So my husband will be going on a week-long backpacking/hiking/camping trip in the depths of the Canadian Rockies.
Very soon. Which means, of course, that he’s in the middle of preparing for this week of torture trip into the wild.
Since he, you know, doesn’t want to survive on pine needles and berries, he’s packing food. Enough food to last him a week.
Which, when you have to carry all this food on your back, can add up to a lot of weight. (It also added up to a lot of dollars at Mountain Equipment Co-op, but that’s a totally different story.)
Anyway. All of Hubby’s trip preparation got me to thinking: what’s the best way to prepare (food-wise) for the post-apocalypse? Now, I’m not talking about making sure your bunker is fully stocked with canned goods and other non-perishables. I’m talking about that possibly lonely trek on a possibly long, lonely road through a possible wasteland (lot of possibles, here).
I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that if/when you’re making that trek, you probably don’t want to be carting around three cases of Alphaghetti and two cases of KD. Plus a box or two of instant ramen.
And maybe some Girl Guide cookies.
My husband is not taking cans of Alphaghetti. Nor is he taking a bunch of watermelons and half a tub of grapes, like that one guy did last year. Instead, he’s taking those freeze-dried camping meals (well, at least I think they’re freeze-dried). The last time he did this hike, he brought a backpack full of MREs.
Apparently, MREs weigh more than the freeze-dried meals, even though they obviously weigh less than cans of Alphaghetti and a watermelon. Instant ramen would be pretty light, though, so maybe a desperate person could take those? (With Girl Guide cookies. Because to be perfectly honest, I’d miss Girl Guide cookies. Especially the mint ones.)
So now I’m wondering, is it a good idea to stock up on MREs and freeze-dried camping meals? What do you think?
You tell me: What would be your preferred trekking-through-a-post-apocalyptic-wasteland food supply?
Definitely freeze-dried stuff – it lasts ages and is pretty light. You can get freeze dried fruit as well, for vitamins. My usual salads with a bit of protein would go, as you’d need stuff that was really high calorie and high nutrient compared to weight. Obviously, I’d take feminised plant seeds so that when I was safe somewhere I could start farming.
I’d opt for things like trail mix and dried fruit, with some chocolate bars thrown in for bursts of sugar. And beef jerky. Lots of beef jerky.
Uh, seems so horrible to carry all that stuff. Just eat flowers.
You need a variety of foods. Food fatigue happens very quickly. I have tried to live on MRE’s, had to in the military. They get old quick. Check out our article on What Kinds of Food to Store. http://prepperhelper.com/blog/
Having survived hurricane Ike no water or electricity, the best meals were the MRE’s just a little water and ya got a hot and I mean a hot meal that tastes good. Peanut butter for a snack and a drink ya cannot beat em. The main thing I worry about in an apocalyptic situation is water. The water purification tablets seems would be the best bet for survival. No telling where you’d store these things in order to have em after the whatever.
Water is definitely a concern. Hmm…may need to stock up on MREs…