Although this news article makes it sound like the people who live in town of Field BC are running out of food, it is actually the people who are stranded there who are putting a strain on the town's food supply...

Just another reason why it is good idea to stock your vehicle with at least a couple of days of food when planning trips through mountainous and avalanche country where multi-day road closures are common this time of year.

That is an instructive story - thanks for the article link.

Given the massive snow dump we've had over the last while, the avalanche situation is no surprise. The highway and railway go through some highly vertical terrain. There have already been several backcountry fatalities in that area -- not the usual wingnuts, but some smart and highly experienced people.

On good roads, people punch right through from Calgary AB to Golden BC in an hour or hour-and-a-half. It's not a place you'd expect to be stranded. IIRC, Field is just a whistle stop.

Instructive is right. And time to go check the expiration dates in my car kit.

HJ

>it is actually the people who are stranded there who are putting a strain on the town's food supply...

The flaw in a lot of 'I've got a months food in' plans.
What if you get stuck with visitors? Suddenly that 'months worth of food' (for 1 person) has to go around everyone at the party.
qjs

In a relatively small scale situation like this, I wouldn't worry too much. If you were to be at my house, you would be fed.

Same here, I could not turn out a traveler who is stranded in the same situation or similar regardless how much food I had on hand.

This same situation is playing out in Field right now and goes to show you that people will take in complete strangers and feed them when the need arises.

One reason I feel the way I do is that I have been the beneficiary of other's hospitality.

Four of us were doing a technical climb in southern Arizona (SE ridge of Baboquivari) and we were delayed and benighted, spending the time huddling around a small campfire. We dragged ourselves out the next morn to the ranch house in the canyon where we had parked our car. I knew the rancher from previous trips, but I was truly surprised when they insisted on feeding us breakfast before we drove off.

What a breakfast it was! Elk steak, hashed browns, eggs to order, and a lake of really fine, strong coffee. On later trips, they always had some refreshment for us, while we told them of the climb and conditions on the mountain. A few years later, they needed a new water tank, and a bunch of us came out and poured the basal slab for them. It turned into a real festival..

+3. Nobody leaves my door hungry. Or lacks help or shelter if I can provide it.

Just this summer, my DW picked up a young fellow who was working in the open on the side of the highway (spraying weeds, I think) ... about 2 minutes ahead of a massive, freaky thunderstorm that could easily have spawned tornadoes, microbursts, and golf ball hail. I can't imagine sitting in the open with that end-of-the-world cloud bearing down on you. His supervisor (19!) forgot about him. We took him in, fed him supper, and after his ride came, sent off a sharp and pointy letter to the company he was working for.

As he was leaving, he offered to pay us (as I would have; common courtesy). Nothing doing; we told him to pay it forward. That's how you build a civil society. We've all been there.