Food For Thought: Fueling the Great Range

For my birthday in June, I will be doing the Adirondack Great Range. The hike is currently ranked number three on Backpacker Magazine's 10 toughest day hikes in America. The list is ever evolving, and sometimes particular hikes -such as the Devil’s Path or Presidential Traverse- get dropped off, but the Great Range has been a staple on the list for years.

I got to thinking about what I will need to fuel me for the 20+ mile 20,000ft gain and loss day. I estimate I will need around 8,000-10,000 calories of total energy, though, I obviously won’t need to eat 8,000 calories due to my own endogenous fat stores. Not to worry, I'm not making fun of myself, even a very fit/extremely lean person has enough body fat to run a few marathons without additional fuel. This is precisely why I consider my “alpine gut” a survival tool.

Just like any non standard diet, being wheat, gluten, grain, soy and (generally) processed food free does pose some challenges.  So, the goal of food I bring is something that keeps me burning endogenous fat and feeling strong, but also keeps me satiated and my stomach from getting upset.

Since I have also been leaning towards the ketogenic (high fat, adequate protein, low carb) end of a diet spectrum for some time, consuming only about 100g of net carbs -sometimes as little as 40 to 60g- per day out of 2500-3500 total calories I don't need to bring a lot of carb laden foods. As a result, I should be able to perform much better without the need to eat a lot of carbohydrates during the day. The reason, of course, is that the machinery to burn fat as a primary fuel source is already in place.

A benefit I have already seen, recently, while on a fairly hard hike (13.5 miles + 4000ft gain), where I only consumed about 600 calories all day (including only 8 grams/42 calories of carbs), was that I never felt hungry or like I was crashing. 


Perhaps a pertinent example was this past weekend, I did just under 5000ft of gain in 7.5 miles, which is an effort ratio of 3.73:1, in comparison the Great Range is  about 2.8:1 (both ratios are versus flat land hiking). I estimate that I only consumed about 750-1000 calories while hiking and was strong right to the end, with no hunger, crashes or weakness. In fact, in spite of the extremely warm weather and intentionally going into the hike tired from hard workouts the previous two days, I either set or matched personal best up both trails, which are among the steepest in the region. So, even pushing the edges of the fat burning heart rate zone, I never bonked.

Although I could just go bonkers and carb out for a day, carbohydrates have a lot of negative effects when burned as a primary fuel source in athletes. These include inflammation, which is a big deal for a guy with two lumbar disks approaching their second decade of degeneration. But even a healthy person will recover much faster by simply removing acidic trending sugars from their diet. A more immediate negative of carbohydrate rich foods is blood sugar variations. By avoiding sugars, I avoid the spikes and crashes associated with blood glucose levels. Being on a more even keel throughout a long day should have some psychological benefit.

Since I’m endurance hiking in a low heart rate zone and always in a fat burning state of metabolism, there really isn’t a need to vastly change my nutrional intake from what I eat on a day to day basis.

Well, at least I hope there isn’t. After all, this is an N=1 study and I’m the guinea pig.

The following is my list of high calorie ketogenic promoting foods, along with some protein,and some comfort carbs that can be somewhat easily packed for a day hike. For the Great Range hike, I won’t be taking everything on this list, but it’s a good reference of options for future hikes of this difficulty. I included a little blurb of why I would take each item:

