Australian Alps Walking Track - our HIking menu

So I've been weighing up in my mind a dilemma of sorts, "What can I eat that is lightweight, tasty enough to keep me satisfied for 36-39 days and provide me with sufficient energy to achieve my daily targets."
And of course it has to not go off whilst buried in the ground for possibly up to 8 weeks! (we will be digging them in about 2 weeks prior to our departure)

October last year Tim and I dug a sample into the ground up Mt Dandenong at a friends house of some of the staple items we knew we were bringing to see how they went and after 6 weeks in the ground I pulled them out and ate them all with a quiet confidence I wasn't going to get sick.  We added to the list since then but again with proper food preparation and vacuum sealing everything, we will be safe and well fed.

above photo is still missing 17 dinners and is for 1 person only

Breakfast 

I've read on a number of blogs of guys who have gone out in the bush with their favourite meals only to find that in the changed environment they cannot stand to look at the foods more less eat them, yet due to their location in the scrub and unable to just jump out and buy something else they had to shovel it down begrudgingly.  I experienced this 2 years back with packaged Oatmeal, that being said once a week I expect to wake up to cold and rainy conditions so I am none the less bringing 1 oatmeal breakfast per week.  The other 6 days a week i will be having either Honey or Berry "Light & Tasty" breakfast cereal (75g) and to keep my pack weight down I am just eating it with water ( no milk or powdered milk) I have actually been eating this for 8 weeks now every morning and to be honest I really see no need for milk on my cereal ever again.  The cereal taste isn't masked by the milk taste, my guts can digest the water easily and it doesn't cost me and the shops.

Energy created to start the day   In 2 oatmeal sachets (80grams) = 1280 kJ
Light & Tasty average (75g)    =  1155 kJ

Morning snack/Afternoon snacks

Again we are looking at variety as well as energy at a weight and a taste that will satisfy.
We will be rotating our menu daily between Energy bars, Dehydrated fruit and Trail mix for mid morning and mid afternoon snacks.
I have not calculated the energy values of the dehydrated fruit or trail mix but can testify to their benefits based purely on experience.







Pineapple, Banana, Granny Smith Apples and Pears have been lemon treated, dehydrated and vacuum sealed into 80 grams snack packs for convenience and hygiene.











Almonds, Pine nuts, Unsalted Peanuts, M&M's and cashew have also been vacuum sealed into 150g snack packs.


               

I have sampled a number of different energy bars and in the end have bought some of most of them and a couple standard grocery store bars to add variety to the menu.  All are high energy out put some slow release so fast release.  I can gage on the day what I want and it could definitely mean the difference between and enjoyable day or a miserable one.






Lunch

As far as hiking lunches go we have gone with the pretty standard stuff.  German Garlic Mettwurst (60grams), old faithful Parmigiano Reggiano (50grams) and Vita-Wheat Crackers (23grams)

Energy values;                    Mettwurst 60 grams = 843kJ
                         Parmigiano Reggiano 50 grams = 820kJ
                         4 Vita-wheat crackers 23.2 g     = 378kJ


                 


Afternoon hydration






Every other day we will also have a Powerade sachet to keep our electrolytes up









Dinner

We have tried some different things out over the last couple years since getting my dehydrator, the basis of my dinner meals is now to keep it easy.  1) meat 2) vegetables and 3) a staple to hold it all together.

We are rotating between Chicken and Tuna, mixing it in with a variety of vegetables (either cauliflower & Broccoli with Carrots or just corn and carrots) and for a third option 2 different spaghetti bolognese sauces.

We have taken all of the above and first individually cooked each item, veggies and spaghetti.  We have then blitzed each item in the Thermomix to make it either a paste or a powder.  Canned chicken or Tuna once blitzed becomes a powder.  These items are then weighed and vacuum sealed into a combined sachets for each dinner.  See below as an example of the canned chicken stages.

Canned chicken is best!

Blender into a paste

Spread evenly on dehydrator tray

Dehydrated

Blitz into chicken powder

Add to Veggie and Quinoa and seal it up

So as mentioned in the above photo our staple for each of these meals will be Quinoa, a protein - I wanted to mix up the rice content(carb).  I'm no health or well being guru but the basics of having a protein with Carbohydrate (in my mind) is that the protein will repair my body wwhile the carbs will energise it.


