FAQ--COLORADO
TRAIL
A running collection of communication between Keith
Drury (AKA "Coach D")
and students about hiking the Colorado Trail in August
2001.
Link to Colorado Trail organization and store: http://www.coloradotrail.org
Hiking across
Colorado's Rocky Mountains
WHERE WE'LL BE BACKPACKING è The "Colorado Trail--across the Rocky Mountains Keith Drury and several IWU students will backpack 300 miles completely across Colorado's Continental Divide on one of the most beautiful trails in America. We will begin in Leadville, Colorado in the mountains West of Denver then backpack across all seven ranges of the Rocky Mountains. We'll be above the timberline lots of the time giving us amazing views. We intend to hike all the way to Durango, Colorado after crossing the entire Rocky Mountains range East to West. We'll be on the "Colorado Trail" one of the newest trails in the USA. In Colorado the CT is also often the same trail as the "Continental Divide Trail" (a trail which runs up the continental Divide from Mexico to Canada). The CT is widely considered one of the most beautiful trails in the world, packed with hour-by-hour breath-taking views.
FAQ è Frequently asked questions
q
Equipment -- Coach D has lots of extra backpacks, sleeping bags, cook stoves and
other equipment but you might still want to get some of your own stuff.
q Food -- We
will buy some in villages the trail passes through occasionally, and send other
supplies ahead to tiny mountain village post offices.
q How we'll hike -- we will almost always camp together but we will usually spread out on
the trail during the day to absorb the experience.
q Students --
This mentoring and developmental experience is open only to IWU students
q Group -- You
are free to recruit a friend and sign up as a group to go along--that way you
control who you hike with
q Danger – Lots—don’t
dismiss it. We will hike in 10,000’ to
13,00’ elevations—this a hazardous activity, not like working at Wendy’s all summer. Hiking
the Colorado Trail involves a risk of injury and caution is required. Risks include
being killed by lightning, getting
broken bones, getting infection from untreated water, getting lost for hours
perhaps days, dehydration from some sections of trail where we will hike two
days with no water whatsoever, altitude sickness, hypothermia, or losing food or life to bears—plus the general risks of hiking and camping 300+ miles on some of the
highest trail elevations in America. We
should be safe, but the dangers can not be minimized. As in all hikes at IWU, you will have to sign a release of
liability before going.
LEAVE: July 31
RETURN: August 26
1. OUR SCHEDULE
COLORADO TRAIL POSSIBLE
ITINERARY
303 miles: Leadville to Durango…Backpackers:
Sam Bills, Justin Easley, Chris Laws, Burt Webb, Keith Drury
The Itinerary: Most long distance backpackers
make an itinerary even though they seldom follow it exactly. Some sort of plan
is needed to plan enough food between re-supply towns. And just in case of an
emergency at home knowing where we are within a day or so enables a ranger to
get on the trail heading our way and walk toward us… though most rangers won't
really do that--they post a sign on a tree at a crossroads instead (and tell any
hikers heading toward us the message). Just the same, here is a possible
itinerary we can use to judge if we are "ahead or behind" the plan…
sort of like a budget. This itinerary has two "Cushion days:" one at
mile 137 the half way point in Creede, and one at mile 70 in Silverton. These
days allow unforeseen circumstances to let us blow off a day and still make it
to Durango.
[00] Day 0 Jul
30, Mo 303. Travel to
Denver/Leadville arrive in evening; sleep near Leadville;
"THE FIRST WEEK" LEADVILLE TO SALIDA… 80 miles: pack 5 breakfasts, 10 Lunch-dinners
[10] Day 1 Jul
31 Tu 290 Clear Creek (first
day…10 mile starter day after last Minute packing in morning
[13] Day 2 Aug
1 We 277 Rainbow Lake
(11,520') [13 mile day]
[15] Day 3 Aug
2 Th 262 Hughes Creek Campsite
(10,640') [15 mile day]
{{{Cross
a road today--County 344}}}
[18] Day 4 Aug
3 Fr 244 Chalk Creek [18
mile day]
[15] Day 5 Aug
4 Sa 229 Angel of Shavano
(9160') [15 mile day.]
{{{Cross
a road today--County 240}}}
[5+] Day 6 Aug
5 Su 224 Walk 5 mi. to US
HWY 50 Turn left on US50 go 13 miles to SALIDA OVERNIGHT IN TOWN
MAIL DROP #1
myname C/O General Delivery Salida CO 81201
Overnight in
town--re-supply for next 85 miles (Creede)
"TO THE HALFWAY POINT" SALIDA TO CREEDE ….87 miles: pack 6 breakfasts, 11 Lunch-dinners
[04] Day 7 Aug
6 Mo 220 Fooses Creek area
(10,000') [get mail--leave afternoon from town --4 miles on trail.]
