Food, Glorious Food

It's about that time. Food shopping time, that is.

This week is my spring break and I came home to work on the resupply boxes and food prep. Of all the things about PCT planning that worry me the most, food is number one.

There are so many factors that influence resupply prep. "Where are we sending our boxes? USPS or UPS? How much food should be in each box? When are we going to mail drop and when are we going to buy in town? What if I end up hating Snickers Bars??" The list of questions goes on and on.

Shelly and I started readying ourselves for the food planning process months ago. We spent long hours on Skype pouring over notes and Excel sheets in order to decide where we would mail and buy food. We originally set our sights on 24 mail drops (12 per person). Recently, we shaved that number down to about 20 mail drops which means less stress on ourselves and our wallets. After deciding where we were sending food we then turned to what we were going to eat. This is the part where it is very helpful to have a PCT veteran in your Skype contacts. Lizzy Corliss aka Laugh Track (who is hiking the AT right now) has been my PCT planning mentor since the beginning. If there is anyone you want on your support crew its Lizzy. That girl is oozing positivity and good vibes. She always has a smile on her face and she always is on the verge of laughter (hence her trail name Laugh Track). She has life figured out, that's for sure. I spent hours talking with Lizzy about food and finally I came up with a comprehensive list.

Next came the actual food shopping. I'll be honest, I don't like shopping unless it involves ski gear so I was not too excited about this part. So its no surprise that I just happened to grab a drink with a friend right before I did my Costco run (liquid courage for the win). My parents came with me to Costco to speed up the process. They watched as I dropped $315 on instant oatmeal, Snickers, granola, dried fruit, jerky, peanut butter pretzels, and more delicious bulk items. That trip was a no-nonsense, get-in-get-out Costco run - my kind of shopping.

Now I am dividing up food into boxes. This is the hardest part for me. I've never been good with estimating quantities and its no different with food rations. I don't know how much food to put in each box, heck I don't even know what I'm having for lunch today. Every time I go to put something in a flat rate box a little voice in my head asks "Is that enough? Do you want to starve?" What? No, I don't want to starve. But I don't want to break my back carrying 10 extra Almond Joys... And just like that I'm back on the struggle bus.

It is, however, getting easier. I'm pleased with the food I have picked out. I'm starting to get the hang of food distribution. My mom has also been very supportive throughout this process and I think that is helping keep my stress levels down. But mostly I'm coming to realize that whatever happens, happens. Shelly and I are PCT newbies and we are going to make mistakes. But that doesn't mean I should lose confidence in my planning abilities. I just need to do my best and hike my own hike.

-Emily