# Ok desert experts lets hear you take on cooler management



## Bleugrass (Feb 5, 2018)

Others will have more elaborate practices, but mine are:

Chill the cooler first, either in a big fridge/freezer or with a lot of extra ice
Everything is cold or frozen before it goes in the cooler
Use a combination of blocks (for long-term preservation) and cubes (for proximity to things you want rocket cold)
Dry ice is cool but there's a learning curve associated with it -- practice first before counting on it
Open as little as possible (you know that)
Cover with a wet white towel at all times when it's in the sun (evaporative cooling)
Drain about half of the melt water each morning (controversial I know)


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## Wallrat (Jan 19, 2021)

I just did a Grand trip. 18 days, and threw away ice when I got home. Do what the outfitters do. The cooler goes into the freezer, pour in 1-2 gallons of water per day, till it’s about half full, put 10 lbs of dry ice on it during the drive down to the launch. I had an Orion 65L. Plus I cut bubble wrap as a top gasket. I could have done 21 days that way, but I started to put lukewarm beers in it.


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## wack (Jul 7, 2015)

I have a cheap 150qt Rubbermaid cooler that I got for $100 from Home Depot, not some fancy rotomolded job. Here's my process for a Deso trip in late July with temps in the 90-100* range

*Weeks/days before launch: *I make solid ice block ahead of time in a rubbermaid/tupperware thing that is almost the exact same width as the cooler. My blocks are 6" high at least for Deso. I only add 1" of water at a time when making these blocks. I have a chest freezer I use for this.
*30-36 hours before launch:*
The day before we leave (front range of Colo), cut the blocks to fit perfectly in the bottom of the cooler. I then add shaved ice from my freezer around the edges where my blocks aren't a perfect fit. I then add 3" of water to fill up the sides of the 6" blocks. On top of this I put 10# of dry ice on paper. It takes a few hours but the 3" of ice freezes, and then I add more water. A few hours later, the whole bottom 6" of the cooler is solid ice. I then add my frozen meals and beers (24+) I've frozen ahead of time (pre-chill then freeze).
I pack the cooler full of everything that can be frozen with dry ice....(no eggs / veg/ fruit). If there's remaining space I fill it with beers or bagged ice. There's still some dry ice left in the cooler on the day we drive to Sand Wash
*24 hours before launch:* drive to launch site with a separate cooler for veg/eggs/fruit. Keep these in the separate cooler until launch time.
*Launch day:* I pull the bags of ice in the big cooler and use that top up my day cooler and share with people who need some, I add the fruits/veg/eggs to the 150. I leave the separate cooler in my truck with any remaining ice and a few beers for takeout. My day cooler now has leftover ice from the bags and some cold beers I've kept in the separate cooler (that stays in the truck).
*Float days: *cover cooler with wet towel and cover with Paco pad. Open only in the mornings or briefly at dinner to pull food. Use water gun to suck cold water out of big cooler and add to day cooler. Each morning day cooler gets that night's (frozen) food in it to help keep beers/sodas cool.

We did 7 nights and I still had blocks of ice for cocktails on night 7. After day 5 I wasn't even particularly diligent and achieved these results.


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## Quiggle (Nov 18, 2012)

If you can’t freeze it…. Don’t open it, or as little as possible while the sun is up. Plan/pack a cooler to not open it for the first few days. Keep your day beers In a different cooler. Keep the cooler wet, towel/pad, And I’m a drainer but only a little bit to keep the soup factor down. There is a lot more to it but with proper thought 8 days of ice in a igloo is possible, roto mold has less of a learning curve….


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## Bootboy (Aug 25, 2020)

To add to the above: 

Plan what food goes in which cooler and open your coolers sequentially. Have coolers that you don’t even think about opening until day 3,4,5 etc.

Keep them covered all the time. 

Anything you can do to boost R-value is helpful. 1/2” foam pad on bottom, designated cooler pad on top. 

Minimize contact with anything that has high thermal conductivity. Like aluminum…

To minimize opening, use a smaller cooler to put drinks and snacks for the day in so the big one only gets opened 2-3 times.


