Re: [Paddlewise] Winter Dreams of Summer Expeditions

RiDem wrote:
> 
> Chasing the early winter blues.I have done a lot of work on our July-August
> 2001 trip to Nueltin Lake which straddles the northern Manitoba/ SE corner of
> Nunavut Canada. I have posted a lot of new stuff to our web page :
> http://communities.msn.com/RichWendysAwayFromHomePage including maps,
> equipment and food lists,[snip]

Rich, I was interested in how you plan for a trip like that.  Longest I have
done similar (in off-trail backpacking days) was three weeks.  Tough to carry
food for longer on your back.

The only thing on your food list that puzzled me was the total reliance on FD
meals for dinners.  Is that partly to minimize odors that would attract
grizzlies?  Or, is there some other rationale aside from light weight?  I know
that I can carry more calories in the same **volume** using other foods,
although certainly my choices would **weigh** more than the FD meals.  Since my
paddling does not involve portaging or air flight in, weight is not a concern
for me, really.  (I once was the "veggie man" on a two-week trip with six
others -- translated to about 100 lbs of spuds, cabbage, oranges, etc., in my
sea kayak!)

The other interesting feature of your food was its skimpiness:  "losing" 2000
calories/day (= 4 lbs/week) translates to some 30 lbs of fat you expect to
expend over the 50 days.  How much personal reserve does that leave you?  Also,
what about your wife -- does she lose lots of weight also?  This obviously
works for you two, so my query is strictly based on curiousity, not on whether
that regimen is wise or not.

-- 
Dave Kruger
Astoria, OR
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