View Full Version : What's the most food you'd carry?
What's the most food you'd carry before dealing with resupply/mail drops?
I'm hiking the section from Damascus to Erwin next week and am in the process of putting my food together and thinking about logistics. I'm going to plan on 7 days and knowing me probably hike into Erwin and finish my hike sometime on day 6.
That got me thinking... My plan at the moment is to send a mail drop to Kincora, and pick it up 3 days into my trip and hike the last 70 or so miles without another resupply.
Since Kincora is so close to the trail and it'll be nice to take a shower it's a no brainer to stop here. I was just wondering if anyone ever carried 7 days worth at a time in the normal course of hiking - mainly as a matter of convenience.
I carried 7 days of food twice in the Sierras last summer, because there were no feasible options for resupply. Even the resupply I made involved a 17 mile side trip and a long hitch to get food.
I know others would rather save money and time and do longer carries, staying in the woods longer, but my philosophy is to always carry as little food weight as possible.
I would definately used Kincorra to break up the section
Jim Adams
04-06-2008, 18:05
normally 3-5 days max. restocking on the AT is so easy, there is no reason to carry more.
I hated carrying more on the PCT.
geek
Two Speed
04-06-2008, 18:40
I've managed to get 10 days worth in a pack. Sucker was waaaay heavy and no fresh food, aside from a 1 lb chunk of cheese.
Jim Adams
04-06-2008, 18:43
LOL, my first thru I was on top of Springer with a 72# pack with 10 days of food...thought that I would get to Fontana in 10 days to restock...too heavy to get ANYWHERE!!!!!
geek
Appalachian Tater
04-06-2008, 18:44
I carried a week's worth or more of food several times on my thru to avoid having to resupply in certain areas. Your pack weight goes down rapidly if you eat the heavy stuff first and sometimes you can compensate by carrying less water. Better than carrying heavy gear which you're stuck with all the time. Definitely look at the weight of what you buy on a long resupply--you might skip fresh fruit and use some freeze-dried meals.
If I didn't hitch rides, I would say up to a day of food for every mile off the trail I had to go for resupply.
Footslogger
04-06-2008, 18:46
[quote=10-K;587649]What's the most food you'd carry before dealing with resupply/mail drops?
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6 days. I generally plan my re-supply intervals from 4 - 6 days so that I can keep my food bag managable (@ approx 2lbs/day)
'Slogger
Well, Kincora is so convenient to the trail that I just have to take advantage of that but if it weren't for that I'd do the whole section without a resupply.
I carried 6 days days worth through the Smokies w/o any problem and could have easily handled another day. Like Tater said, the weight comes off as fast as you can eat.
I have a tendency to carry too much food anyway. I figure how long the hike is going to take, then add an extra day in case something comes up and I get stuck somewhere. Anyone do this?
Last summer I did Franklin to Hot Springs without stopping in 6 days, which was a terrible idea. I don't think I ever carried more than 3 days again on the AT.
bigcranky
04-06-2008, 20:52
6 days is the max I'm willing to carry so far. I'd prefer to keep it around 4.
Kincora is a great stop, enjoy.
hopefulhiker
04-06-2008, 21:05
I carried eight days of food twice on the AT.
Sleepy the Arab
04-06-2008, 21:14
I can't think of any instance where I have gone more than 7 1/2 days without resupply. Common places for this are from Fontana to Hot Springs (you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy than Gatlinburg) and Troutville to Waynesboro (the hitch to Glascow on 501 is nigh impossible at best).
Two Speed
04-06-2008, 21:20
I've managed to get 10 days worth in a pack. Sucker was waaaay heavy and no fresh food, aside from a 1 lb chunk of cheese.Just for the record that was recent event. I was doing up a part of the Georgia Pinhoti last December and didn't see any resupply options I liked. Funny part was I got tired of the road walks and hitched in the last 12 miles, knocking a day off. Hauled at least 2 lbs of food around for nothing.
And yes, the two or three days sucked 'cuz of the pack weight. What was worse I didn't carry any of the fresh food I like, onions, carrot sticks, etc that I usually have with me. Almost all pasta, dried crap like Cup 'o' Soup and crackers, etc.
Ah well, live and learn.
Tipi Walter
04-06-2008, 22:30
In February 2006 I went on a 15 day backpacking trip w/o resupply and figured I could fairly easily go 18-21 days on one load of food and fuel. Not seeing a road or a town is more important to me than pack weight.
I'm with Tipi Walter on this one. When I'm on the trail I like to get off it as little as possible. When I was deciding on what size backpack to buy I decided to get one that could handle as much as eight days of food so that I'd have the flexibility to hike in some more remote places where resupply was more difficult. And when I hike that Glencliff to Gorham stretch in the White Mountains someday, I'd like to at least have the option of doing it straight through without disrupting the vibe by hitching off trail to resupply.
