Food and water for the Coast to Coast Walk

The first two days of the Coast to Coast Walk (C2C) is gonna involve a distance of 60miles. Some distance eh? I’m not looking forward to it in all honesty. But alas it’s how I’ve planned my route and there are reasons for this – more of which in a future post.

So, to keep me going food and water are of course something I’ve had to seriously put some thought into. One has to consider food as fuel for energy and moreover for repair and replenishment.

But food can be bulky and heavy and on this trip I shall be carrying all I need for the 9 days in my pack.

Inevitably, my daily rations of food are going to involve freeze-dried products. These being very light and all that is required is hot water to cook and re-hydrate in their pouches. Now, I’ve tried many brands over the years and have often found some meals wanting but there is one brand of late that I’ve come to love for the quality and taste of their meals. This would be Be-Well Foods.

They’re tasty, light and have reasonable nutritional value. And another important factor is they’re relatively cheap compared to other well-known brands.

A days ration pack weighs not more than 500g’s! This includes, breakfast, dinner and dessert plus an energy drink and more! In size they’re the equivalent of most Wayfarer pre-cooked meals. Perfect for this trip considering the weight and packaged size. They even come in a sealed bag which is handy for keeping rubbish. But the ration packs I’ve selected do require more in the way of calories. So, to top this up I shall be taking along with me some chocolate bars and dried banana fruit.

This should keep me fuelled, nourished and recovered. I’ve also purchased some recovery drink powder to up my protein intake for muscle repair.

Finally, we come to water. You only have to be a little dehydrated and soon enough you will feel the effects of poor sports performance. When walking this usually means a creeping sense of aching legs, fatigue and low morale.

Water is bulky and heavy.

I did think about just using a 1 ltr storage bottle and a Travel Tap to take in water on the go. But last weekend proved this to be impractical on many levels. The main one being I had to stop my walk to drink and on top of that the flow-rate on the Travel Tap is not great if you have the need to seriously drink a large amount rapidly  to quench your thirst.

The Travel Tap is a bit of kit I’m never without as it cleanses and makes safe water for consumption from any source. It not only filters out nasties but also chemicals and pesticides! And it leaves no taste in the treated water. Its a phenomenal product that is very cost effective and easy to use.

But when walking with a target and goal to meet on this C2C stopping and starting is not something I’ll want to do. Also, not being able to satisfy my thirst in seconds is not particularly encouraging psychologically. I’ll be too eager to get going.

So, to meet my needs I’ve purchased the Aquaguard Eliminator Inline Filter and Purifier. This handy gadget I can fix into a drinking tube strapped to my rucksack which in turn is attached to a hydration bladder within my pack.

This all meaning I can take in some considerable water on the move and it’ll be treated for safe consumption as I sup away. The only necessary stops would then be to get the bladder out and fill it with water from anywhere and then set off walking and drinking.

So thats food and water sorted along with a comfy bed for the night and shelter – this I hope this will all contirbute in keeping up my pace and energy levels on the C2C.

Afterall, I’ve set the challenge to be completed in 9 days!