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## agrankin (Aug 31, 2017)

For our Deso trip we didn’t have a locker freezer and don’t have a chest freezer so the night before we used cubed ice and filled up the bottom of our Prospector 103 with about 4 inches of ice then added water to fill in all the void spaces. Added dry ice to pre cool and freeze the ice and water slurry in the bottom. placed foam insulation over the ice base and added pre frozen food including one gallon frozen water. traveled to river with remaining dry ice in the cooler to keep everything solid. added fruit and veg day of launch. relied on evaporative cooling during the days. we barely had any ice last day of 5 day/6 night trip. next time will go with 6 inches frozen base and will manage a day cooler better. we also used all three of our coolers throughout the trip rather than using one for the first third, one for middle third and the other for the last third. That would make a huge difference.


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## Whitewater Worthy Equip (Dec 11, 2013)

Cooler stew, always keep your chicken submersed in melt water so it gets all over everything in your cooler. Do you have any food poisoning stories? You’d be cooler if you did


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## cnalder (Jul 7, 2016)

I second all said above. If you can’t freeze your main cooler chill it the night before with ice, discard the ice then pack the day you leave. Precook and freeze everything you can. Bring perishable food in separate cooler and pack into main cooler the morning of the launch.

On my only Deso trip in August, I packed a second 94qt marine cooler besides the main 150qt cooler. It had 6-8 1gal jugs frozen and other frozen foods for later in the trip packed as tight as possibe. I place a layer a foam on top then strapped cooler closed. Opened on river day 4, it was actually day 6 (drive took 2 days). Transferred all frosty contents to other coolers and had plenty ice at the takeout. I always use at minimum a wet towel and often have pad over the top also. The empty cooler also comes in handy to pack garbage/cans.


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## Pinchecharlie (Jul 27, 2017)

I never messed with dry Ice. So it'll freeze water on its own? So you can use it to re freeze stuff? And on the drive down use it. Should it be isolated from actual food or just ? Haha! I dunno? So with the two or three cooler set up you guys are just using one up (so to speak) for say half the trophy then starting on the next cooler? Or are you doing some kind of transfer items and leave certain items one cooler to the next? And how do I carry all my beer? I hate warm beer lol.


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## cnalder (Jul 7, 2016)

If carrying multiple coolers I try not to open one until well into the trip. I do transfer beverages/lunch into a small day cooler daily. Keep kids out also, nothing like seeing a kid standing with lid fully open in the middle of the day, shopping for what they want to eat.

Freeze your beers they go a long ways. If you are a seltzer fan, they freeze well also. Most trips, over 2 nights I carry frozen beers. just let fully thaw before opening. 

Another good thread would be how folks freeze beers. I’ve done multiple ways.


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## wack (Jul 7, 2015)

In my post I showed you how to carry cold beer with a cheap cooler. Our other boat on the trip had a Yeti for meals later in the trip. This was my strategy for days 1-4 with a cheap cooler

1. Freeze beers (24+) for use in large cooler and for later in the trip.
2. Add beers from your warm stock to the day cooler (mine's a soft sider that will hold 12+) Use cooler melt water to help get these puppies frosty.
3. Once you're done with your (meals) in the big cooler, nothing wrong with adding beers from it to the day cooler.
4. hatchet out a chunk of block ice in the morning once your meals are done to use for keeping beers in day cooler cold.

*Yes I used Dry ice to freeze water in my cooler. It also froze the meals to 'super fucking cold level' , which allowed me to use them as an ice block for my day cooler. *

Don't have veggies, fruit, eggs in the cooler with the dry ice *on the way* to the put-in. They will taste weird and absorb the CO2...can you say "bubbly grapes".

Cheese, deli meat, cream cheese are fine with dry ice in my experience


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## UseTheSpinMove (Nov 16, 2016)

Turn anything you can into ice. Freeze your food, like folks have mentioned... but I also really like freezing jugs of juice, etc (I drink a bit out of them at home so there's room for the ice to expand in the jugs without rupturing)... they count as ice and then later on in your trip when you're starting to not care as much about ice in the last day or two, you can drink ice cold (or even better... slushy!) juice on a hot day.

Dry ice is pretty neat stuff... just don't let it get near or above anything you don't want super cold (ie veggies... if dry ice is near or above veggies, it'll torch 'em). 

