Submering food on Fly in Trip

[44inchStone]

Hey everyone,

Thought I'd throw this out to give ideas for guys that require keeping food cool and safe while on a fly in.
Not really talking about a sheep trip as those are carry what you eat trips.
I'm thinking more of a fly in moose, caribou, elk deal.
What ideas are out there for keeping your food cold, water tight and preserved for a three week trip.
If it's brown.... it's down!

[BiG Boar]

Cooler and a gun work well.

[bc sportsman]

I've been doing this with moose for 20 plus years in spite of warnings of dire consequences by butchers etc who profess to be knowledgable. NEVER had meat go bad and this includes during very warm (if not downright hot) weather.

Dress out the animal, skin if needed. I prefer not skinning until final transport. Keeping hide on after the animal has been cooled in the water will help keep the meat cool when its hot outside.

With the animal in quarters, dump it into a cold stream or river or lake. Don't dump it into a muddy/dirty river. Hide down. Leave no more than 24 hrs. Take it out and hang in shade with no bags or cheesecloth on it. Animal drips dry and moisture evaporates in hot weather. Flies will not be attracted to meat because it is cold and those few that do lay any will not hatch into maggots because the eggs need a high temp to hatch quickly. Meat will be too cold to allow maggots to hatch in less than 2 weeks. You can also brush off or wash off any signs of eggs that you do see.

Very important...do not re submerse the meat again. You only do this once. Meat will sour if you re-submerse.

Once you are ready to pack out or drive home, skin the animal, bag it and off you go.

Couple notes...keeping the hide on when cooling in the water protects the meat from silt/debris as does the internal gut membrane and lung cavity membrane. The little bit of exposed meat where you quartered the animal that has silt on it can be cut off at the butcher. You loose very little meat.

The reason you don't bag the meat until it is been hung for a few days is because you want the moisture to evaporate. If you want to bag it in cheesecloth, do so after a crust develops on the outside of the meat.

A bonus to this system is that any laid eggs while you were field dressing the animal will swell up and drown when in the water.

Between myself and the other five guys I've hunted with over the past 20 years have done this with over 40 moose. Never a problem. We also did this with a black bear, left hide with small bear...didn't bother quartering it. Left for two weeks in the bush after cooling it in river and hanging in shade. Took it to taxidermist who initially heard what we did...said the hide would be worthless. We brought him the whole bear to show him...hide still hanging on my partners wall since 1979.

[Cordillera]

I like the blue canoe barrels for food. Keep small critters out and easy to heft around. Way tougher than a tote. Usually it's cool enough in hunting season they don't heat up but in summer canoe trips you just keep them cool by keeping them in the shade and with a wet towel over them.