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  1. #1

    Default Food for ultralight backpackers

    This is a fun announcement,

    I have long made efforts to optimize calories per ounce and nutrition per ounce, and for weight and volume carried.

    ..ultralight backpackers now have Aaron Owens Mayhew create a cookbook addressing all these needs, and more, like "cold soak" recipes, etcetera.

    https://backcountryfoodie.com/produc...rers-cookbook/

    There will also be a video.

  2. #2

    Default

    ..as if that isn't great enough news, Sarah Kirkconnell has an allergy aware cookbook for backpackers with food sensitivities. http://www.trailcooking.com/hiking-free/

  3. #3

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Connie View Post
    ..as if that isn't great enough news, Sarah Kirkconnell has an allergy aware cookbook for backpackers with food sensitivities. http://www.trailcooking.com/hiking-free/
    I bought a "Backpackers Pantry" FDM (rice and chicken) while going through the SNP. I ate two spoonful's and my throat started to constrict, making it difficult to swallow. I managed to get a Benadryl down which seems to cured it, but couldn't eat the rest of the dinner. Not with that reaction. Had to pack it out and eat some cookies for dinner instead. Never had a reaction like that before and was kind of scary, being out in the woods and all. If it gets real bad, the swelling can suffocate you.

    Don't know what was in it I might be allergic to. Never had a problem with Mountain House. Might have to sample these meals at home to find out if their okay for me to eat before counting on them for a dinner. Not that I use these very often.
    Follow slogoen on Instagram.

  4. #4

    Default

    I have an off and on problem with swallowing chicken.
    I thought the chicken breast was too dry. Maybe it is penicillin?
    I remember Foster's Farms chicken was reported sprayed with penicillin water, said to prevent salmonella.
    Maybe some chicken is treated?

  5. #5
    Registered User Venchka's Avatar
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    Default

    For a committed Ultra Light Person, the answer is “None.”
    “I tried carrying food, but I couldn’t handle the extra weight.”
    Strange but True.
    Wayne

  6. #6

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Venchka View Post
    For a committed Ultra Light Person, the answer is “None.”
    “I tried carrying food, but I couldn’t handle the extra weight.”
    Strange but True.
    Wayne

  7. #7

    Default

    Good link. Aaron is developing a more nutritional science based website meant for LD hikers and others engaging in athletic activities.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Venchka View Post
    For a committed Ultra Light Person, the answer is “None.”
    “I tried carrying food, but I couldn’t handle the extra weight.”
    Strange but True.
    Wayne

    1. "'I think,' said Christopher Robin, 'that we ought to eat all our Provisions now, so that we shan't have so much to carry.'"

  9. #9

    Default

    As an ultra light hiker I begrudge having to carry the extra weight and bulk of food (lets face it, even dehydrated food can still be heavy if it's for more than a couple of days), I have researched wild foods that are freely accessible in the countryside that can prevent me from having to carry so much food with me. Of course many of these wild foods (Fruits, Nuts and Berries) are only available at certain times of the year, so won't help me reduce the weight of my backpack outside of this period, but edible leaves are available from Spring onwards, for several months, and edible Fungi can be available for most of the year. Alas, the US and UK don't always have the same edible plants available, so if your based in the US you will have to do your own research. As you can guess, I'm not really a big meat eater ( I only eat Birds and Sea Fish) but if you are not squeamish and prefer eating red meat to eating vegetables then you could trap edible game like Squirrels or Rabbits, or catch fish from rivers and lakes, along the trail, and this would help you save carrying food with you...It would interesting to hear from anyone that has done this.

  10. #10
    Registered User Venchka's Avatar
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    Default

    “The O. C. D. is strong here Luke!”
    Harvesting fish and small game along the trail will increase your pack weight. Carry out the remains or the LNT Police, another branch of Hiker O. C. D., will make your life miserable.
    Get serious. Don’t do the hike if you can’t do the weight.
    Wayne

  11. #11
    Registered User
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    Quote Originally Posted by Scrambler35 View Post
    As an ultra light hiker I begrudge having to carry the extra weight and bulk of food . . .
    As a self-defined ultralight hiker, why begrudge the weight and bulk of food any more than you begrudge the weight of water, shelter, clothing or otherwise? There is a TV show about that . . .

    Heck, you get to reduce your food weight over time (along with fuel and water), but, you have to keep carrying the full weight of all your other gear for the whole trip. I actually begrudge having to carry the weight of my body more than I do the relatively lighter food and gear.
    I'm not lost. I'm exploring.

  12. #12

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    Little Debbies.
    Don't let your fears stand in the way of your dreams

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by fiddlehead View Post
    Little Debbies.




    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  14. #14
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    Default

    That is brilliant haha!

  15. #15

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by George View Post
    1. "'I think,' said Christopher Robin, 'that we ought to eat all our Provisions now, so that we shan't have so much to carry.'"
    Here's a quote from WC Fields---

    "Reminds me of my safari in Africa. Somebody forgot the corkscrew and for several days we had to live on nothing but food and water."

  16. #16

    Default

    I met a wild-eyed high-mileage (30+mi/day) hiker in VA that was carrying only trail bars for food, and wanted to know the hours of the all-you-can-eat buffett at the Pizza Hut in Daleville. I guess you could call it the glutton/starve approach. But he did have a light pack.

  17. #17

    Default

    Air biscuits.
    "Sleepy alligator in the noonday sun
    Sleepin by the river just like he usually done
    Call for his whisky
    He can call for his tea
    Call all he wanta but he can't call me..."
    Robert Hunter & Ron McKernan

    Whiteblaze.net User Agreement.

  18. #18

    Default

    Lemon Parmesan Couscous, Italian Couscous, Sun-Dried Tomato Couscous, Pineapple & Peppers Couscous, Apricot Rosemary Couscous, Garden Marinara Couscous, Sweet & Savory Couscous .. that's my kind of cookbook.
    Backpacking light, feels so right.

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by Scrambler35 View Post
    As an ultra light hiker I begrudge having to carry the extra weight and bulk of food (lets face it, even dehydrated food can still be heavy if it's for more than a couple of days), I have researched wild foods that are freely accessible in the countryside that can prevent me from having to carry so much food with me. Of course many of these wild foods (Fruits, Nuts and Berries) are only available at certain times of the year, so won't help me reduce the weight of my backpack outside of this period, but edible leaves are available from Spring onwards, for several months, and edible Fungi can be available for most of the year. Alas, the US and UK don't always have the same edible plants available, so if your based in the US you will have to do your own research. As you can guess, I'm not really a big meat eater ( I only eat Birds and Sea Fish) but if you are not squeamish and prefer eating red meat to eating vegetables then you could trap edible game like Squirrels or Rabbits, or catch fish from rivers and lakes, along the trail, and this would help you save carrying food with you...It would interesting to hear from anyone that has done this.
    It can be difficult to make miles if you're stopping to fish or gather mushrooms, berries, etc. Also the weight of fishing gear to consider.

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