In a different topic, someone inferred that those who take coolers are lesser campers as a result of taking a cooler. We just got back from our first trip with a cooler and will likely be bringing it on every trip in the future. We ate so much better than in the past. Are coolers common or too close to glamping?

Who wants to carry it? Clumsy, awkward, heavy if you fill it full of stuff... no thank you. I guess it's something one might do if you don't have all the right gear, but it also depends on how far you're going. One short portage? No problem. More than that, you have a decision to make.

Look at buying (or renting) an insulated food pack or eating your perishable food early in your trip.

No. We don’t want to carry it.

I can honestly say that I will never carry a cooler over a portage in the BWCA. I love the meals we cook from homemade dehydrated foods, and feel zero need to lug fresh ingredients along. I rarely eat big chunks of meat at home so why would I lug them over a portage. Every trip report that shows a meal of steaks and potatoes, I feel gross, since they would be about my last choice for any meal. But to each their own. I will never judge anyone for bringing what makes them happy on trail as long as they are willing to carry it in and out (and don't clog up portages for the rest of us).

The only non-dehydrated, fresh foods we bring along are cheese and summer sausage for lunch and we don't bother to refrigerate them.

Hard side coolers are fine on EP lakes but portaging is not what I'd do with one. But an insulated food pack can be quite do-able. Either method is still mostly a no go for me as I like to travel a lot, or at least get deep a day or 2 inside the BWCA.

butthead

Your own trip into the wilderness can be what ever you'd like it to be. Just because it might not look like someone else's trip doesn't make you a lesser camper. It simply means your priorities are different.

I don't carry a cooler but, I do like to eat well when camping. I find meal planning without refridgeration to be an enjoyable challange and perhaps one of the most rewarding aspects of backcountry camping. I do carry a Helinox camping chair. There is likely some guy that thinks "Real camping" requires sitting only on logs or rocks.

Do what makes ya happy. It would be best to avoid inviting criticism of your camping style if it is going to diminish that happiness.

No, I have no need or desire to do that. I don't basecamp, I travel with two weeks food, so I do the opposite. But, do your own trip.

I don't bring a cooler

We do. Yeti backpack coolers fit the kids perfectly. I wouldn't go without one. Would I carry a hard side cooler, no, but I wouldn't take an alaskan basecamping tent either -- doesn't mean I don't bring a tent. Sure, if you want to eat dehydrated meals, don't bring one. I enjoy bacon and eggs cooked over the fire for breakfast, we will always have a cooler. No different than any other gear, get the right gear and it works fine. I don't go up there to see if I can live on nuts, I know I can. I go up there because I enjoy it, and I enjoy a good fresh breakfast in the bw even more. We also bring nuts.

Absolutely not, but we don't go up there to eat. We want to spend as little time and effort with food as humanly possible so as to have more time and energy to enjoy canoe country. Also, I truly enjoy the lightweight, super quick and easy food we do take as it is honestly delicious, nutricious , takes minimal preparation, and has minimal clean-up. If dinner for 4 took longer than 1 hour from the moment we decided to eat until all clean-up was done, we would never consider it. We love it up there too much to waste time and energy cooking, eating, and cleaning up. That being said, do what YOU enjoy, there are no rules, and at least on my part, absolutely no judgement. Oh yeah, we LOVE to cook and eat, we just do that at home.

I'm assuming we're talking hard sided coolers here. I think the issue with them is that they are bulky and don't lend themselves to being portaged easily. Also, as food gets eaten the cooler size remains unchanged and still relatively heavy. This is a non-issue if you are just going in a lake and base camping, but it's not something I would have wanted to lug on my trip in June when 16 portages were involved.
Most folks here who bring fresh food will use an insulated food pack like the CCS Deluxe Food Pack. . It's designed specifically for portaging and fitting well in a canoe, and as the pack empties of food, other items can be added to the food pack to lessen the weight of the other portage packs.

The RTIC 30 Soft cooler fits great inside the CCS Deluxe Food Pack!

On the trips with family members they want a cooler so it goes along. All others I leave it at home. If you want to haul it then by all means bring it. I do bring a small soft side cooler for Crawlers.

