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LIGHTEN
YOUR PACK AND YOUR BODY! Simon
Willis and Liz Krol are hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, 2658 miles from Mexico
to Canada. They're crossing Washington, their third and final State.
The
first is the Scottish backpacking diet, which, sadly does not work! Every
trip to town requires a visit to the local fish and chip shop, and no matter
how little you eat while backpacking over your chosen Munros, a full fish
supper or deep fried Mars bar (yes, this artery-attacking delicacy does
exist) provides more fat laden calories than you could ever burn off on the
hill. Then
there's the trekkers diet, most effectively experienced in Nepal, India, or
Pakistan. Weight loss is dramatic and sudden, usually five to eight hours
after a local meal. However, the strain inflicted on the body's purgative
systems is a painful drawback. Now
I have found the Holy Grail of the diet industry; a diet which permits you to
eat whatever you want, and still the pounds will tumble from your waist, hips
and thighs. Of course, this diet is The Pacific Crest Trail. For
the first time in two decades I could be called "skinny." I
actually startled myself when I caught sight of my reflection in a mirror. I
looked like a lollipop, a stick with a ball on top. For a brief moment I
fantasized I was developing a six-pack stomach, until Liz explained I was
looking at my ribs, not seen so prominently for twenty years. I
have no idea how much weight I've lost because I don't normally weigh myself.
I prefer the simple but accurate weight assessment method recommended by a
doctor friend, which he calls "the jiggle test." Stand naked in
front of a mirror and jump. The bits which jiggle, which are not meant to
jiggle, are superfluous. Try it. You'll hate it. Now
when I do this test I am alarmed to find my entire skin seems to jiggle! It's
as if a layer of fat has been sucked out and my flesh is a size too large for
my skeleton. It's
not as if we haven't been eating well. Liz cooked and dehydrated about a
third of our vegetarian trail meals at home and these are the ones we relish
most. MSR brand Mountain Gourmet meals come a close second. To everything we
add a large dollop of olive oil, injecting a hundred and twenty calories with
every tablespoon. For
Liz, this is clearly enough because she looks exactly the same as when we
started the trail, a lean but powerful female physique. For the first two
months I experienced no change either, but when we upped the daily distance
to between 25-30 and more miles I discovered my engine needed more fuel. That
triggered the phenomenon which long distance hikers call the "trail
appetite". This is a depth of hunger which can never be truly satisfied,
as if your legs and arms had been hollowed out to leave more room for food.
PCT hikers have been thrown out of restaurants advertising an "all you
can eat buffet" because, like ravenous locusts, they really could eat it
all. I even astonished myself the evening I put away soup, a large chicken
dinner with potato, vegetables and pasta, followed by desert. And then
promptly ordered a double cheeseburger with fries. And
if this doesn't sound exceptional to you, then perhaps you too need a diet.
You know, there's one I highly recommend... Simon
Willis travelled to the USA with American Airlines and is sending his
dispatches using Pocketmail.com |
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