TGOC Food Logistics

We didn't get out for a walk over the weekend just gone. Having spent all day on Saturday at the Backpacker's Club Lightweight Fest we ran out of time to fit a walk in amongst all of the chores and errands we had to complete on Sunday - chores and errands which have been subjected to reduced timescales thanks to Mick needing to fit in a quick trip over to Las Vegas between now and the TGOC to attend his eldest son's wedding.

One of the top priorities for Sunday was to make sure that we are sufficiently organised for the TGOC and the top priority there was to make sure that we have got the food situation sorted.

With two final meals whirring away in the dehydrator, I was happy that we had enough evening meals prepared*, but I was also acutely aware that we will only be passing two shops in our 13 days of walking and that experience has told me that I would rather not carry more than four days worth of food at a time if I can help it.

That meant that we had to be more organised as to food than we have ever needed to be before (more so than at any point on our LEJOG, when the longest we went between shops was 5 days) and that meant that we had to make decisions at this stage as to what breakfasts, lunches, evening meals and snacks we would need for each day before working out what we could buy where and what would need to be bought in advance and sent ahead in a resupply parcel.

Soon I was tearing my hair out over a ridiculously detailed spreadsheet and was getting so concerned that I would miscalculate and end up on top of a mountain with no lunch to eat and no chocolate in reserve that I called for assistance from Mick.

So, then there were two of us poring over the ridiculously detailed spreadsheet, with Mick questioning and me trying to explain my thinking.

I think that we got there in the end. We now have a huge shopping list comprising the breakfasts, lunches, and snacks that we will be taking with us for the first few days and that we will be posting ahead for the last few days, but we are happy that all of the other food we will be able to buy in Tyndrum and Blair Atholl.

Perhaps my memory has simply faded, but I would swear that no part of our four months of backpacking last year was as complicated as planning this two-week jaunt across Scotland!

(*Actually, after we finished poring over the spreadsheet we concluded that we've prepared more meals than we need)