Lastly, and this should be self-explanatory but I've seen folks mess it up, make sure anything that enters your cooler during the trip is as cold as possible. So, if you have leftover food after dinner that's all warm... avoid putting that back in the cooler (just eat it all!). I typically have a case or two of beer outside of the cooler when my trip starts (because there's not enough room in the cooler at the start) and if I find that I want to get that beer into the cooler later in the trip to chill down, I absolutely chill the beers as much as possible in the river via a drag bag (or a bucket of water) before I put them into the cooler -- on really hot trips, it's probably not a good idea to even put cool-ish beers into the cooler... but most trips, I can still pull it off. 

Just be mentally militant about it! It's kinda fun sometimes. Basically: anything colder than ice that goes into your cooler is harming your cooler.


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## UseTheSpinMove (Nov 16, 2016)

If any of y'all are interested, somebody sent me this podcast recently and it was fun to listen too. A lot of it has to do with keep coolers cold for a long time... https://theriverradius.simplecast.com/episodes/food-packing-for-the-river


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## Senor D (May 22, 2018)

+1 on pre chilling your cooler, freezing pre cooked meals and beers, only putting cold stuff in the cooler, open only in the cool of the morning and evening, etc. 
I measured the inside dimensions of my cooler, and found five 1 gallon jugs on Amazon that fit the interior almost perfectly. I freeze them in my chest cooler a few inches of water at a time so they don't get too distended. I like this method because your ice can be used as drinking water later in the trip. I also try to coordinate with the other folks on the trip. We designate one cooler as latter day frozen stuff, and don't open it for a few days.
I keep a separate small cooler that I restock first thing in the AM with the daily quota of beers and lunch for the day. If that night's dinner is frozen solid, it'll go in the day cooler, too. 
Dry ice is cool, but it will freeze anything in the cooler solid. Yogurt, veggies, lunch meat, etc. You can screw yourself if not careful. It's also expensive to line the floor of a big cooler with it. That said, it's pretty awesome to be able to bust out pints of rock hard ice cream on day 4 for a kid's birthday.


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## Conundrum (Aug 23, 2004)

For food coolers, best move I've made is developing a bourbon and weed habit.


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## OregonianRG (Jun 14, 2010)

Duck tape the seam around the cooler you don't plan to open for a few days. I use a small rug instead of towels on my cooler. Throw life jackets over your cooler. I am not one of those people who run up to camp and set up their tent first. I leave my drybag on my back cooler for as long as I can for added insulation. I use a baby changing pad on my cooler. It is much cheaper than a custom made cooler top.


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## westwatercuban (May 19, 2021)

I just bring an ice machine with me. Fits underneath my front passenger seat.


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## rpk3 (9 mo ago)

I cant respond. Im still reading.

Ok-

Burlap Sacks wet in river over cooler
then paco pads over that. You can get away with 100 plus temps for 16 days. (I have)
BLOCK ICE not AIR ICE. (makes a 60 % difference)


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## Pinchecharlie (Jul 27, 2017)

What's AIR ICE?


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## Count Me In (Jul 13, 2021)

Pinchecharlie said:


> What's AIR ICE?


Air ice blocks are made of pieces or shreds of ice compressed into a block. Tons of air pockets. I bought some last year for a Corn to Heller trip and luckily realized my mistake with time to correct it. I put the blocks into rubber maid dish pans and filled with water to freeze over night in my freezer. The pans make sort of blocks that fit a prospector pretty well.


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## COH20man (Jul 13, 2021)

Pre-cool the cooler with 10 lbs of cube ice. I bought "cooler shock" reusable Ice packs. I put 3 along the bottom and 1 on each side of our prospector 103. Fill with beer standing up vertically then and cube ice, block ice, then food. I make my own block ice using plastic salad containers (bigger is better) The cooler shocks weld the ice together and it can be difficult to get beers out. I have a piece of reflectix cut to the shape of the cooler and it helps insulate the air space that still needs to be kept cold as I have less food and beer in the cooler


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## Pinchecharlie (Jul 27, 2017)

So....let's say I take two big coolers and I pack them for half the trip each. So I use the first one then open the other. Does the produce and fruit and stuff like that last in the unopened one for 4 days? I've actually never packed a cooler for that long and my stupid kids are vegetarians basically and the little one really only eats raw vegetables and candy . I have to feed 5 and drink a beer a mile so 87 beers lol. No probably more like juice , seltzer and used up frozen water jugs cause I don't want to carry more than 20gls of fresh water. My coolers only a 90qt but was thinking of taking an extra instead of back drybox. Or do I need too? I have a 65qt artic but it's not that great and pretty big for what fits in it. I MIGHT just maybe buy a giant one cause my cooler now was a hand me down from the 14 ft boat and this 156r will fit a bigger one. I dunno?


