Q&A Part One

I've been asked a lot of questions about the logistics of thru hiking/backpacking, and have decided to give some attention to questions you may or may not have had. Here we go!

Colorado Trail decals help us find our way along our hike. 

Q: What do you do about food? Do you carry it all with you?
A: We have to carry a lot of calories, but in the lightest way possible. When we bought food, healthy and nutritious was not the number one concern. We tried to get foods and snacks that had at least 100 calories per ounce. Poptarts, energy bars, Oreos,  We planned ahead and made some resupply boxes full of food, toilet paper, and other good stuff to be dropped off at mountain towns approximately every 70 miles, or 5-7 days. The trail typically drops us out at points that can be anywhere from 1-30 miles from where our resupply boxes are that usually require a shuttle or, more often, hitch hiking to pick it up.

Q: How do you have enough water for the trip?
A: We have to take our water from the mountain creeks and rivers. There are a lot of harmful bacteria living in these water sources so the water must be filtered or have chemicals such as iodine added to make them safe. There is also the option of a "steripen" that cleans the water through ultra violet light. We use a Sawyer water filter system where we collect water in a designated "dirty" bag and run it through the filter into our platypus bladders that hold 3 liters of water. This amount of water is usually more than enough for 24 hours.

Filtering 1 liter of water into a 3 liter bag. 

Q: What does creek water taste like?
A: Very very good. I liken it to tasting like Dasani bottled water. Whenever we stop for the night in a place and refill water at a hotel I have been so unhappy with the taste.

Q: How do you find campsites?
A: They are actually much harder to come by than I anticipated. In order to pitch a tent and sleep comfortably, you really need a flat spot that is void of rocks. Sometimes there are campsites that have been prepared previously that come fully equipped with a fire ring. These are good, and coveted. Otherwise, its been difficult while going up or down on switchbacks or steep inclines/declines. You want to look for an area that is somewhat protected from the elements by having some trees, but be careful about camping next to dead trees or trees that look unstable. Those trees have been nicknamed "widow makers" because in a high wind storm, well, they can kill you.

The perfect (ish) campsite

If you have any other questions I did not address yet, please comment below and I will answer them on the next Q&A post. No question is too absurd.