Canadian couple driven to live and eat naturally. We're travelling the world taking on challenges that test us physically, mentally and emotionally. Visit www.naturallydriven.ca for more!
Sunday, 18 December 2011
Food Matters: Reloaded
Over the past few months we've put in some serious time dehydrating food and vacuum sealing individual portions that we were planning on putting in resupply boxes that would be mailed to us along the trail. Then we began to question our plan. What about customs? What if we have a box sent to us, only to be held up in customs, or even worse, denied entry to the US altogether? We’d get to a town expecting to be able to pick up our food for the next stretch, and there’d be nothing there for us. I asked around and got even more discouraged to go with this method, as it’s just TOO risky, not to mention the postage costs. That we knew about and we okay with, but the uncertainty of these expensive little boxes of joy actually getting to us, well that kyboshed the whole operation.
NEW PLAN! (tentative as Julia has her reservations as to the details)
Many people utilize a “buy-as-you-go” method. I’ve read a few peoples’ experiences with it and this is, given our situation, how I think WE should go about it.
Firstly, we’ll have to get a really sturdy “box” (one each) that we can use as a bounce box. A bounce box is exactly as you’d expect. It’s a box that you mail to yourself, continually bouncing it up the trail as you go. When we get to a “bigger town” that has adequate resupply facilities (a decent grocery store) we’ll resupply for the next stretch as well as put some stuff in our bounce box to send ahead to the next town that may not have as good of a grocery store. Some places will only have gas station convenience stores that carry junk food and the basics. In some rare situations, we’ll have to squeeze in some stuff for a couple stretches, but may be able to find some “basics” along the way, or eat out of hiker boxes every now and again. These are boxes in which people ditch food that they are sick of eating and don’t want to carry.
I have no doubt that we’ll get into situations where we can’t find the quality foods that we want, and variety for a few days will be lacking, but that will only be a few days out of about 18 weeks. We’ll survive.
Julia also has a very close family friend (that I’ve met as well on a number of occasions) that lives in Bakersfield, California. We MAY (?) be able to have her mail us a couple of pre-prepared boxes to a couple SELECT locations. One important one would be Kennedy Meadows. That’s where we need to pick up our ice axes and bear vaults for the Sierras. It would be fantastic if we could mail these to her long in advance and then get off the trail near her place for a couple days to set-up the few boxes she would send to us.
I think the costs incurred along the trail, buying food as we go and maybe staying a few extra nights in motels / campgrounds and the extra cost of the extra bounce box (we’d have one anyhow) will be made up by not having to buy all the food NOW, dehydrate it (electricity ain’t cheap!) and then mail it (this would be insane expensive) as per our initial plan.
I’m comfortable with it. She needs some more convincing / details first. J
There’s only about 134 days until we hit the trail, maybe less.
Food Matters, part 2
Over the past few months we've put in some serious time dehydrating food and vacuum sealing individual portions that we were planning on putting in resupply boxes that would be mailed to us along the trail. Then we began to question our plan. What about customs? What if we have a box sent to us, only to be held up in customs, or even worse, denied entry to the US altogether? We’d get to a town expecting to be able to pick up our food for the next stretch, and there’d be nothing there for us. I asked around and got even more discouraged to go with this method, as it’s just TOO risky, not to mention the postage costs. That we knew about and we okay with, but the uncertainty of these expensive little boxes of joy actually getting to us, well that kyboshed the whole operation.
NEW PLAN! (tentative as Julia has her reservations as to the details)
Many people utilize a “buy-as-you-go” method. I’ve read a few peoples’ experiences with it and this is, given our situation, how I think WE should go about it.
Firstly, we’ll have to get a really sturdy “box” (one each) that we can use as a bounce box. A bounce box is exactly as you’d expect. It’s a box that you mail to yourself, continually bouncing it up the trail as you go. When we get to a “bigger town” that has adequate resupply facilities (a decent grocery store) we’ll resupply for the next stretch as well as put some stuff in our bounce box to send ahead to the next town that may not have as good of a grocery store. Some places will only have gas station convenience stores that carry junk food and the basics. In some rare situations, we’ll have to squeeze in some stuff for a couple stretches, but may be able to find some “basics” along the way, or eat out of hiker boxes every now and again. These are boxes in which people ditch food that they are sick of eating and don’t want to carry.
I have no doubt that we’ll get into situations where we can’t find the quality foods that we want, and variety for a few days will be lacking, but that will only be a few days out of about 18 weeks. We’ll survive.