[13] Day 8 Aug
7 Tu 207 Rainbow &
Silver Creek (11,240')
[18] Day 9 Aug
8 We 189 baldy lake [18 mile
day]
{{{Cross
a road today--County 114}}}
[15] Day 10 Aug
9 Th 174 Pine Creek (9680')
[15 mile day]
[15] Day 11 Aug
10 Fr 159 VanTassel Gulch
(9840') [dry camp--carry water from day before]
[17]Day 12 Aug
11 Sa 142 Cochetopa Headwaters
ford (11,720')
[5+]Day 13 Aug
12 Su 137 Hike 5 mi. to San
Luis Pass-- then take confusing routes 10 more miles into Creede
MAIL DROP #2
myname C/O General Delivery Creede CO 81130
Overnight in
town--re-supply for next 67 miles to Silverton)
[00]Day 14 Aug
13 Mo 137 HALF WAY CELEBRATION
IN CREEDE--or "CUSHION DAY #1" if needed
"THIRD WEEK" CREEDE TO SILVERTON…67 miles: pack 5 breakfasts, 9 Lunch-dinners
[4+]Day 15 Aug
14 Tu 133 Middle Mineral Creek
(11,680') [Walk 10 mi' back from Creede… 4 mile on trail]
[16] Day 16 Aug
15 We 117 Buck Creek Headwaters
(11,840') [16 mile day]
[16] Day 17 Aug
16 Th 103 Lost Trail Creek
(12,000') [14 miles]
[17] Day 18 Aug
17 Fr 86 "Cross
Drainage" (12,080') [17 mile day]
[16] Day 19 Aug
18 Sa 70 Molas Pass/Hwy 550
(10,880') [16 mile day; camp near HWY 550)
[00] Day 20 Aug
19 Su 70 Rise early, hike 5
miles to Silverton to P.O.& , re-supply for final 70 miles
Turn
North 5 miles on US 550 to Silverton Colorado
MAIL DROP #3
myname C/O General Delivery Silverton CO 81433
70 Overnight at Youth
Hostel in Silverton or @ back at Molas pass again]
[00] Day 21 Aug
20 Mo 70 DAY OFF IN SILVERTON…
OR CUSHION DAY #2… if needed
"THE FINAL PUSH" SILVERTON TO DURANGO….70 miles: pack 3 breakfasts, 6 Lunch-dinners
[19] Day 22 Aug
21 Tu 51 Bolam Pass /Celebration
Lake (11,120') [19 miles]
{{{Cross
a road today -- Forest Service 550}}}
[19] Day 23 Aug
22 We 32 Salt Creek Trail (no
water) (10,840') [19 mile day]
[18] Day 24 Aug
23 Th 14 upper Junction Creek
(8520')[18 miles day]
[14] Day 25 Aug
24 Fr 0 Durango Colorado
--[walk 14 miles then WE CELEBRATE!]
[00] Day 26 Aug
25 Sa Go to Airport, head home
late Sat. night the 25th or next morning Sun. Aug 26th
n
Number before campsite = miles to Durango
[nn] Number in brackets is miles per day.
November 2000.
There are three ways to be in shape, strength, endurance and mental attitude. Strength is the easiest to develop and measure, mental attitude the hardest.
I. STRENGTH This on you can test now. Go to the wellness center and hop on the stair-climber and climb 1000 feet/100 floors. If you do it in less than 25 minutes you've got enough climbing strength to start. If it takes you more than 25 minutes you might do some getting in shape--you're worse off then Coach d!
II. ENDURANCE Face it, there is no way we can measure this now. We'll carry packs at 8000'-10,000' on rocky trails from morning to night, day after day, week after week. About the only way to test this would be to carry packs at 8000'-10,000' on rocky trails from morning to night, day after day, week after week! If you are set on testing yourself pop twenty pounds on your back some Saturday and walk on regular roads for 15 miles. If you do OK then you know you can do the daily miles (other than the elevation & the trail instead of road) so don't worry. If you poop out on level roadway before 15 miles then maybe consider some conditioning this spring.
