Dinner and Cocktails

 Dinner arrived in the mail today; 14 Mountain House dehydrated meals.  They come in lots of different flavors, some better than others, so if you've never eaten them before try some out before committing. I only have 4 flavors here, as the idea of eating Chili Mac disgusts me. Note the jar of cracked red pepper.....worth its weight in gold if you are a spicehead like me. The meals come in different serving sizes as well, and I exclusively buy the "2 entree serving size". And no, I won't be sharing it with anyone; its a one man meal, trust me.
    On top are the cocktails: 5 pounds of cocoa mix, a bag of Emergencies, 2 pounds of sugar and dry milk pre-mixed at home, and lots of tea: black tea for the morning, decaf black tea and decaf flavored tea for evenings. I like to put a decaf tea into a Nalgene in the evening and launch it into my sleeping bag in a cover and hug it for about an hour.  Also, beverage material is carried in a dedicated bag on the trail:  this facilitates the use of your 2 quart thermos that you filled with boiling water in the morning before you left camp! You can carry the bulk of your cocoa and sugar-dry milk mix (I call it "silk")  in an inaccessible part of the sled  but a daily supply should be ziplocked and carried at-the-ready. Drill a hole in a large plastic spoon and attach it to the cocktail bag with a lanyard. Remember, everything takes 5 times longer to accomplish in the cold. Make it as easy as you can on yourself before stepping off.