Julia also has a very close family friend (that I’ve met as well on a number of occasions) that lives in Bakersfield, California. We MAY (?) be able to have her mail us a couple of pre-prepared boxes to a couple SELECT locations. One important one would be Kennedy Meadows. That’s where we need to pick up our ice axes and bear vaults for the Sierras. It would be fantastic if we could mail these to her long in advance and then get off the trail near her place for a couple days to set-up the few boxes she would send to us.
I think the costs incurred along the trail, buying food as we go and maybe staying a few extra nights in motels / campgrounds and the extra cost of the extra bounce box (we’d have one anyhow) will be made up by not having to buy all the food NOW, dehydrate it (electricity ain’t cheap!) and then mail it (this would be insane expensive) as per our initial plan.
I’m comfortable with it. She needs some more convincing / details first. J
There’s only about 134 days until we hit the trail, maybe less.
NEW PLAN! (tentative as Julia has her reservations as to the details)
Many people utilize a “buy-as-you-go” method. I’ve read a few peoples’ experiences with it and this is, given our situation, how I think WE should go about it.
Firstly, we’ll have to get a really sturdy “box” (one each) that we can use as a bounce box. A bounce box is exactly as you’d expect. It’s a box that you mail to yourself, continually bouncing it up the trail as you go. When we get to a “bigger town” that has adequate resupply facilities (a decent grocery store) we’ll resupply for the next stretch as well as put some stuff in our bounce box to send ahead to the next town that may not have as good of a grocery store. Some places will only have gas station convenience stores that carry junk food and the basics. In some rare situations, we’ll have to squeeze in some stuff for a couple stretches, but may be able to find some “basics” along the way, or eat out of hiker boxes every now and again. These are boxes in which people ditch food that they are sick of eating and don’t want to carry.
I have no doubt that we’ll get into situations where we can’t find the quality foods that we want, and variety for a few days will be lacking, but that will only be a few days out of about 18 weeks. We’ll survive.
Julia also has a very close family friend (that I’ve met as well on a number of occasions) that lives in Bakersfield, California. We MAY (?) be able to have her mail us a couple of pre-prepared boxes to a couple SELECT locations. One important one would be Kennedy Meadows. That’s where we need to pick up our ice axes and bear vaults for the Sierras. It would be fantastic if we could mail these to her long in advance and then get off the trail near her place for a couple days to set-up the few boxes she would send to us.
I think the costs incurred along the trail, buying food as we go and maybe staying a few extra nights in motels / campgrounds and the extra cost of the extra bounce box (we’d have one anyhow) will be made up by not having to buy all the food NOW, dehydrate it (electricity ain’t cheap!) and then mail it (this would be insane expensive) as per our initial plan.
I’m comfortable with it. She needs some more convincing / details first. J
There’s only about 134 days until we hit the trail, maybe less.
Wednesday, 28 September 2011
Food matters
We're getting into the nitty gritty of food planning and there's so much to consider! Here's what we're tentatively planning and how it will work.
We'll each shoot for 4000 - 5000 calories per day. Probably more in the Sierras where there's more climbing and generally cooler weather, and less in the desert where the temps are really high. In the desert sections hydration will be a major concern, so we'll try to get in a high electrolyte sports drink like eload a couple times per day.
Each day will start with a high low-glyaemic carbohydrate breakfast, with some protein as well. Something like:
1 cup (dry) oatmeal with dried cranberries and almonds and a whey shake with Progressive VegeGreens and Phytoberry. That will be a nice 700 or so calories to start the day. Lots of carbohydrates to burn throughout the morning, some healthy fats, lots of antioxidants and some quality protein. The breakfast will stay RELATIVELY the same, maybe altering the dried fruit / nut options in the oatmeal and flavour of protein to offer at least a little bit of variety.
We'll each shoot for 4000 - 5000 calories per day. Probably more in the Sierras where there's more climbing and generally cooler weather, and less in the desert where the temps are really high. In the desert sections hydration will be a major concern, so we'll try to get in a high electrolyte sports drink like eload a couple times per day.
Each day will start with a high low-glyaemic carbohydrate breakfast, with some protein as well. Something like:
1 cup (dry) oatmeal with dried cranberries and almonds and a whey shake with Progressive VegeGreens and Phytoberry. That will be a nice 700 or so calories to start the day. Lots of carbohydrates to burn throughout the morning, some healthy fats, lots of antioxidants and some quality protein. The breakfast will stay RELATIVELY the same, maybe altering the dried fruit / nut options in the oatmeal and flavour of protein to offer at least a little bit of variety.