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## wack (Jul 7, 2015)

I'll come on your trip and carry the beer cooler for you. You just feed your kids veggies while I row over and hand you ice cold beverages every mile....deal?


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## jbLaramie (Feb 1, 2021)

Echo all about the coolers said above. We also change what we eat on long desert trips compared to cold water trips. Instead of lunch stuff that’s got to come out of the cooler everyday, it’ll be PB & honey sandwiches with oranges. Stuff like that. Making a few changes like that makes cooler management a bit easier and is also some insurance that you won’t starve if your ice doesn’t last the full trip.


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## mbourdon (May 6, 2018)

We use a Jacks Plastic Welding bucket inside the cooler to separate the dry stuff from the melted ice water. Works a treat. Otherwise cover cooler with a horse blanket or something similar, keep it wet, and try to stay out of it.


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## Bootboy (Aug 25, 2020)

I cut a piece of 1/2 closed cell foam to the inside dimension of the cooler. It sits on top of the ice/frozen drinks and acts as a platform on which everything else can sit works really well for 4 days then becomes a little bit of a management challenge but it’s still worth while for keeping stuff out of the water


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## Wallrat (Jan 19, 2021)

wack said:


> I'll come on your trip and carry the beer cooler for you. You just feed your kids veggies while I row over and hand you ice cold beverages every mile....deal?


Best check his Buzz name, Charlie…I can see an issue there!
So here’s a suggestion: no cooler. Onions and potatoes for the kids (those are veggies, right?), river cooled beer for Dad, everyone is happy.


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## cnalder (Jul 7, 2016)

Pinchecharlie said:


> So....let's say I take two big coolers and I pack them for half the trip each. So I use the first one then open the other. Does the produce and fruit and stuff like that last in the unopened one for 4 days? I've actually never packed a cooler for that long and my stupid kids are vegetarians basically and the little one really only eats raw vegetables and candy . I have to feed 5 and drink a beer a mile so 87 beers lol. No probably more like juice , seltzer and used up frozen water jugs cause I don't want to carry more than 20gls of fresh water. My coolers only a 90qt but was thinking of taking an extra instead of back drybox. Or do I need too? I have a 65qt artic but it's not that great and pretty big for what fits in it. I MIGHT just maybe buy a giant one cause my cooler now was a hand me down from the 14 ft boat and this 156r will fit a bigger one. I dunno?


Think you said a 7 day trip with a 90qt cooler? Seams like you need at least two of those. I’d use this trip as rationale to go get a 150qt cooler. You won’t regret it.


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## rpk3 (9 mo ago)

Pinchecharlie said:


> What's AIR ICE?


Not block ice. You know. Weekender tailgater and party ice.


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## Recreation_Law (Oct 29, 2013)

Wallrat said:


> I just did a Grand trip. 18 days, and threw away ice when I got home. Do what the outfitters do. The cooler goes into the freezer, pour in 1-2 gallons of water per day, till it’s about half full, put 10 lbs of dry ice on it during the drive down to the launch. I had an Orion 65L. Plus I cut bubble wrap as a top gasket. I could have done 21 days that way, but I started to put lukewarm beers in it.


Outfitters don't free water in their coolers it weakens them and eventually they bust.


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## Recreation_Law (Oct 29, 2013)

In Flagstaff the outfitters buy blocks of ice that are 8x10x2. Thy line the bottom of the coller with these blocks vertical. Any space left over they break the blocks and fill in the holes. They then lay a pad of closed cell foam down that is cut to fit exactly on top of the ice. Then the food goes on top of that, any gaps in the meat cooker are filled in with ice chucks. On top of the food is another closed cell foam cut to fit perfectly. 