Desert

At every food drop we will be picking up some sweet supplies that are neither lightweight, healthy or compact.  Blocks of chocolate, a can of soda and bag of lollies are all on the menu.  We will also have every other night a hot chocolate to see out another glorious day in the wilderness.  Throw in a multi-vitamin every morning to make sure we have a balance vitamin and mineral intake and we set.

All these items will be organised and sealed up into our food drops.  Each food drop will have 6 - 7 days of food and supplies.  Our daily total food weigh varies depending on which snacks we have that day and whether we have hot chocolate at night but we will have between 3621grams and 4214 grams plus a chocolate block here or there per drop/week.

Hyperthermia or Hypothermia

One of the truly difficult things to plan for with the adventure is the weather.  Traditionally in November I'd have T-shirt & shorts on but while on the trail through the high plains of Australia you are really in an environment where anything goes.  Mid summer may have extreme heat for a week then the next week could be snow every morning.

Technically we need to know the difference between these to illnesses and know how to treat each.  Being aware of how our bodies are feeling day in and day out will be a crucial element to making this a fun 7 successful journey.

Hyperthermia

If heat gain exceeds the ability of the body to lost heat, then body temperature increases above normal levels, a condition called hyperthermia. Hyperthermia can result from exposure to hot environments, exercise, fever, and anesthesia.

Exposure to a hot environment normally results in the activation of heat loss mechanisms, and body temperature is maintained at normal levels. This is an excellent example of a negative-feedback mechanism. However, prolonged exposure to a hot environment can result in heat exhaustion. The normal negative-feedback mechanisms for controlling body temperature are operating, but they are unable to maintain a normal body temperature. Heavy sweating results in dehydration, decreased blood volume, decreased blood pressure, and increased heart rate.

Individuals suffering from heat exhaustion have a wet, cool skin because of the heavy sweating. They usually feel weak, dizzy, and nauseated. Treatment includes reducing heat gain by moving to a cooler environment, reducing heat production by muscles by ceasing activity, and restoring blood volume by drinking fluids.

Heat stroke is a breakdown of the normal negative-feedback mechanisms of temperature regulation. If the temperature of the hypothalamus becomes too high, it no longer functions appropriately. Sweating stops, and the skin becomes dry and flushed. The person becomes confused, irritable, or even comatose. In addition to the treatment for heat exhaustion, heat loss from the skin should be increased. This can be accomplished by increasing evaporation from the skin by applying wet cloths or by increasing conductive heat loss by immersing the person in a cool bath.

Exercise increases body temperature because of the heat produced as a by-product of muscle activity. Normally vasodilation and increased sweating prevent body temperature increases that are harmful. In a hot, humid environment the evaporation of sweat is decreased, and exercise levels have to be reduced to prevent overheating.

Fever is the development of a higher-than-normal body temperature following the invasion of the body by microorganisms or foreign substances. Lymphocytes, neutrophils, and macrophages release chemicals called pyrogens (pi'ro-jenz) that raise the temperature set point of the hypothalamus. Consequently body temperature and metabolic rate increase. Fever is believed to be beneficial because it speeds up the chemical reactions of the immune system and inhibits the growth of some microorganisms. Although beneficial, body temperatures greater than 41 degrees C (106 degree F) can be harmful. Aspirin lowers body temperature by affecting the hypothalamus, resulting in dilation of skin blood vessels and sweating.

Malignant hyperthermia is an inherited muscle disorder. Drugs used to induce general anesthesia for surgery cause sustained, uncoordinated muscle contractions in some individuals. Consequently body temperature increases.

Therapeutic hyperthermia is an induced local or general body increase in temperature. It is a treatment sometimes used on tumors and infections.

Hypothermia

If heat loss exceeds the ability of the body to produce the heat, body temperature decreases below normal levels. Hypothermia is a decrease in body temperature to 35 degrees C (95 Degree F) or below. Hypothermia usually results from prolonged exposure to cold environments. At first, normal negative-feedback mechanisms maintain body temperature. Heat loss is decreased by constricting blood vessels in the skin, and heat production is increased by shivering. If body temperature decreases despite these mechanisms, hypothermia develops. The individual's thinking becomes sluggish, and movements are uncoordinated. heart, respiratory, and metabolic rates decline, and death results unless body temperature is restored to normal. Rewarming should occur at a rate of a few degrees per hour.

