Re: 2012 what worked and what didn't, food

Thanks for the report Bill

I have also found that the refried beans work well and can be eaten as is or add to most any dish/freezer bag of food I have.

The instant mashed potatoes for me are the best and most desired food in my bear canister. There are lots of varieties and a spoon full can be added to any of my dinners to add volume or added to thicken the slop when I pour too much water into the freezer bag.

I also use instant rice instead of potatoes to add a touch of variety and a difference in texture.

As far as the seaweed is concerned that is where we differ. Seaweed to me is on the absolute bottom of the list some where below ants and grubs. Just goes to show .... test every suggestion before you pack it.

For chocolate I carry M&Ms and lots of them .... they melt in your mouth not in your pack.

The powdered coconut milk sounds like a great suggestion and I will have to try it out, thanks.

I have been an alcohol stove man for many years but with the ban last year (mostly due to statewide extreme fire bans) on all such stoves I had decided to go with my Giga power canister stove for my PCT thru next year. It uses .3 oz per (16 oz 50* water) boil and that is the same as the Jetboils are advertised as using.
But, for Christmas, my wife gave me a Jetboil Sol Ti. I have been testing it out as consistently using .13 oz of fuel per boil (again 16 oz 50* water - 70* ambient temp) set on low and at full throttle it is using only .2 oz fuel.
So, now I'll be carrying the Jetboil .... much less fiddle time and the average weight is less then 1 oz heavier that the super cat stove and .9 ti pot with wind screen and lighter. It will also be safer to use in the tent when the mosquitoes are attacking. 

Jon (Gandalf - PCT class of 2013)
Marysville WA

Follow my pct hike on You Tube:
http://www.youtube.com/GandalfPCT2013
Mexico to Canada

  
--- In [email protected], Segraves <andrews9000@...> wrote:

> Dehydrated refried black beans - good enough to eat at home, nutritious, easy. Can even snack on them dry. In principle, could rehydrate in cold water, but that worked poorly. With a little heat (not even necessarily boiling water), they rehydrate a lot more nicely. Especially good with some dehydrated peppers added.
> 
> Dehydrated mashed potatoes - excellent super-easy trail food. Rehydrates just fine in cold water. Tastes better mixed up with a little Nido. Delicious with generous helping of grated Parmesan-Romano cheese and dried chives.
> 
> Powdered coconut milk - easy-carry fat source and potential base for creative cooking. Much easier to carry than liquid oils as concentrated calories. Not bad to drink, can mix in with potatoes, makes an interesting "soup" when mixed with powdered hummus (your taste may vary). With a few spices, can make some really tasty curries and stews if ready to do some cooking.
> 
> Dried veggies - had hoped to find some good, easy green stuff to eat, but only half-satisfied with results. Dried carrots take some cooking and only tasted ok. Dried spinach rehydrates easily but tastes like grass. Both best in a stew with beans and peppers. Roasted seaweed was probably my top new pick for taste and ease of prep (none required, or can be added to a bean stew), but it tended to disintegrate in my pack.
> 
> Chocolate - who doesn't love chocolate on the trail? I just wish it didn't melt so easily in a hot car on the way. Major mess, had to repackage several things that got covered in melted chocolate. :(
> 
> Easy cooking - usually, I use Esbit if available and otherwise alcohol, but for very light duty cooking, a bail handle pot can be used to warm things over an ultra low impact fire made with just a few twigs (where permitted and appropriate). Snow peak titanium bowl with an MYOG titanium wire bail handle worked great for this.
> 
> Hope some others will find one or more of these things to be worth a try, and happy to have suggestions/comments, as always!
> 
> Cheers,
> Bill