You're welcome! :)

Overestimates typically occur as a result of the grade of the trail chosen. Did you happen to choose 5-10% grade for the 25 mile day? If so, the calculator assumes that you're hiking the entire 25 miles at 5-10% which is highly unlikely as trail typically goes up and down over the course of the day.

Glad to hear the videos are helpful. They were long overdue!

Apologies for the delayed response. We currently have just shy of 250 recipes with new recipes added every month. Nothing special is needed to prepare them as nearly all of the recipes use dry ingredients (many of which are grocery-friendly). Dehydrator is only needed if you want to dry your own ingredients instead of purchasing them. Cost depends on how many ingredients are used and what they are. Some are as cheap as $1 per serving which some as much as $5 per serving. Can you expand upon the serving size calculator/spreadsheet question? Serving sizes can be adjusted with a click of a button. Here are our membership site tutorial videos for a behind the scenes look - vimeo.com/showcase/10984483 Happy to answer any additional questions.

haha! I'll take that as a compliment. :)

haha! There are times that the prongs of a fork are useful (i.e. eating noodles that slip off a spoon).

Thank you very much!

Magnesium can definitely work really well for folks.

Yay! The shopping list generator is my favorite feature. HUGE time saver!

Yeah, but there are things you can do to minimize the pain or at least slow down the onset. Re: foot pain. Have you heard of Lee at Trailside Fitness? I use his foot care program religiously. When I stick to it, my feet don't hurt. It takes dedication to stick with it, but it works. Before using his program I had intractable plantar fasciitis. Now, I hike pain-free. This isn't a paid ad. I'm just a satisfied customer who's life on trail has benefited from his guidance.

Glad you found it helpful.

Oh, I totally get it! I've noticed a huge change in how my body reacts to physical activity in just the last five years. I'm now 47 and have to be diligent when it comes to self-care on trail. When I take the time to pay attention to aches and pains and take steps to prevent the onset, my body is MUCH happier. If I get lazy and skip the exercises, I pay for it later.

Glad to hear you've found something that works for you.

I started a commercial food business and resupply service two years ago, which took me away from producing new content. So much so that the stress of the expansion made me physically ill. I closed that portion of the business in October of this year and am back to doing what I enjoy most - being dietitian. :) As soon as I get caught up with website related issues that fell between the cracks, I plan to get busy producing new video content. Stay tuned...

It's more important to eat soon after your hike ends. That's when your body starts the recovery process. If I have time to eat again before bed, I'll eat a snack for additional recovery. On my long hikes, I typically don't finish my hike until 7 or 8 pm, eat dinner, and bed by 9pm. So there isn't time to eat again.

Oh, forgot to answer your stretching before bed. I'd refer to Lee at Trailside Fitness for the answer to that as I'm not an expert when it comes to physiology. I follow his self-care program religiously and feel MUCH better in the morning. When I get lazy and don't do the stretches and massage before bed, I pay for it the next morning.

Eating enough at the end of the day can certainly be tough when you're worn out. Meal replacement shakes can be a really good option in this case. 8 oz of liquid nutrition down the hatch and you're done. Now that I follow a self-care routine before bed, I don't have to take Vitamin I. I took so much during a previous hike that my liver started showing damage. Not good! Now that I'm getting older (47), I have to be diligent and stick to my self care plan or I pay for it later.

For short, low intensity hikes, fat can certainly be used as an energy source. However, I wouldn't recommend relying on body fat for more intense trips (lots of elevation gain, difficult terrain, high altitude, etc). Carbs are the body's preferred energy source for energy higher intensity activities. Fat also doesn't provide vitamins and minerals that carbs provide. For a long-distance hike, I'd be sure to take a vitamin-mineral supplement to prevent deficiencies.

Love this! Glad to hear you've found works well for you.

You are so welcome!

CPF percentages?

haha! Snickers are definitely one of my happy foods when the trail gets tough.

Glad you enjoyed the video! :)

Hard cheeses, like parm, are safe to eat on trail without refrigeration. I've found that it's good for about 30 days (except when it's really hot outside). For meals that I prep well in advance of a trip, I leave out the cheese and add it when the meal is consumed.

This is definitely a tricky situation because low carb diets can certainly help manage diabetes in the front country. However, I've found that hikers struggle with low carb diets (hitting the wall, fatigue, poor recovery, etc) while in the backcountry especially when the trip is a challenging one (lots of elevation change, difficult terrain, heavy pack, etc) because the body prefers carbs when the going gets tough. Carbs are quickly utilized for energy while hiking unlike in the front country when we're not physically active. I would recommend talking to your medical provider about what would be best for managing diabetes while physically active. If adding back a few complex carbs is okay, that will open up the food options for you.

Good point! Depends on the availability of water sources. If water's prevalent, I don't carry as much for my dog because she can drink from the stream/lake. I'll carry more for myself because I don't filter at every water crossing. If water sources are limited, I carry an equivalent amount for my dog. On hot days, I carry even more because I pour it over her cooling vet.