Frostbite is damage to the skin and deeper tissues resulting from prolonged exposure to the cold. Damage results from cold injury to cells, injury from ice crystal formation, and reduced blood flow to affected tissues. The fingers, toes, ears, nose, and cheeks are most commonly affected. Damage from frostbite can range from redness and discomfort to loss of the affected part. The best treatment is immersion in a warm water bath. Rubbing the affected area and local dry heat should be avoided.

Therapeutic hypothermia is sometimes used to slow metabolic rate during surgical procedures such as heart surgery. Because metabolic rate is decreased, tissues do not require as much oxygen as normal and are less likely to be damaged.

Fire Track - Mount Corhanwarrabul

Every couple weekends we will be heading out to the Dandenong Mountains for some intense training.  Although we will not be racing or trying to achieve any great time when Tim Marsden & I are on the Australian Alps Walking Track, it is good to know that our bodies will be ready to dig in for some big efforts on parts of the hike.

As part of the preparation we will be racing up this 1 km track which is about 500 meter direct assent from start to finish.  It burns the legs and puts pressure on the lower back so I know I am shocking the muscles into action.  I expect that doing these intense training sessions now will mean I will be able to enjoy the journey from Walhalla to Canberra instead of puffing and panting all the way there.

Oh yeah, we taped this weekends training.  A little fun.

This was our second session and we had much better results this time around.  Cut 4 minutes off our first effort.

If anyone would like to join us at 7am Saturday mornings please either add a comment on the blog comment page below or reply on Facebook.  We will keep you updated on when we will be heading out next.

Big shout out to Steve Walsh for putting the video together.

Keeping in mind that the original inspiration for the end to end hike of the Australian Alps Walking Track is to raise awareness for "Beyond Blue" the national depression initiative, we all wore the blue wrist bands that Beyond blue has sent to oz4adventure as an unofficial sponsor.  As I may injure myself on the hike I am not able to receive full sponsorship from them.

Beyond Blue is a wonderful resource for anyone who suffers or knows someone who suffers from depression and/or anxiety.  Depression and/or anxiety will effect us all through out our lives in one way or another, whether it be our own mental health or the mental health of someone we know.  What I have found since speaking to people about the Hike & Beyond Blue is that it effects people around me who I would not have know had struggles if I had not been discussing depression with them.  I'd like to thank everyone from Sunday who showed their support by wearing the "Blue" wristbands.

Take the time this week to ask someone how they are going, take the time to look out for each other and lets take some time in the outdoors.  Fresh air and physical exercise can really stimulate your mind and help fight the anxious or depressing feelings that may be holding you back from happiness.

Anyone who is able or interested in making a donation to Beyond Blue can do so at their website

https://www.givenow.com.au/beyondblue

Day 4 - Mt Skene then Hitch hiked to Jamieson

So the final instalment of our 4 day adventure was going to be less eventful than the 3 days already travelled.  Wake up, climb from Rumpff Saddle along the Barkly Jeep Track to the Jamieson-Licola Rd and just keep walking till about 3pm when our ride come past.

Tim & I were both keen to get started in the morning for a couple reasons.  We had eaten 3.5 days worth of food so our packs were a couple kilo lighter than when we started, so that was pretty exciting.  We were going to see our wives and kids, so that was also very exciting.

We set out about 8am with a real energy to see the end of the trail.  We started our day with a 400m ascent out of Rumpff Saddle, over 2-3 km or so.  We didn't really mind it, we knew it was the only challenge for the day so we got stuck into it.  From Rumpff Saddle to Mt Skene is a wonderful summit of Ghost gum swept hill sides.  As we near the the Jamieson-Licola Road we can hear a car coming up the track.

We meet Bernie, Warwick and Dave who have been hiking together for 30 years and are coming back to do the final stages of the AAWT from Rumpff Saddle to Walhalla.  They had done the balance a couple years ago but fell short of Walhalla on their end to end attempt so have come back to finish the job.

They have been hiking through this area for years mind you and had done these sections previously.  When we spoke of our ordeal from yesterday, of black river and the 7hrs of bush bashing, Bernie's comment was that it was the hardest section of track he had done in his 30 years on the trails.

