Food

Another question I've been getting a lot is about what I plan to do as far as food goes.  There's two main things to keep in mind when selecting food for a backpacking trip:

First, you need calorie-dense food, meaning that you get the most amount of calories in the smallest package.  Second, you obviously want the food to be as light weight and compactable as possible- no canned foods or items with a high water content.

There's a great selection of prepared dehydrated and freeze-dried food made specifically for backpacking or for storing in your underground bunker in preparation for the Zombie Apocalypse. While very lightweight these options tend to be rather expensive- ranging anywhere from 5 to 12 dollars a meal.  Therefore I decided to go with the junk food option.

The beauty of undertaking a journey that requires you to hike a marathon a day is that you can pretty much eat tubs of lard with a wooden spoon and not have to worry about gaining weight.  While I won't be bringing any tubs on this trip, I will be bringing food that I typically avoid due to their high fat and sodium contents.

Junk food is cheap and it is calorie dense so I'll be eating a lot of "helper" meals such as tuna and hamburger helper to which I'll add powdered milk and dry meats and repackage in baggies.  I'll add hot water to the bag, put the bag in an insulated cozy for a few minutes, and then voila!  Bonaparte!  

These days a lot of emphasis is put on high protein foods and that's what most people assume I'll be bringing on this trip.  While I agree that protein is the building block for muscle growth, on a trip like this you especially need FAT and SUGARS for fuel.  

Protein is important but it is the least efficient fuel- the body burns sugars first, then fats, and finally protein.  Since I'll probably be burning a minimum of 5000 calories a day my body will be constantly starving for fuel.

Furthermore, I can get away with eating high-sodium foods because I'll be sweating so much that I'll be needing to constantly replace those lost electrolytes.  Also sodium causes the body to retain water which is why the military has traditionally issued salt pills to troops stationed in hot climates.    

I don't have any illusions that I'll be getting all of my nutritional needs met by living off of junk foods alone, however.  That's why whenever I have the opportunity while resupplying in towns I'll be sure to gorge myself on fresh fruits and veggies to make up for the lack.