Thursday, 22 September 2011
We LOOOOOVE Apples!
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| 4 Trays, 4 Apples Each Tray 35 minutes prep time |
SOOO MUCH FUUUUUUN!
Quote
I kinda like this. Yes, he was found dead of starvation, alone in the wilderness, but he probably LIVED more than most ever do.
"So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man, than a secure future. The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun." Christopher McCandless
"So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man, than a secure future. The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun." Christopher McCandless
Tuesday, 13 September 2011
Summer winds down, prep winds up.
After an insanely busy summer of working at a variety of events all over Ottawa and as far as Toronto, and a season of the usual training and racing, summer is certainly winding down and the feeling of an Ottawa Autumn in in the air. I love this time of year, I love being outside in the fall, enjoying the cooler weather and watching the season change before us.
This also means that we'll have more time to be home and put in some serious prep for next year's hike. We have a TON of food preparation to take care. Dehydrating fruits and veggies will be a massive undertaking, as will planning daily meals / snacks that will offer us the nutrition we are looking for with adequate calories to fuel the long days of hiking. I've really been looking forward to this time, to actually feel like we're making progress towards the ultimate goal.
I've also been looking for sponsorship in the way of product from a variety of brands that we are very fond of. I'm hoping to save on some costs so that we can really make this happen and maximize what we can do for the charities. As we really get into the planning and prep and we have some stuff prepared, I'll start recording some videos for YouTube.
This also means that we'll have more time to be home and put in some serious prep for next year's hike. We have a TON of food preparation to take care. Dehydrating fruits and veggies will be a massive undertaking, as will planning daily meals / snacks that will offer us the nutrition we are looking for with adequate calories to fuel the long days of hiking. I've really been looking forward to this time, to actually feel like we're making progress towards the ultimate goal.
I've also been looking for sponsorship in the way of product from a variety of brands that we are very fond of. I'm hoping to save on some costs so that we can really make this happen and maximize what we can do for the charities. As we really get into the planning and prep and we have some stuff prepared, I'll start recording some videos for YouTube.
Wednesday, 7 September 2011
PCT Training
Hiking the 4200km of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) is undoubtedly an incredible test of body and mind. One that can't be taken lightly. With this in mind, we'll be training our bodies to withstand the rigors of hiking 30+ kilometers day in and day out, carrying up to 40 pounds or more in gear, water and food.
This will take significant physical fitness, specifically a combination of aerobic endurance, upper body and core strength and flexibility. All of these will help prevent injuries, especially early on, while we adjust to the trail. Many people start the trail with all the motivation in the world, though undertrained and injury prone. They put in too many miles too early and wind up getting injured, taking them off the trail for a few days or even for good.
We already keep pretty fit, but if we can tailor our training to get us the best shape possible for the challenge we will face, we will be way ahead of the game and really enjoy the first few weeks.
Starting in November, I'll be doing a lot of cycling. Great for aerobic fitness, and great for leg strength and power. At the same time I'll be doing regular kettle bell workouts, which are incredible for core strength and overall conditioning. A few times per week, I'll be doing traditional weight training, which will help me gain upper body strength and build some muscle. I know that I will lose weight on the trail, so I might as well go in with a head start in terms of muscle mass. Finally, we will be consciously stretching (especially Brian) so as to decrease chance of overuse injuries.
This will take significant physical fitness, specifically a combination of aerobic endurance, upper body and core strength and flexibility. All of these will help prevent injuries, especially early on, while we adjust to the trail. Many people start the trail with all the motivation in the world, though undertrained and injury prone. They put in too many miles too early and wind up getting injured, taking them off the trail for a few days or even for good.
We already keep pretty fit, but if we can tailor our training to get us the best shape possible for the challenge we will face, we will be way ahead of the game and really enjoy the first few weeks.
Starting in November, I'll be doing a lot of cycling. Great for aerobic fitness, and great for leg strength and power. At the same time I'll be doing regular kettle bell workouts, which are incredible for core strength and overall conditioning. A few times per week, I'll be doing traditional weight training, which will help me gain upper body strength and build some muscle. I know that I will lose weight on the trail, so I might as well go in with a head start in terms of muscle mass. Finally, we will be consciously stretching (especially Brian) so as to decrease chance of overuse injuries.
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