I backpack, I hike, I camp. I also drive to remote trailheads to do all of the above.
My day job that pays for it all?
Everything from unjamming a label printer for the nice older woman in the mailroom to keeping a network alive with duct tape, baling wire, and bubblegum.
And how do I get to those distant trailheads? Keep the system running? Or enjoy a quiet morning with Joan, taking in a desert landscape?
Coffee.
And not just coffee, but the mugs I use to drink it from.
Mugs that aren’t expensive. A little scratched up and carried with me through countless drives, secluded campsites, and long days of work that have brought me far too much agida over the years.
I’ve worked in my IT trade for more than two decades and almost always with a mug of black coffee nearby. No cream. No sugar. Just as it was meant to be consumed.
“Running on caffeine, sarcasm, and stubbornness since the 90s.”
And with that, I present a Tale of Three Mugs :
The Contigo – “Old Faithful”
My gear pick of the year in 2015 and still going strong (albeit in replacement form due to my absent-mindedness).
It keeps coffee from leaking, unlike my corporate schwag Yeti mug, and also isn’t bulky like the same corporate schwag Yeti mug. It’s practically surgically attached to my hand at this point. And only $20.
Still one of my favorite pieces of gear. It’s seen many trailheads, got more than its fill of gas station coffee over the years, and it’s my constant companion as my Northeast roots come out at work. I yell “What the frig?” at the computer screen as I work a job meant initially for three people and give enough deep sighs intended for six.
Joan also has one permanently stashed in our truck as part of our permacamping kit.
I have this photo by my work desk, and it serves as a reminder of the important things in life.
Contigo, it translates to “Go With you”, and this mug almost always does indeed go with me.
Fueled by store brand dark roast coffee and over twenty years of agida.
The Walmart Mug – “The Campsite Companion”
I bought it at Wally World in anticipation of my year-long vagabonding. The mug is stainless steel, wide-mouthed for easy sipping, and a bit banged up after so many years of riding in a duffle bag and getting dragged to another remote camp. I think I paid under ten bucks for it.
In addition to coffee, it may or may not occasionally contain some hot chocolate or cider, accompanied by a “little something,“ as I contemplate the night sky of another stunning place on the Colorado Plateau with Joan by my side.
My Contigo mug, above, or the Yeti corporate schwag mug may be more efficient, but this mug is like an old friend at this point, and it’s just the right size, shape, and all-around comforting piece of gear that’s been with me now for almost a decade.
Some place at the edge of nowhere.
The Grocery Store or Gas Station Special – “The Cold Weather Go-to”
When I go cold-weather backpacking with Joan, I bring a humble grocery store or gas station mug.
There are fancier, lighter, and subjectively “better” mugs for drinking my morning cup of joe or our ritualistic hot drink with rum at a canyon bottom on some cold High Desert evening.
But when I’m backpacking in cold weather, miles aren’t on our agenda. Nor whatever tchotke gets sanctified by the latest Backpacker Mag article.
I just want something that keeps my drink hot enough to sip while wrapped in a cocoon of down.
And a simple gas station or grocery store mug does the trick.
A cold morning in my down quilt with coffee in a cheap insulated mug. No need for ultralight perfection here.
Together, these three mugs have accompanied me through my work life, trail life, and what’s in between. They are not the most Instagram-worthy and suspect they won’t make a “Top Ten Must-have items” list. But they work and with no futzing. I can’t give any piece of gear higher praise.
I’ve walked on paths, walked away from things, and merely sat at campsites with one of these mugs nearby.
And I suspect I’ll keep doing just that for years to come.