Groceries Only

[Johnny Thunder]

I believe the spirit of Mag's post was that those foods which you store in your car are not available in the small town grocers and convenience stores one can predictably find on a long-distance hike. Therefore, they cannot be counted upon for any sustained diet unless the hiker plans mail drops...whi

[Johnny Thunder]

...which would be cost prohibitive given the financial constraints of the original poster.

wheewww (imagine I said that all on one breath)

[Connie]

I think the "young gun" needs to know he will compromise his health and increase his risks, with his "plan".

We can recover from emaciation, but never to full health.

And Mags had more food than "young gun" has planned.

[Mags]

You have Tiger's physique.

Is carrying around all that upper body mass really good for hiking?

First, it is lean muscle..not bulky, with some core exercise and flexibility thrown in... And I am lighter (by 30 lbs on the stomach and 20 lbs on the pack!) than when I did the AT. Perhaps it is better to be be fat?

However, I forgot this is the Internet where people seriously say that the best way to get in shape for a hike is to do nothing and get fat.

Considering how much I backcountry ski, backpack and what I've done over the years...well, that's a rather interesting question.

Lookin' good. Next time, consult my website.

Why?

And Mags had more food than "young gun" has planned.

Er..I think many of us told the "young gun" that a low calorie diet ain't gonna work...

My question: what will you be doing when you are 62 years old?

Skiing, hiking, trail maintenance...

[Doctari]

As an example:
At Biglots I found Kosher vegtable soup, 4 servings (4 normal persons) at 350 cal / serv $0.78 = 1400 cal. Add a bit of olive oil at around 200 cal / Oz & probably a few cents an oz for a pretty cheap High cal meal.

When I re-supplied at Damascus (at the Dollar store) I got 5 days of food, forgot what exactly, spent about $25.00, so $5.00 a day & I did not go (very) hungry. This was ONLY a section hike, & I am well over the teenage Hungries" But $6.00 a day seems doable if: you are not picky, you pay attention to cost per calorie, etc.
Also, hit the hiker boxes when you can. I could have likely supplied for about 5 days from the Kincora hostel box last year, the selection wasn't great, but it could be done.

[mweinstone]

i know a hiker that can carry so much weird food , its crazy. and way cheap. he carrys five lbs of corn meal. 5 of flour. cans of spamlike stuff.five of rice and five of beans and a zip stove. his food is 65 lbs and his pack 110. he is 6 foot 6. name,....scary gary. he lives with 12 tribes now.

[mweinstone]

me and ms hiked with him. he made cakes at night and beans in the morning. he used the grease from the potted meat products to bake and cook. and he saved and reused rancid food saftly by heating it till safe ,if yuckky. he never wasted. his food bags were shopping bags and he hiked in timberlands and used no money. save to buy more food.

[Lone Wolf]

there's always a whack or two in every pack

[mweinstone]

it is actually possible to hike the trail on little debbies alone. they can be made into most food groups.

[wacocelt]

Connie while all of that sounds absolutely delicious, very little of the actual meals you mentioned are to be found easily or cheaply, on trail or off. At least not in the places I've lived.

While you may not approve of the empty calories MAGS listed, he has done these trails and even taken the trouble to graph his consumption and spending so that he, and we, can later learn from and better plan our own excursions.

Just because you don't like the particulars of the information in no way detracts from the body of the work.



OP people have Thru hiked on less, but not many I'm sure. You've got the oppourtuniy to do somehting that very few people have the fortitude to do, and do it with considerably less. Plan well, hike well and Be Well!

[Connie]

I am hoping "young gun" is still reading the thread.

I commented on Mags for instruction for "young gun" because the remark "young gun" made indicated he is not receptive to the feedback he got in the thread.

I really thought Mags could have figured that out, being mature and all.

I have read a lot of "ramen noodles" and candy bars advice here at the forum.

Everything I named was basically tasty grains and fat, fat, fat because of the staying power of "good fat".

I was deliberately trying to stimulate appetite, and ideas.

There are cheaper ways to do it. Buy spices, roast in a little oil, throw in the other ingredients.

People who actually do hard physical labor or live in winter cold country eat that way: moving over to healthy fats.

Mags is a meso-morph, like me. He can cheat his body for a long time.

People do need to do better, and the food box ideas in this forum with full particulars where to mail the mail drops is excellent advice.

Maybe this kid should take a job, for his "grubstake" before he gets on the trail.

I know people who have done that all their life: work a little, hike a lot.

