What's Cookin Good Lookin?

A few updates...

• So I am officially 4 weeks out! 4 weeks from right now I will be on the trail.  It's hard to imagine even though I have been dreaming about this day for over a year now.  
• I will be using a Spot GPS tracker while hiking, so whenever I check in, it should put my location on the map to the right. 
• I am $860 into my $4500 goal for Active Water. So incredibly blessed by those who have given.  If you would like to contribute to helping me provide a clean water well and sanitation education to a small community in Zambia, Africa, please click on the Active Water link to the right.

Last week, I talked about the clothes I will be taking.  It's not a lot, but it really is all about layering to stay warm/cool.  This week, I want to give you a tour of my camp kitchen.  Food is a very important part of hiking because you burn through so many calories.  An average thru-hiker can burn anywhere from 4000 to 6000 calories a day.  So to keep me from turning into a skeleton with a beard, we need to eat.  And like Paula Dean, we are going to add a ton of butter to everything.  A basic menu looks like this:

Breakfast

Oatmeal with nuts and brown sugar, coffee/tea/cocoa, granola bar

Snack

Trail mix (peanuts, pretzels, m&m's), beef jerky, cheese crackers, fruit snacks

Lunch

Peanut butter and honey wraps, cheese and pepperoni wraps, water with a flavor pouch, snacks

Dinner

Ramen noodles, mashed potatoes with chicken (pre-cooked in a bag), pasta sides, ramen noodles, cocoa, ramen noodles

Because I have opted to resupply in towns, I can keep the variety happening. If I see something that would be tasty and easy to eat on the trail, I can get it (hikers who choose to ship all their food from home can sometimes be stuck with the same thing over and over because they bought their food in bulk. This is a beneficial way if you are on a special diet, but I am not).

To cook these fine gourmet dishes, we have to have the tools.  My kitchen is very simple and weighs in just a little over 1 pound.  I have an MSR Pocket Rocket stove, A titanium pot, a small aluminum mug, a little soap and sponge, a bic lighter, a spice container, and the most important tool...the Spork!  You can see below everything laid out (except for the mug) and how everything fits together saving space in my backpack.

We have looked at my water group, clothing group, and now my cooking group.  Next week we will take a look at my miscellaneous group (items that are going with me that aren't necessary to keep me alive (or are they?).  Tune in next week and bring a friend!