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  1. #1
    Registered User Different Socks's Avatar
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    Default 10,000 mile walk!!?? So I have a question

    Serious answers please.

    In less than 2 years(hopefully), I will begin a hike on the Florida Trail to the Mackaye Trail to the AT, then hike to Maine, do a yo-yo, hit Georgia, turn north and head back to Maine, then once there, turn south and hike back to Georgia.
    For those of you whom believe that this is a troll or that I am crazy, I have already prepared over 380 dinners. Ok, so maybe it does sound crazy. Anyways, here is one of the many hurdles I must over come: In order to do this many miles over the time frame I have drafted, most if not all of the snack/dessert/breakfast/lunch food will have to be purchased just 3 months or less before I begin dropping them off at campgrounds/motels/hostels, etc. Why so soon before I begin hiking? B/c most of those types of foods have expiration dates.
    So, how would I go about convincing the lodging establishments that they will have to hold onto a box(or more) for 6-10 months, and do you have any ideas for foods I can use for those meals that have a longer shelf life and/or no expiration date?
    BTW, again for those of you that think this is a troll, here is my experience:
    AT--1992
    LT--1991
    Ice Age Trail--600 miles
    PCT(CA)--1996, 1800 miles
    CDT(NM/southern CO)--1997, 800 miles
    OHT--165 miles
    CO 13ers--over 175 done
    CO 14ers--36 of 54 done
    NE 100 Highest--88 completed
    CT--200 miles completed
    State Highpoints--25 done!!

    And much, much more!!!

  2. #2
    Registered User oldbear's Avatar
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    Default

    I know that this may sound crazy ( hey it's me ) But for next year's NOBO thru rather than buying food locally or sending it to POs I was thinking about
    Buying clean new 1 gallon paint cans from Home Depot
    Filling them w/ non perishable food
    Driving to a Trail crossing
    Caching the cans and using GPS and a pic to record their location
    I'm not going to that for the whole Trail ; just the first 1/3 or so until i get back into the groove and realities of long distance hiking w/ an older body
    As a food guy I can tell you that expiration dates aren't absolute ; they build a lot of wiggle room into them...so check w/ the mfr
    You may find this useful
    http://analytical-life.com/FAT_TOM/
    and this
    http://www.fda.gov/food/foodsafety/h...cp/default.htm
    and the fact that all sugars are hygroscopic and since they are they work great as a preservative - which is the real reason that HFC finds it's way into so many products

  3. #3
    Registered User English Stu's Avatar
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    Default Food Cache

    I walk a fair bit in foreign lands so arranging drift boxes is not really an option. A few could be handy for special wants. I do research a bit my walks but found early on too much planning takes the edge of the walk. Unless you have real dietary needs, I am a veggie, I just think it unnecessary especially on the AT, to worry too much about resupply. Your itinerary will change, plus you could do all that planning and have to come off the trail and there would be a lot of paint pots festering away in the wilderness.

  4. #4
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    Can I ask why you are planning on hiking 10,000 miles? And why spend the majority of it on the AT? I am genuinely curious. Sounds like a great plan, I just think I would vary it up a bit more myself if I was planning on something like this. Just trying to understand your reasoning.

  5. #5

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    I expect that you really need to hook up with a willing volunteer to support your effort to coordinate shipments to accomodate your schedule whihc will change. I expect it may take a bit of looking but there probably are individuals who are willing to do this service so they can live your hike vicarioulsy.

    The reality is that many of the establishments that you want to depend on are seasonal "hobby" operations that may or may not be open in 4 weeks let alone a year. Even if they are long term operations, they generally have limited or no secure storage space. Even if the do, there is a good chance that there is staff turnover and every time there are new staff members there is a chance that the new folks may not understand that long term storage issue. I have heard of a couple of cases over the years close up even at commercial establishments where hiker boxes where stored in a not so secure space and were dependent upon the honesty of thru hikers. Unfortunately a rare minority of individuals thru hiking have a sense of entitlement and if given the chance will grab other peoples food boxes. The other issue is vermin, many of the establishments may nto have vermin resistant storage space and druing the off season, your carefully packaged food may become a good source of food for the local mice and other critters.

