Food for long Tramps

I'm very intrigued by what was mentioned early on in this thread about sending food ahead on the Karamea trek. Does that mean mailing a box to a spot accessible from the track, or is there some kind of courier service to a hut along the way?

On a couple of 200 mile hikes I've done in the Sierra Nevada here, that was the trick: mail a box of goodies ahead to a spot about midway that you can get to without too huge of a diversion from the trail. On the John Muir Trail, there's a "trail ranch" that actually stores plastic tubs of your food that can be hauled in by mules -- very handy.

I really want to walk the Karamea trek, and shudder to think of putting 10+ days of food in a pack that already holds fly reels, a camera, and other heavy junk . . .

I think the Hell Mission guys will be able to give you good advice on how they did it. Their website is worth a read. I suspect they combined several tramps into one long hell mission.

Has anyone tried dehydrated rice milk as an alternative to powdered cow for those of us that should avoid the latter? Use the liquid stuff on cereal and it's great ... though not so nice in coffee/tea. But since the only thing I really use powdered milk for is breakfast it would solve my problem when tramping.

I see the powdered variety advertised online in 1kg bags - but the postage rates mean that the minimum realistic order is 5kg. So before I fork out $20 for the minimum 1kg to try, has anyone else tried this, and is it: easy to make up in cold water, drinkable, and of similar taste to the normal liquid varieties?

Our local health food shop has rice milk powder. $14.50 for 400g.I am happy to post you a packet if you want.

Rice and soy milk powders mix better than milk powder so if you like it why not. They also keep longer than real milk powder. I think the soy tastes sour and the rice far to sweet but thats just me. We also go out regularly with someone with a severe soy alergy so these are completly off menu.
I will keep to milk powder which is fine in porridge but lumpy if you try and put in boiling coffee.
The coconut milk powder is magic for cooking but its not meant to be a milk substitute

Must investigate the rice milk powder. Thanks for that and the info about Aji's dehy refried beans. Aji's have located to the suburbs since the Feb 22 quake. I get a regular newsletter from them even though I'm not too keen on chillies.

I take in BCC meals - Roast Chicken is my fav so far. Much more convenient than carrying in put together foods. If you an average sized person and not having desert - take in a 2 serve as the 1 serve is presuming that you're having dessert after. Also has anyone had the BCC ice cream? that sounds bizarre!

Half a cup of couscous .

One serve of dehy veg mix .

Spice mix of quarter teaspoon each of ground coriander, cumin and paprika . Half a vege stock cube and as much chili as you like .

Two verkerks chorizo sausages, they are on the shelf at countdown, weigh 90 grams for two .

This meal packs down super small, half the size of a BCC .

Lighter than a BCC .

Uses hardly any fuel, any time .

Just bring veg and spice mix too boil for a minute or two, take off heat, stir in couscous, put lid on billy .

Cut chorizo into thin slices, add to couscous, top with a few sliced almonds, enjoy .

For breakfast a bowl of porridge with dried fruit .

Lunch a small block of energy chocolate a muesli bar and instant soup .

Add a few brews and thats it for a day .

Oh and best of all, the meal only costs a few dollars a serve rather than fourteen dollars for a BCC