This means that the cold air is not sucked out past the closed cell foam when the lid is opened. There is also no air movement between the ice at the bottom so it stays colder longer. At the end of a trip that bottom ice has frozen into one big chunk so it looks like it started out as a cooler with water frozen in it.

The coolers are not cold when packed, not kept in a cooler. Everything going in comes out of a freezer or cooler per health department regulations.

Each night the coolers are drained. You can see the results of some testing about draining in my book. I throw an old cotton blanket over my cooler so it hangs off the front but it tied under the straps in the back so it hangs down on to the floor of the self-bailing boat. That way even in the sun, the blanket has moisture moving upward on it. When I have a break I throw a bucket of water on the blanket. (Large beach towels work also dependent upon cooler size.) Of course I am for waves to I don't have to throw a lot of water buckes on the coolers.

I've posted already about dropping umbrellas on the cooler during hikes, lunch etc.

That is then the biggest issue the coolers & the cooler size. The coolers the oar trips use are 3.5' tall by 6' wide by 30" in depth. The are all canyon coolers, they work better than anything else. Mass also helps. That is a lot of ice and a lot of fozen food so there is a large frozen mass in the cooler. By day 8-10 we have 1 empty cooler that we throw boatman beer in.......


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## semievolved (Nov 12, 2011)

i'd like to see the results of your cooler drainging tests. is there a way to do that wihout buying your book? draining makes sense if you're trying to have ice as long as possible (good for bragging rights) and also don't have a way to keep stuff out of the soup. not draining should maintain a lower temp for the food items in your cooler for longer overall though; your ice will be gone sooner but the cold water in the cooler will keep anything you have left in there cooler than if it were a small chunk of ice with no cold water. .


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## Recreation_Law (Oct 29, 2013)

semievolved said:


> i'd like to see the results of your cooler drainging tests. is there a way to do that wihout buying your book? draining makes sense if you're trying to have ice as long as possible (good for bragging rights) and also don't have a way to keep stuff out of the soup. not draining should maintain a lower temp for the food items in your cooler for longer overall though; your ice will be gone sooner but the cold water in the cooler will keep anything you have left in there cooler than if it were a small chunk of ice with no cold water. .





semievolved said:


> i'd like to see the results of your cooler drainging tests. is there a way to do that wihout buying your book? draining makes sense if you're trying to have ice as long as possible (good for bragging rights) and also don't have a way to keep stuff out of the soup. not draining should maintain a lower temp for the food items in your cooler for longer overall though; your ice will be gone sooner but the cold water in the cooler will keep anything you have left in there cooler than if it were a small chunk of ice with no cold water. .





semievolved said:


> i'd like to see the results of your cooler drainging tests. is there a way to do that wihout buying your book? draining makes sense if you're trying to have ice as long as possible (good for bragging rights) and also don't have a way to keep stuff out of the soup. not draining should maintain a lower temp for the food items in your cooler for longer overall though; your ice will be gone sooner but the cold water in the cooler will keep anything you have left in there cooler than if it were a small chunk of ice with no cold water. .


The first results of the test were posted in the Grand Canyon Private Boaters listserve several years ago. Might find it there.


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## peernisse (Jun 1, 2011)

Lots of good strategies posted here. My approach would be 1) Buy good ice. Solid frozen water. In SLC I go to an ice distributor for this. It's weird how hard it is to find proper ice, and I do not possess a freezer to make my own, or else I would do that. I avoid grocery store pressed brick ice for anything over ~2 -3 days. Then all the other stuff mentioned here, freeze everything you can in advance, don't open the coolers except in cool morning or dinner time, drain the coolers fully each morning until about day 5-6 then leave the water. Etc. 
Have a great trip, that is a nice run.


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## Wallrat (Jan 19, 2021)

Recreation_Law said:


> In Flagstaff the outfitters buy blocks of ice that are 8x10x2. Thy line the bottom of the coller with these blocks vertical. Any space left over they break the blocks and fill in the holes. They then lay a pad of closed cell foam down that is cut to fit exactly on top of the ice. Then the food goes on top of that, any gaps in the meat cooker are filled in with ice chucks. On top of the food is another closed cell foam cut to fit perfectly.
> 
> This means that the cold air is not sucked out past the closed cell foam when the lid is opened. There is also no air movement between the ice at the bottom so it stays colder longer. At the end of a trip that bottom ice has frozen into one big chunk so it looks like it started out as a cooler with water frozen in it.
> 
> ...


