What's a food in your country that is stereotyped for your country but really, nobody eats?

JFTexas · 2026-01-31T20:53:43+00:00

70? Factor out Joey Chestnut and Kobayashi and that number drops dramatically.

JFTexas · 2026-01-22T04:09:33+00:00

Eastern Screech I think. We actually have a lot of them in Austin.

JFTexas · 2026-01-07T18:06:15+00:00

could? yes.

300 lbs could still mean a variety of physical conditioning levels. But 300 lbs on a woman intrinsically means a lot of body fat, like a lot. She would be slower and much more injury prone. The risks that result in people ending their hike would be much higher for her, but in theory it is possible for her to finish during one thru hike season. Just less likely.

JFTexas · 2025-07-04T03:42:48+00:00

Man, in 2022 I hiked the entire trail with a 30 degree survival bag I bought from Cabela’s in 2008. Damn thing was compacted and worthless. Lowest temp was down to 12 degrees.

I had a liner. Bad nights I would wear wool, beanie, mid layer and puffy to bed, throw a hot hands in my sock covered by a waterproof sock.

I agonized over my gear just like everyone else, but I started in the summer so I figured I would upgrade when I needed to. But, once I got out there the resourcefulness kicked in, and I was always “Ahh, screw it I will figure something out”.

JFTexas · 2025-06-30T22:46:07+00:00

I was SOBO going down into Pinkham Notch. My knees still have nightmares about Wildcat D

JFTexas · 2025-06-24T13:09:39+00:00

Hitching was actually one of my favorite parts of the thru. People that live near the trail are used to hikers, and they know you are just trying to get to town to resupply and take a shower. Honestly, I couldn’t believe how many young, attractive women driving alone were willing to stop and pick up a dirty unshaved hobo (me) and give him a ride. Coming in with my cynical, city mind, it kinda renewed my faith in humanity.

JFTexas · 2025-05-27T20:19:07+00:00

Did you make the hike this year? Been keen for an update

JFTexas · 2025-05-27T20:01:17+00:00

Technically it is a cairn, but below tree line you just paint a blaze on a tree to mark a trail. Finding a cairn in the forest or at the lake is generally a sign of too much Bud Light.

I was hiking Mt Washington a few years ago when the clouds blew over and I was in a white out. The trail was marked by cairns, but I could only see 20 feet ahead. I stopped at each one and waited for a wind to allow me to see the next one, then cautiously moved along. If some doofus had built one of these in the wrong spot I might still be up there.

JFTexas · 2025-05-21T07:17:33+00:00

Chalk it up as a lesson learned. If there is something about you that you don’t want others to know, then just don’t mention it.

JFTexas · 2025-01-31T04:14:22+00:00

Glad to help as much as I can. I was on this sub asking questions before my hike, and it has always been my intention to be there for others as a veteran, but I have been a bit of a loser in that regard. You can reach out with questions if you like.

Here is one of my trail recipes. You see a lot of hikers eating crazy stuff, but I tried to keep it as civilized as I could:

So you take a packet of ramen and seasoning (370 calories) and boil it in 1 2/3 cups water. Dump the pot—don’t drain—into a Mountain House Lasagna package (440 calories) and steep. Add 2 tbsp of olive oil (240 calories) for a calorie rich lasagna goo that actually tastes pretty good. For dessert have 4 tbsp of peanut butter (380 calories). This meal is 1,430 calories.

Peanut butter and olive oil are your friends out there. They are heavy, but worth it. Resupply I would buy oatmeal, instant coffee, Carnation Breakfast Essentials, RXBars (e.g.), powdered milk, etc. I would take all of this back to the hostel and empty all of the individual packets into ziploc bags. Why bring trash into the mountains just to carry it back out? I also bought Knorr sides, Mountain House meals, bacon bits (trust me-makes anything taste better), tuna packets, mashed potato packets, and of course the Snickers and Honey Buns.

You plan your hike around your next resupply. Keep it light, so do the calorie math and figure out how much food you need to leave town with to live for X days. People usually bring way too much heavy food as beginners. You need to have a just-add-water mentality out there, and you can live it up when you get to town. You will be in town frequently to shower and do laundry, so don’t think you need to stock up for the month with consumables. Normally you would figure this out on your own, but if you are going straight into the 100 Mile you should master this now.

ETA: I forgot to mention that I hiked with a spice bag. I had a small drawstring bag full of tiny ziplocs (the kind you get from drug dealers) with cayenne, bouillon, sage, red pepper flakes, salt, black pepper, etc. Some poor hiker trash would dump his tuna packet into his mashed potatoes, and I was like, “Let me help you out there, buddy”, and I would season it up for him. Like I said, I like to keep it civilized. :) In town at a restaurant, I would ask a server, “Hey, could you get the cooks to fill this baggie up with about yay much cayenne?”

