Food & water for dry camping

[rebeccalk]

Hi all,
I always camp near a water source when I hike, but for my upcoming trip to the Western Arthurs we will spend one night without water (Parks Tasmania tells me that it's very unlikely there will be water at High Moor campsite next week), so I'm hoping for some tips on dry camping and cooking.
My group is currently debating how much water to carry from the camp at Lake Oberon to last us through that day of hiking, the night at High Moor, until we reach camp at Lake Haven. We're also debating over the pros & cons of eating a dehydrated dinner that night vs eating no-cook style food (wraps, salami, etc).
Any thoughts or advice?

[north-north-west]

The water at High Moor can become low but I've never heard of it drying up completely. There was plenty there a week ago, and given the rain and snow last weekend it won't be drying out that quickly.

[Gadgetgeek]

I'd go for a no-cook meal. the weight penalty is minimal considering you save water in the cooking and cleaning. Two full days without water is tough. Depending on terrain and distance I'd be thinking 3L+3L+1Lspare with no cooking water. And then sharing the load of about 0.5L per person as an emergency backup. In normal conditions that would top me out over my load limit, something to consider. Extra water carried is extra water expended in sweat. its a rocket fuel trade off.

[rebeccalk]

The water at High Moor can become low but I've never heard of it drying up completely. There was plenty there a week ago, and given the rain and snow last weekend it won't be drying out that quickly.

That's very heartening to hear! Maybe Parks are just being overly cautious by telling us that we can't rely on the water there? Hopefully we meet someone coming the other way for an update.

[rebeccalk]

I'd go for a no-cook meal. the weight penalty is minimal considering you save water in the cooking and cleaning. Two full days without water is tough. Depending on terrain and distance I'd be thinking 3L+3L+1Lspare with no cooking water. And then sharing the load of about 0.5L per person as an emergency backup. In normal conditions that would top me out over my load limit, something to consider. Extra water carried is extra water expended in sweat. its a rocket fuel trade off.

My partner is adamant that a dehy meal makes more sense, his reasoning is that the water you carry to rehydrate the food will be be equivalent to the water contained in the no-cook food and that you need to drink to digest it. So he thinks dehy vs no-cook won't make a difference to the weight of our packs, but we'll get a nicer meal with dehy, basically. But we wouldn't clean the pots

[walkon]

I'd go for a no-cook meal. the weight penalty is minimal considering you save water in the cooking and cleaning. Two full days without water is tough. Depending on terrain and distance I'd be thinking 3L+3L+1Lspare with no cooking water. And then sharing the load of about 0.5L per person as an emergency backup. In normal conditions that would top me out over my load limit, something to consider. Extra water carried is extra water expended in sweat. its a rocket fuel trade off.

My partner is adamant that a dehy meal makes more sense, his reasoning is that the water you carry to rehydrate the food will be be equivalent to the water contained in the no-cook food and that you need to drink to digest it. So he thinks dehy vs no-cook won't make a difference to the weight of our packs, but we'll get a nicer meal with dehy, basically. But we wouldn't clean the pots

+1. you need to get the water from somewhere. With dehy meals you dont have any waste water.

[Gadgetgeek]

Water in is water in, so in that case I suppose you are right.

[Mark F]

I agree with

My partner is adamant that a dehy meal makes more sense,

Another argument in favour of this approach is that you will carry the extra water in the no cook meal for several days before consuming it, rather than just the one day. To me no cook only makes sense in TFB periods or for the first dinner on on the trip.

[rebeccalk]

Another argument in favour of this approach is that you will carry the extra water in the no cook meal for several days before consuming it, rather than just the one day. To me no cook only makes sense in TFB periods or for the first dinner on on the trip.

Good point, I hadn't thought about that!