• Coconut oil/MCT oil (a great source of easy burning fat calories, coconut oil is about 62% MCT, so it is a cheap way of getting expensive MCT into your body)
• Dark chocolate (85-90%) (an excellent mix of fats, protein, carbs, fiber, and antioxidants. Aside from melting, almost a perfect hiking food)
• Almond or hazelnut butter packets (calorie dense, mostly fat and protein, my replacement for sugar based energy gels...brand name I prefer, Justin's)
• Pumpkin and sunflower seeds (calorie dense, mostly fat, high source of magnesium)
• Raw almonds (calorie dense, something crunchy, same as the above nutrients)
• Foil packed tuna, salmon or sardines (good protein source, almost real food)
• Beef jerky (salty, chewy, almost required for a day on trail, protein dense)
• Frozen guacamole packets (depending on temps...high in fats, calorie dense, can be sucked down on the move...brand name is Wholly Guacamole)
• Chia seeds (in a gel form or mixed into coconut milk...an excellent mix of fats, protein, fiber...but they stick to your teeth for those summit photos)
• BCAA’s (branched chain amino acid tablets or powder, these can be used as fuel and are necessary for endurance activities lasting more than a few hours, they will prevent your body from cannibalizing itself to get the amino acids needed for long duration endurance)
• Canned coconut milk (good source of fats, high in MCTs which are a great source of energy, powdered option is available, but with sugar added, can be dumped into a Nalgene before starting to avoid lugging a can around. Ideally it should be kept refrigerated, so don't let it sit out of the can too long)
• Powdered Coconut Milk (definitely should be avoided when possible, instead of 100% fat content, it's is about 80-90% fat, with a good amount of added sugar, but definitely an option)
• High quality whey protein powder (don’t buy the junk at big box stores...mostly as a addition for coconut milk, but full of amino acids)
• Boiled eggs (a complete protein source that is somewhat hike stable)
• Boiled/baked potatoes (starchy carb, with a little salt on top a great trail snack, real -solid- food)
• Turkey breast and goat cheese in a nori wrap (mmm, real -solid- food early in the day...downsides, low trail life)
• Oat based granola bars (sort of wheat/gluten free, complex carbs, something different...consider it a comfort food)
• Kind bars and Rise Bars(the almond and coconut Kind bar fits in with a ketogenic snack profile, plus a few carbs....the Rise Bar has 3 ingredients, Almonds, whey protein, honey; but like a Kind bar is not quite ketogenic and contains 20g of carbs per ~3oz bar)
• Cocochia bars (lots of fats, some protein, and a negative net carb profile, almost perfect, too bad they are pricey and hard to find)
• Homemade candied ginger with or without 90% dark chocolate coating (definitely not ketosis promoting, but ginger has more digestive enzymes than just about any single natural product on earth. It can cut gas, bloating, and an upset stomach. Plus, it has strong anti inflammatory properties. Oh and it tastes good!)
• Coconut water mixed with green tea (a good way to replenish potasium, and the catechins and flavinoids in green tea are anti-inflammatory. The small amount of caffeine can offer some energy boost, but is probably insignificant to anyone who regularly drinks caffeine. Coconut water contains about 20g of sugars per 12 ounces, so this is definitely not a no sugar drink. It is, however, a much better alternative for those hiking slow enough that solid food is the primary source of calorie intake) 
• Carrots and broccoli (both of these have a decent trail life and are pretty durable when stuffed in a pack, only downside is they are a little heavy in terms of calories to weight ratio. Eat them early in the day to shed the weight) 
• Beanitos bean and flax chips (this is one of a few areas where I diverge from a Paleo diet, I think properly processed legumes are generally positive in moderation, and Beanitos are a great example of that. Salty -but not too salty-, crunchy, packed with energy and plant based proteins. They are low glycemic load, and have absolutely no corn or wheat in them. )
• WATER (as Dr. Stacy Sims makes clear, you can recover from low blood sugar but not from dehydration) 

• S! Caps (Reading the book "Waterlogged: The Serious Problem of Overhydration in Endurance Sports" by Dr. Tim Noakes has really opened my eyes to the LACK of need for electrolytes under normal drinking conditions. However, when hiking we don't always get to "drink plain water to thirst" as Tim Noakes recommends we do. More often than not when hiking, we are drinking as much as we can at water sources because they are few and far between. S! Caps are only used to help move water from the stomach to the body and avoid sloshing around in the stomach, and to avoid potentially deadly hypernatremia when I am forced to down large quantities of water at water sources)

Happy hiking! 

Steep and Treacherous: The southern approach to the Adirondacks Saddleback Mountain

Colvin on the northern descent of Basin Mountain with Saddleback and the Gothics in the background.

I’ve always felt that people who have experience technical rock climbing (on real rock) tend to not have issues on rough sections of trail. For those people, the featureless rock that hikers see is filled with giant “jug” holds for the hands and feet. The southern approach of the Adirondacks Saddleback Mountain via Basin Mountain is a great example of this.


