The Forlorn Hope Expedition brings two diverse universes together: ultra-distance runners and historical pundits; the latter have been asking for more details about the Expedition itself. Here’s a look into the world of trail running and the kind of food we’ll use to fuel our bodies while trying to keep it light.
We will usually have a light running pack with our daily needs – extra clothes, first aid and safety equipment, hydration and food. We’ll meet our crew at night and re-provision and grab our camping gear (tents, stoves, sleeping bags, etc…) for the evening campout. When we enter the deep wilderness of the North Fork of the American River we will have full packs with all we need for 2 days. Those will weight closer to 35 lbs.
Breakfast will be a quick cup of coffee and then we’ll get moving to warm up. Once the temperature rises we’ll stop to cook oatmeal.
Lunch will be simple, pita bread with hummus mixed with peanut butter for protein and maybe a protein bar or veggie wrap.
When we arrive at camp, we’ll immediately heat up some broth to warm our bodies and gain sodium and needs calories. Then we’ll dig into soups or chili or even an MRE (Meals Ready to Eat) or two.
In-between we will each carry several snacks for ongoing refueling throughout the trek. This will include hydration supplement for electrolytes, various bars, chews, gels, snack mix and such for calories and a proper mix of electrolytes, carbohydrates, sugar and proteins.
We will burn approximately 400-500 calories per hour, or 4 to 5 thousand calories a day. It’s impossible to keep up and replenish all of those nutrients daily but our job is to eat between 3 to 4 thousand calories per day to assure we’ve the energy necessary to master the climbs, technical terrain, distance and altitude.
Dessert you say? Well unlike the Forlorn Hope who carried smoking tobacco as their after dinner treat, we’ll have along a treat that’s the triple threat, providing inner warmth, propensity to sing and dance and a sleep aid 🙂
