Back on topic, please.
-FA
So, who's eaten the azalea gall fruit? It's very watery and bland tasting.
Didn't sound very appetizing to me.
Up here I am not sure I have the gall.
just tell me where the crayfish can be found up north if at all plz
Natural Scavenging
I know of a group of thru-hikers who found a road kill dear. With the help of a local they brought the dear to his house and made chilli out of it. Just goes to show you, thru-hikers will eat anything.
Grampie-N->2001
Has anyone tried the MRE's ....I haven't heard anyone talking about bringing them?...I'm just curious as to why?
They;re heavy, have a lot of waste packing material you need to pack back out. Some folks have reported, er, digestive upsets of one sort or another, as well.
Crayfish are found in the northern parts of the US and the southern parts of Canada. We used to find them in small streams in Quebec when I was young, but I think they are smaller than the ones you like to cook up down south.
I think that if you want to eat the foods of the country, you would be wise to consider a mostly veggie diet. There are many edible plants in Carolinian forests, and many can be gathered rather easily in season. However, many are rare enough not to be suitable forage on a heavily used trail like the AT. Also, much of the thru season is relatively barren of sustaining edibles. The early summer was actually the famine time in gatherer cultures, because the starchy plants had not yet refilled their energy stores. However, there are a lot of spring greens. So, it is probably not entirely practical to depend on forage during a thru, unless you were very skilled at exploiting a lot of species according to microclimate and season, and also used to fasting when necessary, and willing to slow down or stop occasionally to replenish your own energy stores when a suitable food becomes available in abundance. Hunting for animal foods also takes time to set traps, hunt, dress and cook, so it would also slow you down. In the north, the traditional methods involved storage of travel food, like pemmican, for rapid travel. I think similar methods were employed in the south, but maybe more grains and fruits. A very high degree of skill was involved. I don't think many AT thrus would be skilled enough, or would be willing to undergo the privation, digressions and effort involved. Nor, for the most part, would it be legal to forage in this way in the park lands etc. And I suspect that you would have to be rather circumspect in what animals you took, and by what means.
Having said all that, it is obviously possible to live off the land as you travel. That is what our ancestors, both indigenous to North America and to other continents, did before we became dependent upon our industrial foods and such. But just because they did it doesn't mean that it remains practical for us, or even acceptable
Harvesting and comsuming enough wild edibles to fuel a Georgia to Maine hike while hiking it is an unrealistic concept argued unsuccessfully here annually.
I've eaten thru hikers before, but the meat is kind of stringy and tough. Easy to catch, though.
Finally, 75 posts before someone mentioned fiddleheads.Originally Posted by JAK
The obvious answer that i thought would be in the first 3 posts at least.
And you are right with your last line too JAK.
Insects have the highest source of protein and the easiest to catch of all listed in this whole thread.
They taste better fried though if you have a little oil.
I don't believe there's a law against fiddleheads or insects outside of National Parks either mr. TW.
Jeez people. Lighten up a little and learn something from a thread rather than diss those who try to offer advice.
Don't let your fears stand in the way of your dreams
The Appalachiian Brook Crayfish, a Maine native species, is primarily found in the far north of Maine but can be found in places along the AT. The creature appears to prefer cool, rocky bottomed streams, but is also found in littoral areas of lakes and ponds.
Eight species of crayfish have been identified in Maine, most are rare, but a few can be found most everywhere. They are a favorite food for some fish species and an occasional human.
Weary
Garlic Mustard...........makes a great salad............eat all that you can harvest.........dehydrate it and use as seasoning.
This reminds me of the pretty little Coltsfoot. You can burn its leaves and crumble them over food as a salt substitute. Very good.
oooh now i feel better i knew maine was famous for lobster saw crayfish seemed reasonable its crayfish season now wich ends in may starting from maine in june so il be on lookout
Garlic mustard
For those who weren't aware, garlic mustard is an exotic considered by plant scientists invasive along portions of the A.T.
Maybe we need a Through hikers against invasives! campaign. We could turn them and their appetites loose on the least wanted.
http://www.nps.gov/plants/ALIEN/fact/alpe1.htm
That was my intent but in a low key way, invasive doesn't sound too inviting
We should give thought to others plants which might be added to this proposed list of abundant and nourishing food. I'd suggest dandelion and plantain.
I've seen dandelion greens for sale at my local supermarkets, but I've found another, more convenient source, my lawn. I eat my plantain and violets too! My native violets in my beds are well-behaved and never escape into my lawn. I can't say the converse is so.
Nodding Wild Onion, Wild Hyacinth tubers.
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