Hey guys,
What do you do with a cooler when you take on into the interior? Do you hang it from a tree at night? Do you put it out in your canoe?

I know the standard with food is to hoist it up into a tree 4m off the trunk and several meters away from your site. A cooler seems more difficult to do that with though.

Thoughts?

Cooler??? If anything buy yourself a good small 6 can cooler and use ice packs and freeze the meat. That will last few days.

I still remember the first time my g/f came into interior with me... she asked... "where is out cooler"? I said... what cooler. After that she thought she was going to starve for few days, yet she ate like never before.

OK...
This is my first trip, hence why I ask. SO you dont even bother with one?

When we took our first interior trips, we took a LARGE cooler filled with ice and food.

We hung it. What a pain.

Putting it out in the lake in your canoe is an iffy proposition if the canoe is your only transportation. If the line from shore to the canoe should have something happen to it, and your canoe and cooler go for a tour on their own, well...that could create a bit of a downer, eh?

Seriously try to plan so that you don't need to take the cooler. (After just two trips, it got old fast.) We converted to backpacks, then to barrels.

We now use a small, insulated lunch-type bag to hold any frozen food, or stuff that we want to keep cold.




Barbara

Never taken a cooler tripping.

Nope, I don't take a cooler on interior trips. Just one more thing to carry. Coolers are more for car camping family and friends gathering. With me, I will have fresh and frozen food the first couple of days, then it's onto dehydrated food.

Most people hit a the first burger or pizza place they see after a trip. lol

Gordie

http://www.solotripping.com/

http://www.abrweb.ca/

if your bringing a cooler (with food in it), my vote is that you hang it like anything else (if it has a handle). if no handle, learn a quick knot on the web that would be good for tying blocks. practice a few times. (or bring a cooler with a handle). on the question of whether or not it is important to hang a cooler, i think it's a bit difficult to answer. ive used barrels for a couple years and used to hang, then got lazy and secured it in the bush every night. never had a problem (of course the only thing that would be a problem is a bear smashing it-- which i might add is no problem for the bear). but bears cant smash if bears dont arrive. i think there are some opinions about the barrel being scent-proof. how true that is i cannot say (though don't really believe it fully)-- i'm sure they reduce the spread of scent. anyway, bears don't arrive because of general probability, and perhaps too because of a barrel's feature of trapping scent (definitely so if it is true that they trap scent). since the scent feature might be what has helped keep my barrel untouched, using a cooler might be a mistake (since it must trap less scent than a barrel). also, a cooler is more prone to coons and things, as, i would think, it can be opened with more ease. these two things combined (the scent one is perhaps an issue, perhaps not), hanging a cooler seems best. but in terms of a cooler holding its ground against a bear (in battle), it will (in my opinion) hold as a barrel would-- none. if you could secure your cooler from smaller critters, then i would almost say it is totally fine to keep it on the ground (as, in that case, i consider the cooler my barrel, which has always done fine). but since im not sure about the scent dealio (it may be helping keep bears away), considering a cooler my barrel is a mistake, so i say hang. or float or whatever (though feel that if something needs to be hung (from bears), floating it is a bit silly a thing (as only a bear can say whether food is worth getting wet).

i lean toward recommending that you don't use a cooler though (as i think it should be hung), and while their handles are meant to carry weight (of objects that fit inside), them holding weight all night (for several nights), being winched with, combined with them holding weight unevenly (with more force on the side where the rope slips to [unless to the middle]), might mean they will snap. no use to get involved with these risks. consider buying a mini barrel or something, or learning a knot that ties onto round objects. i think either of these are perfect solutions for your case. if you are really worried about your food spoiling, and feel that a cooler is the solution for that, know that you have many other options and tricks to prolong the life of your food-- some that do better than a cooler can. is this something that interests you? but if you prefer a cooler, i don't see any problem with that except for suspending it (which can be resolved).

algoalex

Uh, yeah, you would never hang a cooler by its handles.

You would need to tie it up with sturdy rope, like a present. Around the center one direction, then around again in the other direction.

You should also not depend on a single tree branch to support that kind of weight.

You would need a double-line system, with pulleys, hanging the cooler between two trees.

yup, a lot easier to just forget the cooler idea all together. Get into the "easier" way right off the bat. That was our problem...we went from car camping to interior, and didn't learn to lessen the load.




Barbara

Hi Rob,

This time of the year(If you are going soon), I use nature to keep my drinks cool. I have a mesh bag that I put my beer in(In plastic bottles), then tie it off worth a long rope, and put a few rocks in the bag and drop it into the lake. Also if you have any north facing areas, concealed from the sun, you might find deep enough snow to place your drinks in.