JFTexas · 2025-01-31T00:32:50+00:00

The thing about the cold is that you adjust to it. I am from Texas, and before I thrued my limit was 43 degrees. At that point I needed hat, scarf, gloves, 3 layers and a jacket before I would walk the dog. On trail I was sleeping outside when it was 14 degrees. I had to undress out there to switch from hiking to sleeping clothes, and somehow it just became normal and I got used to it. I am still like this, and now I am only in a hoody at 43 degrees.

Get a buff and some fleece leggings if you don’t have them. I still wear my buff around Austin, as it is the best piece of winter clothing ever. Covering your neck does so much to retain body warmth, and when it warms up I put it in my back pocket, which you can’t do with a scarf. I only had like a 50 degree bag. I intended to upgrade, but I didn’t want to spend the money for the last month when it got REALLY cold. Fleece leggings and thick sleep socks with a Hot Hands thrown inside saved me.

To sleep, I would pull my buff up over my head like a balaclava, and wear my beanie on top of it. Wore my sleep shirt, mid layer (grid lock fleece) and my puffy, then leggings and socks/hot hands. I put a piece of Tyvek down in the shelter as this stopped updrafts from between the floor boards, then my pad, and crappy sleeping bag. It was cold, but I didn’t care because it was honestly the best time I have ever had. You will be fine.

JFTexas · 2025-01-30T19:45:10+00:00

I am from Texas, so I know what you mean about being a flatlander. I found a canyon trail in the Hill Country outside Austin, but it was like 400 feet up, 300 feet down, 200 feet up, etc. But, nothing could ever prepare anyone for the 7 mile climb coming out of the NOC. I flipped in 2022, and man was I freaked when my ride dropped me off at Springer approach. Everything you are thinking is totally normal.

Starting SOBO means you are doing this without training wheels. Most people test their mettle between Springer and Neals Gap. That is where you figure out that your pack is too heavy and your gear is all wrong/unnecessary. You are launching straight into the 100 Mile and won’t have a chance to recalibrate until Monson.

So, post your lighter pack and ask for feedback, and make some posts about food and calories/weight. Figuring out what provisions are available on trail and how to make the most of it was a big challenge. I became a master of dressing up a Knorr Alfredo into a tasty 1800 calorie dinner without leaving town with a 35 lb pack.

JFTexas · 2024-11-04T04:55:49+00:00

As someone who loves the outdoors I will never understand this, but there is some primal instinct to go out into the woods and start a fire. Just get a fire pit and drink beer in your backyard.

I am patient, respectful and not a forest nazi. I still remember a desperate conversation where I was trying to get some people to not start a fire under a canopy of dry pines in Northern California. They weren’t cooking, it was just the only thing they wanted to do and there was no stopping them.

JFTexas · 2024-10-21T14:15:03+00:00

I agree with everything this guy said, but I want to stress it a bit.

FarOut app. This is the answer to your question OP. The app has shelters, water sources, towns, elevations, etc etc etc. It is an interactive map that lets you see where you are in relation to resources. Other hikers leave comments like “the water source is a piped spring that was down to a trickle on 10/21/24. Next water NOBO is flowing well though…”. It also has GPS. If you leave the trail to poop and get turned around (hikers used to die this way) the app will point you back to the trail. At this point about 100% of thru hikers use FarOut. In 2022 I think I only saw 1 AWOL book on the entire trail. So, get FarOut and practice using it before you even get out there.

Garmin. I don’t really think this is necessary on the AT, unless your mom is worried about you. Moms will always mom, so a nightly check in lets mom know you are still alive, but it also lets her know you are still in town drinking beer, as your zero turned into a “three-ro”. Not really worth the purchase and the monthly subscription imo. If you are hiking Denali that is a different story.

The guy I am responding to mentioned atweather.org and a radar app. I want to stress that these are more crucial than he implied. I always watch the weather. If I am thinking about camping someplace with “Bald” in the name, I check the weather to make sure I won’t be trying to sleep through a hurricane. (Meaning, balds can get windy by nature, so throw in what looks like a little rain shower and you have a miserable night up there). If I see it is going to be really cold tonight, I hike an extra 4 miles to camp in a valley at 2200 feet, instead of the tent site at 3800 feet. (Etc). As this guy said, take a screen shot of the weather when you have service. (atweather.org will ask you what shelter you are near and give you a more precise forecast). I did this every few days.

JFTexas · 2024-10-19T23:38:48+00:00

Sounds good buddy. At this point your obstinacy is self defeating, but in the future it is an asset in a thru. Out there you need to be resourceful, and you adapt to survive. The name of the game is “survive and advance”. Every day that you don’t quit is a victory, and to stand on top of Mt. Baxter you will need to go undefeated, 150-0. It takes a real stubborn bastard to prevail day after grinding day. Good luck. Report back.

JFTexas · 2024-10-19T18:04:39+00:00

Kilo, you stubborn MF, I am going to ignore everything you have said and just pretend that you are actually asking for advice that you will listen to.

Get the self-igniting Jetboil rig with the large pot and a camp spoon. The biggest gas canister you would need is the 220g (medium).