If I haven’t made it perfectly clear throughout the years, I avoid the High Peaks like a case of syphilis -especially during the warm months- and I pick my winter forays with some care as well. So quite often, my experience in the Adirondacks High Peaks Wilderness is one with a winter perspective. As a matter of fact, I’ve been up Marcy several times, but never when there wasn’t multiple feet of snow on the ground. I have no idea how hard the trail is in the summer, though I assume it’s pretty beat up and rough due to how often it is climbed.


Suffice it to say, I’ve never climbed the south face of Saddleback via Basin in all my years of hiking during the summer months, though I have been up Saddleback in the winter on several occasions.


How is it? Absolutely fun. It’s probably the best trailed hiking in the Adirondacks. Steep, technical, but the hard sections are either too easy or too short to really make you say, “wow, that was hard.” Add in the fact that Colvin isn’t Caney on the steep and technical sections; he doesn’t love climbing steep technical rock like a mountain goat or dipping his front nails over the edge of 1000ft cliffs. I note that because my difficulty rating includes assisting Colvin. These were generally short boost followed by encouraging and challenging him to climb the correct route. Nevertheless, they were an additional level of effort that most human hikers would not need to put out, unless they were climbing with children or novice mountaineers.

Yellow line indicates the trail routing.

I’d rate the hardest sections as low 5th class (upper 4th to 5.0-5.1 type terrain), and while there is a risk of a long fall (or rather slide), it’s not what you’d call exposed. There is never more than a few feet of air under you, or 30ft of super grippy slab below you. Steep it is, treacherous it is not. I’d personally rate something steep and treacherous, if while on it and assisting a 50lb dog, I felt any sense of fear or worry that we were getting ourselves into something that might be difficult to get out of. Perhaps I don’t have the common sense to feel that fear, but based on the amount of times I’ve shit my pants leading technical rock climbs, I’d say I am often too aware of what can go wrong. At no point did I feel that way. As a matter of fact, once Colvin was safely on the steep slabs above the craggy lower section, I descended a bit and reclimbed it via the more technical options.

Colvin on top of Saddleback, Ausable Lakes and the Colvin Range in the background.

I was actually a bit disappointed at how easy it really was, and I was prepared for Colvin to have more trouble with the terrain. He was wearing his Ruff Wear Doubleback technical climbing harness, and I had a 40ft 8mm static line. I never even considered breaking out the 40ft rope. Had it been steeper, I could have slung a boulder with two 10 foot tied slings that double as leashes, or wedged a frost knot into a crack to haul Colvin over the steep sections. Or just simply short roped him up the hard sections.



Although I enjoyed Saddleback, the highlight of the trip was watching Colvin finally get it on the 20ft ladder up Basin. Though I climbed the rungs of the near vertical ladder with with him, and held on to his assist loop just in case he panicked or slipped, he ultimately climbed the ladder without my assistance. We spent quite a bit of time on ladders a few days before on the Stimson Trail on Noonmark Mountain, and it was gratifying to see him finally get it.







As far as Saddleback, it was over far too fast, and just wasn’t hard enough. On the flip side, it was, almost without a doubt, the hardest climbing (on a trail) in the Adirondacks. Be careful in making assumptions though, while it was the hardest officially trailed terrain, those wanting tougher challenges that fall into the gray area of technical rock climbing and hiking can still be challenged in the Adirondacks. Just look around when on an Adirondack summit at all those wonderful expanses of bare rock, the slides. Those slides offer even more challenge, without the benefit of a blazed trail or step by step directions, yet they are generally non technical enough that specialized ropes and climbing protection can be left at home for all but the most difficult slides. Be forewarned though, having 1000ft of 60* slab under you as you approach a headwall might not be officially 5th class terrain, but it carries all the same risk and challenges.




Was Saddleback worth the price of admission ($7 to park), including all the rules, regulations and crowds that come with the High Peaks? Hell yeah! But for full disclosure, I picked a good early season weekday and was on the trail at 6:50am -which was later than planned. I saw just 1 person on the trail till my last 2 miles of the day (5 people in total)! Had there been 100 people climbing those mountains, creating a wilderness conga line, I’d probably not have felt like we were on any sort of remote adventure!


So there you go, a little more sensible perspective about the steep and fun trail over Saddleback.