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1) FOOD: I brought too much food. (I think hiking at 10K suppressed
my appetite a little.) Plan on 1.5-lbs of food per person per day. When hiking
long trips, keep meals simple and high in carbohydrates. a)
Snacks: I always forget that Gatorade (very high in carbohydrates) always
suppresses my appetite. 1-Cliff Bar and two, 2-oz packages of nuts and fruit are
plenty of snacks for the trail. 2-oz looks small when your packing! That's
OK. This trip I took beef jerky, dried pineapple, mixed dried fruit, macadamia
nuts and Cliff Bars. b) Lunch: From now on, on multi-day hikes I'll
eat 2.5-oz of beef jerky and some nuts. I did treat myself to a 3-oz package of
Starkist Tuna in an envelope for lunch. I added 1 small package of mayo (from
a convenient store lunch counter) for a filling lunch. Although I love PB&J
on rice cakes, PB&J is very heavy and the rice cakes are too bulky and they
always break. c) Breakfast: 2-packages of regular, instant oatmeal
was more then enough. Add powdered milk, some seeds or nuts and dried fruit for
lasting energy. I do like taking some powdered hot chocolate. 2)
Gear/Clothing: We lucked out with great weather. No rain, hot days, and nights
that dipped into the mid-40's. Still, I want to further reduce my gear and clothing
weight... a) When I returned home, I sent my new LL
Beans, 20 degree High Sierra HV sleeping bag back for a refund. It was too
bulky and too heavy. I'm now looking at a Feathered Friends 20 degree, Down,
2.2-lb bag. b) Next time: I would only bring one extra T-shirt; I
would leave home my micro-fleece sweater, extra gloves and sock liners (and only
use my thicker hiking socks). I did not like my slipper-sock idea with the inserts
for extra comfort for walking on rocks... next time I'll go with Roger's Nike,
foam sandals. 3) What I loved: a)
I loved my Digital Elph s300. I took about 300+ images. On one 195 MB CF card
I stored 250 pictures and another 50 on a partially used 60 MB CF card. My battery
power was superb. My first battery pack bugged out at 3 PM on day-3; my second
one took me through the rest of the trip with juice to spare! I shot images at
Superfine Resolution and on Medium Compression; next time I'll use Low Compression
and perhaps get a little sharper image (not that I needed it...) b) My
1.2-lb stool. I had a "sit" no matter where I was!
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