Hey Wes, you make a keen observation there; and you are certainly correct that the calorie content is low, and there are few areas outside of the Smokies (particularly in the summer) that I would ration myself so strictly.
Since you asked, here are the particulars as to how I can do it:
1) In all fairness, you did leave out the 6 Powerbars I pack. With that said, however, my 7 days/6 nights can be quite misleading. In general Day 1 will not begin until about 3-4 hours before sunset (and setting up camp), and I am always sure to have a large meal just before I set out. The final night of camp is usually no more than 3 hours away from my final destination and opportunity to splurge at the nearest fast food chain. So truthfully, a 7/6 is actually closer to a 5/5 in terms of actual time. Even with that being the case, I most always have food left over using a similar daily average intake.
2) My body is conditioned to function with low calorie intake at a moderate level of daily activity. I estimate my AVERAGE calorie intake on a normal day to be between 1000-1200 non-liquid calories.
3) You'll be lucky to see me cover 17 miles a day — my average is probably closer to 14 miles on moderate trails — and the last 2 miles are usually very tough for me because of a lack of energy. I also usually only take one break per day, and it rarely lasts anymore than 10 minutes. Needless to say, my days are shorter than most, and my nights are longer than most.
I am always looking for ways to find simple and pre-prepared foods that I can enjoy and fill me up; but I often find myself coming back to the diet listed in my gear list.
