Originally posted by Grailoch:

For me it is the same issue I have with portals, food. Farms are not easily relocated (or, do I really want to set up a farm here for the short time I will be getting materials here?). Boars for sausage are either in Meadows or a boar farm I have set up, both possibly a long way away from my current material farming location. The difference is, with portals I can get back to Meadows/Farm/Etc very quick to restock food items (and later meads). Not so much without them.

No difficulties at all as it's pretty much the same as traveling with a portal since you really only need surtling cores to build smelter or charcoal maker the rest of the problem had been long circumvented by piling carts on your long ship and leaving the rest of easy to farm materials like wood and stone behind.
I like the no portal idea but I wish there was an easy to make tent that gives you more rested bonus based on it's upgrade level which is a good way of progress.