Getting ready for our yearly trip on June 16 through Bottle Portage. I really hate freeze dried meals. I usually run out of dry ice after 3 days or so and the red meat switches over to the less appealing dried variety on a 7 night trip. Do you guys think the water is cold enough this time of year to use a mesh sack to keep the steaks cold in the lake? I use this method earlier in May here and other places. Vacuum seal steak, bacon, sausage, etc separately and place in a mesh sack with a rock and lower down in the water a few feet. I'm just not sure the water temp at say 5-8 foot this time of year. Any thoughts?

It really depends on where you're located.

McIntyre will probably still be cold, but Robinson and Paulene were already close to 60 degree surface temps........and both were warm enough for swimming. If my big ole butt can handle the water temps, your STEAKS will be DOA.

Later,

Geo

Go deeper. Use long rope to reach 40'+.

Besides the dry ice are you using plain old ice? Also what type of container are you using for your cooler? Insulated Food Pack? Hard side cooler? Soft side cooler? Blue barrel?

Wow, I never realized how tough it was to be a red meat person! (Foil-packed chicken/tuna/SPAM is heavy but needs no cooling.) --Goose

I had never considered going deeper than 10 ft or so, but I could definitely see how the deeper the water the colder it would be. I guess I would certainly be limited to where we were staying at the time.

I should have mentioned that we (group) like to pack our things separately and use our own stuff (tent, packs, food packs, solo canoes, etc) so I will only be dealing with food for (1).

I will be using regular ice for (24) hours getting there then switch over to dry ice provided by Anderson Outfitters just before the tow in. I use an old Duluth pack as a food pack that has been in the family as long as I can remember and usually a very small disposable styrofoam cooler say 8x8x10 that will fit in the very top of the pack under the flap with a rope and small pulley to get it up over a limb. I usually wrap the cooler in duct tape to make it less accident prone. Maybe 1.5 inch walls at the max. I was considering a small Yeti 20 for the trip, but its hard to pull the trigger on a cooler over $200 personally for me...and they are heavy even the small ones.

Yes, I have done the chicken/tuna foil pack option certainly enough times. I wouldn't eat that at home so I try to avoid it personally. I prefer salted cured ham by the end of the trip. Good for breakfast and dinner. I certainly prefer red meat that is for sure, but its really not that tough. Especially watching my other group members eating their Mountain House...

The water may not be an option this time of year. I may try out the Yeti and plan on ham the last (2) days. Thanks for the feed back guys. There is no substitute for experience.

I'd take some frozen milk jugs along besides the dry ice. The dry ice will help keep the regular ice longer. Dry ice alone will not last that long according to Stu Ostoff from BWJ who does a lot of taking fresh and frozen foods out for long trips. I would look at insulating your setup more or switching to some other system. I don't know I I would trust my food under water for any length of time.

I know you said the meat is sealed, but snapping turtles have a darn good sense of smell.

The system we use is to have meat sealed in plastic. We put all packages in canvas bag. Use a small rock for weight. Using our fish finder we look for 40-50+' water with hard bottom to avoid snags. We have kept meat fresh for days. We tie off on a tree near camp. When we're moving we just keep bag wet and on floor of canoe under a seat for shade. Turtles have never been a problem. I don't think they swim that deep.

quote old_salt: "The system we use is to have meat sealed in plastic. We put all packages in canvas bag. Use a small rock for weight. Using our fish finder we look for 40-50+' water with hard bottom to avoid snags. We have kept meat fresh for days. We tie off on a tree near camp. When we're moving we just keep bag wet and on floor of canoe under a seat for shade. Turtles have never been a problem. I don't think they swim that deep."

Yes you are correct about the Snapping turtles: "Snapping turtles live a sedentary life style (2, 16) They prefer to be able to reach the surface with their head while sitting on the bottom, and are therefore usually found only in water up to 3 feet (1m) deep, with depth of only 20 inches (50 cm) preferred in many cases, and a maximum possible water depth of 8 feet (2.5 m) (they only swim across deep areas but do not live in them)".

Once again you folks come through. The pending trip is a bit longer and I have considered dropping cold things into the deep. This thread has covered the questions and given me confidence it will work.

If I am correct water transfers heat/cold faster than air. Dropping while there is still ice/frozen items would actually have the effect of quicker thawing.

quote bhouse46: "Once again you folks come through. The pending trip is a bit longer and I have considered dropping cold things into the deep. This thread has covered the questions and given me confidence it will work.


If I am correct water transfers heat/cold faster than air. Dropping while there is still ice/frozen items would actually have the effect of quicker thawing. "

Around 4-6 times more effective without motion transfer of the heat body- and also depends on amount of water vapor present in the air (aka the dewpoint-- IN (water taking away/adding heat compared to air). Start moving around in water and exposing/dissapating your core heat more effectively to the heat transfer process-- and it approaches 50 times. Studies have shown that a human struggling in very cold water to stay afloat/swim etc. approach this 50 times range by exposing the body to heat transfer much more effectively.
Specifc Heat

A great example of water/air heating capacity is to take a balloon and fill with air and then put a flame to it. POP!!! DO the same thing with a water balloon and you will see the physical heat properties of water in nut--- the balloon will not melt for some time ... The water is able to absorb the heat of the flame for some time before the rubber meets the road. Same thing many survival experts know is that you can boil water over a heat source (fire/stove etc) in a plastic bottle without melting the plastic. As Les Stroud says in one of his shows-- "Many have not known in a survival situation that you can boil water (to drink safely) in a plastic bottle"

Someone mentioned a small Yeti cooler. Spendy and heavy -- yes. But from experience (not in BW/Q), you could likely keep steaks/bacon etc nearly FROZEN for a week in the dead of summer in the BW/Q if common sense is uses in packing and storing.
Pelican makes a cheaper but same quality imho brand that is available at COSTCO,, I just have not seen them in the smaller sizes there.