I'm not sensitive enough to get upset over anything on the internet. I just like seeing the different ways people do things. We all have to eat, and since I cannot catch a fish to save my life, eating what I catch is not an option.

We used an RTIC backpack cooler. We were able to single portage without any difficulty. Age and health are on our side so this bit of extra weight really wasn't on issue.

I've starting subbing in freeze dried veggies and fruit into "one-pot" meals that uses things like instant rice and mashed potatoes, and they go over well with everyone. I dehydrate shredded chicken and ground beef/venison for the proteins. I use a small, soft-sided lunch cooler that I pack with frozen steaks/hot dogs and cheeses for our cold stuff, and that fits into our food barrel. With a family of 5, we have to bring a lot of food, so all fresh doesn't work well for us in terms of weight...but our current strategy works well for us.

Inmyelement: "In a different topic, someone inferred that those who take coolers are lesser campers as a result of taking a cooler. We just got back from our first trip with a cooler and will likely be bringing it on every trip in the future. We ate so much better than in the past. Are coolers common or too close to glamping? "

I have taken a 12 pack cooler in that fit the food pack perfect. A few frozen water bottles and vac sealed the meat. Ate like KINGS! Was it heavier than freeze dried? Of course. Anyone who looks down their nose at you for carrying a cooler has never had piri piri south african bbq game hens on day five of a week long trip.

I’ve also carried a small collapsing six pack cooler that I carried frozen meats for the first three days in. Once emptied it packed flat. Good compromise. When I go solo it’s dehydrated all the way.

Nigal: "

Inmyelement: "In a different topic, someone inferred that those who take coolers are lesser campers as a result of taking a cooler. We just got back from our first trip with a cooler and will likely be bringing it on every trip in the future. We ate so much better than in the past. Are coolers common or too close to glamping? "

I have taken a 12 pack cooler in that fit the food pack perfect. A few frozen water bottles and vac sealed the meat. Ate like KINGS! Was it heavier than freeze dried? Of course. Anyone who looks down their nose at you for carrying a cooler has never had piri piri south african bbq game hens on day five of a week long trip. "

What did you do with the bones?

Northwoodsman: "

Nigal: "

Inmyelement: "In a different topic, someone inferred that those who take coolers are lesser campers as a result of taking a cooler. We just got back from our first trip with a cooler and will likely be bringing it on every trip in the future. We ate so much better than in the past. Are coolers common or too close to glamping? "

I have taken a 12 pack cooler in that fit the food pack perfect. A few frozen water bottles and vac sealed the meat. Ate like KINGS! Was it heavier than freeze dried? Of course. Anyone who looks down their nose at you for carrying a cooler has never had piri piri south african bbq game hens on day five of a week long trip. "

What did you do with the bones?"

Resealed in a double zip lock and packed out. Nothing gets burned or left behind.

Inmyelement: "I'm not sensitive enough to get upset over anything on the internet. I just like seeing the different ways people do things. We all have to eat, and since I cannot catch a fish to save my life, eating what I catch is not an option.


We used an RTIC backpack cooler. We were able to single portage without any difficulty. Age and health are on our side so this bit of extra weight really wasn't on issue."

It's taken me a long time to realize how to catch fish in canoe country (let alone how to cook them). 40 years later, well kinda simple. Really comes down to being on a lake with good fishing. If you'd like, shoot me an email and I'll give you my number. I'd like to help you out with catching fish. Fresh fish in canoe country is fantastic. Btw, I like your attitude and ability to carry a cooler...used to do that, but then age had other ideas....

I’ve brought a cooler in the winter to keep my food from freezing and have a place to sit. Never brought one paddling and doubt ever will. My guess is 80-90% do not. Just a guess.

We do not. In the past we brought frozen steaks for the first night, vacuum packed and wrapped in newspaper etc., no cooler. We were usually pretty tired by the time dinner came on the first night, and honestly it was a hassle. This year we skipped the fresh meat and had one of my home dehydrated meals. Didn't miss the steak at all. Maybe because I still brought wine!

