Companion forum thread to:

Podcast: Francis Tapon is Set to Complete a Backpacking First - a CDT Yo-yo

That was really interesting. I'm not going to give anything away, but good work cutting down the denouement of the podcast. Now all you have to do is cut down a little bit of the 2 minute introduction and then you'll really get people hooked.

Remember we're minimalists here!

I read with great interest Francis Tapon's intro and 1'st chapter of his book. Took a look at his gear list and noticed it didn't list a kitchen other than a spoon, matches, and a fire starting esbit tablet.

Looks like a pretty "rough" 16 weeks without a hot cooked meal to me. No tea/coffee?

So, Francis and/or Ann, got cup and pot?

For me, I'd have left the multi-task phone at home and packed a 600 and cozy bowl. Might even gone "heavy" and packed a beercan alky/esbit stove?

I'm sure curious about their menu ...

Thanks
dp

I noticed the same thing. Other than the bars in his shoulder straps, I didn't hear any mention of food or water strategies.

NOTE: Normally I can't make it thru the first minute or so of any of these podcast (they are so S__L__O__W and boring), but for some reason I listened to the whole thing. Not sure why, but I did.

Edited by tlbj6142 on 09/05/2007 11:07:20 MDT.

Tony,

You can speed up the playback of the podcasts if you use Apple Quicktime (http://www.apple.com/quicktime/) or transcription software like Express Scribe (http://www.nch.com.au/scribe/). The audio should still be intelligible at 1.5x speed or so if you find the original playback to be too slow.

Eric

I believe you can do the same thing if you use Sound Recorder in Windows. You can also use Audacity (free for d/l and use) to speed up the playback if you so desire. Plus its Linux compatible, though I suspect I'm the only person here too worried about that.
Anyway, I don't think the problem was that the actual speed of the recording was too slow, but rather the pace of the Q/A or discussion. I find that I space out a little in podcasts if something of great interest isn't being discussed. Then again I space out a lot of the time.

Adam

Thank you for listening to the podcast!

I have never taken a cup on any of my backpacking trips. I always eat straight out of the pot.

Normally I take a Titanium pot (like I did on the PCT and AT). However, on the CDT I did not take pot. Yes, that means that I wouldn't be cooking. Yes, for 7 months I never cooked a meal!

I thought I would miss cooking and go nuts. Therefore, I was surprised by how well I got used to not having cooked food. I rarely think about food on the trail or fantasize about pizza, pasta, or warm soup. I'm not sure why, but perhaps I'm just not that picky.

I remind myself of dogs. Most dogs get fed the same food every day of their lives. However, whenever meal time comes, they get extremely excited and wag their tails vigorously.

My cook-less diet is FAR more varied that their monotonous diet. So if they can do it, I figure I can do it on my more varied diet.

What do I eat? Here's what's typical:

BREAKFAST:

- Bob's Red Mill dry soy milk + water + Bob's Red Mill Granola + Bob's Red Mill Protein Powder + dried fruit

- Bob's Red Mill Couscous + Bob's Red Mill Textured Vegi Protein (TVP) + vegi powder (for flavor) + water (let soak overnight or just 10 mins and it's ready to eat)

I usually eat this breakfast as I'm packing up.

SNACKS REST OF DAY:

- MealPack.com energy bars :)

- GORP

- Dried Fruit

- Whole wheat bread (or tortillas) + soy cheese + tomatoes + avocado

- Baked tofu with bread to make a sandwich (hard to find this in most towns)

- Crackers

- Gummy bears (helps when you're thirsty and gives quick energy)

- Pretzels or soy chips

- A little junk food (like Poptarts or Oreos)

- Fresh fruit and vegetables whenever possible (I'll eat spinach, brocoli, carrots, green peppers, grapes, plums, apricots, etc...) Although all this weighs a lot, I eat it early in the journey to get the nutrition and to lower the pack weight quickly.

It's hard to believe, but I have yet to eat a Snickers bar (or any candy bar on the CDT)!

