Army rations

[RoboCod]

Hey,

I'm going hiking around Snowdonia for the next few days. We're camping out in the wilderness and I'm trying out some ration packs for the first time, simply to keep it quick and easy when eating. Has anyone ever tried them? I'm not expecting them to taste like anything more than dog food but it should be interesting living on them for 3 days... lamb curry, vegatable something, sausage & beans, MoD rice, treacle pudding. My poo is going to turn nasty isn't it?

 

[RoboCod]

Millets do these rations in a kind of bag, which you shove in boiling water for a few minutes. They're £3.50/bag (1 meal per bag) and you can get casseroles, sausages+beans, currys, chocolate fudge cakes....

Unfortunately they don't put food products on their site.

You see, I heard that a lot of these packs you buy with the name on them are just rebagged army rations. They have a higher price just because a company has their name on it. Apparently they're all made in the same factories? Anyhow, I bought a selection, some with a label (costing about £3 - £4ea) and some from army surplus (£2ea). I'll give a taster's review when I get back, oooh!

 

[RoboCod]

Yeah forget the milk! I'm carrying a lightweight pan and a stove. Water will be collected from streams and the food boiled in a bag. I feel like Ray Mears ...actually, Ray would have caught his own game, skinned it, gutted it and cooked it on a spit.

 

[RoboCod]

So in closing, rations are good.


Where in Snowdonia are you going exactly?

You fill me with confidence!

We're walking across the Glyders on the first day and then up the Pyg track up Snowdon the next.

W

 

[RoboCod]

Well we have come home a day early. We intended to camp on the Watkin path tonight but we got as far as Crib Goch from the Pyg track and with 70mph winds we just coulfdn't continue. Visibility was right down due to fog and it was raining. Stood at the top of Crib Goch was mighty scary with the mini hurricane like wind trying to whip your feet from beneath you!

All this means we only got to use two lots of ration meals. Last night we had Lamb Curry (Wayfarer) with MoD rice. As my first ration meal I must say I was rather impressed, despite there being a distinct lack of lamb. Sausage and beans were for Brekkie this morning (Army surplus), you got decent portions and they tasted good too... I suppose anything does when you're sat half way up a mountain freezing your ass off though!

I did something really special too...



Pulled over to look at the scenery and with my long bonnet I failed to see the little stump in front of me. When I pulled out the bumper went over the stump which resulted in my bumper being wrenched off. I had to cram it into the back seat (not easy considering you can hardly fit a crumb in there. ROy (pictured) and I couldnt help but laugh, it was either that or cry.

 

[RoboCod]

Was that photo taken near Pen-Y-Pass? Further down the Pass [going towards Llanberis] you can see a small white cottage on the left at the top of a field. That field is usually where I camp [if anyone watched the Gadget Show on CH5 a few weeks ago you would have seen it - some guy tested some cameras there].

Yes it is the road to LLanberis, I will have to check out this spot you're on about next time we go, which will be in Summer.

 

[RoboCod]

i will be doing snowdon in the next couple of months. i have not decided what route to take yet.
can you wild camp around snowdon?

I don't think you're supposed to be camping in National Parks. It's only because there is the concern that you will litter the place, burn down the area or destroy some sensitive habitat. So long as you know what you're doing and you leave everything as you found it though you should be fine... just be sure you did like we did and find somewhere nice and secluded