One of the lessons that I learned last year while hiking was that I needed a bigger variety of food. Last year I got so tired of Clif Bars and other dry, chewy food. So on the warm-up hikes this year I tried other food to see what tasted good while hiking. I bought all sorts of snacks, and had this great idea of making small baggies filled with various items. While hiking, I keep one bag in my pocket so I can stop and eat without removing my backpack. Well, when I started eating the food, it all tasted the same. Even worse, I put food in one bag that did not belong together. I ate a brownie and bit into a chunk of turkey jerky. Yuck!
Some bags turned out well. One had mostly dried fruit, and that tasted the best. I still ate the Clif Bars because they were more filling and after one year they tasted good again, plus there were new flavors like blueberry. Another mistake I made was bringing to much food. I think I hiked down with two pounds of food. At least if I got lost somehow, I would not have starved!
Now water was a different issue. I drank and carried to much. I realize now that I was drinking water when my mouth was dry, not because I needed it. Maybe I was so worried about getting dehydrated that I overcompensated. I'll work on consuming less water so I can save on weight in my pack. I can see how the more you hike and backpack the more you know your needs and after awhile you bring only what you need. I have no overnight backpacking trips planned for the rest of the year, just day hikes and camping, so I'll see how I do on those, water and food-wise.
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