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Part 7:
"g's" Individual Menu for RMNP Going Light(er) in the Food Department (updated: 8/9/03) |
Even though the Boy's anticipated trip to Rocky Mt. Natl. Park (RMNP) was not until August, "g" could not contain his planning-mania. Deep into winter of 2003, he started to plot a course for his personalized, 5-day meal plan.
When the Boys trek, they are each responsible for their own trail drinks/snacks, breakfasts and lunches. Dinners have become the primary responsibility of Chef DeBoot Blister. (Whew.)
This year, with bears looming behind every trail blaze, the Boys expect to be packin' individual bear-proof food canisters (2-lb/7-oz) for the first time. All food, trash and scented items (e.g., tooth paste) would be stored in these containers. Therefore, bulky foods would be left home.
"g's" plan for packin' his canister went something like this. He expected to carry no more then the recommended 1.5 lbs of food per person, per day. That breaks down to (1) 18-oz of personal food (trail food, breakfast and lunch) and (2) 6-oz of community dinners per day. Previously, each community dinner weighed about +/- 3 lbs with the average weight of dinner per person per day weighing about 6-oz.:
| G-WeB Links | |
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G-WeBconnect |
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What's New:2/10 |
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LaBellishments |
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TIPBusters |
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Chef DeBoot Blister |
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Rain Bucket |
(1-lb/2-oz personal food) + (6-oz of community dinners) = (1.5-lbs
of food per day)
The big change for "g" this backpacking season is his thinking about hydration. Unlike previous years, this year he won't be drinking his highly touted Gatorade. Having completed some recent reading by R. Jardine, he concluded that some of his unpleasant multi-day backpacking experiences was related to unintentional dehydration caused by the exclusive use of power drinks while hiking. Apparently, power drinks (like Gatorade) act like a diuretic caused by the body's efforts to flush the body of the power-drink's simple sugars, chemical additives and salts typically marketed as essential for sustained power- exercising. Without drinking plain water to replace water flushed from the body in the form of sweating and urinating, the body becomes dehydrated. After reading about this topic, "g" realized he had experienced some severe symptoms of dehydration due to the exclusive use of Gatorade when backpacking: (1) excessive and unquenchable thirst at the end of a day's worth of hiking, and (2) progressive problems with constipation as the number of days of backpacking increased.
One solution (no pun intended) is to drink only filtered water. The other is to alternate between drinking Gatorade and filtered water. "g" intends to drink only water this hiking season, and to increase the number of small energy foods (instead of Gatorade) to replace the carbohydrates/salts he'll lose from hiking. This will also reduce his food weight considerably because powdered Gatorade for one, 2-liter bladder weighs 4-oz... a whopping 1.5+ lbs of extra weight for 5 days of hiking.
Another dietary change will be his use of (more) powdered milk in meals to add a good source of protein and complex carbohydrates.
Finally, some lunches are yet to be determined. Daily mileage and total weights (18-oz being the ceiling for individual food) are noted. Individual snacks are all 2-oz., and although this looks insufficient when packaging, it's quite sufficient for munching along the trail. "g" learned by experience that (for him) lunches should be considered as trail snacks/food. He's realized that eating and drinking routinely over the course of a day's hike doesn't require the traditional, large, noontime fare. Of course, the real question still remains: Will "g" stick to his proposed meal plan?
"g's"
Proposed Individual 5-day Meal Plan for RMNP
As of 5/1/03
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Date/Meal |
Misc. |
Breakfast |
Lunch |
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Thursday Total: |
Power Gel (2) (-oz) |
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Tuna with 1 packet of relish (3-oz.) |
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Friday |
Power Gel (1) (-oz) |
Hot Sweet Rice (with dried fruit and/or nuts) (7-oz?) NOLS Cookery; p69 |
Zooming Gorp |
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Saturday Total: |
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Regular oatmeal (3-oz) with a combination of added nuts, dried fruit, powdered instant milk, and brown sugar. (5-oz) |
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Sunday Total: |
Power Gel (2) (-oz) |
Hot Sweet Rice (with dried fruit and/or nuts)
(7-oz?) NOLS Cookery; p69 |
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Monday Total: |
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Regular oatmeal (3-oz) with a combination of added nuts, dried fruit, powdered instant milk, and brown sugar. (5-oz) |
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Buggs Alpine Start (breakfast) Heat water, milk, and margarine. Stir in potatoes and cheese until just moist; let stand 45 seconds. Add spices. |
Hot Sweet Rice
(breakfast) 1/2-cup dehydrated/cooked rice (4-oz.) Boil H2O in Titanium mug; add dehydrate riced (8 minutes). Mix pwdr milk in plastic bag and add margarine, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Add fruit and/or nuts into the rice; stir in milk mixture, reheat briefly and eat. Tested: AOK!! |
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Peanut butter sauce over orzo (breakfast) 1 cup dehydrated orzo (6-oz.) Boil 2 cups H2O; stir in orzo and let stand 10 minutes. Store hydrated orzo into plastic bag. Heat H2O, remove from heat, stir in all ingredients. Stir in orzo and serve. |
Trail
Snack Ideas: (1) Zoomin’ Gorp |
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