My wife and I have been planning and prepping a 3 day hike in Oct, through PA. After looking at MRE's for ages online (Amazon, et al), I found this site, and the 3 page thread of MRE's being the stupidest thing in the world, minus a few times for a nice meal. I read the "Sample menu" thread, and it seems to have a lot of things about dehydrated foods, and freezer bag meals. First: What is a freezer bag meal? Second: Do you buy bulk dehydrated meals, or even the camping packages? Does everyone carry a stove and pans? Do you just add the hot water to the bag, or actually cook it in the pans, and if so, how do you CLEAN your pans? What do you all suggest I do for a 3 day trip (1 carni and one veggie on the trip)? We are purchasing a crap ton of supplies as it is, so that is another 30$ on a small stove (any I should look for/avoid?), and can of fuel (one, two? five?). I was set on doing heated MRE's, but it seems to be a bad idea. Third: How much WATER does one carry for each person, for cooking and drinking? This will be in PA in Oct, so I doubt there will be any heat related issues or dehydration. Is a 2 L camelback good? Shelters seem common, so refills should be plenty....right???? Can I get away with a stove, one pot for water, and a few bags of food? (plus breads, trail mix, bars, etc)
Pre-thank you for the help and suggestions!