  6. #6
    Fat Guy Lemni Skate's Avatar
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    Yeah, I think I'd make the International AT part of this.
    Lemni Skate away

    The trail will save my life

  7. #7

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by oldbear View Post
    I know that this may sound crazy ( hey it's me ) But for next year's NOBO thru rather than buying food locally or sending it to POs I was thinking about
    Buying clean new 1 gallon paint cans from Home Depot
    Filling them w/ non perishable food
    Driving to a Trail crossing
    Caching the cans and using GPS and a pic to record their location
    I'm not going to that for the whole Trail ; just the first 1/3 or so until i get back into the groove and realities of long distance hiking w/ an older body
    As a food guy I can tell you that expiration dates aren't absolute ; they build a lot of wiggle room into them...so check w/ the mfr
    You may find this useful
    http://analytical-life.com/FAT_TOM/
    and this
    http://www.fda.gov/food/foodsafety/h...cp/default.htm
    and the fact that all sugars are hygroscopic and since they are they work great as a preservative - which is the real reason that HFC finds it's way into so many products
    Old bear,I'm not sure I fully understand,If sugars are hygroscopic and have an affinity for water,why does that make for a good cached food?I'm sure I'm missing something here.

  8. #8
    Coach Lou coach lou's Avatar
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    [QUOTE=peakbagger;1280004]I expect that you really need to hook up with a willing volunteer to support your effort to coordinate shipments to accomodate your schedule whihc will change. I expect it may take a bit of looking but there probably are individuals who are willing to do this service so they can live your hike vicarioulsy.

    Bob, I would deffinitely help logistics when your up here in the northeast.....except next July you know where I'll be!!!
    Last edited by coach lou; 04-22-2012 at 08:55.

  9. #9

    Default

    Cousin diff,first let me say,are you flipping' nuts,don't answer that LOL.I guess that if i were to take on this epic task,and need to procure the help of others,I would try to find a way to make them more than peripherally evolved,maybe through free advertising.Campgrounds typically have events going on,maybe a follow the hiker type games.I know this really reaching,but then so is a double
    "AT yo-yo with thee Ole Floridian-Mackaye bopp",have a great hike,will diffidently be following your progress.Respectfully RS

  10. #10
    Registered User moytoy's Avatar
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    Default

    I might be able to help with logistics in central and north Fl. I live in Brevard Cty. ( 15 miles from where the FT comes through Christmas) and I work in Gainesville and Ocala during the work week. I travel as far as Lakecity, Lake Butler, Ft. White, Eustis etc. during my work week so I'm all over. Let me know when time is closer if I can help.
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  11. #11
    Registered User Different Socks's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Firefighter503 View Post
    Can I ask why you are planning on hiking 10,000 miles? And why spend the majority of it on the AT? I am genuinely curious. Sounds like a great plan, I just think I would vary it up a bit more myself if I was planning on something like this. Just trying to understand your reasoning.
    The trip I described is just the first leg. Once it is done, I will take time off for the winter to plan and prepare for the next hike/trek which will last for 3 years. After that one is done, I will either go to Europe and do as many long trails as i can there and/or go down under and do some hiking there.

  12. #12
    Registered User Different Socks's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by peakbagger View Post
    I expect that you really need to hook up with a willing volunteer to support your effort to coordinate shipments to accomodate your schedule whihc will change. I expect it may take a bit of looking but there probably are individuals who are willing to do this service so they can live your hike vicarioulsy.