I guess we must not be very good at this canoe tripping thing, but we move daily, cover a lot of ground, and have fresh meat on day seven. Trip your own trip.

No way. Too old and not worth the weight.

Yeti backpack cooler...not the version shown above, but the soft one actually sold as a backpack. Last September it held ice for 3-4 days. For a short travel distance, base camp trip, it is worth it. It immediately throws out the potential of single portaging, though.

Will be doing the same for an EP 16 trip to agnes in September.

gopher2307: "Yeti backpack cooler...not the version shown above, but the soft one actually sold as a backpack. Last September it held ice for 3-4 days. For a short travel distance, base camp trip, it is worth it. It immediately throws out the potential of single portaging, though.


Will be doing the same for an EP 16 trip to agnes in September."

You just need to bring one more mule...I mean kid...to carry it. About 10yrs old is perfect.

Nigal: "Anyone who looks down their nose at you for carrying a cooler has never had piri piri south african bbq game hens on day five of a week long trip. "

South African BBQ? I believe you mean Braai !

Recently took our first trip with any type of insulated container - a GG insulated food pack liner - added some dry ice to prepared frozen meals in there and stuff was frozen for 4 days during a very hot stretch (80's and sunny every day). Was nice, and we ate well.

But - that was a slow-moving family trip. Not going to do that for 2-man or solos where we are covering distance.

Depending on size of cooler, bear "proofing" can be a challenge. I believe some coolers are bear resistant if locked with a padlock. I imagine they are on the heavy side.

We have soft sided coolers that fit in the bear barrel for the stuff we want to keep cold. Put it in there with frozen water bottles and/or freeze packs. No big deal. It is heavy on the way in, but we eat very good, and it's empty on the way out!

As far as the old Coleman 2-handled hard-sided cooler we all grew up with...hard pass.

sns: "

Nigal: "Anyone who looks down their nose at you for carrying a cooler has never had piri piri south african bbq game hens on day five of a week long trip. "

South African BBQ? I believe you mean Braai !"

Braai is a bbq method. The piri piri is the Portuguese sauce.

Milk Street’s recipe is the best I’ve found.

https://jalapenosandanchovies.com/2019/06/18/milk-streets-piri-piri-chicken/#wprm-recipe-container-1169

Once on my second trip with my wife and son. That was the last time I brought in a cooler

Inmyelement: "In a different topic, someone inferred that those who take coolers are lesser campers as a result of taking a cooler. "

I think the forest service video does this too. They show someone bringing a hard sided cooler, hanging it in a tree and the contents falling out.

Probably a good idea to show to people who don't know what they are in for.

I haven't brought in a cooler, but bear proofing it would be my main concern. I could see bringing one on a basecamping trip. Probably something soft sided.

I have not, nor will I ever bring a cooler. Too heavy.

PineKnot: "If you'd like, shoot me an email and I'll give you my number. I'd like to help you with catching fish. Fresh fish in canoe country is fantastic. Btw, I like your attitude and ability to carry a cooler... used to do that, but then age had other ideas...."

Thanks so much for the kind offer! My biggest issue currently is that we are limited to fishing from shore. I'm not quite brave enough to have two eight year olds fishing out of one canoe. Once we can upgrade to two canoes, I may take you up on that offer.

Back in the day when we first started out we look a big red coleman hard sided cooler.

We were primarily base camping with minimal portages.

We were amazed at how tough that cooler was. We watched a bear one day go paw over paw hanging from one of the ropes that was used to suspended that cooler in the air. He never got any food for all his hard work...Those were/are tough handles.

I still have that cooler and think of the trips that it went on.

We never have and likely never will. But...if you can carry it in, and carry it out, go for it. Like others, meals are not the highlight our the day, and I'm ok eating for a week or two food that is different than I get at home.

At this point in my adventures, one-pot meals are excellent and filling. Freeze dried dinners have come a long way since the mid-80s, when the only choices seemed to be "turkey tetrazzini" and chili mac. I like eggs for breakfast, and the eggs mixes make a great scrambled dish. I know some bring up fresh eggs so they can have them sunny-side up, but that seems like a lot of work just to have the same protein in an alternate form.

