What do you drink on a trip?

[Seeker]

2qts of tap water til it's gone, then iodine flavored water until i get tired of it, tea 2x a day (breakfast and dinner at least), sometimes hot cocoa (tea requires a wipe... cocoa requires washing), and eventually those little packets of Crystal Lite flavoring for the water on about day 3 or 4... usually just enough to color it. if you bring a couple kinds, you can flip back and forth between them.

For the rare alcohol, blackberry brandy is always nice.

 

[lowangle al]

Anyone else notice that the flavor of Tang has changed sometime in the last few years? Different sweetener maybe? It was tolerable before, but now - yuck . Mix hot Tang with tea, cinnamon sticks, and cloves, then ya got something.

Instant black coffee, water, and instant cocoa for me. Our water here in the PNW is always cold.

I've been drinking Tang on and off for years. I've been taking a half gallon to work every day this summer after getting burned out on diluted grape juice, gatoraide and poweraide. I haven't noticed a change, but I do notice that I don't make it as strong as I once did, only about half strength.

Here are a couple other things I do concerning beverages.

I stash a beer at the beginning of my first portage on the way in. It will be waiting for me as a reward when I finish my last portage on my way out.

I also stash an energy drink, which I don't normally drink, about 2 or 3 hours from the take out to drink on my way out. They really get me going and last about 5 hours, almost long enough to last the drive home.

The only other thing I have done for a couple seasons that no one has mentioned was to have my daily whisky ration in the morning. Two shots in my coffee with some cocoa mixed in was a good way to start the day. I picked this up from old timers who started every day with some whisky for medicinal purposes, not just while tripping.

 

[recped]

Tea in the morning from a Thermos I made the night before, then tea from my mug that I made before leaving camp. On arrival at the next camp tea from the Thermos I made in the morning. then more tea late at night when I also prepare the Thermos for the next morning. (that all adds up to 2 - 3 litres of fluids per day).

In addition to that depending on the situation a bit of water from a Nalgene that is either straight from the river or boiled at some point when I'm boiling water for tea or meals.

In the past I used to bring an actual lemon or lemon concentrate to flavour the water but I've given up on that when I found I would return from a 6 week trip with that lemon still unused. Also used to filter water but boiling a litre of water in my MSR Reactor stove is so quick, easy and uses minimal fuel (a 1lb canister of isobutane lasts me about 10 days).

Tea is Tetley with two sugars.

 

[RickR]

Two cups of tea bag coffee at breakfast. Water throughout the day. And trip permitting, 2 pints of Vermont's finest after camp's made, firewood put up, and all sharp objects put away!

 

[dogbrain]

I don't like to fuss with things in the kitchen area, so for me it's instant decaf in the morning with a spoonful of coffeemate. I have no illusions that this in any way is a substitute for a good cup of coffee, just a hot drink that tastes ok to me. I also carry some of the instant chai latte packets if I want something sweet or caffeinated. Ill have hot chocolate packets that can get a splash of bourbon in the evening if it's cold out, assuming there's any bourbon left. My favorite end of the day cocktail is lemonade powder with tequilla. After a couple of those, i put on my helmet and all sharp objects are put away in camp.

Mark

 

[muddyfeet]

Instant coffee or green tea as hot beverages.
I like the Mio flavor concentrate squirts for water: some can add extra caffeine or electrolytes if wanted.
And maybe about 150ml bourbon/day. Funny, because I don't drink that much in a month when I'm not camping.

Backcountry old fashioned: Bourbon, lake water, and 2 drops of orange mio flavor.

 

[ppine]

Water, coffe, hot chocolate. We used to bring bourbon and a box of wine a piece for long trips. Now I have heart issues and drink much less.

 

[MyKneesHurt]

Water, coffee, tea. I may switch to instant coffee if and when the Apocalypse, an EMP, catastrophic hyperinflation event, etc. happens, but until then I bring coffee, sometimes a grinder, filters, and drip cone.
I use Nuun tablets for both electrolytes and a change of taste from filtered water. It tastes better, and seems to gunk up nalgenes the least, of all the flavors/additives I've tried over the years.