I stand corrected. I was going from what a longtime GC boater had told me.


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## peernisse (Jun 1, 2011)

Pinchecharlie said:


> What's AIR ICE?


The "block" ice you get at most stores that is really just shave ice pressed into a block. Lots of air space inside and it melts fast.


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## NoCo (Jul 21, 2009)

Nothing beats a good cooler, dry ice and good cooler maintenance. Keep lid closed, keep in shade, wet burlap top under a wet towel. And get you dry ice at the local welding supplier. It's way cheaper, and you can buy lots more of it. 30 bucks gets me enough for a 75 and 120 qt cooler. Dry ice melts at -80 no freezer I have access to can come close to that.


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## NoCo (Jul 21, 2009)

I also keep nothing but ice in the 120qt. Use that ice to fill the soft coolers for beer. Beer gets drag bagged first. I also pack with those 1.5 gallon water jugs from the dollar store. Freeze them in the coffin freezer for a week, then line the bottom of the coolers with them. This way your ice never sits in water. Last summer this set up still had ice after 12 days. Best I've found yet.


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## MNichols (Nov 20, 2015)

Recreation_Law said:


> The first results of the test were posted in the Grand Canyon Private Boaters listserve several years ago. Might find it there.


The listserv was archived before yahoo killed it, it's not likely the new board would make it available, Ricardo Martin may have a copy, I'm not sure though.


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## fkn newf guy (7 mo ago)

Conundrum said:


> For food coolers, best move I've made is developing a bourbon and weed habit.


start havin to put your party supplies in someone elses, beaver, otter or A star and the weight savings habit pays for itself
the functional stoner thing comes in handy sometimes


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## IDoutdooraddict (Aug 25, 2020)

Recreation_Law said:


> In Flagstaff the outfitters buy blocks of ice that are 8x10x2. Thy line the bottom of the coller with these blocks vertical. Any space left over they break the blocks and fill in the holes. They then lay a pad of closed cell foam down that is cut to fit exactly on top of the ice. Then the food goes on top of that, any gaps in the meat cooker are filled in with ice chucks. On top of the food is another closed cell foam cut to fit perfectly.
> 
> This means that the cold air is not sucked out past the closed cell foam when the lid is opened. There is also no air movement between the ice at the bottom so it stays colder longer. At the end of a trip that bottom ice has frozen into one big chunk so it looks like it started out as a cooler with water frozen in it.
> 
> ...


Why would you say to drain your coolers and THEN say to keep mass in the cooler? The mass of the cold water doesn't work for you?


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## Whitewater Worthy Equip (Dec 11, 2013)

Solid water blocks. Cut bags so water can be drained. It you like cooler stew don’t drain water and don’t cook or transport food o n my trips.


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## NoCo (Jul 21, 2009)

[/QUOTE]
Why would you ever blow or agree to a sobriety test on a boat? You have not signed your rights away with implied consent laws like when you get a driver's license. Im really just a monkey with a cell phone in real life. But am I right about this? I know there are some lawyers here. I won't call you out. But I personally met 2 of yous. For me as average drunk gets in trouble again. I say don't blow. It's only evidence used against you. You never signed your rights away like your drivers license. Am I thinking ok?


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## westwatercuban (May 19, 2021)

NoCo said:


>


Why would you ever blow or agree to a sobriety test on a boat? You have not signed your rights away with implied consent laws like when you get a driver's license. Im really just a monkey with a cell phone in real life. But am I right about this? I know there are some lawyers here. I won't call you out. But I personally met 2 of yous. For me as average drunk gets in trouble again. I say don't blow. It's only evidence used against you. You never signed your rights away like your drivers license. Am I thinking ok?
[/QUOTE]
If you say no..you will end up with more problems…


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## MNichols (Nov 20, 2015)

He has a point. LE uses sobriety tests to gather probable cause to arrest you.. It has no other use. A smart lawyer told me, never take the roadside tests, go in and blow into the breathalyzer, even if you blow some obscene number, a good attorney can get you off. Why ? He'd argue that LE didn't have probable cause to stop you in the first place, sober people can weave, and especially in todays world of people with their nose stuck in the phone / trying to figure out their "infotainment" systems and such. 

