Well, I just have one more thing to say in this thread, and then I'm done with it.
The longest I have ever gone without any food whatsoever was 72 hours. I was not in a survival situation. I was just testing myself. I do physical labor for a living. So during those 72 hours I did 24 hours of labor (8 hours a day).
I was completely worn out.
So let's imagine that it's been a week since I last ate. I've been working hard the entire week. I had to build a shelter. I had to collect firewood regularly. I had to search for water. And I've been putting a lot of effort into trying to get some food. Luckily for me the weather has been perfect so my life has been easy in that regard (god help me if I was both starving and freezing).
At that point my body is screaming, and no doubt my mental state is slipping somewhat. That's a BAD situation to be in. I don't give a damn what anyone says in their survival book. As far as I'm concerned, food is just as important as water.
I hear you, and my thinking is along those lines entirely.
I still think that water out weighs food though. On a recent hike, I got fairly dehydrated (my friend was in a hurry and didn't want to stop and filter). I was feeling a little woozy, not hiking well, and feeling quite exhausted. I finally insisted that we stop irrespective of the time since we were about to leave the canyon bottom and tackle a three mile up hill stretch. We drank heavilly, including a liter mixed with electrolyte mix, and refilled our bottles. A little while later, I stopped feeling woozy, and actually climbed the up hill section (a couple thousand feet of gain)
better than I had been walking in the relatively flat canyon bottom.
Food: important, way more important in a survival situation than the "conventional wisdom."
Water: still more important than food.
One man's opinion.
HJ
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