[Kartographer]

"Food has always been my #1 priority...everything else will be traded for my food."

Don't for get WATER! I remember an episode of the "Twilight Zone" called The Rip Van Winkle Caper. After stealing a armored car full of gold the thieves are walking a desert as some of the band start running out of water they are trading whole bars of gold for a few sips of water.

Remember the rule of three, which generally contingent upon you not exceeding:
3 minutes without breathing (drowning, asphyxiation)
3 hours without shelter in an extreme environment (exposure)
3 days without water (dehydration)
3 weeks without food (starvation)

[blam]

"Don't for get WATER! I remember an episode of the "Twilight Zone" called The Rip Van Winkle Caper. After stealing a armored car full of gold the thieves are walking a desert as some of the band start running out of water they are trading whole bars of gold for a few sips of water"

Yup.

I take it for grated because I live in The Rainest City In The US.

There are creeks, ponds, streams and lakes everywhere. I was putting up a fence once and 'hit' water digging a post hole.

[RedMonqey]

Don't for get WATER!

Absolutely, water is a must.

Forget "going long" in gold, get barrels and stored Potable(clean) water.

When everything shuts down,(water as well as sewer services) clean water will be in high demand and short on supply.

Just think of Katrina and New Orleans. People begin dying of dehydration long before anyone,if any, died of starvation. Surrounded by water but not a drop was fit to drink(or wade through)

Even the water in the pipes was contaminated, full of bacteria and spilled chemicals. Old disease Westerners have long forgotten about, like Typhoid fever will spread like wildfire because people will drink unsafe water...