I hate to read about kids with all their health, throwing it away. Just sayin'

. . .

[Jack Tarlin]

Boy, six bucks a day, as someone earlier suggested, will only work if you are extremely disciplined, buy yourself no treats, and are committed to a really spartan diet.

Let's look at what a "typical" thru-hiker might buy for a four-day hiking stretch if they only had $24.00 to work with:

*A box of Pop Tarts $2.50
*Some oatmeal .49 each
*Bagels 2.99
*A block of cheese 3.29
*1 Ramens .59
*2 Liptons 2.75
*1 box mac and cheese 1.19
*6 Candy Bars 3.75
*Granola Bars or other 2.49
snacks
*A stick of pepperoni 2.99
*An apple 1.00

This totals over $24.00 and is by no means an extravagant diet (Making a block of cheddar go for 4 days is not exactly an exorbitant allowance, for example). It also includes no extras and no typical items carried by hikers such as butter, oil, spices, coffee or tea or cocoa, meats, fish, fruits and vegetables, Kool-Aid, peanut butter, powdered milk, honey. It obviousy includes no treats at all or surprises as a pint of ice cream ($3.99) or a box of Oreos or a packet of tuna fish will really mess up your day's budget. Six bucks doesn't go very far these days.

And for those who think they can do better by buying "in bulk" ahead of time,
will keep in mind the mailing costs involved: 30 maildrops at 6 bucks a pop will run you close to 200 dollars, i.e. a tenth of your $2000.00 budget just for postage.

This also, of course, makes no provision for town meals or drinks, and anyone who thinks they're gonna thru-hike without eating the occasional pizza, beer, ice cream cone, cheeseburger, salad bar, Chinese buffet, etc., well this is entirely unrealistic.

In short, the propsed $6.00 a day food budget is simply unworkable for most folks.

Can people still thru-hike on a $2000.00 budget? Sure, but they're not gonna eat very well and they're gonna miss out on a an awful lot of stuff.

[Young Gun]

Im still reading im reworking my diet I appreciate both of your inputs connie and mags its actually quite helpful and I will not deny that both of you are way more experienced than myself I am 18 ive done a couple of 2 week hikes before but like ive mentioned nothing past 15 days this is nothing compared to months on the A.T. I understand that but even two experienced hikers have 2 different ways of doing things but one thing is agreed I have to have a higher calorie input and just ramen isnt gonna cut it for me 2000 dollars may be tight but its all I can manage at the moment im not wealthy at all neither is my family I just cant afford much more than that this is my first hike and im considering it a test hike to see how things work out if it doesnt its ok try and try again thank you everyone for the input

[Young Gun]

When I say first hike I mean first attempt at a thru hike

[Young Gun]

And as far as town food goes I eat pizza maybe once every three months I dont drink or smoke cheeseburgers might be the death of me though not big on salad and eat chinese like once every 6 months but if a good mexican restraunt pops up well that alone can blow my budget im sure ill figure it out with or without your help

[wacocelt]

And as far as town food goes I eat pizza maybe once every three months I dont drink or smoke cheeseburgers might be the death of me though not big on salad and eat chinese like once every 6 months but if a good mexican restraunt pops up well that alone can blow my budget im sure ill figure it out with or without your help

You really, really need to go read some trail journals my young friend. My trail appetite never kicks in until the 3rd or 4th week of a hike. At which point you feel incapable of putting it in fast enough.

If you really want advice then take the very prudent words which have been shared with you and do something with them. As it is you're only returning to spit at the feet of the people that are trying to help you with these attempts at defneding actions you don't even know you're going to be able to carry out. It's not only ridiculous it's rather rude.

[Johnny Thunder]

Yeah...I haven't been around long...but I've been around enough over the past three years to get to know pretty much everyone who makes a habit of smiling durring their hikes. Funny, I don't think I've ever met any of the hikers who started threads similar to this one. Is that a coincidence or a trend?

[Connie]

Maybe check out the Food Banks... food pantries, before you start.

There are journals reporting the first days, in snow, are hard.

[Young Gun]

Rude you say? im trying to find a bit of humor in all the fuss here wacocelt im sorry if im not allowed to joke around geesh I mean its like no matter how many times I say thankyou and that Yes I understand now you are the ones that keep replying with non sense so dont go calling the kettle black savvy?

[wacocelt]

You're right, it's nonsense of me to try and speak logically, like an adult, to an 18yr old...

What was I thinking? Good luck not eating any buffets on your hike bud...