DrewKnight
Active member
Mountaintinis on Lafayette
Last week, we decided to take the kids for a 'last hurrah' hike before they returned to school. We booked a night at Greenleaf Hut on Mt. Lafayette to simplify our packing and hauling, and the kids (Nathan, 11, Ellie, 8) did a great job on the climb up the Old Bridle Path (and the next morning on Greenleaf Trail to the summit of Lafayette for their first 4000-footer).
We have kind of a family tradition of having a shared "cocktail" at the end of a family day (martinis for Nancy and me, root beers for the kids)... obviously, this presents a bit of a logistical challenge after 40 minutes in the car to the trailhead and roughly three hours hiking in. For whatever reason, I woke up last Thursday AM with one of those "eureka!" moments, and was able to secretively pack a surprise for the team:
- 8 ounces of Bombay Sapphire gin in a 16-ounce Nalgene (perfect for a shaker later)
- 4 jalapeno-stuffed olives, along with about a tablespoon of olive juice (we likes 'em a little dirty) and a splash of dry vermouth in a zip-lock bag
- 8 ice-cubes in a separate bag
- 2 cans Mugg Root beer
The whole cocktail kit went into a small soft-sided cooler (six-pack size) along with a cold pack. I wrapped the whole affair in my extra fleece and put it down in the middle of my pack. When I unpacked things five or six hours later, there was still plenty of ice and the sodas were still frosty.
OK, so we weren't travelling light -- but you should have seen the looks on our fellow hut-guests when I started shaking up martinis before dinner. It was the perfect end to a great day on the trail.
Last week, we decided to take the kids for a 'last hurrah' hike before they returned to school. We booked a night at Greenleaf Hut on Mt. Lafayette to simplify our packing and hauling, and the kids (Nathan, 11, Ellie, 8) did a great job on the climb up the Old Bridle Path (and the next morning on Greenleaf Trail to the summit of Lafayette for their first 4000-footer).
We have kind of a family tradition of having a shared "cocktail" at the end of a family day (martinis for Nancy and me, root beers for the kids)... obviously, this presents a bit of a logistical challenge after 40 minutes in the car to the trailhead and roughly three hours hiking in. For whatever reason, I woke up last Thursday AM with one of those "eureka!" moments, and was able to secretively pack a surprise for the team:
- 8 ounces of Bombay Sapphire gin in a 16-ounce Nalgene (perfect for a shaker later)
- 4 jalapeno-stuffed olives, along with about a tablespoon of olive juice (we likes 'em a little dirty) and a splash of dry vermouth in a zip-lock bag
- 8 ice-cubes in a separate bag
- 2 cans Mugg Root beer
The whole cocktail kit went into a small soft-sided cooler (six-pack size) along with a cold pack. I wrapped the whole affair in my extra fleece and put it down in the middle of my pack. When I unpacked things five or six hours later, there was still plenty of ice and the sodas were still frosty.
OK, so we weren't travelling light -- but you should have seen the looks on our fellow hut-guests when I started shaking up martinis before dinner. It was the perfect end to a great day on the trail.
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