What's Your "Medicine?"

Jeff H

Jeff H

Joined
Feb 14, 2008
Messages
1,093
First, if this has been done, you all have my profuse apologies, as I cannot remember if I saw this here (I searched and came up empty) already, or whether it has just become such a desired subject-post idea that it just seems familiar.

From Horace Kephart's Camping and Woodcraft, Chapter VII, page 112, (thank you Bryan Breeden), I quote:

"No two men have the same "medicine." Mine is a porcelain teacup, minus the handle. It cost me much trouble to find one that would fit snugly inside the metal cup in which I brew my tea. Many's the time that it has all but slipped from my fingers and dropped upon a rock; many's the gibe that I have suffered for its sake. But I do love it. Hot indeed must be the sun, tangled the trail and weary the miles, before I forsake thee, O my frail, cool-lipped but ardent teacup!"

That is literally poetic. I admire Mr. Kephart for many things, the least of which is certainly not his ability to conjure his experience in our hearts. I consider him an iconic writer as much as an iconic woodsman myself.

Now, what in the world was THAT all about anyway? Chapter VII is titled "Light Camp Equipment." It seems a bit contrary to the subject that he might stray "off-topic" to discuss what little bit of pleasure one might go to extraordinary trouble to derive in spite of the imperative to NOT burden oneself with unnecessary "stuff" while in the wild. None the less, there is an important bit of wisdom in this passage. What is it? What is it to you?

Disregarding items of personal superstitions; a talisman, a fetish (as an object, not a behavioral pattern), or items you feel to posses "manna" or sympathetic magic, "lucky rabbit's feet" and the like, what one thing do you carry that meets some need other than the absolute, purely physiological maintenance of maintaining your core body temperature, or any of the "threes" of significance in a survival situation? What's your "medicine?"

I see things like tea bags in survival kits, which are possibly more about misplaced ideas of "nutrition" or "medicine" in the literal sense, but this is about what sooths you - something that provides a sense of comfort and well-being, if I might be so arrogant as to pretend to have understood completely, or further, to have adequately translated the idea here - hence the quotation above. There is text before and after the excerpt that I have included in this post quite worthy of reading, mainly pages 1 through 112 and pages 113 through 469. If you don't have it - get it. Dover sells it for next to nothing and, while all may not be completely synchronized with today's equipment, it is something to which you will find you can synchronize your thinking - or some of it.

So, "what's your medicine?"

Mine is my pipe, or pipes - a couple well-broken-in Nordings and a small pouch of some good Danish pipe tobacco. Not essential to my existence in the literal sense, but essential as seasoning to the experience - an enhancement to my enjoyment despite being cold, hungry, tired, dirty and wet.
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Good thread Jeff. I guess I have a couple, but a pipe and tobacco may be paramount of them. It's uniquely comforting and pleasant. I also almost always bring some tea. A harmonica comes along if I'm alone (because no one else could stand to hear the raucous that I pass off as music).
 
Good thread. I had to really think about this. I guess it's 2 things. Some instant coffee and something to whittle with. Typically my SAK Farmer nowadays.
 
Great thread. And a very important topic, I think.

I think that most of us occupy a packing niche somewhere between the 'ultralight' and 'luxury' approaches, generally with an emphasis on minimal bells and whistles (wait, I usually bring both bear bells and a whistle - disregard that). But I'm sure that most of us also make room for a 'medicine' item or two, just to enhance the experience.

For me, the two medicine items I commonly pack are cigars and the means to make good coffee.

A nice Cuban cigar weighs next to nothing, and really helps to turn an evening around the fire (or a break at the summit, nice overlook, etc.) into a truly memorable experience. I'm partial to Romeo Y Julieta Romeo No. 2s. Funny thing is, the reason I started bringing cigars along on trips was that my best adjustable butane lighter has a built-in cigar cutter. I was packing for a trip one day, and I had my Colibri cigar lighter in one hand, and a Bic in the other. In the spirit of multi-functionality, I decided to go with the Colibri, and to bring along a few cigars so that I could make use of the cutter.

But, there are occasions when I will leave the cigars behind. On the other hand, I have never gone on an overnighter without good coffee and the means to brew it. Instant coffee is has no place in my home, or my campsite. This isn't a nutrition or necessity thing, in the strict sense - I could get by with a pack of that freeze-dried pseudo-coffee and some hot water. Certainly, it would make for an easier packing job. But, I still haul around my trusty steel French Press, and a sealed bag of freshly-ground dark roast. This is my real 'comfort' item. On more than one occasion, the process of preparing a decent pot of coffee has helped to change my state of mind from frustrated (about the weather, the number of fools on a trail, etc.) to calm and appreciative. In terms of my choice of brew, I'm partial to the products of the Creemore Coffee Company and the dark roasts offered by Kicking Horse Coffee.

