What we have learned:
We can't carry enough calories to feed ourselves. Our original menu worked on the PCT until we got into the Sierra snow. We looked emaciated when we got to Edison Lake. We added M&M's and nuts to the dried fruit and made lots of GORP. It became a staple. We also carried cookies, pretzels, and "Bridge Mix" to snack on at lunch and dinner times.  

We added olive oil to most meals.

We added more variety of nutrition bars. The old stand-by flavors got old. We even added Snickers! They aren't nutrition bars, but they have a lot of calories.

We still ate like hikers when we got to town. It would have been embarrassing, but we really needed the calories so we didn't care.  People still tell us we look emaciated when we finish long distance hikes. The strange part is that we just feel really fit. We know our weight is down, but we feel good. 

What we did about it:
We now plan to carry more calories, but still cannot carry enough. Long distance hikers burn 4500 - 6000 calories per day. Most servings we eat are in the range of 200-250 calories. That means we need 20 to 30 servings each every day. That many servings means eating 10 - 20 times a day! We recognize that we can't eat that often. But we know we have to eat frequently. If we run out of energy we suddenly can't keep hiking. 

Our  menu:
This is what we thought we were going to eat. It is based on backpacking trips of 3 to 15 days. We found that after 2 weeks of constant hiking things change. You have burned off your reserves of energy and must consume more food each day. And you get tired of the same foods every day for 5 months. This is one reason many hikers decide to buy food along the trail. 

Breakfast

Morning Snack

Lunch

Afternoon Snack

Dinner 

Here is a more complete list of our dinner meals

All food is repackaged into zip-lock bags. We like to package our food into daily bags. This is mainly to facilitate re-supply mailings, but it also helps to keep us from eating into food we will need in the days before the next re-supply. We have seen to many hikers run out of food a day before reaching town.