- At least one participant should be able to locate needed items during the trip.
- The group might save money. Approximately half of the commercial packing cost will be for food and supplies. Planning, shopping, and packing food for an 16-person, 18-day trip could take several man weeks, depending on the quality of the initial plan. The rest of your money buys all that labor. Does your group have the required time?
- The process can involve all the participants in pre-trip work sharing, possibly creating group cohesiveness.
- The food can be organized the way your group wants it. This may not be an advantage as a skilled food packer does this many times a year and your group may only do it once in many years. Commercial packers also have menu-planning software to help them select the right quantities for any group size and a trained staff who does the job efficiently.
- Freeze dried or dehydrated food has the advantage of being very light and not requiring refrigeration. It can be stowed to stay dry no matter what happens on the river. It is usually easy to prepare but rehydrating can be time consuming. One major disadvantage is that it can become lackluster on longer trips.
- Canned food, especially when supplemented by Dutch Oven (DO) baked desserts and breads is great for creating fast, filling meals. Although some people are put off by the idea of using canned food, it is relatively safe in the event of flips and has potential for great emergency meals.
- Our personal favorite is what we refer to as western river cuisine. Many river runners consider this an essential part of every river experience. On the negative side, it entails a lot of planning to protect the quality of meats and fresh vegetables plus hundreds of pounds of ice and dry ice. Preparing scrumptuous meals also requires lengthy efforts by each cook team. Is everyone in your group prepared to make this effort?
- How much food is enough for our group size?
- What package sizes do we need?
- Who is going to pack it? Will we pay someone, do it ourselves, or some degree of each?
- How will it be packed? What container types and ice chests will be needed?
- What quantities of supplies are needed? How much ice, charcoal, cleaning products, toilet paper, etc?
- How much time are we willing to spend to develop our food plan? Creating a trip menu acceptable to everyone, defining all of the ingredients needed, and coming up with a shopping and packing list just might be the largest job.
- Are any specialized hiker foods needed for longer hiking days?
- Should we have additional days of non-perishable meals just in case?
- Should some meals be easy to prepare for busy days on the river?
- How much time will it take to shop all of this and pack it?
- Trips of a week or less may not require freezers but longer ones usually do.
- Put a couple of blocks of ice in each freezer so it will be available for refrigerators on the second week of a long trip.
- Freezers require dry ice. All surfaces of plastic coolers should be insulated to avoid direct contact with the dry ice. Excessive cooling can make plastic brittle, causing it to crack with the slightest impact. To avoid freezer burn, meat should also be separated from dry ice with a piece of cardboard.
- Frozen meat should be well bagged to avoid contaminating ice or other perishables as it thaws.
- To avoid ice loss, duct tape all coolers not in use.
- Freezers and refrigerator coolers should be opened only when needed as a lot of cooling is lost with each opening. Early ice loss could result in a mid-trip meat festival followed by unusual meals for the remainder of the trip.
- Use the largest coolers you can and as the trip progresses keep the active ones full by compressing into the minimum volume. You can stretch your cooling potential with a little organization.
- Frozen foods are a source of cooling while they are thawing. These items should be transferred to the active refrigerator a day or so before scheduled use. Many items such as butter or cheese that we might not normally freeze at home can be frozen.
- The coolers are carried on multiple boats and their primary function is to protect the group's food. They should not be used for personal stashes of beer or anything frivolous.
- One organized person should be responsible for food management. Assign this important job to someone reliable and preferably with experience.
- Organize and pack your coolers and freezers so no more than one of each is open at a time. Even in the heat of an Arizona summer, a good food management plan will keep you in ice until trip's end. Rummaging through all of the coolers to find needed items will quickly deplete your ice.
- Compress and drain excess water from coolers in the early morning when the air temperature is coolest. Be sure to replace the drain plugs to keep out warmer, contaminated river water.
- Pull the next day's items from the freezer to the active refrigerator in the early morning when you compress and drain. Try to do it a couple of days at a time if you have refrigerator space. Duct tape the freezer back up when you are done.
- When possible, store the freezers and refrigerators on the largest rafts with the most competent boatmen. Flips are not conducive to quality meals and multiple flips could precipitate a total food disaster. Flipping can make the inside of coolers look like tossed salad, especially if it isn't full and the food isn't packaged well. Even when a cooler stays closed during a flip it is likely to leak water, losing ice. It might be advisable to go with canned or freeze dried meals that are more easily stored if you are anticipating a lot of upside down activity.
- Train everyone to put things where they are supposed to be and use your packing list to find things.
- Pots & Pans: griddle, dutch ovens, cooking pots, pie pans, coffee pot, heat spreader.
- Eating Utensils: plates, cups, bowls, flatware, steak knives for everyone.
- Kitchen Utensils: rubber scrapers, garlic press, can opener, metal spatula, plastic spatula, wooden stirring spoons, 2-3 ladles, grater, funnel, veggie peeler, sharp knives, sharpening whetstone, marshmallow skewers, tongs, measuring spoons, whisk, serving spoons, large metal fork, cheese slicer.
- Miscellaneous: cutting boards, mixing bowls, large salad bowl, measuring cups, gallon drink jugs, dishwater strainer, fire pan, fire blanket, kitchen tarps, stove, blaster, dishpans, ice pick.