I feel my diet is pretty varied (compared to a dog). I'm vegetarian, so soy products and nuts give me most of my protein. I'm surprised that I don't miss other types of food, but that's just the way it works.

I don't drink tea or coffee in the real world, so I definitely don't miss it on the trail.

Although my diet seems austere, like most things, we get used to it. Humans adapt to new conditions very easily. I encourage you to experiment and backpack without cooked food. Chances are you'll miss the warm food, but you might also be a psycho-mutant and feel happy without it. ;)

Happy trails,

Francis Tapon
http://FrancisTapon.com (or CDTyoyo.com)

I forgot to mention a few things on this podcast.

- I recommend that most backpackers use the Gossamer Gear Mariposa Plus backpack. It's sturdy, light, and has huge capacity.

- If you're a lightweight nutcase, then consider the Silnylon G5 from Gossamer. That's my favorite pack. However, if you're doing a thru-hike, buy two (unless you like to sew). They're cheap enough that two G5s are cheaper than most backpacks.

- Go with Gossamer's spinnaker packs (the Whisper or G5 Spinnaker version) only if you're doing short hikes (under a month). They're too fragile for thru-hikes. Although Maiu did the PCT with me using a Whisper, it barely made it (see pics at the end of our journey at www.francistapon.com/pct)

- The Inov-8 shoes I wear don't break down in any major way. It's just the general wear and tear, causing the support to slowly degrade. I'm surprised that they last as long as they do.

Happy trails,

Francis
www.FrancisTapon.com

Their are many tools to speed up podcast presentation. Some will even strip out intros that are consistent lengths (sorry can't put my finger on what that one is right now). Here is a useful thread to check for both Mac and PC users who listen to podcast on their desktop/laptop machines via iTunes here .

If you want to rip them to an iPod say you can do that at higher speeds too but modifying the scripts in the thread I cited and having QUickTime Player epxort a higher speed mp3 file. I'll leave that as an excersize for the reader.

** Ken **

Edited by kenknight on 09/13/2007 01:49:23 MDT.

I thoroughly enjoyed Carol Crooker's interview of Francis and REALLY ENCOURAGE Carol to catch Francis, again, for a followup chat! He's due to complete his epic trip - first to yo-yo the CDT - on October 31 in Columbus, NM. Of particular interest will be to hear of the changes Francis made to his CDT gear list, posted on his site http://www.francistapon.com/cdt/gear.htm. Also worth noting: With Christmas fast-approaching, Francis's book HIKE YOUR OWN HIKE would make a great gift - his writing style is very entertaining and his Seven Life Lessons from Backpacking Across America have a message for all!!! More on the book - and how to order it - can be found at http://www.francistapon.com/

I am hoping to get another interview with Francis but not on gear. Part 1 of this podcast talks about his gear changes from the list posted on his website.

Who's going to finish first, Francis or The Onion?

http://www.francistapon.com/cdt/index.htm

- or -

http://garrettheonion.blogspot.com/

As of October 12th The Onion was in Cuba, NM which by road is about 350 miles from the border. I would guess that these two are both quite close to one another.

As of Oct 6, Francis Tapon (aka Mr. Magoo) was in Cuba, NM. That puts him about SIX days ahead of The Onion, who was in Cuba on the 12th. Do you suppose we'll have a photo-finish between these two awesome gents?

THIS JUST IN FROM FRANCIS...
---------
OCT 21, 7:59PDT - My CDT Yo-Yo will be successfully completed in 48 hours. I am in Deming, New Mexico, and I expect to arrive at the Mexican border on the morning of Wednesday, October 24th (near Columbus, NM). More details will follow in a few days.
---------
Go, Francis!

THIS JUST IN - AT 4:22 PM PDT, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24 - FROM FRANCIS:
--------

Leon: I just walked into Columbus, NM and I have 3 miles to go.

I'm just one hour from finishing.

Gotta walk,

FT
--------

Congratulations, Francis!

I hope BPL does an after trip podcast with Francis after he has time to reflect on his hike. He has a lot of insights and unique perspectives on our wilderness areas and SUL long distance foot travel .


Any plans in the work for another podcast?