III. MENTAL ATTITUDE But here is the critical one. Long distance trekking is 90% mental. Every day there will be a new reason to quit. Yesterday it was that new blister right on the ball of my foot. Today it is the constant rain all day and my wet sleeping bag, tomorrow it will be something hurting in my left knee, day after tomorrow it will be homesickness for my girlfriend/wife. Long distance hikers listen to their bodies, but they don't listen to the whining. How can we train mentally? We can't. You mother trained you for this. And your dad. It started when you were three years old. You were training for it when you tried to put together that complicated model and you wanted to just get up and quit. It started when your dad or mom "helped you" stick to a job until it was done. It continued through school when you determined to finish a paper instead of handing it in half-done. Mental attitude is the character thing. Sticking with things that are hard because you said so. Paying the price for getting the rewards. So it is too late to prepare this way. All we can do is commit to doing this trail, commit to each other, and develop the character of "not giving up" in stuff we're doing right now. "Giving up" is the enemy. Persistence is the character quality. (On the other hand don't get too worried if you've been a whuss all your life and run away from everything difficult…people like this can change. Indeed a long distance hike is one of the primary routes to this radical change in such a person's life. For some long distance hikers the hike is the first difficult thing they completed in their life. And it becomes a watershed point in life--from then on their character changes… they do the hard work in everything and carry it through to completion…for they live with the "trail ghost" constantly haunting them when they think of quitting.
So if you are wondering… "Can I make it"? Try the stair climber first… to see if you are at least in as good of shape as ol' coach D. Maybe consider a 15miler some day when the snow melts…And keep on keeping on… refusing to give up on other things…it'll transfer to the trail… and visa versa…
Revised
January 20, 2001
Coach D's Own Colorado Trail checklist
___Pack
(Buy or borrow one
with 3000-4000 cu inches if you are carrying Coach D's weight. Coach has three
free-loaners for this trip: Two external Kelty frame packs @ 5 pounds each, one
Jack Wolfsin internal stripped down @ 2.3 pounds. Usually you can strip down a
5# pack to about 3 pounds…but that's hard to do to a new one huh?
___Sleeping bag
Go for 30-40 degree
bag…expect nighttime temps as low as low 40's. Down works, but synthetic is
what Coach D is taking, though it is 1 pound heavier. Coach D has 3-4 down
& synthetic loaners but you'll have to chip in 10 bucks toward the purchase
price if you plan to sweat in one for a month during this trip.
-Add garbage bag
for rain protector (in pack)
-Stuff sack for
sleeping bag (Compression sack is heavy, but shrinks it more if your pack is
small)
___Sleeping pad
A RIDGEREST is by
far the preferred choice… even one cut off to 3/4 length. A Z-REST is more
expensive but cute and easier to pack on the outside of your pack and pop out
to sit on through the day. An inflatable THERM-A-REST is probably too heavy (1
lb. to 1 1/2 lbs.) unless you are old and sore. Coach D has 3-4 of them if you
want to borrow one--no charge unless you pop it -- new ones cost about $50.
___Tent/Bivy/Tarp
Got to keep the
rain off you. And mosquitoes. Get a Bivy, tarp, or tent--we will share together
if it is a tent. Tent should not be heavier than 2 1/2 pounds per person
including all stakes and poles. A Bivy will be slightly less than 2 pounds, but
they cost well over $100--the best ones over $200. A tarp is about one pound
but you've got to add 6-8 OZ ground cloth. Coach D has a 5 pound 2-person "Sierra
Designs Clip Flash-lite Tent" that sold for about $120--that's $60 per
person. Coach also has a Bivy and a tarp. He hasn't decided which he'll use but
stuff sleeps five. Anyone else have a tent of 5 pounds?
___Ground cloth.
Only if you carry a
tarp. Otherwise the tent floor or Bivy is the ground cloth. If you take a tarp
try several garbage bags or a piece of TYVEK or plastic. Nothing more than 5 OZ
total.
___Stove
We gotta' eat…and
we gotta' cook. BEST= "Pepsi-can-stove" burning alcohol. BUT Coach D will
free-loan his MSR gas stove to a duet of people if they'll let him use it once
in a while. Coach will carry his Pop-can-stove… Alex & Chris will have one
too by then that they made in the Camping class.
___Wind Screen for stove
This really
increases efficiency--it is worth the weight--sometimes you can make one out of
a "turkey pan" from Wal-Mart…though MSR makes them too.
___Alcohol fuel bottle
Just a simple
plastic one. 8-12 OZ of fuel is plenty for a week. 1/2 Oz will cook a meal w/o
wind. up to 1Oz with wind. Coach D uses ESBITT fuel tablets instead of Alcohol.
They weight the same--but they cost about 20 cents per meal while alcohol is
about 2 cents per meal. Fuel tabs require 1/2 Oz per meal.
___Cooking pot.
You need one--just
ONE--pot that holds about a quart. A lid is nice, but aluminum foil is lighter
and works fine. Cheapest is aluminum pot from Wal-Mart. My Titanium pots cost
$40 and save a few more oz. but I hiked 30 years before buying one.
-Tiny pot
squeegee-just the rubber part for cleaning pot.
