I came across three emaciated, bearded men on the continental divide trail in glacier national park. When I asked one of them where he was from he looked at his buddies and they all replied excitedly, in unison, "Mexico!". It was at that moment that I came to realize that these men were one day away from completing the entire thru-hike.
I vividly recall one of their dinners: Dried ramen noodle, straight from the bag.
They slept in their bags exposed, beneath a basic light tarp.
The best foods for backpacking are actually peanut butter, salami (depending on the brand), cheese, and nutella. They all have roughly the same calorie density at about 70% fat. Toblerone actually comes surprisingly close (even compared to other chocolates/candies).
Raman noodles or tortillas or something like that are generally used as a carrier for those foods to keep you sane, but they aren't very good from a weight to calories standpoint. M&Ms are also common, as they are easy to eat and keep well.
Some people actually just drink cooking oil, but it's rarely worth the tiny bit of extra weight efficiency.
It's a slab of peppermint-flavoured sugar, doused in glucose syrup, covered in chocolate.
It's one of those things that you cannot possibly imagine yourself eating, until you're actually out on the hills after a long day (or several days) and you're cold and you're tired and then you've never eaten anything quite so delicious.
On my thru-hike, I ran out of candy (I always carried a bag with an assortment of gummies, hard candies) and just started eating sugar (intended for my tea) by the spoonful. I've never felt such an intense craving for simple sugars as I did on the PCT. It seemed to revitalize me, both physically and emotionally. So I can totally understand this mint "cake."
I don't have many sources but I believe the word 'hiking' is a relatively recent American import. The OED lists a lot of American historical examples, but only relatively recent ones in the UK
I would just call it walking, or tabbing if it's at an aggressive pace. Old people seem to call it rambling, but that makes it sound a bit lazy I think.
We used to use rambling for a gentle country walk through fields etc. We'd say we were fell walking if we went out for a day up the mountains in the Lake District, we'd wear walking boots. If it was for a night or more it would either be camping or an expedition - as in DofE.
Tabbing tends to be a military term as far as I'm aware. I don't remember using the term hiking until recently.
Noticed too late that I reversed the fat content percentage, it's usually 30-40% fat. Roughly 4 calories per gram, compared to most candy's 3. Pure fat or cooking oil is around 9.
Take it from me, pemmican is the best thing ever, and if you are a hiker, Hunter, or general outdoorsperson, you owe it to yourself to try a few different recipes. (Wrap it extra good in bear country though!)
Fun tidbit of the day: in the Marine Corps our long full pack hikes (~90lbs) were called "humps". In the old days they were death marches.
Mostly just shorter, with better medical care for those injured or falling out. The old death marches I heard used to be ~40 miles, while these days they tend to be ~12 or less depending (big difference between 12 miles on the coast of Pendleton vs 12 miles in the 115 degree mojave desert). Yes, the boot have improved dramatically as well.
Lonnie Dupre thru hiked the Alaskan trail and brough a giant bag of wild rice cereal combined with pumpkin seeds and dried fruit. Seemed to work well for him...
Why is palm oil bad for your health? I always considered it to be one of the better plant-oils, with a low polyunsaturated fat composition similar to coconut, though really actually closer to butter (50% saturated, 40% mono, 10% poly.)
Not saying anything about its environmental impact, which I haven't researched, however.
You can't throw something like this out there without the evidence to back it up, because right now there is too much bullshit nutrition advice floating around out there.
The problem with palm oil isnt the raw liquid form, the problem is palm oil is very cheap and is typically a target for (partial) hydrogenation into stuff like margarine. This produces a lot of trans fats unless carefully controlled and those are super unhealthy.
Your comment made me think of Bill Bryson's accounts of how people change on the trail in 'A Walk In The Woods'. Good book if anyone is considering a thru-hike, and it's just a fun read anyway.
I'll be the lone dissenting voice with regard to the film. I liked it. It wasn't nearly as funny as the book; it was barely funny, at all, in fact. But, it still contained some of the gentle charm of the book. At the end of it, I said to my girlfriend, "I guess I just really like movies about hiking, even when they're kinda boring." (I also really liked Wild, and liked that book, too...in that case, I think the film held up better against the book, as the book just wasn't in the same league as A Walk In The Woods, so the film had less to live up to).
> I guess I just really like movies about hiking, even when they're kinda boring.
As someone who is willing to tolerate utter dreck as long as it's In Spaaaaaaace, this made me smile. I think it's just the fact that the setting is so compelling and romantic for me, and I can ignore the flaws and enjoy the little redeeming value that is in there.
I watched the film with my parents, mostly because they like Robert Redford. I had no expectations going in to the film, and I have never read the book. My view of the film is pretty similar to yours.
Most of the people I know who have problems with the movie are really in to hiking, and really liked the book. A fair number haven't watched the movie. I think if you just watch it without any expectations, it's a solid bit of entertainment about being outdoors. It's not the best movie, but it's a good movie to watch with someone.
I think you're right. I read the book first and the movie was disappointing, while the friend with me who hadn't read the book was pleasantly surprised.
A fun alternative is the unabridged audiobook, read by the author. Now that is great fun on a long drive!
When you carry your gear for a thousands of miles, you reevaluate what you really need. A stove is not needed because food can be consumed raw. A full tent is not needed because a basic tarp and careful site selection are enough to keep a person dry while sleeping. Toilet paper is not needed because smooth rocks, leaves and other material found on the trail can be used to wipe.