Mike

The backpack coolers would certainly make it more doable. I think most people have the big hard sided coleman type coolers in mind when they say they'd never do it. Now days there are alot of good backpack type options that aren't much different then some of the insulated food packs others have mentioned.

If its a back pack type cooler that makes for easy carrying then its really just about the weight you want to carry.

Personally my food pack is a repurposed hiking pack that I had. The layout and pocket design just so happens to work well as a food pack. The main part of the pack is broken into 2 compartments that can be accessed from 2 different locations. I use one of the compartments as the cold food storage area. It fits a soft insulated bag where the cold stuff is kept with a frozen bottle of water or 2 and can also have additional reflectix added for more insulation. I usually bring enough cold food for the first day and the next morning and then I bring some other items that don't HAVE to be kept cold but might be a bit better if they are.

treehorn: "We have soft sided coolers that fit in the bear barrel for the stuff we want to keep cold. Put it in there with frozen water bottles and/or freeze packs. No big deal. It is heavy on the way in, but we eat very good, and it's empty on the way out!

As far as the old Coleman 2-handled hard-sided cooler we all grew up with...hard pass."

Pretty much sums up my approach as well.

When I was a kid, we used to take motor trips into Basswood and Sag. We’d take 2-14 foot boats with 10 horse motors. We brought 2 of the old metal-sided/plastic bottom Coleman coolers. On our way in, the boats were loaded to the point that we couldn’t go full speed for fear of swamping. One day after fishing, we came back to camp only to find a bear that had rolled one of the coolers and gotten it to open. It was happily snacking on our butter. We sped to shore and my Grandpa jumped out of the boat and chased the bear. On his way he grabbed his hatchet, waving it as he ran! That image is seared in my mind as one of the funniest memories I have of the BWCA. The cooler ended up with a chunk slashed or bitten out of the plastic bottom. 45 years later we still take the “bear” cooler up to deer camp.(no bears were harmed during this incident)

No. minimalists mentality amongst all of my groups.
We still bring 1lb Ribeyes tho....
Frozen and air sealed. No cooler bag.
Usually eat them on night 2-3. Depending on air temps.
I bet we could eat them all night 4 or 5 if we put them in soft-sided cooler, and then place them in the CCS solo.

I always take a cooler. I have a BWJ insulated cooler (Kondos) back pack with a BWJ foam-insulated poly box that fits perfectly inside the pack. There is an adjustable lid inside the poly box that you push down so that you’re not cooling any more area than necessary. Works great and keeps food cold for several days, or longer. I also own a CCS solo-sized cooler back pack, and I insert a Rubbermaid hard-sided cooler inside that. I really wish the BWJ sold a similar poly box insert for a solo-sized cooler pack.

Perhaps off topic, but I also have a food saver and I re-package perishable items prior to freezing them. I believe vacuum sealing makes food last longer. With planning and care you can keep food cold for a week In June.

We have done two trips this year, the first with just a Bear Vault (BV) and the second with a BV and RTIC knockoff backpack cooler. Both my wife and I agreed that for a longer trip, having the cooler for fresh food for the first 3-4 few days was nice but for us, not critical. We find with two of us, we can get about 4 days of food in a BV. Add the cooler and we have 7 -8 days without feeling like we are going to run out of food. Supplement with fish and the timeline can get even longer. We added a lot of efficiency to the backpack cooler with an insulated reflective liner I made.

We deepfreeze quart sized apple juice containers for the top and bottom and fill in with frozen drinking water bottles as required. If you only go into the cooler when cooking, keep dead air space to a minimum (cut some reflective material to create layers) and you can bring lots of food options. You also get apple juice or Cold water to enjoy on the trip. Good for 4 days. Dry ice would add even more time.

We did a ton of research on methods to keep items in coolers frozen and from my recent experience building reflective liners should be on everyone’s to do list. Also, we now follow the rule of having a cooler only for beverages (Back at car camp) Sodas, Beer and ice only in a separate cooler, food in the other. All of our “hard coolers” are bear proof and they really hold ice well. Expensive but worth it to me.

