Ray Jardine:food etc

“reading rays newest book and he pretty much laughs at ramen,basically all pasta,pasta meals and all instant grains as he says that these foods have almost zero nutrients since they come from white flour and processed grains.
Energy bars are just flavored sugars and hi priced candy bars according to ray.

He does recommend :
powdered milk
powdered potatoes
powdered beans
barley,oats,millet and corn grains
nuts,seeds(sesame etc)
--he says you should buy the grains at organic stores”

“He's prob. right, it's just alot of extra work to put together his style of BP menu..Plus it tastes like shiit.”

“I ate a spinach tortilla, avacado, tuna, lemonjuice and swiss cheese sammich on the trail last Nov. Thgat baby was delicious. As long as the food tastes good and I got enough to fill me up, it's all good no matter what it is.”

“I do my own... some of it, anyway. Like dehydrated jambalaya, dirty rice with shrimp, hamburger soup with veggies... I'm going to experiment a little more this year, and for kicks, I'm gonna try (at home - ray's corn pasta recipes.

Now, mind you, when I first got into this sport, ray was introduced to me early on. So, I read his book on doing the PCT, and then "Beyond Backpacking". I have to say that, while I've always dreamed of being as anal as ray, I just can't cut the mustard.

I'll do it my way, having picked up bits and pieces from ray, and all the other sources of info. I've learned over the years. Including from YOU guys...”

“Diversity -- extremely important when hiking long distances and out in the bush for more than a week or two. Variety in menu is extremely important... you might not realize it but eating the same thing again and again while under strenuous physical, emotional, and mental strain will really take its toll... kill your desire and appreciation for what you are doing. Go ahead and eat some corn pata, also add in regular wheat duram, maybe some rice noodle, and some ramen as well, if you are going for the long distances.”

“Ice Tea has infected Buddur.”

“Allways wanted to try collecting a healthier menu, but find it much easier to slip into Vons and grab the Mac & Cheese.”

“Ray Jardine is an idiot. Ramen Noodles has plenty of nutrients. It has fat and....well, more fat. That's all I need.”

“He's not an idiot, look at how much has changed since he wrote his book? A little idolistic maybe.”

“His diet seems bland as hell mostly that cornpasta mud for most dinners throw in some rice and millet grain for variety.Hell if u wanna splurge and go nuts chuck in some sawdust!!hahaha
But i guess his diet is very efficient and is pure fuel for the trek.”

“Ray Jardine is a fu*king idiot anyway. I wouldn't buy one of his books at a yard sale for a Quarter.
People hike the entire AT on Ramen and Pasta noodles.
Would you eat Powered beans?!?! Let him live on powered fu*king beans.
Moron!”

“I've gleened a few good ideas from him (without buying the books), but his choice of diet on the trail isn't one for me.

I'll stick to ramen, tortillas, and cheese.

And lots of gorp”

“Hey Dude you're not a follower of the Ray Way are you? lol”

“Ray Jay’s hypocrisy runs deep, very deep. Check out his last canoe trip report. He breaks so many of the very things he belittled others for on his boards. First off, he was fishing with barbed hooks (on his board he poopooed fishing), he killed said fish (he poopooed killing for food on his board), he COOKED said fish (cooked food is evil and has all the nutrients cooked out of it), he was eating cooked pasta (again, it’s dead cells), I never saw a single picture where they were camped 200’ from water, and he used a tent instead of a tarp (he stands by his tarps to the point the disallowed any discussion about tents on his board).”

“I have always wondered about the "Ray Way". I know just the basics about him and his way of doing things. I thought that he was supposed to be a "good guy". Is he really just a snob Bullsh!t artist?”

“I can't believe ray carries that heavy a pack anyway. If your pack is not sub-10 lbs you are carrying way too much junk.

ray is a self-aggrandizing know-nothing. He toots his own horn and still can't carry a tune.”

“My god, he sounds like the outdoor version of Martha Stewart!”

“Ray was an awesome climber -- first person to EVER climb 5.12, then again the first person EVER to climb 5.13 -- he created and designed a device that revolutionized rock climbing... the so-called "Friend" or spring-loaded camming device. I actually met Ray on the PCT in '94 -- he's a real pretencious a-hole.”

“I always find that when someone's ideas get such negitive remarks,and cause such an extream amount of contraversey,that there is most likely something I can learn. If you Hate the Ray way so much, than just leave it alone. I've learned a lot from his books and believe he is genuine. If he doesn't live 100% by his phlosophy 100% of the time, who cares. He doesn't have to prove anything to anyone anyway. His life and work has allowed him to spend as much time as he wants outdoors, how many of you can say that about your lives? All I believe he is trying to do is give others the ability to enjoy what he does.”