The reason some experienced hikers (not talking about noobs here) carry small stoves on the AT and other trails is not because they haven't evaluated what they need. It's because "what you need" is about tradeoffs. Sure, you can consume raw food for the entirety of your hike, and some experienced hikers do this, but food aversion is a real thing. Avoiding it is worth the weight for some hikers.
'Laziness' was a big part of my switch to stoveless.
At the end of the day I never wanted to waste time boiling water/cooking food I just wanted to eat and sleep. I found myself eating cold even with a stove so I just dropped the stove.
I don't know anyone that has done it just to be hard-core.
Dropping the stove certainly does simplify things, that's the main benefit. I've tried it but I just couldn't eat cold/raw all the time, especially in cooler weather. I use one of these brass alcohol stoves, it's light and dead simple: http://brasslite.com/
> When you carry your gear for a thousands of miles, you reevaluate what you really need.
True.
There is one interesting exception though: everyone I met who traveled (not hiked per se, but lived out of a backpack), had one "luxury item".
It was something that was absolutely not necessary, but they lugged it around with them anyway, because it made sense strictly for them.
One dude I met had a folding camping chair. (relatively) big, awkward, weighty.
But around the campfire, everyone was sitting on rocks like cavemen -- except he was enthroned on his camping chair.
Before you ask: my luxury item was a discman (this dates me, I suppose :-) ), plus a few CDs. Really awkward. Susceptible to impact and moisture, requires batteries, etc etc. But I just love to get lost in rhythm and let it drive my thoughts while I'm out hiking or biking.
I hiked 400 miles of the AT and while you're technically right, I found that cooked food made me feel better, having a shelter (I hammocked) made my sleep more restful, and I couldn't trust myself not to accidentally wipe my ass with some poison plant, so I was glad I had TP.
I need some comfort to sleep otherwise I'm more and more tired on the trail, I get up later and later and get cranky and then I just frigging stop and go back home.
Tarp and tent campers both sleep on the ground, usually with a sleeping pad. At this level, the comfort level is the same.
There are situations where a tent will be more comfortable: a tent provides protection from the wind absent natural barriers, a tent provides a refuge from biting insects, etc.
In many situations, the comfort provided by a tent is more mental than it is physical. The full enclosure of a tent provides comfort to people who worry about critters crawling over them in the night. Some people just feel more comfortable when fully enclosed.
All this said, it does take more expertise to sleep comfortably with a tarp. Site selection is more important. There are several ways to pitch a tarp and the best pitch to use depends on the situation. Tarps are more fiddly to pitch.
Most people will want some sort of netting when there's moderate to heavy pressure from biting insects. I carry a three ounce mosquito net in these situations. A full tent is not required.
Insect repellent and site selection (don't sleep next to lake) handle low bug pressure situations.
I don't worry about other critters where I hike in the PNW.
Depends where you are and the season - bugs are less of a concern in the winter, and harmful spiders/scorpions aren't present everywhere. Plus, a can of insect repellent is still much lighter than a tent
> I vividly recall one of their dinners: Dried ramen noodle, straight from the bag.
I'm embarrassed to admit how many times I've eaten that on hikes. For my next long hike I'm probably going to ditch my stove completely: it's not so much the weight, but personally the last thing I want to do after a day of hiking is cook.
Dried ramen noodles, with the powder, shaken up in a bag, was a DAILY snack for many of us elementary school kids in the Northwest in the 90s.
A poll of Facebook friends showed that EVERYONE in the northwest in my age group found it normal and common, and it was common in Hawaii and really all over the west coast -- but nationwide as well. I think the idea originated with families of Japanese origin.
I've heard before (could be made-up) that instant noodles in dried form is, while enjoyable, basically indigestible and devoid (even moreso than if cooked) of nutritional content
I went on a five-day hike on a whim, and was pretty badly prepared. I suddenly found myself at the head of a trail, and decided to give it a go -- the things you do when you're young and invincible.
I had a few packets of ramen. I'd eat two packets for breakfast, but alredy an hour or so later I'd feel painfully hungry again.
I dreamed of huge, juicy steaks like you wouldn't believe.
After I returned to the world, I treated myself to the biggest steak the supermarket sold. DELICIOUS.
The first time I wasn't cooking food on the trail was just a yew months ago, on my 22 days hike in Nepal (Jiri-Namche-EBC and the three passes).
People who hike in these areas rarely camp but rather dine in the (very comfortable) tea houses.
The food was tasty, filling and cheap, but by 2nd week I started to feel that I miss my evening camping routine of cooking my pre-made meal under a tarp.
I love hiking and but I also love cooking. Few years ago, while starting to shift into lighter base camp, I discovered how easy it is to make your own dehydrated meal. Nowadays when I hike, and especially on long multiple day hikes, I prepare myself a diverse food menu (i.e. Hummus, Pad Thai, vegetarian bolognese, curry, lentils with rice and the list goes on).
I find that it keeps me motivated on the trail and full of anticipation for dinner rather than just eating to fight the trail hunger.
Moreover, the entire (long) process of cooking before heading out to the trail is for me a ceremony that fills me with anticipation.
I vividly recall one of their dinners: Dried ramen noodle, straight from the bag.
They slept in their bags exposed, beneath a basic light tarp.