I
think many trippers tend to have some strange rituals that they develop over
time when they are out there. I
certainly do. For no real reason, you
just start doing some things on a regular basis, and then you end up doing these
things on many or every trip. Sometimes
it’s a thing you do, sometimes it’s something you bring with you, but I am sure
we all do these things, whether it is an homage to past trips, past memories,
lost loved ones or other reasons..Here’s a couple of my quirky rituals:
Whiskey on the Rocks
Whenever I summit a peak or reach a
significant point in a journey, I like to take a photo of myself having whiskey
on the rocks to celebrate. Is that punny
enough for you? Yes, I think so. Not much more to be said about this one.
Forty Creek Whiskey
Yes, I do like to imbibe on my
journeys. Hard liquor travels well,
since it has the highest alcohol to weight ratio available. I live in Ontario so 40% is about as strong
as it gets… sometimes overproof rum, certainly
not Everclear I had been bringing
different single malt scotches with me for a time. But, my buddy Steve started bringing Forty
Creek whiskey when that came out along.
Like I mean a 60 ouncer…
obviously not backpacking, but paddling.
Forty Creek is a damn good Canadian whiskey. If you don’t know what Canadian Whiskey is,
it is like Scotch without the peat. Less
complex, more malty. Previously only
things like Canadian Club, Crown Royal and Wisers were available. Northerners usually call this Rye as well,
even though Rye isn’t usually isn’t used in many Canadian Whiskeys any more as
it is expensive. Normally it is mostly
mixed with other things to make cocktails such as rye and c It is usually a little harsher
than scotch.ear.
But I digress.. Forty Creek is a much better sipping whiskey
than the other Canadian Whiskeys.
Smoother,maltier, and a little sweeter.
Much cheaper than scotch as well.
There are some barrel select versions which are more costlier and smoother,
but the straight up stuff is good enough to swig in smoky environments while
covered in mosquitos, no need for fancy shmancy $100 bottles of scotch. So I started to bring that brand of whiskey.
I also like it because if I am tripping in Canada, I feel I should be drinking
a Canadian whiskey as well as my patriotic duty. As a bonus, the small mickey size (oz) of it
comes in a lightweight plastic bottle. I
even save the mickeys and keep them at home to refill from lower cost larger
bottles to bring on backcountry trips.
When I went to visit Steve in Borneo, I
brought a mickey of Forty Creek halfway around the world, we sipped it on the
summit of Mount Kinabalu as we enjoyed the sunrise. Brilliant.
I always take a camera,
most times two into the backcountry and like to take photos for many reasons,
among them to capture the beauty of the outdoors, to take some artsy shots that
look cool visually, to record what the location or area looks like, and last
but not least, to have a visual diary of Towards the artsy side, taking a photo with
shallow depth of field makes it instantly look artsy. It is also very difficult for me not to take
photos in the golden hours, early in the morning and late evening before
sunset, when on a clear sky day the light is beautifully golden and at a low
angle on the horizon, creating dramatic scenes with the beautifully lit
landscape and contrasting long shadows.
So one trip I started taking artsy photos with shallow depth of field of
whatever alcohol product I had – Canadian whiskey, Wellington Trailhead,
etc. The outdoorsy essence of the
product, combined with the shallow depth of field in an outdoor background just
looks exactly like someone had taken a marketing product shot to show the
appeal of an alcoholic beverage that belongs in the outdoors. And ever since, I have tended to take photos like
that every trip I take.
Sour Keys
This is more of a habit than a quirky
thing, other than I tend to take sour keys with me every backcountry trip. I just like the intense flavor coated with
puckering citric acid and sugar and chewy It just resets my palette after sometimes
eating the same types of backcountry food all the time which is usually quite
the opposite of what the nature of these are. Only problem is trying to stop eating them once I have a couple of them after I am ravinous from hiking all day.
Cream Liquor and Coffee – Brilliant!
Again, more of a habit than anything, I
had started to make my own coffee in the backcountry a while ago, ‘cause up
until recently dehydrated coffee just blew real bad, no matter what brand. I started to make cowboy coffee but then
found the GSI coffee press which is brilliant for paddling trips when a tad
extra weight isn’t a big deal. At work,
I drink my coffee black no sugar, but in the So I learned a real good
trick. Instead of carrying perishable
milk/cream, or using sugar and chemically tasting gross powdered creamer, I started
using cream liquor. I can’t remember who
gave me that tip but it is simply brilliant.
You get a creamer, sugar, an even more bonus alcohol kick and on top of
that it is non-perishable. The only
slight downside is it is heavy if you are backpacking, but other than that, it
rocks. What’s there not to love about Irish
coffee while you relax in the backcountry drinking your coffee before packing
up and hitting the trail or water? So I
have been lugging some of that on most trips I go on for many years now. I pack it in one of those square 500ml Nalgene
bottles and use it generously. It is
even awesome for flavoring and sweetening oatmeal, the breakfast of choice when
I am on the go.
There’s many brands and types you can use,
Baileys the old standard, which now comes in many varieties, the Odarby, O
whatever rip-offs, Pamnama Jack, some coffee cream liquors, and my new fave,
Forty Creek cream liquor.
Funny, I didn't mean it by writing this, but now after writing this and looking at it, it appears I am a lush.... :)
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