    The reality is that many of the establishments that you want to depend on are seasonal "hobby" operations that may or may not be open in 4 weeks let alone a year. Even if they are long term operations, they generally have limited or no secure storage space. Even if the do, there is a good chance that there is staff turnover and every time there are new staff members there is a chance that the new folks may not understand that long term storage issue. I have heard of a couple of cases over the years close up even at commercial establishments where hiker boxes where stored in a not so secure space and were dependent upon the honesty of thru hikers. Unfortunately a rare minority of individuals thru hiking have a sense of entitlement and if given the chance will grab other peoples food boxes. The other issue is vermin, many of the establishments may nto have vermin resistant storage space and druing the off season, your carefully packaged food may become a good source of food for the local mice and other critters.
    The rough draft I have already done has looked into the places that i have chosen to leave resupply boxes. Every one is open year round so I won't have to worry about them closing. I also believe that vermin would not be a problem at these places as well. But thanks for the thoughts.

  13. #13
    Registered User Different Socks's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lemni Skate View Post
    Yeah, I think I'd make the International AT part of this.
    IAT is a good idea, but by the time I reach Maine, the season will be too late to do the IAT to Canada and then turn around and head south for the Whites.

  14. #14
    Registered User Different Socks's Avatar
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    [QUOTE=coach lou;1280009]
    Quote Originally Posted by peakbagger View Post
    I expect that you really need to hook up with a willing volunteer to support your effort to coordinate shipments to accomodate your schedule whihc will change. I expect it may take a bit of looking but there probably are individuals who are willing to do this service so they can live your hike vicarioulsy.

    Bob, I would deffinitely help logistics when your up here in the northeast.....except next July you know where I'll be!!!
    How close to the AT are you? Lived for 3 years in NE and my mom's side of the family is from Maine so i know the area better than most flatlanders.

  15. #15
    Registered User Different Socks's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by moytoy View Post
    I might be able to help with logistics in central and north Fl. I live in Brevard Cty. ( 15 miles from where the FT comes through Christmas) and I work in Gainesville and Ocala during the work week. I travel as far as Lakecity, Lake Butler, Ft. White, Eustis etc. during my work week so I'm all over. Let me know when time is closer if I can help.
    The FT is the only real question mark in regards to the trails: hunting times, military lands, private lands, flooded trail, rerouted trail, locked locks, etc. So I will have to wait until just months before I leave before i begin planning that part of it. I'll let you know.

  16. #16

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    Snack/dessert/breakfast/lunch food is easy to get along the way on the AT. Your just wasting a lot of time, effort and money to send that kind of stuff ahead. Dinners might be a different story, but junk food I'd buy along the way. If you really want to do food drops, I'd find someone willing to send them as you need them.
    Follow slogoen on Instagram.

  17. #17
    Registered User oldbear's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by rocketsocks View Post
    Old bear,I'm not sure I fully understand,If sugars are hygroscopic and have an affinity for water,why does that make for a good cached food?I'm sure I'm missing something here.
    Rocketsocks
    What happens is that by tieing up all of the Moisture in a product it denies it to the little buggers that need it to survive .....which is why fruitcake lasts forever and honey never goes bad

  18. #18

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    How long do you plan to do this adventure? Your chances of success or failure will depend on whether you have a time limit or not. The last great Appalachian Trail endurance challenge is for someone to walk the entire AT four times in one calendar year (Jan. 1st-Dec. 31st).
    Warren Doyle PhD
    34,000-miler (and counting)
    [email protected]
    www.warrendoyle.com

  19. #19
    Springer - Front Royal Lilred's Avatar
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    Rocketsocks,
    Sounds like a logistical nightmare to me. You may want to reconsider having all your food via mail drops. It is so easy to resupply on the trail. IF it were me, I'd sell or eat as much as I can before the trip and resupply along the way. You can always purchase food along the way to mail to yourself further up the trail. No need to worry about expiration dates or establishments holding packages for a lengthy period of time.
    "It was on the first of May, in the year 1769, that I resigned my domestic happiness for a time, and left my family and peaceable habitation on the Yadkin River, in North Carolina, to wander through the wilderness of America." - Daniel Boone

  20. #20

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    Quote Originally Posted by oldbear View Post
    Rocketsocks
    What happens is that by tieing up all of the Moisture in a product it denies it to the little buggers that need it to survive .....which is why fruitcake lasts forever and honey never goes bad
    Cool,makes sence to me thanks for bio lesson.

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