We sold the RV and went back to tenting or sleeping in a cargo trailer. The only thing I missed was the fridge!

Absolutely. Yeti and RTIC back pack coolers with block ice. Porterhouses on the first night after double portaging and paddling your way 20 miles in are our tradition and worth their weight in gold. We have bacon, sausage, hashbrowns, and bag omelets everyday for breakfast, grill brats or something else for lunch, and have fresh fish every night. After 7-10 days in we always have ice for packing fish out as long as we keep cooler out of the sun as well.... I'd never carry a standard chest cooler. Too cumbersome, heavy, and a pain in the ass but back pack coolers make it sooooo easy.

I've done the dehydrated food thing.... We prefer to eat well and an extra trip across portages is very much worth it to my friends and I.

Food? Some, but it takes up space for ice. Our group of 4 60+ have "evolved" to carrying a soft side cooler. Steaks the first night and summer sausage for a few days. Pre-cooked bacon and sausage for the morning with eggs transported under the canoe seat. Dehydrated, pre-cooked home meals plus some on-site preparation. Fish usually as an appetizer. All the food goes up in a tree and the cooler stays down. Thirty years of trips and no bears yet.

Half the time I think it's nuts, but then a bourbon on ice at the end of the day tends to make it all worthwhile. At least through about day 5. We basecamp sometimes but generally only have one layover day. I think the most nuts/most appreciated beverage might have been on Poohbah when the temperature was about 90.

i ask my group , do you want to eat real good or just good , they all op for real good , meaning a good breakfast , burgers/brats/steak night,
you only have to carry a loaded cooler one-way , food will be gone for the trip out then stuff the cooler with tent ?> cargo bag ? other type items.
one year i brought in a pint of milk and we had bearnaise smothered Lake Trout and it was freak'n fantastic !!! you want to talk about a kettle full of chunked up lake trout disappearing ;) (pic from home)

I would not want to portage anything more than a soft sided cooler in a pack with fresh food for the first couple of days.

In the West we run big rivers and lakes with few portages. Sometimes we line boats so a cooler is a pretty normal thing to have on a canoe trip. On raft trips and drift boat trips we bring large coolers with blocks of ice and have fresh food and beer for a week.

If i weren't portaging or were motor camping, sure, why not? Yay! Meat and cold bevvies and whatnot. But we're single portagers, and a cooler is a lot of excess schlepping (and we don't have anything to put in it...we even just keep our cheese unrefrigerated). So on our regular trips in, no we do not.

But YOU DO YOU. If you want to carry it, and you're not bringing in prohibited items, why would you let other people's opinions determine whether you bring something. (And by opinions, i mean them thinking you are glamping) Don't let anyone yuck your yum, dude. ;-)

I am fond of coolers in warm weather. I have taken a cooler on two backpacking trips. Once in a wheel barrow and once in a little red wagon. I knew the trail was good with few rocks. It was not that steep. It was hot and we were going to a lake with no one around.

Grilling steaks and drinking cold beer on a back packing trip is splendid, almost as good as steak and lobster at 9,800 feet in the Ruby Mountains of Nevada. We brought dry ice and made ice for the bourbon. Chef prepared meal was the best I have ever had.

When I started kayak and canoe camping, I got an Ice Mule soft cooler. It's very much like a roll-top dry bag. It's double-walled. There's a blow-up nozzle. After you pack the cooler seal the top, you blow air into the space between the inner and outer layers which adds insulation.

I freeze a half gallon of juice as my ice block. Meat is good for 3-4 days....just be quick when you open and close it. The advantage is that it's lightweight and it gets smaller as you use up the food.

I'm dehydrating more but it's still nice to have cheddar cheese, limes, some fresh meat, yogurt, etc.

Yep, I took a YETI 50 last June. Also took a Kondos food pack with BWJ insulated polybox. YETI served as the freezer and Kondo’s as the fridge. Base camped on Pipestone. I like that the YETI is bear-proof. I’ve never hung a pack, ever.

