Coffee to Go

Caffeine consumption while backpacking presents special challenges. Traditionally, I have used the individual packets of Taster's Choice Instant Coffee. I simply pour the grounds into my mouth then chase it with several gulps of ice cold water. It can cause coffee breath, however, and you may smell like Mrs. Campos, my fifth grade teacher, the one who wore a wig. More recently I use the Power Bar Gels, the ones that say "2XCAFFEINE" on the packet. That way I know I'm getting at least two times the caffeine my body requires for optimal performance.

My sister, Kay, solidly endorses "Via," the coffee pictured above. It is Starbuck's answer to instant coffee. She recently used it while canoe camping with her husband, Pierre, in Canada. Canoe camping in Canada is exactly like Sierran backpacking, except for the differences noted here:

Canoe Camping in Canada:

Store gear in canoe
Paddle canoe on water
You are in Canada


Backpacking in Sierras:

Store gear in backpack on your back
Hike on trail
You are in the Sierras (not in Canada)


My brother, Jay, uses a more elaborate set-up for his caffeine needs when he backpacks. He carries a miniature, light-weight brew and drip system made from a nuclear teflon alloy which is collapsible and weighs as much as a postage stamp. It was developed by Nasa working in conjunction with the Juan Valdez Institute. It can be purchased at REI for the equivalent of several mortgage payments.

All this coffee talk makes me recall an anectdote about my sister, Celerina. Actually, I don't know how she solves the caffeine dilemma while backpacking. I do know, however, that while attending college, she and her roommates would use paper towels or napkins when they ran out of toilet paper. On one occasion, perhaps during finals week, they had no toilet paper. Regrettably, they also lacked paper towels and napkins, so apparently, in a span of three days, they resorted to coffee filters. My most delicate hiney cringes!

Years later (last October), Celerina's son declared that he wanted to be a mummy for the Halloween parade at school. This was moments before leaving the house for school. Alas, however, there was no toilet paper in the house with which to mummify her son. Celerina resorted, therefore, to coffee filters; she pasted them onto her son like doilies. She told her son that if he walked around like a mummy then perhaps his classmates would believe he was a mummy. That day his teacher gave him the prize for best costume. "In all my years of teaching," the teacher said, "I've never had a child come dressed for Halloween as an octopus tentacle!"