”Pack weight is determined by fear.”
-Trail Wisdom

And here we’re talking about (to paraphrase F.D.R.) nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes all needed efforts to reduce to a minimum what you’re carrying on your back. If you’re afraid of being cold, you’ll carry too many clothes. If you’re afraid of being hungry, you’ll carry too much extra food. If you’re afraid of missing Facebook, you’ll carry too many extra smartphone batteries. If you’re afraid of being stranded in the Smokies due to bad winter weather, you might find yourself lugging a few extra pounds of snow shovel…

So, imagine my elation at finding under the Christmas tree a scale that measures down to 1/20 of an ounce! Bring on that gear list. We’re ready to chip away at that pack weight and get it down to size, a fraction of a milligram at a time…

And, wow, look at this – according to its accompanying “Eat Smart Guidebook to Calorie Counting,” dry roasted peanuts are 5.85 calories per gram, while dry roasted pecans are 7.10 calories per gram. Obviously, considering the nutritional value, we need to upgrade our recipe for trail mix to “gorP” with a capital “P” (good ole raisins & Pecans). 

Guess it’s time to head out in the yard and fight the squirrels for those nuts!

-N Trovert

[Here are some figures listed for calories per gram: instant oatmeal – 0.87, chocolate chip granola bar – 4.18, macadamia nuts – 7.14]