any raw vegan backpackers out there?

March 5, 2003

Just curious - I've backpacked for four or five days at a time as a

raw vegan - wondering if there were any others of my " ilk " out there!

It's kinda nice to NOT have to lug around a stove, pots and fuel, to

not have to concern yourself with dropping fuel on the ground, to not

have to concern yourself with setting the woods ablaze.

The downside that I've found is that in the winter I still need to

carry the stove to melt snow for water - and it can be really tempting

while doing so to brew something warm to drink - which kinda sorta

goes against the " raw " part of being a raw vegan. Generally I'll just

convince myself that the warm water is satisfying or drop some dried

fruit into the warm water, rehydrate the fruit and drink the warm

water ...

Anyway - just wondering if I was alone in the world ...

Cheers

Steve

March 5, 2003

Wow, that is really cool. I don't know if there are

any others on this list that do your sort of traveling

but I must say I find it interesting. Have you thought

about writing a book?

Do tell us more about it and forgive my many questions.

What sort of items do you pack food-wise? Where have

you gone camping in the winter? I think I would be a bit

more concerned about drinking snow melt, but I suppose

if you boil it enough it would be safe. Do you ever come

across others like you on your trips? What got you started

or gave you the idea to do this?

I have many more questions, but I will spare you for now.

~ PT ~

We meet at very short intervals, not having had time to

acquire any new value for each other.Ê We meet at meals

three times a day, and give each other a new taste of

that old musty cheese that we are.

~ Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~~~~~~>

, " Steve " <anagram_412>

wrote:

> Just curious - I've backpacked for four or five days at a time as a

> raw vegan - wondering if there were any others of my " ilk " out

there!

> It's kinda nice to NOT have to lug around a stove, pots and fuel, to

> not have to concern yourself with dropping fuel on the ground, to

not

> have to concern yourself with setting the woods ablaze.

> The downside that I've found is that in the winter I still need to

> carry the stove to melt snow for water - and it can be really

tempting

> while doing so to brew something warm to drink - which kinda sorta

> goes against the " raw " part of being a raw vegan. Generally I'll

just

> convince myself that the warm water is satisfying or drop some dried

> fruit into the warm water, rehydrate the fruit and drink the warm

> water ...

> Anyway - just wondering if I was alone in the world ...

>

> Cheers

>

> Steve

March 5, 2003

Hi PT

No problem with the questions. I started backpacking like most people,

lugging more stuff for five days in the woods than they would normally

use in a year at home. I started eating just vegetarian foods when I

was bicycle racing - found that it gave me more energy than the more

" normal " diets. As I continued to backpack, I started leaving things

home more and more. Then it struck me that the raw food thing was

really easy for day to day. Now, I'll admit that I do cheat once in

a while - every so often you just get a craving for, say, grits - and

uncooked they're just not satisfying!

Anyhow - I tried heading out in the summer with a just some fresh

fruits (for the first couple days) and veggies plus some dried fruits

and veggies - tried to balance the diet with cereals, grains, nuts

and other food sources, and left the stove behind. The pilot trips

worked out just great -

As for specifics - I just make up a list as I'm getting ready for

the trip - I TRY to carry as much fresh stuff as possible for the

first couple days on a multi-day trip and resort to dried foods

later on. Nuts are always great.

Now - the food is a bit bulkier than if you're cooking and carrying

freezedried pre-prepared stuff - however - once you remove the stove

and other stuff your pack becomes a lot lighter. Add to that the

higher energy levels that you can maintain by just snacking on nuts

rasins and fruit slices or chips through the day rather than by

having formal " meals " where your blood sugar levels are being depleted

and replenished rather than being maintained and it turns out that

you can cover more ground with less strain in the course of a day.

My winter camping has been limited to the Eastern USA - I've not

headed into true " high " country in winter - and to be honest - keeping

the calories of a diet high enough to fuel you in winter when you're

camping or backpacking can be tough on a vegetarian diet.

Water - ahh water - I've never worried about snow melt to be quite

frank with you - even unboiled - now - maybe I'm just a fool with

an iron constitution (that's possible, at least the fool part!) but

I've not had problems. I do filter my spring water when I'm hiking

due to giardias (spelling anyone?) - there's nothing like a case

of " loose bowel " when you're in the woods.

I've never come across other raw vegans in the woods - most people

read BACKPACKER or OUTSIDE magazine, get the equipment lists and

assume that to live in the woods you NEED to have the stove, tent

and other $5000 dollars worth of " stuff " on their backs.

I did read an article by a guy (Ray Jardine) who is a raw backpacker

and I think he has a website (search on the name) - Ray invented

" friends " which are really nice bits of tech for free/clean rock

climbing.

A couple of caveats - first - if you're going to try this ALWAYS

hang your food in a bag between a couple trees - unlike freezedried

backpacking food - this stuff smells good from the start and will

attract animals - I know from personal experience that three days

of hiking without food AFTER a bear decides to eat your lunch is

an experience that you do not forget. Also - be sure that your

body is adapted to raw vegan WELL before heading into the woods

unless you're gonna tote a " port-o-let " around behind ya - there

are certain changes the body goes through for the first week or

so of a raw diet that may be, um, inconvenient, in the woods.

If you think about it logically though - especially on spring

or summer trips - the less you have to pack the less you end up

carrying - the lower your daily caloric requirements - which

means you don't need to eat as much - which means you don't need

to carry as much OR you can stay out longer with the same pack

weight (which drops daily, as you consume the food) - it's a

win/win situation.

here's the link to Jardines page http://www.rayjardine.com/index.shtml

And before you head out - PLEASE visit the leave no trace site at

http://www.lnt.org/ and make sure the only evidence of your passing

is footprints!