I usually bring in a soft-sided cooler with some dry ice, frozen dinner on top of the dry ice and stuff that I want to keep refrigerated packed on top of the frozen dinner, then the first nights dinner packed on the top. This gives us a couple non- freeze dried meals for the first 2-3 days. The dry ice weighs nothing as it sublimates and the soft side cooler gets smaller as the food gets consumed.

Obviously this isn’t an ultralight process, but it works great when there are some strapping young sherpas to carry the food pack.

Why bring just one?

Last year our Church group added a Yeti backpack cooler to our gear inventory. We found it helpful and convenient at keeping food frozen or cold into the week. Not sure if we will be able to use it this summer with the new rules about having to use those Bear Vaults.h

Please explain how you secured your cooler full of food from bears. Did you hang the cooler in a tree?

Savage Voyageur: "Please explain how you secured your cooler full of food from bears. Did you hang the cooler in a tree? "

Many if not most hard coolers are on the bear resistant list.

I'm curious if any of the backpack coolers are listed as bear resistant.

I've only taken a small soft side cooler - fits perfect in bottom of CCS deluxe food pack - 2 or 3 times. Always travel everyday but now in 70's, I consider base camping, and backpack cooler is intriguing.

fadersup: "Why bring just one?

"

I like your style.

I do not, we usually do quite a few portages and I just don't want to carry the extra weight.

Scout64: "I do not, we usually do quite a few portages and I just don't want to carry the extra weight. "

Not critical, just makes me smile wondering what you carry that I think of as extra weight. Everyone has different essentials.

jewp: "We do. Yeti backpack coolers fit the kids perfectly. I wouldn't go without one. Would I carry a hard side cooler, no, but I wouldn't take an alaskan basecamping tent either -- doesn't mean I don't bring a tent. Sure, if you want to eat dehydrated meals, don't bring one. I enjoy bacon and eggs cooked over the fire for breakfast, we will always have a cooler. No different than any other gear, get the right gear and it works fine. I don't go up there to see if I can live on nuts, I know I can. I go up there because I enjoy it, and I enjoy a good fresh breakfast in the bw even more. We also bring nuts."

Nothing beats bacon and eggs over a campfire in the morning. Totally worth a small cooler for that comfort alone. :)

I'm tempted to grab this...

Cordova - Traveler Day Pack Cooler

...just for packing a few packs of bacon and eggs alone.

I say you camp your own trip and if anybody doesn't like it, then that's their issue. Assuming you aren't bothering anybody.

I have never taken a cooler on a trip that I have to portage on.

Scoobs: "

jewp: "We do. Yeti backpack coolers fit the kids perfectly. I wouldn't go without one. Would I carry a hard side cooler, no, but I wouldn't take an alaskan basecamping tent either -- doesn't mean I don't bring a tent. Sure, if you want to eat dehydrated meals, don't bring one. I enjoy bacon and eggs cooked over the fire for breakfast, we will always have a cooler. No different than any other gear, get the right gear and it works fine. I don't go up there to see if I can live on nuts, I know I can. I go up there because I enjoy it, and I enjoy a good fresh breakfast in the bw even more. We also bring nuts."

Nothing beats bacon and eggs over a campfire in the morning. Totally worth a small cooler for that comfort alone. :)


I'm tempted to grab this...


Cordova - Traveler Day Pack Cooler


...just for packing a few packs of bacon and eggs alone.
"

There are a lot of options other then a cooler to do this. We have taken an Ice Mule, as well as Polar Bear soft sided backpack coolers. We were able to bring eggs, bacon and frozen foods and keep them cold for a week.
Polar Bear Soft Cooler Pack Polar Bear soft sided pack

A few years ago I'd agree but with bear proof, if you're taking a cooler might as well let it be bear proof, which I doubt sift sided are.

You are correct. We have not taken those in the last 5 years. Now we go full dehydrated. We still have scrambled eggs and bacon however. We bring precooked bacon and scrambled egg mix. Scramble the egg mix and put the bacon in the pan with some oil to warm it back up. Good as the real thing, with no coolers

A lot of food does not need be be refrigerated. Fresh eggs. Most condiments contain enough acid. Summer sausage at Aldi sits on the shelf. I eat it the day it's unsealed. Cooked bacon, also eat it the day it's unsealed. Cheese (Aldi has some good shredded cheese in a red bag that does not get soft or oily when warm). Potatoes, onion, carrots, ...

