There's a very romantic idea floating around that a person could just walk out into the woods and find everything they need right next to the trail. Unfortunately, that's not true. In fact, it has never been true, ever. Forging for enough calories to live takes a whole lot of time and energy -- more time and energy than most people have, even devoted full time. It's why human populations didn't really start growing until people settled down and began farming grain.

As pointed out, forging isn't compatible with LNT. It also isn't compatible with backpacking from point A to point B in a reasonable amount of time. I know you said you don't want to depend on forging exclusively, but aside from the odd berry or herb, forging is a very time-intensive proposition. And that assumes you know, really know, your mushroom varieties.

I'm sorry. I don't mean to be mean. It's just that I hear this an awful lot from wonderful people who just don't know what all is involved in being a hunter/gatherer because the most crunchy thing they've done is shop at Whole Foods.

That being said, the blackberries ripen around here in mid- to late June and are perfect for cobblers and jams. Come on by then and I'll show you where to go. Just wear your snake boots.