___Water container
You need to be able
to carry 4 liters of water at once--on one section of 30 miles 8 liters. Best
bet-- plastic "coke" bottles, a couple 1-litre bottles and maybe one
2-litre bottle. That's the cheapest. More expensive is a collapsible
"Platypus" which will set you back almost ten bucks to get about the
same weight as a coke bottle, but it collapses to a flat spot while not using
it. Forget Nalgene containers--they are heavier and no better (except you can
put boiling water in them for making tea).
___Spoon
Coach D has plastic
spoons, or one of the cheap metal ones from Wal-Mart is fine. I bought a
Titanium one for ten bucks, but that didn't really save any weight and I use it
only because I bought it.
___FOOD
Mostly you'll eat
Lipton meals then mac & cheese then Lipton meal, then… you get it. Most
thru hikers eat two of these meals a day (the whole meal by one person) --one
for lunch and one for dinner. Then eat something "dry" for
"breakfast" like dry instant oatmeal, or two packages of cookies
(like the kind from a cookie machine--Wal-Mart sells them in bulk) or other
miscellaneous food (e.g. Brown sugar or tacos, or bagels, etc. You'll use about
4000-6000 calories per day. If you have "pudginess" on your body you
can get about 2000 from your fat… thus only need to take 3000-4000. If you have
no fat stored up, then you need closer to 6000 calories per day.
___OFFICE
-Tiny single AAA
flashlight;
-Zip-loc
"wallet" with license (needed to claim mail) credit card (who knows)
& cash;
-pen, paper or post
cards or envelopes/stamps for journaling and writing to sweethearts
-maps or guidebook
or elevation sheets
-disposable camera
___TOILET KIT
-Razor (Ok OK--you
don't shave on the trail --I do)
-Deodorant--roll on
poured into a tiny motel bottle
-1/2 motel soap
-Toothbrush with
handle sawed off
-Large bandana as
towel/washcloth/sunshade/everything else
-1/3 Toilet Paper
roll in Zip-loc bag (1/3 = 1 week)
-Plastic 1 OZ spade
(maybe---if you can do a rock-turnover you can skip this one)
-Hand Sanitizer
--small bottle in center of TP roll (Obvious)
-Mosquito
repellant--1 or 2 OZ (Maybe also a face net @ 1/2 oz.?)
-1/2 Lip Balm
chap-stick(Take an old one half used to save weight)
-Ear plugs
--(snoring tentmate?)
___UTILITY POUCH
-2 Oz bleach in
tiny well-sealed bottle (Unless you take a filter)
-Plastic eye
dropper (For bleach unless you carry it in a MARKED Visene bottle)
-Tiny knife (very
tiny-seldom need a knife on the trail)
-Lighter
-2-3 Oz baby powder
for first week out (feet)
-24" of Duct
tape or adhesive tape (for taping blisters)
___WEARING
-Nylon-Polyester
tee shirt (any nylon--NOT cotton) Capalene "underwear" is best but
expensive--$35!
-1 pr shorts--same
as above--Nylon running shorts" work great--pockets are nice
-Baseball hat… (sun/rain)
-Walking sticks
(Many hikers carry none-good idea if weak ankles--get old cheap ski poles if
you can.
-Socks: SmartWool
light hikers socks (Or any comfortable socks--these are your only cushion from
shoes) Some hikers only use liners.
-New Balance
sneakers-unless you need heavier protection for ankles
-Glasses?? (I
seldom take 'em, but if you need them or contacts some do)
___CLOTHES--CARRY
-Home made fleece
hat--for sleeping, chilly mornings, hypothermic-inducing rain.
-Silk boxers as PJs
(unless you sleep in walking shorts)
-Second pair of
Smartwool light hikers hanging on pack to dry with two diaper pins (Or liners)
-Light nylon rain
parka (tight nylon--doesn't have to be breathable-- can get for $15 or less)
-Nylon warm-up rain
pants Maybe $10-- for rain hypothermia protection
-Fleece or wool
sweater or vest… for cold evenings?
-Flip-flops for
camp wear???? Maybe. But probably no if you use sneakers to walk in.
TOTAL WEIGHT -- All of the above
(everything except food and water—called a "dry pack") for Coach D
weighs in at about 10-12 pounds—including the pack itself and all the
clothes/shoes worn. You should aim to keep your total pack weight below 20
pounds.
