How To Make a Cooler Out of a Grocery Bag

During our long daytime excursions out in Nevada, we packed a cooler of food and drinks.  At the hotel, I would make some wraps (out of leftover mesquite chicken breast the first time, and with turkey lunch meat the second) for our lunch, throw in some fibrous, yet juicy snacks like baby carrots, and grab a whole bunch of bottled water out of the fridge.  The carrots and the water I wasn't so worried about obtaining ambient temperature when left in the truck for hours, but I didn't want the wraps, with their mayo, meat, cheese, lettuce, tomato and green pepper, to get warm.  So I used the thermal mass of the water bottles and carrots to help keep the wraps cold.

I improvised a makeshift cooler out of a reusable grocery bag (obtained on our Colorado trip), my beach towel (which travels with me everywhere there is a chance of a pool or beach or river), and some temporarily borrowed clean hand towels from the hotel room bathroom.

First, a folded up hand towel in the bottom of my bag.  Then a layer of chilled water bottles.  On top of that, our wraps (in a plastic bag in case of leakage).  Another hand towel went over the wraps, plus a couple more chilled water bottles.  Add the bag of baby carrots along with either salsa or hummus.  

Folded to fit the interior dimension of the grocery bag went my beach towel, which ended up being a satisfying and insulating 4-5" thick. 

 Finally, on top of the beach towel went the 'non-refrigerated' food of chips, nuts, jerky, fruit, etc.

We were ready to be gone 6-8 hours (we also had water in refillable bottles that didn't go into the 'cooler') without going hungry or risking dehydration.  While this probably wouldn't work quite as well in the summer time, for a January trip where the starting temps was in the 40s and the high temp around 65, it worked excellent.  We drove for roughly an hour, then hiked for about three hours (leaving the 'cooler' in the truck), before having our lunch.  When retrieved from the 'cooler', the wraps felt just like they'd been in a refrigerator.  

I think I'll be packing this bag along with my beach towel on all trips from now on.  You never know when you'll be wishing you had a cooler!