All the best,

- Mike
 
Mentor- Just a thought, but another way to make some coffee (and save you some weight in the process) is by using one of the stainless guyot bottles along with one of these:
http://www.rei.com/product/750397
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You just boil water in the bottle, put that filter on the top of the bottle, add your coffee, put on the lid. Shake and then remove both filter and lid. Great java. Weighs diddly squat.
 
SpookyPistolero said:
Mentor- Just a thought, but another way to make some coffee (and save you some weight in the process) is by using one of the stainless guyot bottles along with one of these:

You just boil water in the bottle, put that filter on the top of the bottle, add your coffee, put on the lid. Shake and then remove both filter and lid. Great java. Weighs diddly squat.
Click to expand...

SOLD! :thumbup:

Thanks SpookyPistolero! I will most definitely look into that.

All the best,

- Mike
 
i am definately a coffee snob.. i have been using these guys, for making coffee out in the woods.. they're made by our favorite company, Coghlan...:D nice and simple... cheap too...

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I was the King of coffee snobs for many years, but gave it up for simplicity and barring support of the PNW wealthy caffeinated. You guys are making me nostalgic and misty eyed on a level only WSSers can. I have to go buy some decent coffee now.;):D
 
It's interesting to note that thus far the medicines are items that encourages a contemplative time, ie waiting for tea to brew and then the time to drink it, gives us mental space. Sitting by the campfire smoking achieves the same thing.

Great thread.

One of mine is simply sitting by a campfire.
Tea is the other.
 
My medicine would definetly be my edc'd knife, and unless I missed the point, I'd have to say beer, since I quit smoking, a nice cold beer seems to put the world in the right place. And the extra weight is definetly worth it. Nice cold stream from snow run-off makes a pretty good refridgerator, so no real need to lug a cooler for an extended trip.
 
Back when I got out a lot more than nowadays, it would be coffee and my smokes. I`m not sure if this should be included, but I also always had a small sketchpad and pencils for drawing. Now go ahead and make fun of me, but I`ve always enjoyed drawing pictures of what`s around me.
 
i have sat and thought about this while browsing the forums, i couldn't really think of anything..

but i suppose a simple gouge is my medicine. i like to sit and whittle spoons at night by the fire as long as its not too cold, and a gouge makes it hugely easier than digging out the bowl with my knife. i have been thinking about a hook knife for some time, but my gouge works fine for the time being...

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I love a good cigar, anything Maduro, while sitting on my front porch with a good beer or some Grand Marnier 150 on the rocks. I'll grab my Case Seahorse Whittler and make an attempt to whittle something. I've been working on a dog now for a few months :)

But, more than all, my medicine is a cup of coffee in the morning and the newspaper while sitting on "my chair" waiting for the rest of the family to wake up. It's the only hour or two that I truly get to myself in the morning!


Great thread!
 
Stomper said:
Back when I got out a lot more than nowadays, it would be coffee and my smokes. I`m not sure if this should be included, but I also always had a small sketchpad and pencils for drawing. Now go ahead and make fun of me, but I`ve always enjoyed drawing pictures of what`s around me.
Click to expand...

No makin' fun here. I've always sketched things that have come to mind, but I get frustrated when they don't come out, on paper, like I picture them in my head.

We all do what works for us, individually, and share about it. That's what makes this forum such a great place.
 
SpookyPistolero said:
A harmonica comes along if I'm alone (because no one else could stand to hear the raucous that I pass off as music).
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I'm right there with you, it was one of the things that made me crack up the first time I watched Les Stroud. He can play though. I don't think that anyone wants to be near me when I start honking out "Train, Train" by Blackfoot or "The Wizard" by Black Sabbath. I'm hoping the noise will scare away predatory animals in the night. 8-)

As far as the medicine is concerned, I made a set of worry beads I am fond of. My Dad used to have this 1925 silver dollar he drilled a hole through the edge and had it on his keychain for years. He was born in '25. I have one now but have not drilled it, I just keep it, along with a crystal from Crystal Springs, Arkansas.
 
Stomper said:
Back when I got out a lot more than nowadays, it would be coffee and my smokes. I`m not sure if this should be included, but I also always had a small sketchpad and pencils for drawing. Now go ahead and make fun of me, but I`ve always enjoyed drawing pictures of what`s around me.
Click to expand...


very cool john...:thumbup: i am also big on sketching in the woods.... i have done so most of my life...:)
 
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