I'm not advicating drinking and driving, I don't for any reason at any time, but then a lifetime of EMS likely has something to do with that.. But if you DO find yourself in that situation, or you may know someone in a similar situation (apologies to Arlo Gutherie)


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## fkn newf guy (7 mo ago)

we both blew a double aught








id eatin nuff gummies and poked smot to probably put that new leo on couch lock for a good 36 hours
machine dont measure that though
so we used it to prove the 2 captains of watercrafts had bac's within the limits of the law
pretty simple deal
call me out and tell em for all i care
not sure how you met a couple of mees unless you include them black n white furkids i roll with

















boats reeked of booze its whatcha do when your buzz catching on a still water booze cruise
totally within their rights and i knew i hadnt drank since a bloody mary morning at Irma's
so i refused to do stupid human sobriety tricks and asked to cut to the chase
they were cool about it so were we i think it was her 1st week as an leo

yellowtail is hellofa cool place ill be back 
































I did have the overview turnout parking lot chuckling when i did my best spicoli took my chaco off and pounded my skull with a this is how stoned i am impression
they probably missed it over their engine noise well below us


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## westwatercuban (May 19, 2021)

fkn newf guy said:


> we both blew a double aught
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Beautiful ram!


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## westwatercuban (May 19, 2021)

MNichols said:


> He has a point. LE uses sobriety tests to gather probable cause to arrest you.. It has no other use. A smart lawyer told me, never take the roadside tests, go in and blow into the breathalyzer, even if you blow some obscene number, a good attorney can get you off. Why ? He'd argue that LE didn't have probable cause to stop you in the first place, sober people can weave, and especially in todays world of people with their nose stuck in the phone / trying to figure out their "infotainment" systems and such.
> 
> I'm not advicating drinking and driving, I don't for any reason at any time, but then a lifetime of EMS likely has something to do with that.. But if you DO find yourself in that situation, or you may know someone in a similar situation (apologies to Arlo Gutherie)


The last thing I would ever do is give a refusal. At least in Colorado if you refuse you lose your license. And YOU have to prove you were not intoxicated in court. I’d personally cut to the chase and blow. But I never drink and drive/boat/etc so it would never happen. Would see a lot of refusals when I worked in law enforcement…I never once saw it end well for an individual..


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## MNichols (Nov 20, 2015)

westwatercuban said:


> Beautiful ram!


Yeah, the new Ram trucks are nice


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## MNichols (Nov 20, 2015)

westwatercuban said:


> The last thing I would ever do is give a refusal. At least in Colorado if you refuse you lose your license. And YOU have to prove you were not intoxicated in court. I’d personally cut to the chase and blow. But I never drink and drive/boat/etc so it would never happen. Would see a lot of refusals when I worked in law enforcement…I never once saw it end well for an individual..


You don't lose your license if you refuse the roadside, just if you refuse to blow in the breathalyzer


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## NoCo (Jul 21, 2009)

westwatercuban said:


> The last thing I would ever do is give a refusal. At least in Colorado if you refuse you lose your license. And YOU have to prove you were not intoxicated in court. I’d personally cut to the chase and blow. But I never drink and drive/boat/etc so it would never happen. Would see a lot of refusals when I worked in law enforcement…I never once saw it end well for an individual..


So if I was boating and drinking and refused to blow, give field sobriety, or blood I would lose my Driver's license? How I wouldn't have been driving. I was told by a ranger at Parkdale years ago that anyone who touches a paddle and a beer could potentially get a BUI. Seemed a little extreme. I think he enjoyed his position a little to much. While we were Eddie out under sledgehammer drinking a beer we got to watch that same ranger running down the train tracks after his upside-down cat. He yelled at us not to touch his boat, so we laughed and watched it float by.


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## westwatercuban (May 19, 2021)

NoCo said:


> So if I was boating and drinking and refused to blow, give field sobriety, or blood I would lose my Driver's license? How I wouldn't have been driving. I was told by a ranger at Parkdale years ago that anyone who touches a paddle and a beer could potentially get a BUI. Seemed a little extreme. I think he enjoyed his position a little to much. While we were Eddie out under sledgehammer drinking a beer we got to watch that same ranger running down the train tracks after his upside-down cat. He yelled at us not to touch his boat, so we laughed and watched it float by.


