c) Andrew Carter. 2021
Take the 3-week 310-mile PCT Challenge
“I haven’t weighed this little in 30 years,” says satisfied user Andrew Carter.
The typical PCT hiker can burn 4000 to 5000 calories a day when hiking, so losing weight can be easy and maintaining weight can be hard. You really have to focus on consuming those calories.
I’ve lost about ten pounds during the first three weeks of my hike, which isn’t that much. When I hiked the Appalachian Trail at the age of 20, I lost 15 pounds in the first ten days. Of course, I had a teenage metabolism back then.
For breakfast, I’ve switched from two packets of instant oatmeal, cream of wheat, or grits in the morning to three. (The grits are because I grew up in the South.) I add sugar and Nido fortified whole milk powder to these and wash them down with a “café mocha” (Nestle hot chocolate plus instant coffee).
During the day, I generally stop at least three times for a snack or lunch, which will consist of some combination of candy bars, granola bars, dried fruit, and tortillas. (Although I love jerky, I don’t eat it when hiking because it gives me indigestion.)
At dinner, I make sure to have at least two foil packets of tuna, chicken, spam, or pork BBQ plus a 4-serving packet of some sort of starch (instant potatoes, couscous, rice, pasta side dishes, etc.). I’ll often fortify these with a tablespoon or two of olive oil plus parmesan cheese, and some nights I’ll add a creamy soup course after.
Hikers are renowned for the amount of food they will eat when they hit town. Why eat one large pizza when you can have two? And why just one or two Big Macs when three or four will satisfy you more? And you might as well have two milk shakes instead of one, plus two large servings of fries. The quintessential hiker haven used to be the “all you can eat” buffet. Sadly, those have gone by the wayside during Covid.
Carter Hikes 