rebeccad
Trail Wise!
Writing like a maniac
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Post by rebeccad on Sept 11, 2016 21:17:38 GMT -8
My max dayhiking with a toddler = 18 miles, I don't do 18 miles anymore, even without a toddler Best thing our kids did for us was retrain us not to think in terms of really high mileage. That has proven to be valuable as we ooze our way into (late) middle age.
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Post by CompassRds on Sept 12, 2016 4:25:57 GMT -8
^Yep.^ Still figured I should throw a little weight on. Hiking isn't over with kids, just a moving target. Also, had another thought when re-reading and thought I'd throw it out in case @beginnertrailer is still around and reading. Food, what would be good for breakfast before hiking...what type of easy snacks/lunch should we take to get us through?? I think by this point you are likely seeing themes, but get that a lot of us have slightly different styles based on environment and experiences. This changes even what food we would recommend.
The wife and I tend to travel to hike and stay in a hotel the night before an early (often 5am) start (even with the kiddo, who wakes up at 4am, matching our typical schedule). So we tend to be up and out before even most blue collar diners are open and eat on the way to the trailhead. Why the long explanation? It changes what we eat. We tend to do a bagel, ham, and thick cream cheese in the car on the way in, or some other version of high-calorie sandwich made the night before and stuck in a hotel fridge.
The other reason for sandwiches. Deli-meat and cheese sandwich is pretty safe. There is nothing like loosing the gamble on the quality of road-food and discovering it 5 miles in.
Also, we tend to tailor our snacks/lunch to the challenge of the trail we are on, especially since we off-and-on treat dayhiking as challenge hiking. There is a big difference in the calorie requirement of making a 10 mile loop at Tallgrass , KS to see the wildflowers blooming (peanuts, jerky, and an apple/orange in the top pouch of the backpack the last time) and rim-to-rim at the Grand Canyon (salami, wax wrapped cheeses, and energy bars the last time). But as soon as you start getting beyond overnights and looking seriously at dropping your carried weight this will change as well.
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rebeccad
Trail Wise!
Writing like a maniac
Posts: 12,685
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Post by rebeccad on Sept 12, 2016 7:46:04 GMT -8
I missed the bit about breakfast, CompassRds . So I'll answer that too, since our approach is pretty different. Dayhikes are usually done from home, so we eat whatever we feel like But if we're on the road, or about to start backpacking, we are almost certainly camping. So breakfast may go either way: oatmeal and yogurt, or eggs and hash browns. It's typically been the former, but in the last year or so I've started taking the latter, in hopes of getting a good protein hit to start us off (plus it's yummy, and we'll be eating oatmeal every day while hiking so it's nice to start with something different). As a side note to that, when we car-camp our way to backpacking trailheads, we carry a separate kitchen kit for the car part. That includes a 2-burner propane stove and a large non-stick skillet as well as a pan or two for boiling water, etc. That makes it a lot easier to cook food and coffee at the same time, a vital ability
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Post by CompassRds on Sept 12, 2016 12:20:18 GMT -8
Definitely an approach thing rebeccad , as years ago I found out that I was far better off the morning of day 2, after that first night of horrible sleep I get away from home, when I spent it in a bed in lieu of a tent. ;-)
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grace
Trail Wise!
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Post by grace on Sept 13, 2016 12:31:53 GMT -8
I have this kind of ritual if I'm in the car. It started years ago cycling, and it sticks as a Starbucks bagel + cream cheese, and a latte. it's become a good luck charm, bc I always come home safe. So that's how I start any trip, with tons of snacks as needed. If I'm starting out car camping, I have a thing for Trader Joe's coconut pancakes, or a croissant, egg and fruit. And coffee, which I don't drink often but always while out and about. I've only backpacked once (so far!), and breakfast was Outdoor Herbivore's denver scramble- yummy!
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