Welcome to the New Year friends! Thank-you for continuing to follow along into the new year. We are starting off 2022 with a blog post written by Explorer Family @gallimore.family.adventures. Are you wondering a creative and fun way to stay warm on winter adventures? 

Erin, Josh and their son Graham are finding new ways to experience winter this year. That includes activities like snowshoeing and snow art. They have offered to share with us a (very yummy!) way they’ve found to stay warm AND have fun outside, even when it’s cold! Here is a blog post written by Josh, with photos taken by Erin:

I Want Coffee!

You’ve gotten outside! Good for you. You have decided to brave the cooler temps, maybe even play in the snow with the kiddos. And then the cold sets in and your kids are asking for some hot cocoa and you start to think your own hot cup of beverage choice sounds pretty good. If you are like me, nothing hits better than a hot cuppa when out in the cold. But how do you get your hands on that refreshing beverage of life when you’re deep in the woods? Well, it may be easier than you think!
 
There are several ways that you can find yourself and your family enjoying the best nature has to offer and sipping on your favorite hot beverages. Let’s look at three ways you can do this.

Bring It With You

When you are headed outside, how many coffee shops do you think you drive by? Depending on which direction I am headed for my next hike, I can probably safely guess I pass at least a dozen. But then again, I do live in the Seattle area where coffee shops outnumber churches. So the easiest way to enjoy a hot beverage in the outdoors is just to pick one up on your way out and take it with you.
 
There are a few drawbacks or things to consider with this method. Firstly, those cups don’t generally do super great at keeping your drink warm. They also don’t do great at keeping your drink inside the cup when you are jostling about. And lastly, if you carry it into the woods, you have to carry it back out. So you need to put it in your pack and hope that the dredges don’t spill all over your gear.
 
Of course, you can put it in a special vessel designed to take care of most of these drawbacks by keeping it warm, being spill-proof, and being packable. But you have to remember to bring this along with you when you’re packing your gear and be intentional on top of all the other gear needed to keep you and the kids safe and warm. But let’s talk about something much more fun and will make you feel like you are the king of the outdoors, making your hot beverages on the trail.

Make It In The Woods

Bringing it along is all well and good. And can ensure that you get to enjoy your coffee and other hot beverages on the trail. But what if you could enjoy a fresh, piping hot cuppa? Let’s talk about how we can do this.
 
What if I told you that a bottle of water, a backpacking stove, a few lightweight camping cups, and your coffee/tea/cocoa of choice are all you need to pack and all of this weighs less than 3 pounds. And this will give you a delicious cup of hot deliciousness.
 
My go-to stove is and has always been a Jet Boil stove. While it isn’t the lightest backpacking stove, studies show it is the most efficient. And the Jet Boil stove I own has lasted me almost ten years without fail. It takes about 2 minutes to boil water (elevation dependant) and gives me a hot cup of coffee that delights me every time.

If You Forget All of This

If you forget to either pick up a cup on the way to the trail, or you didn’t pack your stove, the last option for a hot beverage, is to pick one up on your way back home. Yes, while this may not have the glamour of drinking a hot beverage in the middle of the woods, the outcome is still the same. A hot cup of coffee that you can sip on, and some warm cocoa to satisfy the chilly children. Then you can think about what a good day you had in the woods and how much you enjoy a good cup of bliss.

Thank-you for taking the time to read this week’s featured blog post! Stay tuned for more featured and collaborative blog posts from our new Explorer Families! Happy Exploring!
Don’t forget to tag us in your adventures using @KidsWhoExplore and #KidsWhoExplore & #KWE

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