I would nix the MRE's.Too much trash when you are done and the weightof each is made up of lot of that trash. If it is five day hunt, you will fill up one pannier just with MRE's and as mentioned drop camp outfitters limit you to weight and volume. Years ago two of us took MRE's for food for a goat hunt on Mt Shavano in southern Colorado.I thought we were going to starve.
It would take a lot of NOT eating to starve on MRE’s. Maybe you forgot to take the meals out of the packs and eat them.
