and hungry, having not eaten in an hour. Had I been camping, I would have been ready to cook supper.
The 80 calories/mile seems in tune with Ryan Jordan's rough estimates of 100-150 calories per mile on trails. I knew I would be on the low end of that spectrum, but I did n't realize (though I should have) that I would be beneath the spectrum. It made sense - I was walking with minimal packweight (2 lbs, maybe), with running shoes and on roads with minimal hills.
So what should I figure for the SHT? Well, I'm going to guess at 125 calories/mile. Some days a hella-hilly (3K+ ft cumulative elevation gain), while some days have a minimal amount of hills (600 ft cumulative elevation gain). THat puts me at 2125 calories/day. That seems low, but I don't want to pack too much food. I've never, ever run out of food on a trip, and I'd like to push my food rations as close to minimal as possible. Once I establish a cushion for safety, then I need to be able to calculate what is a needed amount.
I'll probably pack 2500 calories/day @17 miles per day. That is a difference of 375 calories, about 3 oz of food. I realize that that is potentially two pounds of food extra being carried, but If I eat it and keep from bonking at the end of the day, so be it.
My idea is to have a calorie drip i.e. eat about every hour to two hours, depending on the last food consumption, and not stop for lunch unless necessary. The rests will come in stretch breaks, conveniently timed for when we eat.
The current setup is a package of opo-tarts; two hours later, a granola bar; one hour later, a candy bar; one hour later, "lunch," a calorie dense mixture of chocolate and nuts; two hours later, a granola bar; one hour later, a candy bar; one hour later, we should be at camp and cooking.
This leaves us with two four hour sections of hiking at 2 mph. at 2.5 mph, we're looking at 20 miles.
---
How far we hike is another questions; this one, appears, tobe settled. Our current time-frame leaves us with about two weeks; I'm planning 13 days - the first day is travel, the second is a three hour drive up to the northern terminus and then a full day; every other day is a full day.
If we do not resupply, the first six days will be 15 miles/day, the last six will be 20 miles/day. If we do resupply, we'll do somewhere in the middle, probably about 17 miles (17x12 = 204, the length of the trail).
Calories will also change with respect to the amount of miles we put in; 20 miles will require ~625 more calories than a 15 mile day would; that is about five ounces of food. We haven't decided what we're going to do yet.
- -
It's all going to get figured out; I think it's really a guess.
With the walk
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