… for this trip. As annoying as being an over-analytical mental mess can be at times, it is REALLY helpful right now.

I agonize over details. I pour over menus. I check and re-check. I adjusted the fit of my backpack 3 times this weekend. I tested some trail recipes.

Today I’ve been going over my menu and making sure I’ve got enough calories here, or that I’m not carrying unneccessary weight, and that every cubic inch of food is worth it’s volume.

The best moment came when after reading a couple more backpacking blogs and informational web sites, I had a little EUREKA! See, ever since last week when my friend Dawn asked “soooo how long do you think all this bread is going to last you?”, I’ve heard it over and over in my head like one of those nightmarish echoes in a sitcom: “gonna last you, gonna last you, gonna last you, gonna last…” At first I was like, eh, it’ll last. Worst case, I eat stale bread.

But the more I think about it, the more I’m thinkin, damn. I’m gonna be really hungry. Do I really want to sit down to replenish myself with a loaf of rock-hard baguette or a pita that has become essentially pita chips? No. Hell no. This is supposed to be hard, but it ain’t supposed to be torture.

So when the backpacking blog mentioned crackers as a good way to substitute for bread, the bells started ringing, the lightbulbs started flashing. CRACKERS! DUH! Kashi makes a whole variety of hearty, healthy, heavy-duty crackers that would be perfect for BOTH bread needs I have on the menu: tuna and cheese!

So no bread or pita. Replace it with crackers. Weight might not fluctuate much, but the space sure will. The baguettes would take about 3 times the space a day’s worth of crackers will. Booya. Perfect.

Now if only I could make my own crackers.

Aw shit, why’d I have to think that?

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