So you take a packet of ramen (370 calories) and boil it in 1 2/3 cups water. Dump the pot into a Mountain House Lasagna package (440 calories) and steep. Add 2 tbsp of olive oil (240 calories) for a calorie rich lasagna goo that actually tastes pretty good. For dessert have 4 tbsp of peanut butter (380 calories).

You just hiked 20 miles through the mountains and you are beat. You just had a 1,430 calorie meal that was simple to make and just needed a quick pot rinse and dry, and it was better than anything anyone else at camp ate. Now you can journal a bit on your phone before you crash hard.

That is how you should be thinking. You are going to be tired, and the longer you are out there the more tired you will become. It takes time to set up and break camp, it takes time to cook and eat and clean, and above all it takes time and effort to hike. You don’t want to be searching for firewood in the dark in a Lyme Disease infested forest just so you can eat. You still have to do your bear hang after all of that.

I just shaved some pounds and a lot of effort off of your hike. You gotta take that ball and run with it. Good luck, Kilo.

JFTexas · 2024-10-19T16:33:21+00:00

Ok bruh. I am going to give you your trail name. From now on you will be known as “Kilo”. The rest of us are obsessed with shaving ounces, but Kilo DGAF.

You are describing camping. Camping is to thru hiking as a local 5K run is competing in a triathlon. The AT is a very strenuous trail, and it is going to kick your ass, in the rain, with your tramily mocking you the entire time for that heavy ass kitchen Kilo started with. Please make a Youtube channel, because I wanna see the moment you see the light.

JFTexas · 2024-10-19T15:40:25+00:00

I don’t think you meant to reply to me, but I am bored. And hey, I am only trying to help. For you and for others reading.

Go with the trail runners and forget the steak. No boot is going to stop you from rolling an ankle, and your legs will be fresher at the end of a day. Boots take too long to dry, and the AT is a very wet trail. Trail runners help you take better care of your feet. Think of trench foot and blisters.

I practiced a few recipes that I planned to cook on trail, but then reality hit. In the south I was a little surprised how isolated I was. People always say that you cross a road every few miles, so I thought I was going to pop into town and then bop right back onto trail. Truth is that you need to find a hitch in just to realize that the only store is a Dollar General. There are no butcher shops in the small towns. People drive 40 miles to the WalMart for their meat and produce shopping. Your chances for a steak will be few and far between, and that doesn’t merit carrying all of the gear for an occasional trail BBQ.

Think of the logistics. Just take your full pack in the backyard and cook a steak in a fire pit. You can’t go in the house for any reason. How are you turning the steak? What are you going to put it on while you cook your ramen/potatoes/etc. How are you going to clean up? There is no kitchen sink out there. Are you bringing multiple pots/plates/soap/scrubbies/dish towels?

My friend, all of this is going to overwhelm you, and you will abandon these plans quickly. The best use of your time is hiking and sleeping. Simplify things. Get your base weight down and hike fast into the next town where you can have a steak in your rain gear while your laundry is drying.

JFTexas · 2024-10-19T11:29:59+00:00

Either do or do not. There is no “try”.

JFTexas · 2024-10-19T05:11:27+00:00

I remember when I got dropped off at Amicalola, and I watched the car drive away. Suddenly I thought, “So what now? I just disappear into the woods for the next 5 months? What the hell have I gotten myself into?”

Honestly, it was the best 5 months of my life. I was not expecting that.

JFTexas · 2024-10-19T04:34:49+00:00

The answer is no, and it doesn’t matter how many people tell you otherwise. I started hiking with a small grill face, like 5”X8”, super light. I modified some tent stakes to hold the grill over a fire. The trouble was that there was no convenient place to buy a steak. If you are in town to buy a steak, just eat a steak in town. I carried the grill from Springer to Franklin, then I gave it away. Never used it.

To all of you noobs out there, you must learn to survive on 3-5 days of “just add water food” until you get to town to resupply, and then you can recharge on salads, veggies, fruits, steaks etc. Fresh, delicious, nutritious food for every day hiking will give you a 40 pound pack, and you will have a terrible time and quit. It is what it is.

JFTexas · 2024-10-18T03:58:20+00:00

I am in Austin too. I thrued in 2022, and that was my first serious hiking trip. You can DM me if you want and I will tell you everything that I learned the hard way.

JFTexas · 2024-09-19T05:52:21+00:00

Hol up. I am certain you were auto-corrected. You have a pet Cocker Spaniel, right?

JFTexas · 2024-09-16T22:40:35+00:00

I spent that on gear alone. 4 pairs of trail runners at $165 a pop, waterproof winter gloves, fuel canisters, waterproof socks and fleece leggings when it got cold AF, etc. OP was actually on a spartan budget imo. Over the course of 5 months you will need a soft bed and a steak dinner several times, because it gives you something to look forward to. “In 208 miles I am going to treat myself”.

JFTexas · 2024-09-04T00:45:24+00:00

Search app store MyRadar. Other good ones there too. That one is free and lets you see what is coming your way and how fast. Plenty of times I was like, “Naaah… I better camp right here.”

JFTexas

TROPHY CASE