No separate cooler but I do the following: Cut a piece of 1 inch or 1/2 inch foam insulation board to fit the bottom of my food pack. Put frozen items wrapped in newspaper along with non-frozen items to be kept cold (ie cheese) in bottom of pack. Layer another 1/2 in of foam board on top. Fill the pack with non-refrigerated food. Frozen 2 days. Cold 3 days. Burn the paper as you go. Key is to have enough paper so not much void space but the cooler does get smaller by design. Can add a layer of reflextic to the “cooler” section if wanted.

The great thing about the BWCA is that it is compatible with many tripping styles, and if someone is looking down their nose at yours style, then you know their not compatible tripping companions.

As fare as do I take a cooler? Typically, No. My summer tripping style is take less, explore further. It not to the level of a thru hike on the AT, but closeish.

In late fall my trips are shorter. and with less daylight there is inherently more time in camp, so an insulate lunch bag usually make the trip, and sometime something as large as a soft side 6 pack cooler may join us. At that time of the year there is a 50/50 chance that it is keeping the items cold, or preventing them from freezing solid.

For all those coming up with solutions to bring bacon precooked or in a cooler, you can also just buy old fashioned dry cured bacon which is shelf stable for 3 months. A little saltier than the bacon you're likely used to but is very tasty. We buy whole slabs from Broadbent so we can cut to various thicknesses for different uses and then just vacuum seal each portion separately. 1/2 inch thick cut bacon steaks cooked over an open fire for breakfast is always something to look forward to, thin strips wrapped around some breaded walleye chunks later in the trip, cubes to render and put into things like Ramen to add some fat and richness. There's a lot of ways it can be used.

Our larger group (6-8 guys) now has access to 4 Bear Vaults - BV500. I'm considering lining one with insulation from some older soft coolers for our cold storage items. Sure, it will be a limited space, but we only need enough for first night and first breakfast... maybe some items for meals beyond that time if there's room. Go ahead and mock me but after realizing the value of a BV in camp, I am DONE with hanging.

AirPrex: "For all those coming up with solutions to bring bacon precooked or in a cooler, you can also just buy old fashioned dry cured bacon which is shelf stable for 3 months. A little saltier than the bacon you're likely used to but is very tasty. We buy whole slabs from Broadbent so we can cut to various thicknesses for different uses and then just vacuum seal each portion separately. 1/2 inch thick cut bacon steaks cooked over an open fire for breakfast is always something to look forward to, thin strips wrapped around some breaded walleye chunks later in the trip, cubes to render and put into things like Ramen to add some fat and richness. There's a lot of ways it can be used."

1/2 " bacon wrapped in bacon fried in bacon grease is the best.

HayRiverDrifter: "1/2 " bacon wrapped in bacon fried in bacon grease is the best."

Can’t argue with that

I haven’t brought a cooler because we don’t do elaborate meals. If we’re spending significant time cooking/prepping it’s for a fish fry.

The boys have been kicking around the idea of portaging a cooler full of IPA growlers, might be fun.

I have never brought a cooler to the BWCA but...in September 2020 a buddy and I went to Astrid Lake via the Hunting Shack River. No portages but a couple beaver dam pullovers. Nice place, we had the whole lake to ourselves for a few days. On that trip we did bring a mid sized hard sided cooler which fit perfectly in my old Duluth Pack. At night we used a ratcheting strap to secure it tightly to a very heavy picnic table - probably not totally bear proof but definitely a challenge and we would definitely hear the ruckus.

It was very nice to have fresh food for a couple dinners and breakfasts as well as a few cold beverages and yes...some delightful IPA's for evening campfire chats. May not ever do it again but for this trip it worked great. In the photo you can see the cooler in the Duluth pack at the bottom left of the picnic table.

Hammertime: "I haven’t brought a cooler because we don’t do elaborate meals. If we’re spending significant time cooking/prepping it’s for a fish fry.


