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  1. #1
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    Default Densest" Foods For Food Value

    If you're packing to save weight, and don't have (as I do) serious cardiovascular issues, go for foods that are high in fats (although DO me smart and limit saturated and poly-unsaturated fats), such as tuna in oil, butter/margarine/mayo, and others. The reason is that fats contain 9 calories per gram, while carbs (including all sugars) and protein (you gotta have SOME but no more than 30-40 grams a day, which is like 1 oz of meat) only have 4 cal/gm. In other words, you get twice as much "food" per gram from fats. Yes, you need some balance (that's why you don't see a lot of people on the AT carrying ONLY tubs of Parkay!) but that's why a Snickers bar is actually pretty smart.


    "Well a promise made, is a debt unpaid, and the Trail has its own stern code." -- Robert Service
    "Thank God! there is always a Land of Beyond, For us who are true to the trail..." --- Robert Service

  2. #2
    First Sergeant SGT Rock's Avatar
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    Default

    I totally agree, and the secret ingredant to carry is a bottle of olive oil.

    A lot of you dried foods loose water - and OIL. They often don't taste as good as the real thing because they lack oils. If you add olive oil (which also tastes good) you are putting the oils back. Mix some olive oil and butter buds and it tastes like real butter added.

    And the reason this food is also good, olive oil is a mono-unsaturated fat, so it is heart friendly - and it weighs .92 ounces per fluid ounce. It has 240 calories per fluid ounce - over twice what carbohydrates have. If you consider all that it is healthy and a good pack weight strategy.
    SGT Rock
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    My 2008 Trail Journal of the BMT/AT

    BMT Thru-Hikers' Guide
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    NO SNIVELING

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    Default

    To avoid carrying a glass bottle or buying a special container, what sort of carrying device is good for a larger amount of oil? For short (2 days) trips, I carry oil in old beer yeast tubes. But, these are not large enough for, say, a week or 10 day supply I don't think the seal on soft drink bottles will be good enough. Thoughts?

  4. #4
    Section Hiker 180 AT miles
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    Default

    well you may not have any laying around the house, but nalgene makes well what i guess you could call pill bottles, but some are rather large, which seal pretty well and can be used to transport oil.
    "Do what you Love, Love what you do"

  5. #5
    First Sergeant SGT Rock's Avatar
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    Default

    Actually I've been using the same Dr Pepper bottle since last year's section hike to store olive oil on all my hikes. I also have a Coke bottle for Italian dressing.
    SGT Rock
    http://hikinghq.net

    My 2008 Trail Journal of the BMT/AT

    BMT Thru-Hikers' Guide
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    NO SNIVELING

  6. #6
    2005 Camino de santiago
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    Default Olive Oil

    AHHH... Good to see another “connoisseur” of trail food. But remember that all olive oils are not created alike. There is a much bigger gap in quality and taste between the bottles on your supermarket shelf labeled “Extra-virgin” [top of the line] to “Refined” [bottom of the line] than there is from an outstanding “Petrus” to an ordinary “Chianti”, in good red wine. In descending order of taste:

    Extra-virgin - -is the label to look for when you opt for healthy, delicate flavored, olive oil. It is the first, cold-press of the tree-ripened olive, lowest in acidity (1 %), and the grade most prized for odor, flavor and fruitiness of taste. But you may pay a little more for it. Extra virgin olive oil can range from a crystalline champagne color to bright green and, generally, the deeper the color, the more intense the olive flavor. And it is that dash of flavor, which you want to add to enliven and enrich your dull, dried food.

    Virgin olive oil - -is also first-press oil, with a slightly higher level of acidity, but is slightly less perfect than extra-virgin.

    Fino olive oil –-is a blend of extra virgin and virgin oils (fino is Spanish & Italian for "fine")

    Olive oil --(once called pure olive oil) contains a combination of refined olive oil and virgin or extra virgin oil.

    Light olive oil --contains the same amount of beneficial monounsaturated fat as regular olive oil...and the same number of calories. "Light" indicates that -because of an extremely fine filtration process-this olive oil is lighter in both color and fragrance, and has little of the classic olive-oil flavor.

    Even though most of the oil on your shelves will come from Italy, I consider the Extra-Virgin from Spain to have the better bouquet and flavor. Try it; you’ll love it!

  7. #7
    First Sergeant SGT Rock's Avatar
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    Wow, thanks for the education. I need to head out to the store and look for the Sapnish olive oil.
    SGT Rock
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    My 2008 Trail Journal of the BMT/AT

    BMT Thru-Hikers' Guide
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    NO SNIVELING

  8. #8
    2005 Camino de santiago
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    Default Extra-Virgin

    No, what you want to look for is Extra-Virgin; cant imagine the wording is that hard to remember! That from Spain, in my opinion, just tastes better.

