What is the most energy efficient way to get food in the wilderness(Central Sweden)?
I have gained an interest in arranging a full week camping trip together with some friends(party of 4). We are looking to cut down on our packing by limiting ourselves to emergency rations(freeze-dried and power bars). The distance we will be travelling is not that great(30km with 3 stops) and have come up with several ways to feed our party while we're camped out.
- Fishing, both active and passive(we have already got licenses for fishing).
- Setting traps for small game.
- Scavenging for roots and berries.
- Bite the bullet and just pack more food, somewhat spoiling the purpose of the trip.
I have had some success on my own in fishing with cages, and this is what I consider to be the most promising method.
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Up in the wilds of Sweden I'd go for reindeer rather than moose. Lot easier to drag back to camp.
Problem with living off the land is there are lots of things in the land that want to live off you. The reindeer will likely have worms, rodents are almost guaranteed to have some kind of parasites[1], occasionally rabies[2], and the smaller birds are simply not worth the effort. Even the fish you mentioned need proper cooking. Do you already know how to butcher small game? Cleaning fish is easy, skinning a beaver is not.
If your end goal is weight reduction you need to consider the balance of packaged food against fuel. Yes, you can get fuel off the land but not if it's been raining. Gas burners will quickly boil a litre of water for a packaged dinner without having to gather and build the campfire you would need to cook today's catch. Also consider the time spent hunting unless, again, that's the point.
Berry picking will also take a lot of time - are there edible berries in that area, are they in season, can you tell the difference between edible and inedible? Forget mushrooms unless you can positively identify each one that can survive a Scandinavian winter. And by identify I mean "here is a kilogram of mushrooms. Put all the edible ones in this pan, all the poisonous ones in that pan. You have one minute.
If you do go the wilderness route, book a doctor's appointment for when you return. Worms, parasites, tick-borne diseases, heavy-metal levels. A veterinarian might be better than a city doctor.
- stay far away from rabbits. Especially white ones living in caves.
- A wild animal with no apparent fear of humans likely has terminal rabies. Yes, Sweden is rabies-free but others might read this in the future.
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