Remember—if you are carrying 5# of mine
you will have to ADD the COACH’S 5 LBS. to that 20 # (NOW IT IS 25
pounds)
Remember—then you will have to add FOOD
to that (at 1 ½--2 pounds a day for 7 days = 10-14 more pounds! The first
day—though the more you walk-eat the lighter this part of your pack gets) NOW
WITH YOUR STUFF, DRURY’S STUFF AND FOOD YOU ARE UP TO 35 POUNDS)
Remember you will have to add WATER
to that too. Let's say you are starting out on one of those days where there is
no water for 20 miles—you’ll need about a gallon of water per 24 hours… so add
another 8 pounds to this and NOW YOU ARE UP TO 43 POUNDS… NEARING THE LIMIT—45
LBS SHOULD BE YOUR ABSOLUTE LIMIT IF YOU WANT TO HAVE A GOOD TIME.
So, next task for you is---
1. Start thinking about what you might borrow from friends or Coach, or buy.
2. Start making your own list of stuff to take
3. Start weighing things this Spring.
4. Keep meeting together to help each other take enough stuff to be safe and comfortable but not so much that we are miserable.
June 2001
CLOTHING: TEN
ESSENTIALS
SHIRT.
Try polyester or nylon easy-to-dry. Forget cotton. I have always worn $45
Patagonia Capalene tee shirt… which dries so fast you can wash it then put it
back on and be wearing a dry shirt in 10 minutes…so I wash it every day.
HOWEVER this year Josh Crisp showed me a simple $11 "Starter" soccer
shirt from Walmart and I've tried two of them for the last two months and I am
just as impressed as the Capalene. SO I'll be using one of those. (Perhaps
shipping the other one to meet me at a post office along the way).
PANTS
Again, lightweight polyester or nylon that will dry quickly. Ideally try
something with pockets--you always want to stick something there while walking.
I usually walk in nylon running shorts(with pockets) at about $10… but this
summer I'm thinking of taking a pair of zip-offs… but have not decided yet. If
you walk in shorts take along a few oz, of sun-block per week… the sun will
really bake your calves.
UNDERWEAR?
Most thru hikers--men and women--don't wear 'em figuring they only keep the
moisture in and invite rashes. If you do you'll want some that wick away
moisture. Some hikers wear silk boxers.
WIND-BREAKER/RAIN
JACKET. This might be optional for some hikes,
(I seldom take one) but not on this hike. Picture crossing an 11,000' pass in
driving rain (maybe sleet) with 40 MPH wind with just a tee shirt… You'll need
something to break the wind and cut down on body heat loss. It doesn't have to
be waterproof but should be a close enough weave to keep body heat in to avoid
hypothermia in such a situation. Sometimes you can get these for $10 at
Walmart, especially the kind you put on over your head.
WIND
PANTS/RAIN PANTS. Same as for wind breaker. Again,
"Gore Tex" isn't as important as something to prevent too much heat
loss in a high rain storm. Combined the jacket and pants will seldom cost you
more than a pound…but it might save your life.
HAT
You'll want something to keep the sun out of your eyes and off your head. This
is the only shade you'll get above the timberline. I usually wear a cotton
baseball cap (though when it rains it really gets heavy). Some wear a
"fishing hat." Many drape their bandana around their necks and put a
hat on over it--due to sunburn at high altitudes. I've met a few hikers who
wear none at all.
FLEECE/SWEATER
This is a hard one. Especially when packing in hot July temps at home. But
you'll want something to add to your tee short n the evenings, mornings, and
(sometimes) in your sleeping bag. An old wool sweater from Salvation Army if
great (though sometimes heavy when wet). A Fleece (especially a lightweight
one) is great too. It will cost you almost a pound though. But it is good
insurance.
SLEEPWEAR
I usually carry a pair of silk boxers to sleep in, but when going
ultra-lightweight I just sleep in whatever I walked in. It gets the sleeping
bag dirty, but sleeping in it a month does that no matter what you wear.
SOCKS
(See advice on FEET). Usually two pair of socks. Smartwools are the current
fad, I may use them or maybe even just liners alone.
FLIP-FLOPS/SANDALS
I don't take these to save weight, but many hikers do, especially those who
wear hiking boots all day--to give their feet a chance to rest at night. I just
take my socks off and insoles out of my sneakers and wear the sneakers in the
evening…my warm feet then dry them in a hour or so. On other advantage of
sandals is for river crossings--otherwise you get wet feet and have to
"walk them dry" the rest of the day. But we don't have that many
stream crossings in Colorado and they'll not be snow-melt by August.
Our concern needs to be not just so much
strength and endurance as our FEET...