  9. #9
    First Sergeant SGT Rock's Avatar
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    Default

    LOL, I intend to get extra-virgin, it's my favorite, but I've never specifically looked for Spanish, I like Greek. I'm going to try and find me some.

    I think that info-post is a real keeper. That is good to know info that I will file for future reference.
    SGT Rock
    http://hikinghq.net

    My 2008 Trail Journal of the BMT/AT

    BMT Thru-Hikers' Guide
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    NO SNIVELING

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    Default

    I, too, prefer Greek olive oil to Spanish. Don't overlook Californian stuff. I also like Turkish olive oil, although it is not as pungent as the Greek. I'll give the container idea a shot on my next overnighter, which should be this upcoming weekend.

  11. #11

    Default

    I often pack the green extra virgin. Compared to the cost of freeze dried meals, the extra expense per calorie is very minimal. I use free sample or "hotel/motel" size shampoo bottles (cleaned thoroughly) for my oils.

    On the low end side, I've stopped using butter buds and mix butter flavored popcorn oil with cheapo vegetable oil for use as a butter substitute (the popcorn oil is too intense for me as a butter substitute). Good olive oil has so much flavor that it clashes with butter flavors.

    Other favorite high fat treats are macadamia nuts (almost as high calorie per weight as butter) and hard salami (you should be able tofind some at over 160 calories/ounce). Hard Salami is a staple for me when I go stoveless.

  12. #12
    First Sergeant SGT Rock's Avatar
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    I like the idea of butter flavored oil, a small bottle should be enough, but I go through about 12 ounces of olive oil on a one week trip.
    SGT Rock
    http://hikinghq.net

    My 2008 Trail Journal of the BMT/AT

    BMT Thru-Hikers' Guide
    -----------------------------------------

    NO SNIVELING

  13. #13

    Default

    Wow! Nearly two ounces a day of olive oil for a week. That could mean more than 10% of your caloric intake from the oil. I haven't used oil that extensively. If I did, I probably wouldn't use the highest grade of oil because I'd worry that I'd tire of the flavor.

    Now you've got me thinking about working more oil into my trail diet, maybe alternating between good olive oil and a buttery concotion.

  14. #14
    First Sergeant SGT Rock's Avatar
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    I put about 1/2 ounce in my breakfast, 1/2 ounce in my lunch, and 1 ounce in dinner. That is about 480 calories a day on my 3000 calorie diet.
    SGT Rock
    http://hikinghq.net

    My 2008 Trail Journal of the BMT/AT

    BMT Thru-Hikers' Guide
    -----------------------------------------

    NO SNIVELING

  15. #15
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    Default

    Well, all you la-di-da folk who wanna debate between kinds of "extra virgin" Italian oil go right ahead. But if you're talking compact weight for maximum calorie value, you'll go for a solid fat, such as squeezable margarine (which takes forever to spoil), or you'll make your own ghee (clarified butter) and let it solidify as much as possible. Shortening/lard accomplishes the same thing. Yummy...fried Lipton Noodles. GAAAAAAAAACK!

    The Weasel
    "Thank God! there is always a Land of Beyond, For us who are true to the trail..." --- Robert Service

  16. #16
    2005 Camino de santiago
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    Default Gobs of Lard

    Hmmmm.... Gobs of lard. Now there's an idea! But do you think its 'lip smackin good'?

  17. #17
    Section Hiker 180 AT miles
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    Default

    hard salami is great, and other types of hard meat. it can last you for days and its great as far as calories plus if you want you can get a block of cheese and have that on the trail while hike (assuming you can chew and hike at the same time) then cheese can be added to dinner as well, i always like some cheese in with whatever im eating.
    "Do what you Love, Love what you do"

  18. #18
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    Default

    Sugar roasted almonds.

  19. #19
    Addicted Hiker and Donating Member Hammock Hanger's Avatar
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    Default anybody want a drink??

    During my 2001 hike some of the male hiers who were still losing weight and had NO weight to lose, started drinking liquid/squeeze margarine. Yuck! But it seemed to work for them. HH
    Hammock Hanger -- Life is my journey and I'm surely not rushing to the "summit"...:D

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  20. #20
    Registered User Peaks's Avatar
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    Default Calories do count

    The normal American diet is based on 2000 calories per day. The typical thru-hiker needs about 4000 calories per day. Now, add up all the calories on the little packages and wrappers, and you will discover that that's a lot of food. Hence, the need to inhale squeeze margerine, etc.

    I suspect that many thru-hikers starve them selves, whether they realize it or not. When they can't get enough to eat, and there is no more body fat to loose, then the energy level goes down, and then they loose the desire to continue. This is probably the fundamental reason why many thru-hikers drop out on the second half of the AT.

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