Every state is different. MNichols hit it on the head with the refusal explanation. But in Colorado you can get a DUI on a boat, pedal bike, horse, and I’m sure theres a few others. which is tied to your drivers license. I think it’s ridiculous, but unfortunately it’s the law. I would never worry about anything non motorized personally. Saw two people in one day get BUIs in a state park though. But I get that, I wouldn’t want a yahoo drunk hauling ass around a lake in a motor boat. 

Driving is a privilege…I think a lot of people forget that..If you didn’t drink/smoke or are not over the limit theres zero reason in this instance to resist. They have to put you through the breathalyzer and or a blood test to stick in court.


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## VailGeek (Jun 26, 2021)

This thread has more ADD than me! Ha! Good stories guys.


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## Pinchecharlie (Jul 27, 2017)

*just got off desolation after 8 days and two travel days with coolers full of block ice. All the tricks work. So I had a Engle 123 and a off brand 90qt. Both had block ice frozen with cubes /water / dry ice. Probably had 3 inches of solid ice in the bottom. So thanks to all who gave me recipes and tips. It was hot a.f all week and all our food stayed good and we had cold drinks to the end. Only screw up was we were two cases of beer short!! And my otter pops failed but the kids drank them thawed so oh well. Yep iam all dialed now thanks to the good old mountain buzz!! Now to learn how to row in the wind all day lol *


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## wack (Jul 7, 2015)

Thanks for the update! Glad to hear it was a successful trip with ice tips. 
I hope the hand was healed enough to lift all those heavy beers 🍺


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## craven_morhead (Feb 20, 2007)

Recreation_Law said:


> Outfitters don't free water in their coolers it weakens them and eventually they bust.


Not true for all outfitters. Cite: https://theriverradius.simplecast.com/episodes/food-packing-for-the-river


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## agrankin (Aug 31, 2017)

Pinchecharlie said:


> *just got off desolation after 8 days and two travel days with coolers full of block ice. All the tricks work. So I had a Engle 123 and a off brand 90qt. Both had block ice frozen with cubes /water / dry ice. Probably had 3 inches of solid ice in the bottom. So thanks to all who gave me recipes and tips. It was hot a.f all week and all our food stayed good and we had cold drinks to the end. Only screw up was we were two cases of beer short!! And my otter pops failed but the kids drank them thawed so oh well. Yep iam all dialed now thanks to the good old mountain buzz!! Now to learn how to row in the wind all day lol *


Too much to hope for a trip report?


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## Pinchecharlie (Jul 27, 2017)

11 days and back of a hot truck for a day home with no care lol. I think you buzzards may just know a little about a little lol!! That chunk was in the Engle 123 with fresh cucumbers and a fresh bell pepper !! Yahaha! I had enough food for another week lol ! Seriously you guys should invite me on your shite ! I can do it all …er…bwahaha! 
iam still trying to figure out just how this , my first real big trip, went ??? Iam pretty sure it was not according to mosts plans and with more drama than most could stand. So…in fairness to the innocent and to insure iam invited on your next trip… I may just keep that private lol!!


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## Wallrat (Jan 19, 2021)

Al


Pinchecharlie said:


> 11 days and back of a hot truck for a day home with no care lol. I think you buzzards may just know a little about a little lol!! That chunk was in the Engle 123 with fresh cucumbers and a fresh bell pepper !! Yahaha! I had enough food for another week lol ! Seriously you guys should invite me on your shite ! I can do it all …er…bwahaha!
> iam still trying to figure out just how this , my first real big trip, went ??? Iam pretty sure it was not according to mosts plans and with more drama than most could stand. So…in fairness to the innocent and to insure iam invited on your next trip… I may just keep that private lol!!


Allright, Charlie. You’re officially invited to come on my next trip. Launching Oct 9 at Boundary, and turning the corner. You won’t have any problems making your ice last….I’m pretty darn sure of that. And just think: beer so cold it’s got ice in it, even without being in the cooler! Awesome….


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