Glad you found it helpful. :)

Good point. When she's swimming, I keep the line taught so that very thing doesn't happen. I'm constantly pulling in and letting out the line to keep it from sinking.

For the most part, I'd agree. However, there are some cottage food companies that are doing a pretty good job or producing quality meals. I still prefer to make my own because I like having control over what's in my food and it's significantly less expensive.

The biggest problem I found on the PCT was that the calorie count of the biggest meals were barely 1000 calories (most were closer to 500). I gave up on finding something healthy… I just didn’t want to starve. When the customer base is burning 6000 - 7000 calories per day, it feels like a significant disconnect between the people making the meals and the people using them. Maybe I’m just missing something, but $20 for 2 meals that still doesn’t get the job done is just irritating.

@@mikeypick1 I hear what you’re saying. After starting my own backpacking food business this season, I have a new appreciation for why commercial meals are prepared the way they are and cost what they do. Food is incredibly expensive to produce. The overhead is sooo much more $$$ than I expected. I hated charging $12 for a 600 calorie meal but that’s what I had to charge just to get by. Unless you’re a company like Mountain House that can order ingredients by the hundreds of pounds at discounted pricing, food costs are also much higher than you’d expect. I’ve chosen to shut down my food business after only one season because the work required for the minimal return isn’t worth it. As for the “low calorie” meals that has to do with the population of weekend warriors (who don’t need 1000 calories) far outweigh the number of ravenous thru-hikers. I agree with your frustrations 100%. Unfortunately, it comes down to making enough money for the business to survive. 😕

That makes a lot of sense… I wish we could figure out why food prices are so insanely high and find a remedy, but I’m not interested in moving to a new country. 😂 Thanks for the conversation! I appreciate you taking the time to respond!

@@mikeypick1 And I live on the central coast of California where the cost of living is absurd making my food business that much more expensive to run. Ugh! If it weren’t for my husband’s job, we’d relocate. Btw… Happy to chat! Now that I’m closing the shop, I’m looking forward to having the time to do what I do best - be a dietitian. Hoping to post new videos later this year.

Convenience, cost, and shelf stability seems to be the driving factor for adding preservatives and lesser quality ingredients. It's unfortunate that there aren't more commercials about how to use whole foods instead of focusing on highly processed convenience foods. :(

Nut butters are great! When I need to boost calories without adding bulk and weight to my pack, I add nut butter to drinks, spread on top of energy bars, and eat by the spoonful.

You're so welcome! I'm looking forward to taking a deep dive into the newest nutrition research for athletes this Fall and will be posting about it on our social media channels. facebook.com/backcountryfoodie

Sorry for the slow reply. :( Totally agree about texture and have made significant changes to the food I pack since this video was filmed. I, now, focus on packing food that's closer to what I normally eat at home. Cold cereal for breakfast, pasta salad for lunch, and lentils for dinner are examples. Feel free to shoot me a message and I'll try and help come up with ideas that aren't goop. backcountryfoodie.com/contact-us/

Sorry for the slow reply. :( We actually have a group of special forces dietitians that use our meal planner platform for this very thing! This is a much bigger question than can be answered here. Shoot me a message and I'll help you troubleshoot. backcountryfoodie.com/contact-us/

Sorry for the slow reply. :( Agree 100%. Since filming the video, I now use biodegradable zipper top pouches for my meals. We currently sell them in our shop, but our store will be closing soon. I hope to move them to our regular site next year after returning from my hike. backcountryfoodie.myshopify.com/products/large-biodegradable-stand-up-food-pouch

Glad you enjoyed it! It's one of my OG recipes from 2017 that hasn't changed and I still love it! :)

Sorry for the slow reply. :( I've since transitioned to biodegradable pouches that have worked really well. We currently sell them in our shop, but the shop will be closing soon. I hope to move them to our regular site after returning from my hike next year. backcountryfoodie.myshopify.com/products/large-biodegradable-stand-up-food-pouch

Glad you found them helpful. :)

Glad I was able to keep you from going down the KZbin rabbit hole. haha!

Glad you enjoyed it!

Good question. She's hiked with me enough that she knows what to do based on the trail. She walks ahead or bedside me when the trail is flat and easy, steps aside and waits when I need to step up or down, and falls behind me when I go downhill. I need the hands-free leash because I hike with poles.

Glad you enjoyed it

I LOVE IT! The final product is by far superior to commercially freeze-dried food.

We have a few dehydrated tuna recipes, but that's it. Vegetarian proteins are used strategically to keep the nutrition high and weight of the food low. By using combination foods (carbs, protein, and fat in each gram of food), I can create ultralight recipes. Animal proteins are solid sources of protein, but poor sources of carbs and fat which means additional foods have to be consumed to provide those macronutrients. Something like quinoa has carbs, protein, and fat in each bite which means that less food has to be consumed = less volume = less space required in your pack.