Adventures on the Trail
Exploring the great outdoors one step at a time
MEAL PREPARATION
The Pacific Crest Trail spans just a squeak over 2,650 miles. I am hoping to tackle the distance in under 65 days, dun dun dun. There are several sweet little towns to choose from that will hold resupply boxes for PCT thru-hikers. I decided I would resupply every 200-300 miles. I am also resupplying in towns that are less than 2 miles from the trail, due to the no hitchin’ rules. I have a total of 9 resupply boxes with a 51 day supply of meals, snacks and drink mixes. The other meals will be purchased when venturing into town, thinking a whole gallon of ice cream here.
For the past year, I have been slowly adding food to my resupply boxes. Grocery shopping meant an opportunity to grab a few items for my boxes. This made it less overwhelming than trying to come up with over 120 meals plus snacks in one setting. I also changed my mind on meals and flavors after a bunch of sampling.
For meal prep, I dehydrated several dinners. Most of my dehydrated meals included wild ground meat from my husbands hunting adventures. I found that Goya canned beans also work best for re-hydration. I also dehydrated kale and added a table spoon to each meal for added nutrients, here is a link to a guy smarter than me about all the goods in kale. A great tip that I got from a friend was to add some extra virgin olive oil to my dinners for added calories, antioxidants and healthy fats. I found some amazing olive oil packets on Amazon.
The Dollar Store was also one of my favorite places to visit. Some items I found from there include hazelnut spread, peanut butter, tuna packets, donuts, jerky with cheese and a variety of snacks.
Thanks to the website ExpertVoice, I was able to score a box of Mountain House meals at a great price. My favorite meals from Mountain House are Chicken & Dumplings and Biscuits & Gravy.
So How Many Calories?
One of the things I looked for when choosing food was the amount of calories it provided yet was light to carry and took up the least amount of room. On average, I will be consuming 3,000 to 4,000 calories a day and more if the opportunity should arise, again ice cream. I plan to start my day with some hot and tasty instant coffee from PERC. The majority of my breakfasts and all of my lunches will be eaten on the go and not require a stove. I will end my days with warm cozy comfort meals and Silver Star Nutrition‘s powder protein.
Advice
There are a few things I have learned along the way when meal prepping. This includes, always trying meals before hand and checking for expiration dates, at least the kids had an abundance of snacks. In addition, don’t bring items you sort of like, no meh foods. Make sure you aren’t packing all of the same meals. Instead, try to focus on a variety of items so you do not get bored of the same foods, think back to the same school lunch everyday forever, don’t do that. Lastly, buying food over time is a lot easier and manageable then trying to buy all at once. Although I’m sure it is not quite as thrifty but again you avoid that school lunch monotony.
Adventures on the Trail 