SGT Rock
04-06-2008, 23:13
I've carried 10 days before but generally won't do it if it can be avoided. Damascus to Erwin should be able to get done with about 5 days maximum in your bag with a re-supply stop in Hampton at eitehr Bremer Castle or go into Kincora and get a ride to the market.
5 days of food, should get you 70 miles without too much trouble.
fiddlehead
04-07-2008, 00:07
NO more than i have to. I've carried 12 once. Could do it again but why?
My buddy got a stress fracture on that trip.
Another thing is when i'm carrying food for bigger distances, i have to eat different foods and don't get to eat my bear claws and bagels with cream cheese as much. ( More like ramen and dried brocolli for lunch and lipton and dried tomatoes for dinner)(did i mention oatmeal? Ugh!)
I should have said also it depends alot on what I weigh at the time. I don't like to hike with total weight on feet of more that 250#, and I would perfer no more than 220#, though that gets a bit tricky when I'm currently 230#. If I was down to 180# it would be a lark to carry a couple of weeks or more.
I've done that section both ways. the first time I went all the way with 6 and half days of food. 2nd time I picked-up a mail drop in Kincora
fiddleburn
04-07-2008, 00:37
Most I'd carry would be dictated by the number of miles to the next resupply within easy walking distance of the trail, say within one mile of trail. I can carry enough comfortably to get me through 250 miles without going over 30 lbs of pack weight [3 season]. That might get me through the entire trail without having to resort to vehicular travel?
I've done that section both ways. the first time I went all the way with 6 and half days of food. 2nd time I picked-up a mail drop in Kincora
That's what I'm thinking. Kincora is close enough to the middle that a single mail drop here should be all I need.
Kincora is appealing because it is so close to the trail (no hitching, save time) and also because I've heard so much about it.
I carried 8 days worth of food going into the Smokies and that was way more weight than I'd ever care to carry again unless I'm doing some serious mountaineering. It (the weight) could have actually been part of the cause of the debilitating back injury I am now dealing with, so definitely go with the resupply.
Use Jack's excellent resupply guide on this site.
I've carried 14 days worth many times but now-a-days would not want to carry more than 7-8 days worth of food. I'm doing a couple of week-long hikes each year these days and do not want to bother with resupply during that week, so yes, this Saturday I will start the Foothills Trail with 8 days of food. I plan to finish in 7 but always like to carry an extra day's worth in case of weather or injury delays.
For thru hikers, I can certainly see the 4-5 day mentality, but for us section hikers, I think most prefer not to have to bother with resupply, unless the section is more than a week to 10 days long.
sasquatch2014
04-13-2008, 11:02
I tend to carry too much food with me no matter how many days I am out there. I don't care about being cold or wet or otherwise misreable as long as I have a full belly going bed it doesn't seem as bad. I am heading out for 6 days here shortly and planning on being all my food even though there will be resupply spots along the way. I am not sure of the selection or the cost so this way I know what I will have.
I've carried up to 12 day's of food at a time. Isle Royale in the fall after both on-island stores were closed for the season; and along the CDT heading east from Silverton. The latter turned out to be only 9 days, but I planned for 11.
It can be done. It is not comfortable, but that was back in the days of 45# packs as a general rule, so going up to 60# wasn't that bad.
Absolutely no need to do this on the AT, particularly during normal hiking season. Seven days shouldn't be too bad if that is your choice.
5 days of food, should get you 70 miles without too much trouble.
If you have long legs and are in shape. My short little stubby legs would take eight days to do 70 miles, at least. I've often carried 7 days worth of food. It's really no big deal. so you carry an extra 5 lbs or so, it's temporary.
Tipi Walter
04-13-2008, 11:27
I tend to carry too much food with me no matter how many days I am out there. I don't care about being cold or wet or otherwise misreable as long as I have a full belly going bed it doesn't seem as bad. I am heading out for 6 days here shortly and planning on being all my food even though there will be resupply spots along the way. I am not sure of the selection or the cost so this way I know what I will have.
I agree with this one. On all of my trips I usually have enough food left over for another 3-4 days. I guess it's my intention to get snowed in during a high mountain blizzard that keeps me hauling extra food. Hard to explain in the summer.
I did 7 days on the BMT in Oct 07, and will do it again in 2 weeks! Only because theres no real option for resupply...
Even with 8 days worth of food on my Foothills Trail hike, my pack is under 40 lbs. :)
Well, I'm headed out tomorrow. I'm carrying 3 days worth which will get me from Damascus to Kincora hostel and I sent a mail drop with 5 days worth of food there. Unless something strange happens I'll take 4 days with me when I leave Kincora and leave the extra in the hiker box.