The boys have been kicking around the idea of portaging a cooler full of IPA growlers, might be fun."

Seems like a personal preference. We always bring multiple coolers. Smaller ones, however we single portage and basecamp as several paddlers are 65+.

I just purchased and Otterbox venture cooler. It’s bear resistant. If you’re not doing multiple portages and want some variety in meals it’s a no brainer. If we were tripping and doing multiple portages we likely think differently and only take some kind of backpack cooler that’s easier to portage.

Also, the growlers would need to be plastic as bottles and cans aren’t allowed…the rangers we our a lot more last year than we’ve ever seen.

AirPrex: "For all those coming up with solutions to bring bacon precooked or in a cooler, you can also just buy old fashioned dry cured bacon which is shelf stable for 3 months. A little saltier than the bacon you're likely used to but is very tasty. We buy whole slabs from Broadbent."

Well there you have it. A web site with nothing but bacon. I will add this to my favorites!!

jewp: "

gopher2307: "Yeti backpack cooler...not the version shown above, but the soft one actually sold as a backpack. Last September it held ice for 3-4 days. For a short travel distance, base camp trip, it is worth it. It immediately throws out the potential of single portaging, though.



Will be doing the same for an EP 16 trip to agnes in September."

You just need to bring one more mule...I mean kid...to carry it. About 10yrs old is perfect."

We bring a soft side yeti ms30 and base camp with lots of frozen meals for our usual 5 day trip. Agreed, our mules are 10 and 13. As much as they eat, carrying the cooler is the least they can do.

treehorn: "We have soft sided coolers that fit in the bear barrel for the stuff we want to keep cold. Put it in there with frozen water bottles and/or freeze packs. No big deal. It is heavy on the way in, but we eat very good, and it's empty on the way out!


As far as the old Coleman 2-handled hard-sided cooler we all grew up with...hard pass."

Exactly!

arm2008: "Depending on size of cooler, bear "proofing" can be a challenge. I believe some coolers are bear resistant if locked with a padlock. I imagine they are on the heavy side."

Yes, most rotomolded coolers (like Stimpy's above) have a spot for a padlock. As I understand it they are not 'bear resistant' unless there is a padlock installed.

I brought a 30l yeti hopper into the bwca for a few years until the zipper failed. It's claim to fame was keeping enough ice to pack lake trout out after a 9 day trip. I've brought smaller 'coleman' style coolers in a few times as well but never expected them to last more than 4 days. Gallon zip bags of frozen entrees make great 'ice' but my favorite trick is putting the entire loaded cooler into a chest freezer a day or three before leaving.

I've never taken a cooler when I expected to move more than once or twice. Cooler or not, ribeyes are always the best bet for day 1.

Our "journey" on this topic has taken the opposite direction of some. Fifteen years ago we brought steaks, burgers, brats, fresh veggies, eggs, bacon, etc. Two burner stove, 3 mid size coolers, two dutch ovens and a reflector oven. We ate better then at home. Truth be told we gained weight on those trips.

Forward 12 years later and we realized it was taking us two hours minimum to prepare those huge breakfasts, eat and cleanup. Dinner prep would start at 4 and by the time we ate and cleaned up it was 6. Then the reflector oven and dutch ovens came out for cinamon rolls etc around the fire.

When we looked hard at it we realized that all the prep, eating, and cooking occupied well over half the day for our group. Not much exploring, fishing etc.

We had several conversations and came to the decision that we didn't drive 16 hours to eat like at home, or better then at home. Now it is oatmeal for breakfast, and a two pot dinner from freeze dried foods for dinner. We lost the coolers, the two burner stove, the tables, the dutch ovens. . .basically everything but two small backpacking style stoves and a GSI pot set. Dinners for the week for 4-6 guys fit in 1-2 bearvaults as they were totally freezedried foods.

Now portages are far easier and we have a lot more time for what we drove 16 hours for. . .exploring and fishing.

Most of us are in our 60's. There may come a time when we bring back the coolers, stoves, etc and just park in a base camp and never leave. But for now we don't miss the cooler days.