Our backs, knees, ankles--all those body
parts can be cared for by "treading lightly" but FEET carry
everything... every pound we carry the FEET have to do the work... So keeping
them COOL and DRY is the secret. Here are some of the tricks long distance
hikers use:
Best in lab = Filter
On trail: everyone gets sick sooner or later. ;-)
Hiker water treatment studies
LAB RESULTS (Ongerth, J. E. et. al "Backcountry Water Treatment to Prevent Giardiasis" American Journal of public health, Dec. 1989)
Iodine, 8 hours 99.9% effective
Iodine, 30 minutes 90% effective
Best filters(new) 100% effective
Filters after 88 liters 75% effective
Chlorine 85-90% effective
Heating 60 degrees C 10 min 96%
Heating 70 degrees C 10 min. 100%
FIELD RESULTS (AT thru hikers; 1994 Roland Mueser Long Distance Hiking, (Camden Maine, Raged Mountain Press)
Purification method -- % illness in 5-6 months -- % Giardia only
Iodine --26% became ill, 6% Giardia
Filtering--30% became ill, 9% Giardia
Boiling--34% became ill, 3% Giardia
Chlorine--75% became ill, 0% Giardia
No treatment --27% became ill, 3% Giardia
1. BIVY: The bivy is a great choice... I have one myself.
ADVANTAGES: space: you can
"pitch" it anywhere, Independence: are free from a partner (e.g. you
want to start early, but your partner wants to sleep in, but YOU are supposed
to carry the fly and poles--half the weight.)
DISADVANTAGES: can't cook in it, awkward
to get up in the rain, expensive. Most hikers think Oregon Research makes the
best bivy... but there are a lot of them just as good now. One additional
consideration favoring a Bivy... I am considering taking a lightweight
"Fly" as community property. If I do, then you can stick your head
under it and cook in a rainstorm even.
2. TENT: Also great choice. Mine weighs only an ounce or so more than a
bivy (2 people)
ADVANTAGES: Can cook on the porch, can
get dressed in the rain, "home line feeling"; you never get
wet--Bivies always get you damp...if only from sweat;
DISADVANTAGES: snoring tentmate,
dependence on partner for camping together; leaving together; BEST TENT: most
through hikers buy the Sierra Designs Clip Flashlight 2-man tent... though others
are now copying that tent... that's what I use and I have never criticized
it... it is small, but adequate.. cost: about $200... $100 per person... though
I got one for $139 at Galyons. (My OR Bivy cost $210)
8. First week's food
We still have plenty
of time for this... but for you "plan early types" here is some data
on food. TO DO:
FOOD LIST for Keith DRURY'S 500 mile hike
on the Pacific Crest Trail July-August 2000 _____________________________________________________
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Item |
calories per gram |
Carbs Per gram |
Grams per day |
Calories per day |
Comment |
|
Cashews |
6 |
0.3 |
100 |
600 |
|
|
Brown Sugar |
15 |
1 |
30 |
450 |
|
|
Dried Beef |
2 |
0 |
20 |
40 |
|
|
Taco Shells |
5.6 |
0.9 |
35 |
170 |
2 shells per day |
|
Olive Oil |
8.5 |
|
2 tbspns |
240 |
1 oz = 240 cal |
|
Fruit Rollups |
3.5 |
1 |
14 |
50 |
1 roll/day |
|
Dry Milk |
3.5 |
0.5 |
23 |
80 |
1 cup day |
|
Macaroni or Pasta |
4 |
|
160 |
600 |
3 pkts day |
|
Cookie-crackers |
4.8 |
|
172 |
800 |
4 pkts day 1 pkt=205 cal |
|
|
|
|
554 |
3030 |
|
|
|
|
Oz-per-day |
18.466666 |
|
1 oz=30 gr.? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
NOTES:
UPDATE---CT revisions of
the above PCT list (Protein
upgraded)
|
Item |
Calories /Oz. |
Protein /Oz. |
Carbs /Oz |
Eat Oz. Per day |
Cal per day |
Carbs /day |
Protein /day Gr. |
6 Day supplyOz |
Comment |
|
Cashews |
170 |
6 |
7 |
3 |
510 |
21 |
18 |
18 |
|
|
Br Sugar |
106 |
0 |
28 |
1 |
106 |
28 |
0 |
6 |
|
|
Beef Jerky |
80 |
15 |
3 |
2 |
160 |
6 |
30 |
12 |
|
|
Taco Shells |
132 |
2 |
20 |
1 |
132 |
20 |
2 |
6 |
|
|
Olive Oil |
240 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
240 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
|
|
Dry Milk |
100 |
10 |
15 |
1 |
100 |
15 |
10 |
6 |
|
|
Cookies/Dunes |
133 |
2 |
20 |
4 |
479 |
72 |
7 |
22 |
1 Pkt=1.8Oz=240Cal. |
|
WheyPowder |
112 |
20 |
4 |
1 |
112 |
4 |
20 |
6 |
|
|
Dry Cheese |
140 |
11 |
0 |
1 |
140 |
0 |
11 |
6 |
|
|
Mashed Potatoes |
100 |
2 |
22 |
2 |
200 |
44 |
4 |
12 |
|
|
Peanut Butter |
175 |
4 |
6 |
1 |
175 |
6 |
4 |
6 |
|
|
Macaroni w/o Chz |
90 |
2 |
17 |
5 |
450 |
85 |
10 |
30 |
|
|
Lipton meals |
100 |
2 |
20 |
4.5 |
450 |
90 |
9 |
27 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
27 |
3254 |
391 |
125 |
163 |
<== Oz per 6 days |
|
|
|
|
|
^Oz. /day |
^cal. /day |
^crb s/day |
^prtn. /day |
10 |
<== Pounds for 6 days |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
12 |
<==actual w/pckg & xtras |
Notes:
1. This might help you Cris--since you are buying your first 6 days food on
your own.
