Food and Gear Update

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Tuesday Afternoon

It's been 39 days since I dehydrated some Chicken Teriyaki with Rice and Vegetables.  Having never dehydrated chicken before--and working in the hospitality industry where food safety paranoia governs your every move--I made up seven and a half portions, Zip-Locked them all up, put seven in the freezer and left the half portion in a cupboard.  
I've read that cooked/dehydrated proteins may go bad after about a month if not refrigerated or kept in a freezer if the meat wasn't properly dried or--also bad--they may go rancid if there is too much fat left in it. 
My Colorado Trail hike will, I hope, last a maximum of 39 days, and I wanted to test one of these dehydrated meals at it's maximum oldness so I just boiled it back to life and ate it for lunch.  It's probably a smart thing to do a couple of hours before I head in to work...eating food that may or may not have gone bad.
So I'll let you know tomorrow and/or tonight how I feel.

Food dehydrated so far:
  • Chicken Teriyaki with Rice and Vegetables
  • Beef Strogonoff with Egg Noodles (and home-deydrated sour cream to finish it at camp) 
  • Fusilli Bolognese
  • Potato-Lentil Stew
  • Apple Leather
  • Strawberry-Banana Leather
Still to be dehydrated:
  • Beef Jerky
  • Two more entrees (choosing from Bhaingan Bharta with Rice, Chile con Carne, and Burritos (which I will rehydrate and pile on tortillas))
Then I'll just need to gather snacks, lunches and breakfast.

Maybe I'll take some Pepto pills with me to work today, just in case.

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One gear change to mention:
I am concerned that my MontBell 30 degree sleeping bag will be insufficient for the colder nights at higher elevations, even while sleeping in full clothing, so I ordered a Z-Packs 20 degree sleeping bag which seems to be universally loved by the hiking world.  It's warmer and also about five or six ounces lighter. 
Since Lola will definitely be joining me for the first week at the lower elevations, she can use the Z-Packs bag to keep her extra toasty at night and I will use the MontBell since I sleep warmer.  When she heads back to Denver I will continue on with the Z-Packs bag and send the MontBell home.  This is going to work well also because her current bag, an early 2000s model North Face Cat's Meow, is a very warm but heavy and bulky synthetic beast that we can barely fit into her backpack.  Now she'll be carrying something light and very compactable.

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Ten hours later my gastro-intestinal tract is still feeling spiffy.  We are a Go for chicken teriyaki.

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