long term survival - what foods would you take to the cabin/camp?

[weeselbait]

If I wanted to stay out for weeks at a time, hunting and so forth, what kinds of long-term food would I need? 

You can't just live off deer meat, and eating MREs 24-7 would get old.  Is there a non-perishable or long-storage type food supply you would bring?

I'm thinking about adding something like this, possibly in kit form, to my camping/hunting supplies. 

[shaman]

One thing I would go back and look is what the old-timers took into the back country with them.

When I was starting into my adventuring, I got a copy of the Outdoor Life 'Cyclopedia.  In there they had a sample load-out for a trip.  It was loaded with stuff like flour, beans, salt, coffee, dried meat, etc.  I used that as a model for planning my long-term backpack and canoeing trips.  The resulting load-out might be 30/lbs per person per week, but it was hardy  and non-perishable.  It also made for comfortable existence. 

The last time I did one of these, the load-out came to something like 110 lbs for 4 people for 5 days.  That duffle was hard carrying the first couple of days, especially schlepping it on the harder portages, but it was worth it.  For instance, I'd throw a handful of peanuts into the last  of the pancake batter and throw down a couple for everyone to stuff in their kit for lunch.  Usually they'd get full on one cake at lunch and then the rest would hold them to dinner.

So much of this modern stuff doesn't have enough bulk to keep your bowels open.  If you go the MRE route, remember the Metamucil.  I hear it's VERY popular in Afghanistan.

I remember one big deviation from the 1930's vintage menu:  powdered Gatorade.  That stuff made a lot of difference.  I even used it as a seasoning for trout.

[JPH]

Shaman's advice is excellent. I say this because the one person I knew who actually hunted this way, wilderness hunting for days on end, did exactly that.

My grandfather was the only real survivalist I ever knew. He was not some kook, walking around marked trails with a hollow-handled knife strapped to his leg. He was a bit of a loner who had grown up in the depression bootlegging and hunting small game and to support the family. As a young man he became one of the original WWII paratroopers and survived a number of real survival situations, including being dropped miles from his objective and breaking his ankle in the process, and being MIA for 11 days in the Battle of the Bulge. When he got home he would "unwind" by cutting off a remote road in the Adirondacks and coming out when he damn well felt like it. As a matter of fact he did this, to some degree, until he died in his 80's.

Anyway, he was big on bulk items that could be used to fill the belly and provide protein, while spicing up whatever fare you happen to take along the way. I never knew him not to have eating utensils salt, pepper and Tabasco within arms reach. And I'm not kidding. he always had that stuff so that he could make any food tolerable. I guess once you've known hunger, you never want to go back.

Another thing he was big on was staging supplies ahead of time. He never packed stuff out of the woods. Once he brought it in he would bury the leftovers for the next trip. He did this with equipment as well. I remember riding along the Blue Ridge Road in Essex Co. NY and having him pull over and direct me back into the woods to retrieve a sheet of tin that he wanted to use as a shield for our campfire. I'll never know how the hell he remembered where all that stuff was. I suspect that there are a few tons of flour, beans and a few gallons of whiskey scattered around the forests of the central Adirondacks if anyone wants to go looking.   

With all that said, Gramp was a spec. ops. vet from another era. The guys today are all about ligtweight, high calorie, and high protein. Remember, they patrol the highlands of Afghanistan on one MRE a day. While you may think you are starving, an MRE has enough nutrition to sustain you for longer than you think. Yes they get old, so you may also want to consider the commercial alternatives that are made for backpackers.

Sounds like a cool way to do things. Have fun and let us know how it comes out.

[Jslotter]

I would pack some MREs for sure. They can keep you sustained for a long time, and the MRE can used for multiple purposes. The bag can be used to hold water or other things, or can be used for first aid use, they contain a book of matches, and the chewing gum is actually a laxative, You can also use the metallic wrappers that is used to package the food can be formed into a makeshift frying pan. Alot of them contain a beverage bag now where you can mix your powdered beverages and those can be used as a waterproof container for a cell phone, GPS, matches, whatever. The new MREs are straight up gourmet meals now and are not bad at all.

[D A Smith]

For long term any cans of food with last for years.  Example: Chief Boyardee, Dinty Moore Beef Stew, Spam, heat up and you're good to go.  Wouldn't to have a case, wait for sales and stock up !

[lolo12]

Hey thanks a lot for the advice. Since I am new into this hunting, I didn’t know about the food to be carried. I would prefer the can foods, because we don’t have to compromise on the taste of the food. But the weight of the food is another major issue.