 

[PaddlingPitt]

Kathleen and I have tea with breakfast, and pour the extra in a thermos for drinking during the day. We have tea with supper, and pour the extra in a thermos for sipping in the tent. We also take a small bottle of brandy, and reward ourselves with two ounces each as a nightcap, once every 5 or 7 days, depending on the length of the trip.

We almost always drink water directly from lakes and rivers, without boiling or filtering. We have never suffered any problems, but then again, nearly all of our tripping has been in pristine areas of northern Canada, generally north of sixty.

 

[SouthernKevlar]

This is an interesting thread to be resurrected from the pre-Covid times. Has anyone changed their choice of drinks since then?

I still take a good variety of teas; basic Black tea, Earl Grey, English Breakfast, maybe some Darjeeling or others (depending on my current tea inventory) along with various green and herbal teas. Water is always available (with a filter or fire and a pot) since we are canoeing. Sometimes a bit of hot chocolate, but not in summer.

Since I am usually solo I tend not to take much alcohol. I sleep well enough at night and when something does nudge my elbow through the tent I want to be aware enough to elbow it back!

 

[barkey596]

Tea, Coffee, Water, Beer, Wine and Whiskey. Never all together.

 

[RickR]

We make coffee in the morning (AeroPress). Water all day long. Lately we've been making ginger tea before making supper. It's become our happy hour. We bring ginger root and mince up about 1 and a half inches of root, boil it for 7-8 minutes, steep it for 5 minutes and then add a little honey. Usually we have a fire going by then and it's a nice time to pause, reflect on the day and recharge a bit before making dinner.

 

[snapper]

Most mornings I'll have a mug of tea but will sometimes bring my plastic French press and make coffee. During the day I used to drink almost nothing but water but I'm now adding flavored electrolyte mixes due to cramping issues that have gotten worse. I never drank Gatorade or anything like that before but an overuse injury to my legs this summer led to the addition of electrolytes to my water. Come the evening meal I may go back to tea or I might make a mug of cocoa depending on my whims.

As for alcohol; not saying I've never brought any on a trip but until I retired 3 years ago, almost all of my trips were with college students. Since then I've been able to do more outings with my wife. Now that it's just an "adult" trip, the occasional box of wine might make an appearance.

That's all for now. Take care and until next time...be well.

snapper

 

[BWCA66]

Coffee and lake water, occasionally I'll filter it and once in awhile I put some flavoring it. I also tend to put a couple of frozen bottles of gatorade and 1 small bottle of frozen milk in the bottom of my bear barrel. After a couple of days I have a nice cold drink and I have 1 breakfast of cherrios.

 

[jdeerfoot]

Tea, coffee, water (filtered), red wine (dependent on mix of trip partners), whisky/bourbon (always) and any beer we can beg (or purchase if we are really missing it, but for $ it must be cold) off of fly-in fisherman.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Tea, Coffee, Water, Beer, Wine and Whiskey. Never all together.

Barkey, welcome to site membership! It's always so interesting to get members from outside North America.

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What kind of craft do you paddle in the UK and whereabouts?

 

[Alasgun]

I carry a qt. Water jar with me all day, on water or not. The hands down easiest way to flavor the water is with a good sprig of Mint. We grow Chocolate mint so it’s what we use. Add a 4-5 inch sprig to a qt. Of water and it will flavor the water for several days! In our water; i’ll fill that jar 2-3M times a day and wash it out every 3rd day. One sprig will last for those couple days and many times will have some root growth going on and interestingly, it never seems to grow any thing, algae, slime etc.

 

[Odyssey]

Most trips in front of the fire I lift a cup to the stars and toast those family and friends who've travelled life before us and have left memories.
I resolve next year to toast those still among us, who thru humble and simple ways have made positive impressions upon our lives.
Good people should be remembered, and thanked, even if only from a campsite fire in the depths of night under the stars.