If your talking food, a cooler bag would be ideal, the smaller the better. Like what everyone else said here, a big cooler is just not worth it.
Hope this helps



Mark Rubino
Mark's Algonquin Park Sampler - Blog
Mark's Algonquin Park Sampler

http://www.ABRweb.ca .. Algonquin Backcountry Recreationalists - Caring for Algonquin's Backcountry

I can't imagine taking a cooler on an interior trip. Forget hanging it, I wouldn't want to portage it!

Between frozen food, insulated bags, dehydrated food and fresh fish, there really is no need.

ya i thought id explain why hanging it by handles is potentially a problem, as opposed to blankly saying 'dont' (i don't consider it intuitive). actually speaking, depending on what is in that cooler, it could be hung by the handle. after all they hang from your arm (and bounce with your walk). they are built fairly, aren't they? maybe not. but how high they go does not change their stress. (except if going high means by a rope, which means rope sliding to one side [if the handle is square]).

anyway, if you want to bring a cooler i think you should. see for yourself how it works out (you may find it very practical in a few ways, less practical in others) that's what first trips are about. as barbara suggested, i think it's best you wrap it in rope and send it up (especially if the load is serious). if you dont wana mess around making knots that hold it properly, you could get a mini cheap tarp (or even a bed sheet folded a few times), roll the corners around golf balls, tie them in, and you got yourself a collapsible basket that packs into nothing and weighs less than a jug o water (you could do this at home). just place the cooler in the middle of the material, close in the corners, tie off and lift. actually that sounds kinda fun. i may do that when/if i take a cooler sometime lol. actually, you dont even need to tie golf balls in you can simply tie the corners together, once the cooler is placed between them. (golf balls would work better for a tarp i think, because tarps are a bit too stiff and slippery to make knots with). simple and secure method right there! i highly recommend it! you might rig up a cheesy hammock with that sheet on a sunny day too. what else could you do? make animals with your hands in front of a flashlight. anyway the cool thing about the golfball method at the corners is that if you roll them in right, you don't even have to make the greatest knot to keep them in: as soon as tension goes on the sheet, the corners press round the ball (and onto their own fabric), and create a friction proportionate to the weight involved, thereby causing an appropriate hold. like a rope wrapped round a tree 3x is usually sufficient to pull the tree down (not that you would ever want to pull a tree down )

so, it's good to hang. use a sheet or look up some knots (im sure there are some simple and efficient knots for this kinda thing), and make sure you bring your cooler if the idea came to you with any excitement. tell us about how it worked for you. i think the surest issue with the cooler has been offered a few perfectly good solutions. the only other issue with the cooler that i foresee you having is dependent on the type of trip you are doing. if you plan on doing a bunch of portages (or a long one), consider how manageable it will be carrying a cooler. even well fitted packs can strain the body as portages get long or awkward.

algoalex

For my opinion about coolers, see the thread Add 'n' Tweak on Nov. 9, 2008, 10:43 PM.

Yeah, Rob, the consensus seems to be that coolers aren't necessary in the interior. It's easier to get around using them in the spring or fall seasons as you have cool water available as a natural refridgerator but in the summer season you'll find yourself a little more limited in what you can do.

I see two alternatives...

1. dry ice - this is an excellent way to keep objects cold with low weight and no cooler...wrap a half pound or so of dry ice in newspaper and wrap your other frozen goods in newspaper too (the paper keeps the air from circulating and keeps cool air around frozen goods). Resist the urge to unwrap and peek in on your cool zone...that reduces the time it will last.

2. frozen foods eaten by day two or three of the trip - we usually bring in a frozen delmonico steak for each member of the team as a reward for surviving the first day (we typically do 15 - 20 miles on day one to make the rest of the trip have less travel). We pack the frozen steaks in the center of the drybag surrounded by other cool/cold products and then wrapped with our other packed camping supplies. Try to avoid wrapping food in your clothing...the odor will mingle and you'll be wearing what smells like a buffet to any predatory animals that are on the brink of going loco and nibbling on people.

There are many truly delicious recipes out there that can be made with dehydrated or lightweight alternatives. The only thing we bring in that needs to be cared for is usually cheese and meat. Virtually everything else will last for weeks, months or, if it's freeze-dried, years.