In hind sight this made both Tim & I feel good.  It reassured us that as a Team we could take on the AAWT end to end, and enjoy it.  As we left & the guys drove off, Bernie stopped and yelled out that he had a pecan danish .... with 20 kilos on my back I still broke the Olympic 100m dash record getting that danish out of his hands before he finished his sentence.  Ahhh, fresh food.

The next 5 hours are walked along the gravel road.  We had 2 or 3 vehicles go past us in the opposite direction.... oh how we were hoping someone would be coming our way.  We walked past a hunter that had about 6 hounds in the back of his truck, and a nice buck on his roof.  He was waiting for his last dog to come home.  He was parked there as his dog was trained to return to the stop he left the car.  We then had 3 dirt bikes pass us.  How our hearts raced when we heard then, hoping they were cars but as they came around the corners we were disappointed.  There were 2 topics that had Tim & I walking at about 5km per hour (up from about 3km previously), TGIF restaurant and our wives and kids.  About 1 hour into this combined conversation we got the map out and Tim noticed we had knocked off some major kilometers.

Finally at 2pm, 3 four wheel drives drove past.  The first 2 went on past but the last vehicle stopped.  New Zealand John drove us down to Jamieson and let us off at the Brewery bridge.  If was nice to get out of the direct sun and the look of the Thompson River was too good to pass up.

Shortly after having a pie from the local milk bar, Kaziah came past and gave us stinky fellas a ride home..... she was lucky she didn't smell us before the river dip!

Hiking Hygiene

So lets make a quick list of everything you use at home to keep yourself squeaky clean and looking/smelling good and hygienic.

  

Some of us do not require a brush or comb by default!

• Shampoo/conditioners
• Face wash
• Moisturiser
• Toothpaste
• Floss
• Mouthwash
• Shaver
• Shaving cream
• Body wash/soap
• Antiperspirant/deodorant 
• Hand wash/sanitizer 
• Toenail clippers
• Hand Nail clippers
• Emery board 
• Nose hair trimmer/ tweezers
• Flannel for washing
• Toilet paper 
• Q tips/ ear buds
• Brush/ combs
• Hair dryers/ curler
• Cologne/ perfume

So lets get real about what that would weigh.  Even if you used your shampoo as a body wash, face wash, moisturiser, shaving cream, hand wash/sanitizer you are still carrying some real weight!

When Tim & I head out for our 40 days in the Australian Alps we want to be carrying around 42kilos combined so we need to be really mindful of how much pack weight we are willing to allocate to hygiene.

We are hoping to have a river bath every couple of days when the opportunity presents itself but to be honest we are going to smell.  We will have one change of clothes for each weather type ( hot or cold) so even if we are smelling like fresh mountain water from the river, our clothes are going to be putrid.  After the first week Tim & I won't probably be able to smell ourselves anymore, the only way we will really know how bad we smell is by the speed in which all manner of living creature tried to flee our presents in the bush.

Lets cross off the easy to eliminate from the above list....remembering I have no hair & Tim will be getting a good trim before leaving.  Lets remove shampoo/conditioner, face wash, moisturiser, mouthwash, shaver and shaving cream, toe and hand nail clippers, emery board, nose hair trimmers, Q tips, brush/comb, hair dryer or curler and cologne.  Those were easy, no real sacrifices made..... but now we start having to think a little deeper.

Flannel is light weight and can be stuffed into almost any air gap in the pack but surely using my hand to scrub up in the river will do, Okay lets drop the flannel.

Floss is small, light weight and crucial to keeping my dentist happy..... but based on the idea that we will have 1 rest day on day 11 our wives and kids, we will let them bring the hygienic extras and forgo good dental hygiene on the trail.

Antiperspirant/deodorant is not small but it is light, it may make that first 20 minutes of every morning bearable..... but of course the lovely fragrance emitted by these products will disappear 20 minutes down the trail so it really isn't going to effect our overall sanity...... its out!

Lets move onto the keepers then.  Toothpaste & toothbrush and body wash/soap, have both made the final 4 with very little surprises there but lets talk about the hand sanitizer.... necessary?  A small bottle is going to be one of my luxury inclusions in my pack.  I have read a number of article from various sources who have been through these areas and some have found the water made them sick, some found that if they drank the water after washing their hands the water was fine.... expecting the individuals got sick from the germs on their hands not the water source.  Its a easy insurance policy I think.  Nothing will be more shattering then getting into the trip and having to pull out and go home due to illness.