2. Justin & Sam we can buy on the weekend before we leave.
3. Burt--well, he has his own spreadsheet ;-)
4. You can see the kinds of food here at least…to repeat some of the PCT
comments….
5. I eat cookies for breakfast.
6. Lunch is a Lipton or mac & cheese meal
7. Dinner is the same.
8. Cashews go into the food pretending they're meat
9. Brown sugar = candy
10. Jerky = snacks & protein
11. Olive Oil goes in meals too--fat fat fat!
12. Dry milk goes in meals too... fat-protein-carbs-perfect food!
13. Why whea?-- I don't know--it's new to me.
14. Dry cheese to add to for mac&cheese for protein
15. Mashed pot--filler, snack, extra meal, add to meals.
16. Peanut butter--snack
17. Macaroni & Lipton meals... 11 the first week.
10 lbs TOTAL WEIGHT OF FOOD
12 lbs TOTAL WEIGHT WITH PACKAGING & SEVERAL SECRET BONUS EXTRAS
2 lbs a day is usual...
Most long distance hikers don't make it. That
is, they start but don't finish. Some don't even start--pulling out the week
before. Remember, on long distance hikes HALF the hikers pull out in the first
week... HALF!!! Then another 40% pull out along the way--That's the truth---on
long distance hikes only 10% --only 10%--of the starters finish... this
is not some walk in the park that any old guy can do... it is more like a
slow-paced marathon...
So, consider what we are about to
do:
We will cover more than a half-marathon
every day...
…not on the level but in 11,000' elevations
…not on a road but a rough trail...
…not merely in running shorts but with a heavy pack on our backs...
We will finish our half-marathon then sleep
on the ground..
and get up the next day and do another half-marathon
and again the next day for more than three weeks...
BUT...
We will do this in good company...
...with sweet chats in late afternoon walks..
...and sometimes quiet sitting with wraparound vistas fee get to see...
...and we will ache...
...and get so stiff an hour after stopping we can hardly walk to the creek to
get water
...and we will forge life-time friendships...
...and our breath will be taken away at the views...
...and we will want to quit...
...and our foot will hurt strangely...
...and our shoulder will have a funny ache we never had before...
...and our knees will seem to be injured...
...and will have the runs for two days in a row...
But we will keep on...
...and our friends will urge us on...
...and when we fall into bed we will be so exhausted
… we will sometimes sleep on a 1" rock
all night and not notice until 4AM...
...and we'll get up and think of fried eggs and bacon but eat a package of
cookies...
...and we'll get a cheap motel and feel like we are in the finest accommodations
in the world...
...and we'll think a shower is worth $100.
...and we'll go eat two pizzas each..
...and people won't believe we walked there form Leadville...
...and we'll celebrate in town... and finally move on...
...and we'll accommodate to life on the trail..
...we'll see a M&M dropped on the trail by someone and pick it up and eat
it.
...It will rain and we'll hardly notice...
...weekender hikers will look so clean...
...and the perfume on any weekender girl-hikers will linger half a mile in the
air to our now-sensitive noses...
...and we will fall into a routine of half-marathons each day...
...and we'll get cocky..
...and we'll say, "Lets do a 20 miler"
...or even "Let's knock off a 25 miler today.."
...and we might do it..
...indeed we might walk an entire marathon one day..
...and get up and do half-marathons every day the following week...
...until walking 15 miles is normal for us...
...and Lipton meals and mac&cheese are normal..
...and we'll eat instant oatmeal raw one day, washing it down with cold
water... and pronounce it "fine"...
...then it will be almost over,...
...and we'll see Durango in the distance...
and we'll walk that loooooong downhill section into town..
...and we'll put a stone on the big ending rock...
...and we'll be back on campus...