“It's not the Ray Way I have a problem with, it's Ray. His base idea, which BTW has been around for years and years before he canned it into an overpriced book, is good. But I spent enough time reading his views and having direct discussions with him on his web board enough to know he's a raving egomaniac and an a@@hole to boot.”

“I've read two of his books and have had many Ray Way discussions with folks. I too have gotten something out of his writings/teachings. However, if I read another of his phrases that included..I, Jenny and I, My way, The way we do it, etc... I'm gonna barf. It's like his writings invoke "If it ain't the Ray Way, then it's the wrong way." And like Mr.Nigal stated, most of what he teaches is old techniques, just brought to the forefront by him and he seemingly attributes those ways as his own ideas. Going lightweight can be an obsessive-compulsive anal-retentive activity, and Ray shows us this.”

“Ray Way
Wiggies

Both are egomaniacs in my book!

Minute Rice - w brown sugar
Oats- w brown sugar
cous cous
ramen

Light and cheap and I like em!

Now that is Stubs Way! LOL”

“In the true spirit of saving weight, I thought Ray was subsisting on eating his own toenails and belly button lint.”

“No Gear Slut, but Ray Jardine recently had some of his nonvital organs removed along with a reduction of his bone mass to increase his overall daily hiking mileage. Apparently Mr. Jardine reduced his pack weight to the lightest achievable and is now focusing on the internal body and how to efficiently maximize trail performance. His next visit to the surgeon will consist of the doctor sewing a large skin pouch on his abdomen, much like a kangaroo. "This pouch will store all of my gear", reports Jardine.”

“on pg 40 of beyond backpacking there s a picture of ray looking at something thats about 2 inches by 3inches...its a map!!!I fu ing my ass off on that.I guess he shrunk it or something...he has a lot of good ideas but his food choice and quilt aint for me.The tarp thing is fine but finding straight solid branches and soft ground in which to stick them into seems a pain.Also all those guy lines,stakes seems like a lot of time and frustration for me.
His critique of modern backpacks seems qquite logical.”

“Rightly or wrongly I have assumed that its OK to have more empty calories when you backpack, because you are burning up so much more. Since I eat twice the food, its OK if 1/2 the calories are pretty empty.”

“I'm still glad he wrote his book, it got me to make some of my own gear, and I'm pleased with the results. I guess when someone writes down their opinions on THEIR website, or in THERE book you might try to understand that your the one that payed the cash or logged on. If you don't like what he has to say than don't go there. I enjoy his opinions and take what I can from them, just as I do with other things. I'm just able to not get so pissed off when I read something I don't like.”

“I've had no experience with his forum and have never met Ray Jardine, so can't comment on his ego. However I have no doubt it exists.

But looking at his site I have to admire him for doing things I'll probably never have the guts or initiative to do. Like his Arctic trips. How many of us have kayaked around Alaska into the Arctic Ocean and then into Canada as winter approaches. And his recent hobby of skydiving, how many of us would have the guts to pursue something like that? At least he gets his ego out into the wilderness instead of sitting behind a computer all the time.”

“My favorite thing that Jardine ever said in one of his books (and I can't quote because I don't own them) was a thing about not using the forks in restaurants because they might harbor disease. Apparently it's okay to eat the food prepared by the (disease riddled) food service workers after kicking in the bathroom door to avoid touching the knob, but you MUST NOT use the restaurant fork.

Pretty hard for me to take a guy too seriously after reading THAT.”

“People are so quick to discard people these days based on simple disagreements with their philosophies. You might learn something if you try. Did you remember anything other than the fork coment?”

“have you looked realclose at the silverware in your average resturant lately ? scratch and see if the "matte finished" stainless steel is shiny under the "finish"...talk to a food service/ health dept. worker sometime about disease and food handling practices...”

“Rays biggest and most important contribution is to dispel the myth of MORE is BETTER.He shows how all that extra gear is basically just that.
The overhyped,overweightbpack is so obvious yet its taken a long time to dismis its legend.
I'd love to use a tarp but the bug problem and set up thing has me concerned.”

“Insinuating that you can usually drink straight from backcountry water sources was what got me. I know I know, he said to consider the area and where the water is coming from upslope, etc. But how foolish is it to take that chance of getting sick by NOT treating your water? Very foolish, imo.”

“I don't know if any of you visited Ray's website much in the past, but he had some funky spiritual discussions going on. From BB I assumed he was a Christian, but he was espousing all this new age psycho babble. He was talking about energy wheels, and reaching higher states of spirituality. When people started to question him he promptly stated that when a person reaches higher state of spiritual consciousness they can no longer interact with the outside world...and he shut down the whole discussion board...all topics...He also said that he disconnects the antenna inside his TV and only watches certain videos, because some how the TV can brainwash or something...He's def. a kooky bastard...”

