"I saw people who I would consider obese drop 40 or 50 pounds in the first couple of weeks," he says.

Towne got his backpack down to about 15 pounds, not counting food and water. His wardrobe was minimal: one short-sleeve shirt; one long-sleeve shirt; one pair each of long pants, shorts and rain pants; three pairs of socks; and a rain jacket. He also had a down jacket in the high Sierra, but in general he found the weather to be manageable. He did have to hike through a couple of thunderstorms because there was nowhere to stop.

His food was suitably simple: He started each day with instant oatmeal (mixed in a water bottle; he carried no stove after a couple of hundred miles). His basic dried food consisted of refried and black beans, split-pea soup and lentil soup. He ate dried fruit and nuts. He tried beef jerky, but found that it didn't keep well. And he carried olive oil, good for fat and calories.

And then there were the Snickers bars. Lots of Snickers bars.

"A lot of people live on those things," he says. "Which is fine, but you have to eat 'em early in the day, while it's still cool, or they'll melt."

His food came by mail from his mother, who sent 26 packages to small towns along the way. He also was happy to buy meals in many of the small towns he encountered, though some, he says, were worse than his trail food. He also stayed in a couple of hotels, mostly for the hot shower.

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Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service