....and we will feel strangely out of place...
...as if we left home... where we "life" behind on the trail...
...and people will ask inane questions of us...
..."did you live off the land?"
..."did you get a lot of writing done"
..."so were you on a road?
..."I hear you HITCHhiked across Colorado...
...and they will not understand...
...and when we see each other we will know "He understands.."
...and there will be a bond...
...and in a boring class our mind will run a PowerPoint presentation of our
"mind slides" of views we will remember when we are sixty...
...and in the following spring we will again think of the trail... and wonder
how it is...
...and even if we never hike again in our whole life...we will be permanently
altered...
...we'll wonder how we could be so changed when there was no Bible study...no
pews...no planned "services" no small group activities...no
workbook... but we know we are different forever..
...most of all our character will be altered...
...we will do hard things when we don't like them...
...we will stick with things that aren't always pleasant..
..and we will repeatedly see that our CT hike influenced us most because
...because
...because it is a metaphor for life...
...life is a long distance hike...
...a job is a long distance hike...
...marriage (especially) is a long distance hike...
...and we will ponder the influence of this hike on our lives...
...and determine that the metaphor is what influenced us...
just watch...
we'll never be the same...
Thunder is good,
thunder is impressive,
but it is the lightning
that does the work.
-Mark
Twain
I like trees
because
they seem more resigned
to the way they have to live
than other things do.
-Willa
Cather, O Pioneers
It is unfair to blame man
too fiercely for being pugnacious;
he learned the habit from nature.
-Christopher
Moreley, Inward Ho!
Never does nature say one thing
and wisdom another.
-Juvenal, Satires
Silently one by one,
in the infinite meadows of heaven,
blossomed the lovely stars,
the forget-me-nots of the angels.
-Longfellow,
Evangeline
The whole secret of the study of nature
lies in learning how to use one's eyes.
-George Sand
Someone said to Socrates
that a certain man had
grown no better by his travels.
"I should think not," he said:
"he took himself along with
him."
-Michel
de Montaigne
A traveler.
I love his title.
A traveler is to be reverenced as such.
His profession is the best symbol of our
life.
Going from--toward;
it is the history of every one of us.
-Henry
David Thoreau
One touch of nature makes the whole world
kin.
-Shakespeare
Trollus and Cressida
People from a planet without flowers would
think we must be mad with joy the whole time to have such things about us.
-Iris
Murdoch A Fairly Honorable Defeat
The wind shows us how close to the edge we
are
-Joan
Didion
Rocks do not recommend the land to the
tiller of the soil, but they recommend it to those who reap a harvest of
another sort--the artist, the poet. the walker, the student, and lover of all
primitive open-air things.
-John
Burroughs
Thanks to the interstate highway system,
it is now possible to travel across the country from coast to coast without
seeing anything.
-Charles
Kuralt, On The Road
Sweet is the breath of morn, her rising
sweet,
With charm of earliest birds.
-John
Milton Paradise Lost
The wind blows where it chooses, and you
hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes.
-John
3:8
To make a prairie it takes clover and one
bee,
One clover and a bee,
And revery.
The revery alone will do,
If bees are few.
-Emily
Dickinson
There can be no very black melancholy to
him who lives in the midst of nature and has his senses still. There was never
yet such a storm but it was Aeolian music to a healthy and innocent ear.
-Henry
David Thoreau, Walden
Every formula which expresses a law of
nature is a hymn of praise to God.
-Maria
Mitchell
For my part, I travel not to go anywhere,
but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move.
-Robert
Loius Stevenson, Travels with a Donkey
A road is a dagger placed in the heart of
a wilderness.
-William
O. Douglas, in Ghost Grizzlies
Do not look to the ground for your next
step; greatness lies with those who look to the horizon.
--Norwegian
Proverb
I do not own an inch of land, but all I
see is mine.
Lucy
Larcom
I have been one acquainted with the night.
I have walked out in the rain. I have outwalked the furthest city light.
-Robert
Frost, Acquainted with the Night.
I chatter, chatter, as I flow,
To join the brimming river,
For men may come and men may go,
But I go on forever
--Alfred
Lord Tennyson The Brook
The clearest way into the universe is
through a forest wilderness.
-John
Muir
The mountains lie in the curves so tender
I want to lay my arm around them as God does.
-Olive
Dargan, Twilight
The substance of the winds is too thin for
human eyes, their written language is too difficult for human minds, and their
spoken language mostly too faint for the ears.
-John
Muir
Here I am, safely returned over those
peaks from a journey far more beautiful and strange than anything I had hoped for
or imagined--how is it that this safe return brings such regret?
-Peter
Matthiessen
More coming…
--coach d