“I think he took all the coments on his website personal, he actually engauged in the discussion with the people who left messages. Maybe he got a little jaded with so much criticism. I think he had true motives and wanted help people feel more able to be adventurous. So many people gave him crap in return.”

“I think rj has better things to do(like thru hiking w/ a 20lbs pack) than field negative comments after he tries offering a free service to people.People should learn that they do have the option of changing channels if they dont like whats on.There's also the on/off switch!”

“I agree that he was offering free help to people, and I think thats great, but when you start discussing strange religious mumbo jumbo a reasonably intelligent person would expect a certain amount of neg feedback. To shut the whole board down was a total cop out...He opened a can of worms that he couldn't shut so he soft landed the whole thing. It's his website and his 2 cents..it seems pretty lame that he'd roll over like that. BTW I'm a big RayWay fan and appreciate what he's done for lw backpacking...”

“wacky talk is par for course.Ive met a lot of free spirits on the road....maybe thats a new thread!”

“Thinair, I don't get pissed off at Ray's philosophy. It's his disrespect towards others and THEIR philosophies that irks me. Every single thing you are accusing us of is EXACTLY what Ray does. He starts a boards so there can be an open exchange of ideas and then won't accept any subjects that don't have to do with HIM and HIS style. He is the one that will not listen to anyone else's ideas or experiences. I don't mind differing opinions but when one side is saying "You're wrong wrong wrong!", it doesn't go too far.”

“Are your offering opinions or just criticism? And isn't his just an opinion also? Why make it more than it is? He's obveously got you thinking.”

“I've had him attack my critisms (they all aren't negative), my opinions and my personal experiences. I attempted to engage him for deleting items (yes it's his forum but he claimed it to be "open") he deamed useless (but did have value to readers there), I had posts deleted because of my opinions praising my poncho, and the straw that broke the lightweight camel's back was when he started the religion it is section. He gave two sections to post to, his and then the Angry Fundementalist section. I gave my personal story about how I came in contact with G-d and how it changed my life and my outlook. There was not a negative word in my post. What was Ray's responce? "What a bunch of bologna! When this drivel reaches three pages long I’m deleting it.” That is word for word.

This is not just my disagreeing with his books and content. This is my personal experiences with dealing directly with Ray.”

“You obviously became a pain in his side. It's too bad that he shut down the discussion though.”

“What discussion??? He wouldn't even post my recipe I contributed to his Foods Section. It consisted of all natural ingradients and make for a good tasting trail bar. I Emailed one of his moderators, and he said that they just do what RJ tells them to. Go figure?”

“Exactly, this guy has proven that he's full of #&%!$e...you guyds only prove that RJ isn't interested in open discussion.........”

“"You obviously became a pain in his side."

Yeah, of course. It must have been me cause Ray's always right, right? LOL!



























Raybot”

“He's not a very good shopper either.

My local supermarket carries all kinds of whole grain pastas, some fortified and enriched. Many of them are healthier for you than the raw grains he advocates. Add some dried mixed vegetables, meat chunks, and seasonings to taste and you have an easily prepared trail meal that is better for you than his recipes. I always carry multivitamin supplements with me anyway for nutrition insurance.

He is falling victim to the if-it's-modern-it's-bad philosophy that is in vogue right now.”

“True Gordon. It seams that if you jump on the alternative band wagon enough you will end up just as narrowminded as the ones you're alternating from. Suddenly you believe NOTHING on CNN and believe EVERYTHING on Art Bell. You believe NOTHING a doctor or scientist says and believe EVERYTHING gurus and healers say. I also think one of Ray's problems is the fact he obviousely has OCD. He takes everything to extremes.”

“Well I agree with that for sure. Extreams are most definately bad. I just didn't experience any problems with Ray like you did. I only read his book and found a lot of useful advice there and on the website. Sure he might hold an extream stance on well everything, but I don't throw out the baby with the bath water. he he.”

“Oh for sure. I learned a lot from his book about how I veiw hiking and the gear that is used. It was through his book that I became aware of over advertising in the gear industry. I can still find value in his stuff but it doesn't carry the same weight any more and I'll won't pay for the info I do get.”

“If I'd found some of the websites that I know about now back when I bought the book, I probably would have never had any need for it. Everything is now available on the internet. I love how retailers are constantly droping the weight of gear to market towards the ultralight hikers needs. A lot of new lightweight stuff out there these days. My kelty flight and petzl tikka are good examples.”