A toast to the great outdoors
There's something so refreshing about cracking open a cold one at the end of a long hike or unwinding by the campfire with a glass of wine as the sun sets. But as every backpacker knows, bringing alcohol out on the trail has one obvious downside — and it's not a potential hangover in the wilderness. It's weight. Hardcore backpackers may scoff at the idea of weighing down their packs with alcohol, but if you have your heart set on campsite cocktails, check out our helpful guide to backpacking with booze. (Text: Laura Moss)
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Comments
This is excellent information and something we completely agree with. It’s especially important when traveling in Latin American countries where the risk of child kidnapping is much higher, and parents are very aware of the need to securely label their kids possessions without using their name.
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Fill up your camelback with ice and wrap itwith a towel. in its compartment it will stay faily insulated and you should have some ice by the evening when you set up camp. throw in a bottle of soda and some minis. this will make a nice little mini-bar for you and friends. Give them enouph and they will carry your tent.
I suggest taking KRU 82 Vodka. It is seriously one of the best premium vodkas i have ever had and it comes in a 'trail ready' STAINLESS STEEL bottle. No crappy aluminum, no metal taste, no leeching. Plus it comes in a 200ml and 375ml size with a carabiner already on it. somebody was thinking when they made this stuff...thinking about me! :)
My favorite is the "Mountain Margarita". Tequila, lemon-lime Gatorade powder and snow.
Stay thirsty my friends...
I don't always drink and Hike, but when I do....
I'm can't wait for the cold one (or three) after the daily grind, but when I'm up on the AT or some local mountain, I've got all the stress-relief I need. Find a way to bottle that and you'll get rich !!!
High quality pot is much more desirable. It's lightweight and no hangover. Try it!
My personal favorite in the mountain regions with springtime snow on the ground is Southern Comfort snow cones
Ah yes, the So-Co snow-co.
Clearly the authors have not backpacked often or developed the taste for distilled beverages. Weight to potency ratio obviously leans towards distillates. We take primo tequilla, Irish whisky, or the like. Not too much--weight is weight--but at least enough to have a lil' pop or 2 every night. This gives us the basic buzz we need and, of course, the courage to confront the lions, tigers and bears after dark, oooohhh...
I like to mix bourbon with Emergen-c and water for a trail Old Fashion.
what I’ve found…
Relatively speaking, beer is ‘very’ heavy, so it should be next to your body and between the top of your shoulders and the bottom of your ribcage. If it’s at the bottom of your pack it makes vertical climbs extremely laborious. On the other hand, if you place it at the top of your pack it makes you extremely ungainly. It’s much easier to do vertical climbs, but your balance is severely affected. If you tip one way or the other too much, it feels like a rope.... More
Best not to drink on a hike, for all kinds of reasons (injuries, dehydration, dis-enhancing rather than improving the experience, etc) -- right. Not everybody who does so is a moron. Right. So if you do want to drink on your hike, don't be a moron. Right. And if you pack it in, pack it out. Right. Anybody still on board wants to hear people's ideas about weight-to-proof ratios with optimization for taste.
Choose your drink of choice but have your friend carry it!
Hike the 14 miles to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, all you need is money and you can buy all the wine in frosted glasses you can drink at Phantom Ranch.
Good proof to weight ratio. It mixes with anything (even Crystal Light) or tastes fine all by itself.
My method is to send my harem in the day before with all the beer & booze I want and have them stage it at selected waypoints. That way the ber, booze and sex are all waiting for me. Cone on guys get with it!
Sad commentary that someone thinks it's a neccessity to have beer or booze on a hike. Exercise some control and stay sober for a change..
Not everyone who likes a drink is "out of control." I've backpacked with and without liquor, and I will say that a little snort of something made one cold winter night more bearable. I'm not saying that getting rip-roaring drunk is a good idea if you're in the back country (safety, health) but wanting to have a drink with dinner doesn't make you a raging alcoholic.
Lets spark a joint when you get to the top of a mountain, its light, but wait a while before you try to clime back down.
If you can't make it thru a weekend hike without a drink, maybe it is time to enter rehab. Just a thought.
If you cant make it thru a comment section without being a sweater vest, maybe its time you enter sweater vest rehab. Just a thought.
10 2-3 week trips to the Boundary Waters Canoe area (no engines/electricity - portage ev plus canoe lake to lake) has taught me many things...including that 190 proof is the lightest bang for the buzz. I'd recommend a normal berry flavor or lemonaid. Lime is awful. Kid flavors are bad too. BWCA lake water is crystal clear...and cold.
Yes bring some booze into the wilderness so if you happen to stumble upon a cute male Grizzly. Then for your generous offer of whiskey he might let you have wild passionate sex with him.
Everclear
I'll bring a little flask for a night cap but bringing a 1/8 oz of some high quality grass can't be beat out in the backcountry, plus you don't have to wait until after your hike to enjoy it. Oh yeah and no hangover. Oh yeah and no trash, Oh yeah and it doesn't attract bears like booze. Oh yeah and you won't fall over and break a bone 10 miles from your car. Pretty much 100% better than booze.
Don't drink. There's nothing worse for a thru-hiker than to pull into a resort to resupply and have to put up with the folks drinking. Just add a boombox and you can really make life hell for real backpackers.
(They're going to scream their guts out, Bow! Better here than the backcountry.)
Not everyone who has a drink is a moron like the people you speak of. I agree I hate being in the wilderness with idiots close by but it is possible to be responsible have fun with booze/weed and not annoy others. I do it every weekend.
Drink it first, before the hike. That way there's nothing to carry. At least I think that's what I do. I remember drinking... and hiking... somewhere... lost my clothes... backpack too... anyway, that's how I do it!
Remind me not to have you pick me up anywhere, I'm sure you'd show up, just how many days later is question. :)
I just take grain alcohol, about 190 proof.
We have found the best (and lightest) way to have a few drinks on the trail is to take a high quality vodka in one water bottle or whatever you choose. Then when you want a drink, pour however much vodka you wish in another water bottle (a .5 litre is perfect) and mix with water and a small pack of Kool-aid, chrystal Lite, etc. That will do for a 2-3 night trip. CHEERS!
I tend to just carry a 2L camelback with gatorade and vodka in it, pretty easy to pack around, plus once you empty it, you have an extra camelback for water on the way out/home if you want. I usually just rinse it out and leave it empty for the return though honestly.
Just make sure when packing, you put your camelback of alcohol away in the packed stuff before filling your camelback of water and getting it ready to carry, otherwise you may be a little tipsy before hitting the camp.... More
I carry the somewhat flat plastic .750's of bourbon. One weighs about 2.5 lbs. and can be re-filled with water or any other liquids. Forget the beer when hiking.
1) Winopus (Platypus makes a special .75 liter model for wine)
2) The Jim Beam Hiker Bottle (Known on the label as the "Lightweight Traveler") Refill with the spirit of your choice after finishing the Beam.
If you can pack a can of beer in, you can pack it out!
I love these ideas, especially the small bags of wine! Let's enforce Leave no Trace, though. I'm sick of seeing beer cans on the ground.
any other ideas for packing booze?
Hey Margaret T., When my buddy and I go hiking, we make our wives pack all the beer. That's the only way to fly!
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