So item number 4 on my list of hygiene must brings...... of course toilet paper.  I am not as hard core as the guys in the below video clip!  I do however believe I will use some of their tips to reduce the amount of paper I will bring.

I will not be scrapping my ass with a rock, or bark, or a fern.  We are roughing it but some things I am happy to add pack weight for.  A small travel pack of inter-folding toilet paper will not break my back.  That being said I am converted to the outdoor baday, great idea and highly hygienic.

I'll be interested in everyones comments of further hygiene tips while on the trail, so please make comments in the field provided below.

Day 3 - BASHED & LOST

We start the day retracing our steps from the error we made the night before, (see article Day 2 - Hills, Views and an Alpine Tiger Snake)  After crossing Black River we started our 2.8km bush bash northward  to a point in dense brush where we are meant to find a cairn which will indicate for us to change to a northeast direction for another 2.8km of bush bashing across a saddle and then up Mt Shillinglaw, Chapman's book says to expect 3-5 hours of bush bashing.

After 3 hours we were frustrated but happy to see a burnt out marker on a tree as well as a couple other signs that other groups had seen this mess we were in as well.  Above the words What Trak were some other descriptive words which I won't relay.

We knew the cairn we were looking for as a direction changer was at the summit of the ridge we were following and my Suunto watch came in handy with constant elevation checks but after another 2 hours we could tell we still had a some elevation to climb and we were desperate to see any new signs of track confirmation.  None came.

We had a bearings some what as we could see Mt Shillinglaw from time to time when the scrub cleared and could also see a logging trail which we believed met up with the Jamieson-licola Rd we expected to be at by now!

Things were not working right for about an hour now, Tim & I took off our packs and got out all the assets we brought with us.  Map, compass, GPS and a couple of prayers!  We had something to eat and drink and assessed that we had now indeed passed our turn off and return in the direction we came from.  Within 10 metres of turning around Tim notices a white drink bottle on the ground, it was mine from when we had walked through there 10 minutes ago!  The forest was not only interrupting our progress it was stealing from me too........

It had been about 20 minutes of bashing when when Tim almost said "lets have another look at the maps" when I yelled out those marvellous words which would dominate our afternoon for the next 2 hours.  PINK PAINT!

Look closely, wasn't easy to spot on the day either

Thank you to whoever had done the trail and marked the scrub with pink paint.  We were like fat kids in the candy shop!  There was laughter and dancing, I think Tim & I almost hugged at one point!  We had the trail....... but 10 metres later....... where did it go.  Tim & I would split up and walk about 15 metres and one of us would yell out "Pink Paint" the other would then bush bash back to the trail and start the process again.  The below images shows how dense the scrub is, top photo of my back from about 3 metres in front of Tim.  I took a small step, 300mm step and this is the result in the picture below, gone!

4:30pm we had made it out of the scrub having left at about 9am from Black river camping ground to McMillan track a massive distance of....... 5km!  This is 1 of 3 sections with this difficulty on the whole Australian Alps Walking Track.  We were happy to see the McMillan marks but we were down to about 500ml of water each and were about 8km from a reliable water source ( as shown on the map) we decided to make it a long day and get to Rumpff saddle as quick as we could, picking up water on the Barkly Jeep Track so we could avoid headaches from dehydration.

When we saw the water some 3 km's down the road, it made it worth the effort.  Fresh, cold, mountain fresh flowing water.  Although we had been filtering the water over the past couple days we didn't even bother with this spot.  The whole time we were filling up and downing some fresh stuff right off the rocks I was thinking of my father.  Along the Appalachian Trail Dad & his brothers used to swoon over the natural water springs pouring out of the mountain face.  Its Dad's favourite brew, ice cold mountain water.  This photo is for you Dad.....soak in that image!

Well 8pm we set up camp after skipping like school girls from the water source to Rumpff saddle.  Tents, then food.  We had rehydrated pasta and veggies and Tim had brought some bags of Tuna to add to the mix...... wow... what a feed.  The perfect meal to reward our days work.  We washed up and hit the tents about 9:30pm.  A belly full of food, well hydrated and the knowledge of knowing we just tackled one of the more difficult sections of the AAWT and conquered.  We slept well.




.