Table for One by Eva

Resupply Station at the Mauch Home

The most important part of my job as base camp manager has been the packing and mailing of Loren's resupply boxes. Butter Fingers can carry no more than 7 days of food at one time. So you can imagine that 2,650 miles means lots of resupply boxes. Before Butter Fingers left, he prepacked all his non-food items including batteries, toilet paper, fuel canisters, cash, vitamins and trail section maps. He threw in a few food items but it has been my job to make sure he has what he needs to make it from one resupply box to the next without having to stop at a store to resupply. Many of you have been curious about what he eats. Here is my guide for packing each box...
Breakfast can be the following: 1. Two oatmeal packets with a zip lock baggie of raisins, almond slivers and an individually wrapped danish, 2. Pop Tarts with peanut butter and home made fruit leather, 3. Granola with powdered whole milk and a zip lock baggie of almond slivers, or 4. a giant individually wrapped cinnamon roll sold at Walgreens. Each breakfast also includes a package of hot chocolate mix.
Lunch can be the following: 1. Foil wrapped tuna packet with small packets of mayo, relish, mustard, a package of crackers and cheese and a cutie pie, 2. A Beef Stick with 2 cheddar cheese sticks and a packet of crackers and peanut butter, or 3. Granola Bars or two packages of crackers with peanut butter.
Dinner can be the following: 1. Freeze dried backpackers meals with a variety cracker mix or pretzels, 2. Stove Top Stuffing package with small zip lock of freeze dried chicken or sausage, and dehydrated veggies (peas, carrots, onions, peppers or any combo), or 3. Top Ramen package with a zip lock baggies of sausage, dehydrated veggies and peanuts. No matter what the dinner meal, all include a package of cookies or a brownie and a candy bar, then gummy worms or gummy orange slices to wash it all down. 
Snacks: In order for Butter Fingers to get enough calories he has to eat between meals. For each hiking day I pack him four of the following- crackers & cheese or peanut butter packets, chocolate bars/m&m's etc, cookies/brownies and a 1/2 cup of trail mix. As Butter Fingers has never liked water, I also send him Crystal Light packets with caffeine to add to his water bottles. 

We haven't had much luck taking food packaged in large portions and sending it in smaller portions. The large packages of pepperoni sticks from Costco molded before he could eat them as I had to open the package to put a couple in a zip lock. Because of this, I am always looking for pre-packaged single portions of items. The Walgreens cinnamon rolls for example were an exciting find. It might seem strange, but I have the most luck finding single serving, calorie dense foods near the check out stands of mini-marts and pharmacies.