Hiking Food For Long Distance Backpacking - 5,000 Calories Per Day

We discovered this good overview video on hiking food on YouTube. Most of what the narrator describes is what we also take on our section hikes along the Appalachian Trail. We differ in packaging. We like to pack complete breakfast and dinners along with snacks into distinct ziplock bags for five days of hiking. ( we mark our bags "Day 1", "Day 2", etc. We also toss in hand wipes and quarter sections of paper towels along with condiments.

 

 

Feel free to add your hiking food tips and recommendations in the comments.

Death on the Appalachian Trail

While reviewing and updating our Section Hiking the Appalachian Trail Twitter account, we discovered there has been a second death on the Appalachian Trail this year. This time its seems a hiker slipped and fell between Rangeley and Caratunk, Maine. Details are forthcoming.

While deaths on the Appalachian Trail are rare, death does come to hikers from time to time. Often while pre-planning a hike, friends and relatives become alarmed and imagine all sorts of danger that will befall their loved one. (We've been offered guns.) With today's death, this seems an opportune moment in time to start a list of deaths on the Appalachian Trail to provide a balanced perspective on how life threatening the Appalachian Trail is and is not.

2013

• January 2013 - Overdue hiker found dead in Smokies

2012

• July 2012 - Father, son, drown while hiking Appalachian Trail in Tennessee
• June 2012 - Appalachian Trail through-hiker drowns in Pierce Pond in Maine
• June 2012 - N.Y. man found dead in tent on Appalachian Trail near Bull Bridge, CT
• February 2012 - Body of missing CT woman found near Appalachian Trail

2011

• September 2011 - 'Buffalo Bobby' dies just short of end of Appalachian Trail 
• August 2011 - FBI investigates death of Indiana hiker of Appalachian Trail
• August 2011 - Hiker dies after falling and hitting his head in Maine
• April 2011 - Hiker passes away while asleep in tent at Davenport Gap 

2010

• May 2010 - Hiker from Michigan was found dead at the Icewater Spring shelter
• June 2010  - Hiker found dead on the Appalachian Trail in Botetourt County

  
2008

• May 2008 - Two fishermen shot

  
2001

• November 2001 -  Canadian woman murdered in the White Mountains

1996 

• June 1996 -  Tragedy in Shenandoah National Park (VA) in the A.T. Vicinity

1990

• September 1990 - Thru-hikers killed at shelter near Duncannon, PA

1988

• May 1988 - Man frightens two women off the trail and shoots them, killing one, in Michaux State Forest in PA

  
1981

• May 1981 - Two social workers hiking Appalachian Trail found murdered

  
1975

• April 1975 - Wisconsin woman hacked to death by a hiker with a hatchet in Tennessee

  
1974

• May 1974 - 26-year-old man was killed at a shelter in Georgia

  
We will continue to update this post as we discover past deaths on the Appalachian Trail.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen. 

Bear Container: BearSaver Bear Box

One of the pleasant surprises hiking the Appalachian Trail through New jersey was the discovery that a bear container wasn't absolutely necessary. When we discovered that official backpacker site after backpacker site hosted a BearSaver bear box, we felt a bit foolish toting our expensive and somewhat bulky Ursack.

We saw our first BearSaver bear box at the backpacker camp just south of Sunfish Pond. That's the one in the photo. We took some time to examine it and become familiar with how it works. The right side door features a release mechanism that is cleverly hidden to foil both bears and clever raccoons. One inserts one's hand upside down in the bottom of the mechanism and squeezes a release lever.

The standard BearSaver bear box is quite large. We were able to stuff our entire large backpack inside with plenty of room to spare at both the AMC Mohican Outdoor Center and Pochuck shelter. The bear box at Mashipacong shelter held two large 5 gallon water containers and still had lots of room for food bags.

While the sign on the left panel instructs hikers that these are not trash cans, we often found trash inside. We suspect a contributing cause is that trash cans have mostly been removed from all parks in New Jersey. Pack it in, pack it out is the general rule. The most egregious mis-use of the bear box was at the Rutherford shlter in High Point State Park were we found not only large amounts of nasty, fetid garbage inside, but also a stack of oatmeal encrusted plates and metal silverware. Eww! We packed out much of the refuse since we knew we would be stopping by the park HQ shortly after departing, but we didn't take on the extra weight of the hard goods.

In addition to the water we found at Mashipacong shelter, we found other trail magic inside several bear boxes. At Pochuck shelter we found several packets of M & M chocolate candies. So, don't forget to stop by all the shelter and backpacking sites and open the BearSaver bear box doors. You may be pleasantly surprised. (This also works in reverse: you can be the one to leave trail magic inside a bear box for other hikers. Just saying.)

The longest distance between bear boxes in New Jersey was the 14 mile stretch between the AMC Mohican Center and the Brinks Road shelter. If you decide to stealth camp between those points, you will be in bear country and will need to bear bag your food. We recommend an UrSack or using the PCT bear bagging method.

Disclosure: We select and purchase the product(s) reviewed. We have no material connection to either the manufacturer nor the retailer(s).

Appalachian Trail 2011 - New Jersey

Here's a short 30-second video we made on Animoto with a few of our favorite photos from this years section hike of the Appalachian Trail in New Jersey.