Hey All
I am a first time race participant. I’ll be on a class 1 decked canoe. My question is food and water. What do you bring and how much? I’m a bigger guy former college rugby player, 6’2” 275 lbs. on longer trading runs I drink 6-10 liters of water over a 30 mile paddle. Dose that mean I need to carry over 25 liters on the race? For food I normally eat a granola bar for breakfast and snack on nuts and candy. I plan to bring a dehydrated meal for every night with some extra goodies to make it taste better. What about supplements? What do you drink? I like tail wind while on long paddles but that’s all I have used. Recovery drinks? Let me know? I have run out of food before on a back packing trip and that was not fun. It won’t happen again.
Food water and supplements
(9 posts) (7 voices)-
Uroy
MemberPosted 2 weeks ago # -
BustedRudder
MemberYou are working harder during a 30 mile event as aopposed to a 60-90 mile per day event, plus it is usually not "hot"
You can get water at checkpoints and other spots. study previous tracks and you will glean many of them. I have never carried more than 6 liters for drinking with hammer fizz added for electrolytes. Tons of opportunity from start to CP1. Your longest stretch of no anything is CP2 to CP3. By then you will know your needs based on conditions.Hammer perpetuem is my daily food, mountain house freeze dried for dinner (beef stroganoff 2.5 serving)
Add happy foods like corn chips, dehydrated mango / bananas/ protein bars etcDon't forget a mini bottle of your favorite poison for each time you are going to sleep. Takes the edge off a long day and improves your outlook if a shitty day. Some years you are the windshield others you are the bug.
Posted 2 weeks ago # -
TinyTanks
MemberUroy,
Congrats on taking up the challenge. Last year was my first and I will tackle it again this year on a different craft. I will leave it up to you concerning how much water and food you need but would offer a couple points. You can refill water at all 3 check points. Therefore think in terms of how much do I need to get to the next and then take some extra. This also applies to food in a way. I was fortunate to get a hotdog at checkpoint one thanks to the tribe. I wouldn't count on that BUT I think it occurs annually. Additionally it is tradition in some circles to eat in Choko and I had a delicious Cuban. There is also food available in Flamingo and I had the legendary microwave cheeseburger. Thus you have 3 meals taken care of. Furthermore I guess you could resupply if you like. I hope this helps.
TinyTanks
Posted 2 weeks ago # -
Saputka
MemberUroy... This is my first EC, but I did serve 22 years in the USMC and spent the better part of my life "in the field", so to speak. I concur with the above comments, but would also offer that a poorly thought out hydration and nutrition plan could possibly be devasting to morale. I'm not advocating gourmet meals 3 times a day by any measure, but you do need to feed and hydrate if at all possible. There is trade-off -- more supplies means more weight -- but you could find your morale sabotaged above all else if your energy is zapped. As the saying goes, "Fatigue makes cowards of us all", but one of the best ways to fight that fatigue is a good hydration and nutition plan. So, absolutely "yes", you will have ample opportunities to resupply on food and water along the way, but I would recommend balancing that with feeding and hydrating your body along the way when on the water... Semper Fi... Saputka
Posted 2 weeks ago # -
Hi Uroy,
A rule of thumb for food quantity in backpacking is 2lb per person per day of dry food. Lauren and I have carried that much food, and always have some left at the end. We carry 10L dromedary bags for water. We have an additional one that we carry between CP2 and 3, we take the gator tooth route. Running out of water in the Everglades is bad. Even in populated areas, one can waste a lot of time wandering around looking for water, and bystanders are less helpful than you might think. We use Spiz for a nutrition and rehydration shake. We use freeze dried meals for dinner and various snacks for on the water.
WM
Posted 2 weeks ago # -
Bermudaboy
MemberA photo and video of two meals that we did not need to pack for 2016.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/f9nKiBbhnyf3d2dD9
Next a meal we let go free in 2019: https://youtu.be/IxuhgUT_XSY
This is what were going to eat in 2020 if there is n the wind takes a break after Choko....
Posted 2 weeks ago # -
WindTern
MemberMost people try to make it to check point 1 on the first day, so I buy a full sub sandwich from Publix (or your favorite sub sandwich shop) and eat half for lunch and the other half for dinner. If you decide to do this, do not have them add tomato's or any other juicey veggie that will make your sandwich soggy. For other meals, I either use Knor Rice Sides or Idahoan instant potatoes, then add chicken, tuna or salmon that you can purchase in the foil packages. What I like the best about the instant potatoes is it only takes one minute to fix, add chicken and your ready to eat.
As for water, the Circumnavigate Florida site will give yu the waypoints for food, water and bathrooms.
Posted 2 weeks ago #
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