Food Prep!

I’m only sending myself a few resupply packages; logistically it’s just easier especially since home base is on the East Coast. Even though I’m vegetarian and the options in some places might be sparse, all the effort of planning and pre-packaging and dehydrating everything just isn’t something I could throw myself in to. I’m more of a hike by the seat of my pants kind of person, and adhering to post office schedules just seems like a hassle.

So anyways, I’m mostly finished packing my boxes, all I have to do is buy some wet wipes and a case of cherry pie Lara Bars. Any time I’m stressed or anxious, cherry pie Lara Bars have gotten me through it, so they’re going in every one of my packages. Lucky Charms has nothing on these things, how can only three ingredients taste so magically delicious?

My roommate has a Costco membership, so I went to buy stuff for about one month of resupply packages. They had tons of options for nuts and dried fruit, it was difficult to choose and I also ended up buying a huge box of Oreos that I definitely didn’t need. I bought two bags of this antioxidant mix with goji berries, cranberries and the like. I had to stop myself from eating it when I was separating everything in to baggies. SO tasty.

This is what $200 at Costco looks like:

For dinners I have Annie’s mac and cheese (YAY!) and Idahoan potatoes. I ordered some dehydrated veggies for variety and I also found this great website that sells all sorts of vegan and vegetarian jerky substitutes.

Several people I’ve talked to who have told me that sending myself oatmeal is a bad idea because I can get it easily on the trail. But I make some damn good oatmeal. Seriously, this shit is the bomb. It’s way better than those super sugary prepackaged sand bags you buy at the grocery store.

I start with rolled oats, then I add chia seeds, protein powder, that dried berry mix, sliced almonds and some instant coffee. I need my coffee, but on the trail I don’t like to take the time to make it in the morning, so I just mix it in with my oatmeal. Also, the protein powder is chocolate flavored, making it taste like mocha!

Other than that, lots of Clif bars, almonds and dried fruit. I plan on snacking throughout the day and eating bars and trail mix to fuel me through until dinner. I also measured out some CocoHydro electrolyte powder. It tastes just like coconut water and there’s no added sugar.

5 days of food (sans Lara Bars, of course):

Next I tape ’em up and ship ’em across the country! 22 days until I’m hiking!

 

 

Final Shakedown Hike

This weekend was supposed to be my last gear shakedown hike, I was all set to load up my pack and hike through High Bridge State Park with a friend. I moved my long run to Friday instead of Saturday (because, ya know, training for a marathon and planning a thru-hike at the same time was the best idea I ever had) and all my gear was ready to go. My 22.5 mile route was a beautiful one that had me winding along the river and through the parks and around downtown, but around mile 8 I tripped over absolutely nothing and came down hard on my right knee. I heard it smack the pavement over Beyonce’s voice on my iPod, and that’s saying something.

I decided to keep going after I brushed myself off and walked for a bit to make sure I was okay. It was my last long run before I started tapering! I couldn’t just stop, it would ruin everything that I’ve been working for these past few months. So I finished my route, but my knee was in some pain. No muscle or ligament pain, just external throbbing that comes with slamming one’s entire body weight on concrete and having a single body part absorb the impact. After icing it and popping some ibuprofen, it was decided that a weekend of hiking with a fully loaded pack would not be a good idea.

Day 3 after my epic tumble:Since the most important thing for me to test was my shoes, I just loaded up my day pack with everything I’d need for the night and we headed out for what was about a 3 mile hike. The shoes I was testing were the Merrell Vapor Gloves, and they felt really great on my feet. I felt like I wasn’t even wearing shoes at all. They had zero arch support, which I love. I’m just hoping that my feet can handle 20+ mile days in them. If all else fails, I guess I’ll just jump on the Brooks Cascadia bandwagon, but I haven’t worn shoes with that much cushion in I don’t even know how long.

All that’s left now is to wait for my REI dividend so I can get some more socks and a couple odds and ends. Then I have to mail my stove out west, finish packing my resupply boxes, quit my jobs, run a marathon and get on a plane.

27 days.