TR: Cathedral Range July 2017 — Epic Fail + Questions

[markskor]

flextrex 37trillion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXt9jJEq8wg

and the French Wedge - "Never needs washing."
https://youtu.be/E52XNZoU6sQ

[jeremiahkim]

The crystal clear water from the Matthes Lake photo is really something. Also, I haven't laughed as hard I did watching the Flextrek video in a while. Thanks for that.

[gregodorizzi]

Go ahead - humiliate the environment

[CAMERONM]

If your issue is truly food related, it would seem that experimentation at home could resolve all your questions.
So if that does not work, what next? I know some people who are very affected by different water conditions while traveling...anywhere. So could be water related.
You might try psyllium husks in capsule form. I regularly take 5 each night on hikes to balance out the other factors that are different from my normal intake of food and water.

[Wandering Daisy]

I have always thought that it is best to eat as close to your normal diet as possible. This means that I have also brought some of my backpack foods into my daily routine - such as steel cut and old fashioned oats with dried fruit instead of boxed dry cereal. I eat cheese at home, so I take the same backpacking, the only difference is that I take the single size wrapped sticks instead of a big block. I eat a lot of nuts at home too. Tea and coffee the same. One reason I fish is that fish is "real food". I take the same brand of margarine (Smart Balance) and olive oil that I eat at home. I used to do some foraging of wild greens, but not much any more. I wish I had an answer to backpacking vegetables. The freeze-dried ones do not agree with me. Cous-cous, whole wheat pasta, and brown rice are exactly the same I use at home. I do not eat candy, sugary drinks, or fast foods (such as Pop Tarts- evidently PCT favorite) at home, so do not take them backpacking. And really chew a lot and slowly when eating. Need to go really simple and easily digestible at high altitudes.

If your backpack food is drastically different from your daily food, I think you actually go into withdrawal.

I guess one test would to eat exactly what you now eat backpacking at home for a week and see what your gut does. Then do the same week at home, but exercise heavily after each meal. It may be the exercise, not the food that causes problems. After all these tests, I suppose it would be worth it to have your gut checked out. You may have some odd-ball parasite or bug living in your gut.

[Stanley Otter]

Okay, thanks for all the suggestions. Experiments are under way.
Dennis

[Yury]

Okay, thanks for all the suggestions. Experiments are under way.
Dennis

I probably missed it, but I have not found a description of your food.
Could you please share it?

Standard advice in case of GI issues is to fall back on BART diet.
BART = Bananas, applesouce, rice and toasts.
Bananas and applesouce are not practical, but you can safely bring dried apples, mashed potatoes, toasts/white bread (assuming that you like 99.5% of the people are gluten tolerant).

It's enough to get you through 10 days trip.
You would lose some weight, but it should be OK.

Have you considered that your GI iisues may be caused by psycological iisues like overexcitement?

[Harlen]

Hey, sorry you had to cut your trip short, but it looks to us like you hit some really nice country, and had a fine adventure. I must get back into that Matthes Crest country, I love your photo from M. Lake!

Re. the dietary issues, I was impressed by something Doug (The Grizzly Years) Peacock said about his mountain diet. He says something like: "I don't go into the mountains for fine cuisine..." His goal is to commune with the natural world, and especially wild bears. He often brings all cold food- I think it was granola, with protein powder, and something else, perhaps powdered milk? I'm sure this is a mix that his body likes, I've tried this, and it suits me too. Kinda nice not to pack and fiddle with stoves, it is super easy to pack, and in bear country it keeps the scents to a minimum. Probably not the fix you're looking for, but if you could figure out one great food mix that you like, you could carry half that to fall back on if things go south.

Best of luck, the Harlens.

[Stanley Otter]

Okay, thanks for all the suggestions. Experiments are under way.
Dennis

I probably missed it, but I have not found a description of your food.
Could you please share it?

Standard advice in case of GI issues is to fall back on BART diet.
BART = Bananas, applesouce, rice and toasts.
Bananas and applesouce are not practical, but you can safely bring dried apples, mashed potatoes, toasts/white bread (assuming that you like 99.5% of the people are gluten tolerant).

It's enough to get you through 10 days trip.
You would lose some weight, but it should be OK.

Have you considered that your GI iisues may be caused by psycological iisues like overexcitement?

I am definitely headed toward more basic. On this particular trip breakfast was Grape Nuts/Granola with Nido and almond flour with a little sugar and a mug of hot chocolate. Second breakfast was dried fruit (cherries, craisins, golden raisins, pineapple) and some homemade trail mix (almonds, cashews, walnuts, peanuts, pecans, golden raisins, high cacao chocolate chips). Lunch was flour tortillas with cheese (first days of trip) or peanut butter and nibble on fruit or trail mix. Supper was either mac and cheese with olive oil or black beans with taco seasoning and tortillas. Snickers for dessert most nights.

The pineapple is getting too sweet for my tastes, so that's out. I will try some preserves on the peanut butter tortillas, though it can get runny and messy. Beans are out. Probably try some multigrain mix with spices and oil as a replacement -- have done this before, just more work.

I suffer the same kind of symptoms on my canoe trips, and after 26 years worth of trips I can definitely say excitement is not a large factor in what's going on there.

Thanks for the suggestions.
Dennis

[Stanley Otter]

Hey, sorry you had to cut your trip short, but it looks to us like you hit some really nice country, and had a fine adventure. I must get back into that Matthes Crest country, I love your photo from M. Lake!

Re. the dietary issues, I was impressed by something Doug (The Grizzly Years) Peacock said about his mountain diet. He says something like: "I don't go into the mountains for fine cuisine..." His goal is to commune with the natural world, and especially wild bears. He often brings all cold food- I think it was granola, with protein powder, and something else, perhaps powdered milk? I'm sure this is a mix that his body likes, I've tried this, and it suits me too. Kinda nice not to pack and fiddle with stoves, it is super easy to pack, and in bear country it keeps the scents to a minimum. Probably not the fix you're looking for, but if you could figure out one great food mix that you like, you could carry half that to fall back on if things go south.

Best of luck, the Harlens.

I enjoyed the Matthes Crest area quite a bit -- the crest rises so sharply above the surroundings. There were some crazy people way up on top of the ridge on the first day. Made me dizzy just looking at them.

One of my fantasies along the Universal Food line of thought is to somehow hybridize my metabolism to include electrical power and carry a solar panel around during the day so I don't have to carry as much food. Base metabolism is about 80 Watts with 150 Watts ± on top of that for peak output, so 250 Watts in round figures. Solar power at the Earth's surface varies, but let's say roughly 1000 Watts/meter^2. Even at 100% efficiency, I would end up carrying a panel around 50 cm on a side and trying to keep it oriented perpendicular to the sun's rays. So...granola it is.
Dennis