I know this an old thread, but I'm kicking in high gear for this years trip preparations. Food is a big part of it since I like to splurge on food when I camp. I've got one elk horse pack in hunt under my belt with a great group of very experienced guys, however the long time member, and camp chef has decided his knees can't take it at 75. For all of you horse and mule packers, do you take in any frozen meals and/or meat ? I and my boys will be in 1 full week and 2 more guys will stay in another week. At 9,000 to 10,000 feet can it keep safely for a week for the fresh and frozen stuff in a cooler ? We didn't have any trouble with eggs, bacon, etc for two weeks before, but I'd kinda like to make 7 or 8 dinner meals and freeze instead of trying to dehydrate if possible. I'm hoping for max food quality with little prep time to hunt as much as possible ? I can do the mountain house and freeze dried if I have to..but like to keep it to a minimum.lucnh is on the go and minimal.
Thank you
I freeze foods and take it to the campsite during moose season. The problem is that the cooler gets quite heavy since I freeze it in glass jars, and put it next to a block of ice. However, that's not a problem for me since I drive my UTV plus a "meat" trailer right next to my tent, and once I get there I dig a hole in a shaded and cool area under the trees, put the cooler in the hole, and cover the sides (if they stick out some) with moss. I do the same with the top of the cooler. The temperature during the day can be around 60 degrees or more, but it drops to perhaps 40 and colder during the night. The ice block lasts from 5 to 8 days, which is plenty for me.
When leaving for my hunting spot I grab some snacks, water, a small propane stove, small pot with lid which also serves a plate, spoon, a lighter or two, a can of propane, a bag of MountainHouse or another dehydrated food, and a jar of the frozen food. I wrap the jar on something to keep it as cold as possible, and have this food for lunch first. A stainless steel cup that has folding handles can be quite handy to boil water to make tea, or just a cup of instant coffee. And the stove can be used to keep you warm if it gets cold.
Like some of you, I used to be quite serious about hunting. Nowadays, I don't get up as early, but stay a little late out there, and spend a lot of time socializing with my hunting friends by the campfire. I am having a lot of fun camping more than hunting
