Going Stove less any advice?

[chefbrian1]

I'm doing a really long section hike and I am thinking of going stoveless this time.

The benefit is no stove weight and no need to prep food.

I had all manner of stove and food (whisper lite, and an alcohol stove). I found that I only made one meal a day and that meal was mac and cheese with some foil tuna. It's a nice treat, but I figure why not bring bread and foil tuna instead.

I'm pretty new to the idea. My thoughts are making a power mix of granola with nuts, seeds, dried fruit, seaweed nori, doing the nut butter, honey and bread, and foil meat and bread.

I'll load up in town on fruits and veggies and take a piece of fruit and hard boiling eggs with me leaving town. Hostel usually have stoves too.

Any thoughts and advise?

Brian

[The Cleaner]

Better have good teeth......

[takethisbread]

I am going stove less as well, but am carrying a foldable wood stove that takes up no space in my pack, and using a titanium drinking cup that I can cook in. that way if I really want to cook something , I can.


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[chefbrian1]

That's Take. Can you take me through a basic stoveless day on the trail?

[ChinMusic]

That's Take. Can you take me through a basic stoveless day on the trail?

We have had lots of threads on this on WB. If you do a search you can find them.

I am not as imaginative as many. My strategy is very simple.

Breakfast: Tortilla, peanut butter, honeynut Cheerios, honey. repeat as needed.
Lunch: no lunch. I just eat snacks all day. (GORP, bars, whatever I feel like)
Supper: Tortilla, lunch meat (in packets that say "refrigerate when opened"), cheese, maybe a packet of mayo. sometime precooked bacon.

[Wise Old Owl]

I'm doing a really long section hike and I am thinking of going stoveless this time.

The benefit is no stove weight and no need to prep food.

I had all manner of stove and food (whisper lite, and an alcohol stove). I found that I only made one meal a day and that meal was mac and cheese with some foil tuna. It's a nice treat, but I figure why not bring bread and foil tuna instead.

I'm pretty new to the idea. My thoughts are making a power mix of granola with nuts, seeds, dried fruit, seaweed nori, doing the nut butter, honey and bread, and foil meat and bread.

I'll load up in town on fruits and veggies and take a piece of fruit and hard boiling eggs with me leaving town. Hostel usually have stoves too.

Any thoughts and advise?

Brian

Over the years its a give and take - going stove-less isn't a weight savings. the food is heavier and is precooked or prepared.

Hense we have had threads in the past of the merits of fatty high calorie foods... Those that go vegan or vegetarian - don't get enough calories to make the trip. It can be done, its just harder. So we have seen a back and forth on fat vs calories and vegetarian... the real question is (what's right for you)

[garlic08]

Hereand here are my journal entries on the subject. I've been hiking the long trails without a stove for ten years now and it's a better way to hike for me. I don't quite understand the teeth comment above. Don't try to eat dried beans or pasta and you'll be fine. Also, I've been vegetarian for about 25 years and I seem to get plenty of calories. Cheese and nuts are your friends.

[takethisbread]

That's Take. Can you take me through a basic stoveless day on the trail?

lots of tortillas , pbj, or some variation of it. tuna fish , canned shrimp or sardines, bagels, energy bars, pop tarts, cereal dry, cheese and crackers and pretzels and nuts . it's more of a buffet than traditional meals for me. some folks here get pretty elaborate. I just do a ton of wraps. more snacks less meals.


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[chefbrian1]

Thanks Garlic. I like the idea of working on a good ratio of food weight per miles hiked. This will take some time to figure out. I have a lot of extra fat storage on my body.

[chefbrian1]

So far coconut oil is the highest calorie food I've seen per once, but hard to find on the trail.

[Starchild]

...
..I'll load up in town on fruits and veggies ...

Curious why you would load up on things of low protein and low caloric value and think this is a good thing for such a hike?

[Kc Fiedler]

Curious why you would load up on things of low protein and low caloric value and think this is a good thing for such a hike?

I think he meant he will just eat them in town. Not load them into his pack.

Hereand here are my journal entries on the subject. I've been hiking the long trails without a stove for ten years now and it's a better way to hike for me. I don't quite understand the teeth comment above. Don't try to eat dried beans or pasta and you'll be fine. Also, I've been vegetarian for about 25 years and I seem to get plenty of calories. Cheese and nuts are your friends.

I also am vegetarian and find no difficulty in getting my protein or calories. In fact through all my experimenting and research (pre and post vegetarian conversion) I find very little merit in having meat on the trail.

[daddytwosticks]

I'm almost 100% caffeine free! When I'm finally done with my hot coffee in the AM addiction, I will be trying a stoveless hike this summer.

[Starchild]

I'm almost 100% caffeine free! When I'm finally done with my hot coffee in the AM addiction, I will be trying a stoveless hike this summer.

Yes Hot coffee is hard to let go of, some have done with cold coffee to make the stoveless transition.

[Coffee]

I'm almost 100% caffeine free! When I'm finally done with my hot coffee in the AM addiction, I will be trying a stoveless hike this summer.

That's my main issue with going stoveless as well. Caffeine in other forms just hasn't been the same as hot coffee for me.

[garlic08]

Curious why you would load up on things of low protein and low caloric value and think this is a good thing for such a hike?

I also think what KC Fielder said, but it's also good to remember that nutrition isn't all about carbs, fat, and protein. I try to carry at least one fresh item for every day on the trail, if only a carrot or stalk of celery. (Mainly that fools me into thinking I'm eating well.)

There's the old argument, hard to refute, about stoveless food containing more water weight than the cooking equipment weighs. That's likely true for the first day, but it's hard to beat the feeling on the last day before resupply with a nearly empty pack. That makes it all worthwhile.

[tsgosnell]

Had a friend who did 7 days on cliff bars and salmon in foil packets in March...

[garbanz]

I did the Long Trail stoveless and am starting the PCT w/o a stove soon. Its such a long trek I may have one mailed later. I'll take a big empty peanut butter jar with lid so I can rehydrate (slosh around) things like minute rice, cous cous, refried beans, tabouli, potatoe buds etc for an hour before I stop to eat dinner. Its always good to have a little spices handy--makes up for a heated meal. As Garlic said nuts are good for snacking midday. The mixed nuts that CVS sells contain canola oil and are way up there on the high calorie per gram scale. They also have VIT E. Powdered milk is good to add for Calcium or you can get a dry electrolyte mix (also at CVS) that has added Calcium and Vit D. Cascadian Farms sells an organic granola (breakfast) at Wal Mart that is nutritious, high calorie and good when mixed with cold water. You need complex carbs (oats, potatoes, grain, veggies) to replenish glycogen for sustained energy not simple sugars (sweets). Snickers in my book are above this rule! TVP, salmon, tuna, chicken, ham, beans in packets or lightweight cans will supply the protein.

[garbanz]

Oh yes FAT. You will burn lots of it--both from your body and what you eat. Its calorie dense which is good. Its also energy dense and slows down burning carbs. Nuts have fat. Olive oil is the best source and can now be bought in smaller bottles to carry. Cheese is another good source of fat. Peanut Butter also.

[squeezebox]

stoveless costs more , and weighes more, doesn'ts make sense to me.