San Diego Preparation

In my hostel room in Ocean Beach, I lifted my fully-loaded pack for the first time since leaving home. “I don’t think this is the heaviest pack I’ve ever carried, but it’s close.”

After checking the water report, I knew I was facing almost 2 full days of hiking between water sources at the start of the trail. On top of my 16lbs of gear, I had about 5lbs of food and 12lbs of water. With just a few days to go before the start of my hike, food and water were at the forefront of my thoughts. Specifically where and when I’d be able to find them.

Most of my backpacking experience had been in the Cascades, where streams and lakes are abundant, and the water is cold and delicious – such that you want to take it home with you. (One of my friends actually does this. He will fill up all his water bottles on the hike out and keep them in his refrigerator at home for later). And yet, I had dry camped before on a handful of trips. I knew that the main difference was the need to carry more weight – you just have to suck it up until you can drink it down.

Food, on the other hand, was a mystery. There was only one time when I had to resupply in the middle of a trip in an unfamiliar place: Pinedale, Wyoming. By all accounts an excellent town to do so, and yet I spent my last day on trail eating tortillas and coconut flakes. Not exactly what one might consider “peak nutrition.”

This time around, I was determined to do better. One way that people manage to eat healthier on trail is to plan all their food beforehand and have someone mail boxes of it to them via Post Office General Delivery. This used to be pretty common on the PCT, although you run the risk of growing to hate the food you packed.

The other option for resupply is to rely on towns you pass through for food. Many have decent grocery stores, but in others you run the risk of subsisting on candy bars and hot dog buns for several days.

I opted to strike a balance between the two: buy all my food on trail at the larger grocery stores, but send boxes to some of the smaller, more remote locations. I had my first test waiting at mile 109: Warner Springs. The food I sent there would need to last me 70 miles until Idyllwild, or about 5 days. Here’s what I packed:

Two weeks from now I’ll know whether the food I chose was any good. It can’t be much worse than dry tortillas and coconut flakes.