Dehydrating and other tidbits
Since I last posted, I have been through massive online orders of new gear, hours and hours of dehydrating food for the trail, more delivering sandwiches, and many more daydreaming about my upcoming adventure.
My dad and I are going to be flying into Atlanta on March 20th, and he is going to be hiking with me for a couple days before I go solo.
Although I have dehydrated some pretty tasty food (mac and cheese with mixed veggies, bananas, oatmeal, apple leathers), I have had a couple failures as well (blueberry couscous, kiwi-pineapple fruit leather).
I've decided to try to dehydrate most of my food, to be eaten as-is or rehydrated using hot water. I made a reflective cozy out of a car window shade and duct tape. In this cozy I put a ziploc bag containing my dehydrated food, which I only have to add hot water to and then wait 10 minutes or so for it to be ready.
I'm not much of a cook (or a foodie) so this has been quite the learning experience for me as I fumble my way through the kitchen.
Pros to having dehydrated food:
I an incredible amount of time researching gear and planning, so I'm glad to finally be almost done with it.
At the moment, my base weight is approximately 12.5 lbs.
I can't wait to finally hit the trail!
My dad and I are going to be flying into Atlanta on March 20th, and he is going to be hiking with me for a couple days before I go solo.
Dehydrating
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| A few of my culinary experiments |
Although I have dehydrated some pretty tasty food (mac and cheese with mixed veggies, bananas, oatmeal, apple leathers), I have had a couple failures as well (blueberry couscous, kiwi-pineapple fruit leather).
I've decided to try to dehydrate most of my food, to be eaten as-is or rehydrated using hot water. I made a reflective cozy out of a car window shade and duct tape. In this cozy I put a ziploc bag containing my dehydrated food, which I only have to add hot water to and then wait 10 minutes or so for it to be ready.
I'm not much of a cook (or a foodie) so this has been quite the learning experience for me as I fumble my way through the kitchen.
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| Top - reflective cozy. Bottom - mac n cheese with ham and veggies. |
Pros to having dehydrated food:
- Ease of preparation on the trail
- High nutritional content (I can control it)
- Cost: it's cheaper than similar options
- Easy cleanup, I just throw away the ziplock bag
- Likely tastier than pasta sides and instant mashed potatoes
Cons:
- Takes forever to make, and I'm definitely not going to finish making five months' worth of food before I leave
- Need to experiment with amount of water to add to each meal
- Logistics - my mom has to ship all my meals to me on the trail
- Taste - I don't know what I'll like more or will barely stomach
Gear
I plan to post in more detail once my gear is a little more finalized, although I am nearly done with my gear selection already, aside from shoes. I've spent around $1700 on gear (a lot more than necessary) with the idea of having a very cozy and light setup so that I spend fewer nights in town and more hiking.I an incredible amount of time researching gear and planning, so I'm glad to finally be almost done with it.
At the moment, my base weight is approximately 12.5 lbs.
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| A few of my hard-earned goodies |
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| One of my spreadsheets |
Etc.
So far as physical preparation, I've had a turn of bad luck in the past week as my knee started acting up on me again and I had to stop delivering (I've been working as a delivery cyclist) for fear of worse injury before I hit the trail in a month. I've been working in the store, making considerably less money than I did delivering.I can't wait to finally hit the trail!
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