[pct-l] Cramming a BV450 - YMWV

[Postholer]

> Last summer when getting a permit from the ranger station just south
> of Lone Pine, the lady ranger said that she and her colleagues had
> stuffed nine days worth of food in the BV450.

9 food days to a ranger is definitely not 9 food days for a thru-hiker. The 
fern feelers are on an unrealistic bender to get everyone to use bear 
canisters, so a little embellishment goes a long way in promoting the 
'cause'.

Let's look at it. Does anyone know of a higher calorie/volume 'food' than 
canola oil? It's roughly 30,000 calories per gallon. That's what I'll use 
for this example.

A BV450 is slightly less than 2 gallons. If you were to fill it with canola 
oil, you'd have less than 60,000 calories at your disposal. Divide that by 
10 days and you get:

~6,000 calories a day. Great! That's the upper end calorie requirement for 
most thru-hikers. The oil maximizes the use of space in the canister and 
it's calorie dense.

With that absurd example behind us, anyone care to offer a realistic food 
example resulting in 60% of that calorie density?

Another question. Has anyone ever carried a canister for a 9 day/200+ mile 
stretch with *all* their food in it? You either carried it in 2 canisters or 
left a substantial portion out of the canister.

We would *love* to hear what past hikers did. Personally, I already know the 
answer.
-postholer


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