Also, don't knock the freeze-dried prepackaged meals from Mountain House and other companies...there are some very good alternatives out there. You may have to make some exceptions such as not having eggs after three or four days in the interior but you can offset that with pancake mix that you just add water. Add a couple maple sugar candies mixed with water over the fire and you've got warm maple syrup to soak it up and swallow it down!

Let us know what you'd like to bring and we can provide alternatives.

Oh, and if it's liquid refreshment we follow Markus' method of submerging in the lake - if it's summer time just get a longer rope and toss it out into deeper sections where it's cooler.

I have, on weekend trips, taken a small cooler with frozen meat inside for the first night. Beyond that, they're a bad idea imo. If something beyond that first night of luxury dinner needs refrigeration it needs to be left at home.

Food for an interior trip should be dry. Pasta, rice, dehydrated foods. For extra protein you can get granulated TVP. It's an adjustment, but not a difficult one. Remember no cans, but you could open that can at home and dehydrate the contents.

WOW!
SO what I am hearing is.....do not bring a cooler! ha ha.
Thanks for the advice. As for what I am planning on brining, i dont know yet! I am an experienced car camper and not a portage camper at all. I will need to do so research and figure this out soon. I am going from July 1st - 7th so it will be hot ans sunny I hope. I am not worried about keeping beers cold in the least, much more focused on food.

Thanks for all of your help, I will let you know what I decide.

Rob, I would suggest you start your research here on AA. Go to the homepage athttp://www.algonquinadventures.com/ and click on the "Interior" tab at the top. When you get to that page, look over to the left. There's a bunch of articles that can help you get started.

Then, I would recommend taking some time to read "The Camper's Kitchen" forum over at CCR.
http://www.myccr.com/SectionForums/index.php

There's a couple of recent threads where people list their menus for a week-long trip.

To make life easier for yourself, start making lists. I have a list that is outlined first by day, with each meal needed for that day.

Off to the side, I list the items I will need for each meal, and I go so far as to list cutlery, salt & pepper, ANYTHING and EVERYTHING I will need to get food prepared. Because it's also my packing list. First check mark for when I have the item ready, the second check mark is for when it's packed in the barrel. (Experience teaches you some surprising things. LOL )

We take spaghetti sauce, repackaged into Nalgene containers, usually freeze one. We take cold meat and cheese, and this stuff goes into the small insulated lunch bag. It's then packed in the center of the barrel, with the eggs in their hard carrier on top of it. Other stuff gets packed under, beside, and on top, to help keep it all cool.

Forget about bread...get into wraps, or tortillas.

I hate cooking at home, and the last thing I want to do when I'm camping is to cook. "Boil it"....lots of water out there, so may as well use it as much as possible. The quicker and easier it is to prepare, eat and clean up, the better.

Not sure if you would want to get into dehydrating quite yet, but that's another route you can explore.

It's a complete mindset change to go from car camping to interior camping, as far as food and cooking go. It took us a while to make the transition. The sooner you do it, the better, if you plan to keep going to the interior.




Barbara

We actually do take a cooler (or 2 depending on the size of the group) for our spring fishing trip. That's a 4 day trip in early May with a single portage in and a single portage out. We could dehydrate all the meals like we would for a summer trip, but given the circumstances we trade off the un-dehydrated weight for the simpler preparation. We don't hang the cooler but we do strap it closed at night.

There are lots of awkward shaped items that folks choose to take on trips in various circumstances including tackle boxes, chairs, and coolers. Don't forget that it is very traditional to carry a large wooden box called a "wannigan" on canoe trips. For a spring trip when we are base camping for multiple days and have only the one portage each way, we tend to take a lot of "extras". For a longer trip we take less stuff to keep the workload down. For a summer trip we take less stuff because we don't need as many clothes, sleeping back liners, hats, gloves, etc. to be properly prepared for the weather.

In other words, don't be embarrassed to take a cooler. Lots of folks do and it's no more awkward to carry than a wannigan. Actually, if you draw a checkerboard on top and carry it with a tump line, then if anyone does comment on it you can just tell them that it's your custom made insulated wannigan.

I think I have always taken a cooler with frozen/cold food inside. It's a great hard sided cooler that isn't too big. It fits in the canoe easy, usually in front of my daughter for some extra weight up front. I hang it along with the food bag, I use a pulley on a rope to make it a little easier to pull up. It only gets lighter with each passing night!

This isn't the same model I have but is about the same size.

Heck bring what you want as long as there is no glass or cans in it.
Its up to you just bare in mind how much Weight your willing to lug.
Some guys & Gals go in light as a feather, others like some extra beer & Gear LOL!
Cheers,