Hot-weather camping tip: Bag your cooler

CAMPING — Double the life of the ice in your cooler during long camping trips by wrapping it with your sleeping bag when not in use.

Better yet, I dedicate an old rectangular sleeping bag to the cooler and leave it on to insulate all day and night.

This past week, I had cold food on the fifth day of camping using that method with minimal ice. The sleeping bag’s value was apparent every time I uwrapped the package for food and felt the outside of the cooler — it was always cold to the touch.

On the fifth day as we ended a backpack fishing trek down the St. Joe River last year — with temps soaring into the 90s, I surprised my sweat-soaked companion at the trailhead by pulling out a sleeping bag-wrapped cooler from the pickup and treating him to a very cold Corona.

He’s a believer.