Rob Ripley - Packing for the Atacama Crossing (Chile)

September 20, 2022

Meet Dr. Rob Ripley.

Rob is proof that anything is possible... An ER doctor from Oregan (Bend) who has been part of RacingThePlanet since 2011 on the medical team. Rob has fought the battle against cancer and won; this prompted him to challenge himself with taking part in a desert race himself.

Rob won the Namib Race 2021 and is currently taking part in the Atacama Crossing in Chile. He has written some excellent blog posts about his adventures in the desert:

Atacama Crossing Ultramarathon Gear List

"It all starts with the mandatory equipment list! I’ve checked it twice! And checked off each item as it gets packed. There are still a few things missing. But, hopefully, I have a handle on these."

Ultramarathon meals

"I will be bringing Expedition Foods freeze-dried meals. Mostly because they come in convenient 1000 calorie bags that weigh about 200 grams apiece. Which makes it easy to count calories and to calculate food density (at 5 calories per gram, Expedition Foods has a better energy to weight ratio than most freeze-dried foods). And, in my opinion, they taste as good as freeze-dried food gets."

See Rob's full blog posts on the RacingThePlanet website, here.

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Regarding my freeze-dried food, I've always liked exotic meals: curries, couscous, chilis, and other kormas or tikkas. And for desserts or breakfast, I like all kinds of custard experiences. Expedition Foods' flavors are awesome in that sense. I have been using it for years and it has always left my stomach at peace.