I freeze water in plastic milk jugs and then put them in a cooler covered in
crushed ice.

Then refill a smaller container from the main cooler's drain. The water
stays ice cold for several days..

"Lon" <lon.stowell@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:stydnXusmPvJE9DZnZ2dnUVZ_tmdnZ2d@comcast.com. ..
> In the summer you can usually keep your water cool with a canvas bag, but
> you do need a bit of velocity. Where cool is relative if you are near
> Furnace Creek area.
>
> Carl proclaimed:
>
>> Glad to hear it was a good trip overall.
>>
>> Carl
>>
>> "Daniel Bibbens" <dbibbens@xobjex.com> wrote in message
>> news:86odyrpmye.fsf@cheyenne.xobjex.com...
>>
>>>Daniel Bibbens <dbibbens@xobjex.com> writes:
>>>
>>>
>>>>I am taking a four day, three night trip to Death Valley and
>>>>planning to leave my doors and windows at home. Have any of you done
>>>>the same or similar and regretted not having your doors? Anyone
>>>>wished they'd brought something and didn't? Thanks in advance.
>>>>
>>>>The weather is forecast to be sunny and in the high 90's during the
>>>>day and high 60's at night. It's just my dog, my Jeep ('04 TJ
>>>>w/mods), and me. I'm leaving April 20th and plan to return the
>>>>24th. I'll post some pics when I get back.
>>>
>>>Well I did it. Almost nothing went according to plan, but Death Valley
>>>is spectacular and a sight to be seen regardless of what you
>>>drive. Pictures are here:
>>>
>>>http://photos.yahoo.com/daniel_bibbe...b5escd&.src=ph
>>>
>>>I started this thread asking if anyone wished they'd brought
>>>something and didn't. Here is my advice -- put your (at least 5
>>>gallons of) water in a cooler with lots of ice instead of a
>>>jerry-can. Bath water just sucks on a hot day. Also, bring some octane
>>>booster to patch the lousy gas. Travel with at least one other vehicle
>>>-- there is *no* cell service, the canyon walls, cliffs, mountains may
>>>block a CB signal, and the main roads are frequently a day's hike from
>>>the far points of the trails.
>>>
>>>Here are a few notes. In summary -- amazing views, bad and expensive
>>>fuel, and no cell signal to be found:
>>>
>>> * I bailed out of my plan to go with no doors and panels. The
>>> forecast for Death Valley remained the same (it was accurate,
>>> too), but the forecast for my return trip home was for high
>>> 50's, windy, and possibly rain showers (that turned out to be
>>> accurate except for the showers which did come after I got
>>> home). I could have gone without doors and panels and regret
>>> that I checked the weather before I left and wimped-out.
>>>
>>> * I filled up at a Shell station in Panamint Springs. The gas is
>>> lousy and my poor Jeep is sputtering -- I have to downshift to
>>> third to make it up a few hills.
>>>
>>> * The first two trails I went for were closed. Titus Canyon was
>>> closed apparently because there was a 20% chance of rain over
>>> the mountains and Titus Canyon is a particularly bad place to be
>>> in flash flood. The Chloride City trail was opened but the road
>>> to get to it (Mud Canyon) was closed for repairs -- there is no
>>> other entrance to this trail.
>>>
>>> * At 8:00pm the first night, I pulled off the road just West of
>>> Stovepipe wells near the trail-head of the next trail on my
>>> list. The sky was mostly clear and the temperature was around
>>> 75. US Air Force fighter jets (possibly from nearby Edwards AFB)
>>> were doing maneuvers until around 10pm. Beside the jets (which
>>> couldn't be heard) there were an unbelievable number of visible
>>> stars. No signs of civilization are visible except for the faint
>>> glow of Las Vegas about 150 miles away. I reclined my seat and
>>> fell asleep. The moon shining in my face woke me up for a moment
>>> at around 4:30. Max (my dog) and I woke up around 6:30am. I made
>>> espresso on a fuel can stove -- very please with that. Max has
>>> breakfast and water. We head out on foot to walk around the sand
>>> dunes nearby.
>>>
>>> * The Cottonwood/Marble Canyon trail was open. We start the trail
>>> around 10:00am. The ten miles of washboard dirt road just to get
>>> to a trail that was no more challenging than say -- a washboard
>>> dirt road.
>>>
>>> Today I can hear the fighter jets and imagine what an
>>> Iraqi or Taliban soldier must have pondered when hearing the
>>> "thunder" *before* the "lightning". Poor bastards. What were
>>> they thinking? I did take some solice in this season of the IRS
>>> in seeing and hearing what my tax dollars help build. These are
>>> awe-inspiring machines.
>>>
>>> After completing this trail, a heavy coating of dust turned the
>>> interior of my Jeep, my dog, and myself to an unmistakable
>>> desert khaki color. The scenery was amazing. The value of the
>>> views has overcome my disappointment with the trail.
>>>
>>> * We head a few hundred yards to Stovepipe Wells at around 3:00pm
>>> in search of gas, shade, and a cell signal. We find neither and
>>> start south on 190 toward Furnace Creek. It's getting hot -- in
>>> the upper 90's and Max is getting a funny look on his face. No
>>> cell signal at Furnace Creek either. I gas up -- $3.64 for
>>> regular. This fuel is lousy, too and $0.50 higher than prices
>>> outside the park. I find a shade in a parking lot near the
>>> Furnace Creek golf course. Max rests and cools off. I plan for
>>> the next trail.
>>>
>>> * We head toward Badwater -- the lowest elevation place in the
>>> Western Hemisphere. It's hot. The 7 gallons of water I brought
>>> is now bath temperature. The 5 gallon fuel can is venting
>>> because of the pressure building in the heat. There is no road
>>> across the valley here so I decide just to head for Interstate
>>> 15 on Death Valley Rd. (Rt. 127) at a town called Baker. We head
>>> west into the sunset on I-15 toward home. This trims a day and a
>>> half off our trip but we'd seen and had enough.
>>>
>>>Next trip "The Mojave Road" with lessons learned.
>>>--
>>
>>