Adventures on the Trail
Exploring the great outdoors one step at a time
The Colorado Trail Unsupported FKT Attempt
(maps shows in video are from Garmin connect)
Collegiate West
WHAT DID I EAT?
With all my FKT attempts, I have always struggled to eat the first few days. This held true for the Colorado Trail. I carried 39,420 calories but my overall calorie consumption for 12.6 days was 35,645. I had planned for 11 days. Although unintentional, not eating my dinners the first few days benefited me in the end because I did not run out of food.
Below is all the food I carried and how many calories I ate each day. However, towards the bottom there is an, “EXTRAS” tab. That is extra food I distributed throughout my days that weren’t factored into daily caloric intake. If something is highlighted in red, it simply means I didn’t eat it that day. At the bottom of the chart, I listed the days I ate those meals. If I had to change anything, I would swap out my dinners the first few days for bars and add more snacks. As a result of low caloric consumption with long hiking days, I lost roughly a pound a day (13lbs).
GEAR
Here is a list of the gear I carried: My lighterpack gear list I decided to add an extra 10,000 mah power bank for my attempt for a total of 50,000mAh. I felt the added weight was well worth it because when I am sleepy (with the exception of night), I enjoy listening to audiobooks.
When I started the trail, my hiking pack weighed 33 pounds. It weighed exactly 10 lbs when it finished.
Adventures on the Trail 
Congratulations again! Nice recap of day one! Cant wait for the rest.
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Thank you so much for the support! I am slowly working on adding each day. Its just very time consuming.
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Nice work! I’m curious about your meals. I don’t see a stove or cookware on your packing list. Were you cold soaking all of the backpacking meals?
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Thank you! That is correct. No stove, a spork or cookware. I cold soaked all my meals. 🙂
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How long were you allowing for re-hydration? Any tips, suggestions, or things you’d change on the dehydrated meals?
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Rehydration is dependent on the meal. Dehydrated pasta and beans take twice as long as most meals. Oatmeal takes roughly 5 minutes. Mashed potatoes are almost instant. Most meals take 15-20 minutes. Most hikers like to use an ice cream container (talenti jar) to rehydrate their meals. I place all my meals in a ziplock bag, cut the corner away, and eat from that, so I don’t carry a jar or spork. I find it easier and more time-efficient to do it that way. One tip for meals is to take what you know you like and leave the meh meals at home.
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