IF there's alcohol consumed, eventually someone will provider the fodder for a cautionary tale on the dangers of over-indulgence ;D

Back when I tripped with 3 other guys, they considered booze too be a "essential" part of any trip. One guy owned 3 Mexican places in Atlanta, and so his choice was Tequila, the good imported kind. Smooth as hell but lethal. One guy was from Boston and liked expensive scotch and Cognac. The last guy was a good old boy from Kentucky and liked his bourbon.I never was much of a liquor drinker, so I brought something to put in my coffee or hot chocolate.
The guy from Boston brought a very expensive bottle of Cognac and after they had gotten pretty toasted on Tequila, decided too crack it open for their final nightcap of the evening.
 The guy's from Atlanta and Boston had tin coffee cups and proceeded to warm their cognac over the open fire to release the full flavor of it.
 The guy from Kentucky had been in the woods making a pit stop, and when he came back to the fire, we were headed to the tarp to play some euchre. They told him to get some cognac and warm it over the fire? WE had just laid out a small tarp to sit on and we hear this big holler and see a ball of FIRE shooting up over the fire pit :o
 The Kentucky guy is hollering and cussing up a blue streak. We go over to see what happened?Turns out he was so toasted, he had put the cognac in a PLASTIC cup and was warming it over the fire, when the bottom melted and the cognac hit the fire, sending a fireball skyward.
 He said he was alright, so we had a good laugh and played cards for a few hours before retiring for the night.
 Next morning when he came out of his tent, we discovered that he was lacking EYEBROWS! His face was red as a beet and hurting!
 WE rode him hard about that the rest of the trip. Funny story now, but at the time it was scary :'(
  Eventually stories like this became more the norm and my tolerance grew shorter. Still, I would loved too have that picture as a reminder of what happens when addled brain plus cognac meets hot campfire ;)

My alcohol story has become a valued tradition for our cold weather trips.  My buddy who introduced me to the Quetico -- about 12 years older than me -- would cap off each evening with a steaming cup of Russian Tea spiked with a few glugs of brandy.  My friend is a man of habit and ritual.  Scooping out the Russian Tea mix into our cups, adding the water, then spiking it with a bit of brandy was carried out with the utmost care.  Our evening Russian Tea and Brandy was something we talked about under a tarp during those cold spring rains, or as we sat, winded on shore trying to get back to camp.  On those raw days, there is nothing better to end the day than sipping this hot spicy mix before crawling into the tent.  Long after my friend has hung up his paddle, I'll always think of him as I continue the tradition.  

S_T Your story reminds me of one too. I don't know how much alcohol was involved or if it was just his nature. Past tripping buddy's brother-in-law was lighting a coleman lantern. Too much fuel everywhere. Instead of waiting, he tries to light it. The whole thing is in flames. So he tosses it in the lake. Fuel floats and it's still burning. He's beating the water trying to put it out. Nobody can help. They're all rolling on the ground from laughter.

Don't really miss those guys. Every year it something and they can't figure out why.

JJS,
 I have many stories that involve fire and alcohol ;)Something about that combination proves irresistible to the inebriated?
 MY gear story involves a single burner propane stove being PUNTED into Lake Superior on a Isle Royale backpack trip. Some people should NEVER go anywhere but the RV park ;D

While car camping during Labor Day Firepit was puttering about, getting his tent ready for his kids to go to sleep.  There was nip in the air that year, so Firepit had fired up his Coleman catalytic heater.  It worked for a while but had gone out.  Firepit was curious about how much fuel was in the heater.  Unscrewing the cap to the tank he doesn't have a flashlight handy so he uses his lighter...

The rest of us had our backs to him: we were facing the campfire.  We heard this muffled "wooOOF!", like a dog snapping at something that has invaded his space.

Firepit staggered forward to the light of the campfire.  A man of copious facial hair he now looked like he had been bobbing for apples in Nair:  No eyebrows, moustache or hair to fall into his eyes.

Jack Daniels had aided his thought processes.

TwistTieCollector wrote on Feb 18^th, 2009 at 3:29am:

Firepit was curious about how much fuel was in the heater.  Unscrewing the cap to the tank he doesn't have a flashlight handy so he uses his lighter... The rest of us had our backs to him: we were facing the campfire.  We heard this muffled "wooOOF!", like a dog snapping at something that has invaded his space.

I can confess to a similar story while in college, but I can't even blame alcohol.  I was stone cold sober.

My car wouldn't start...obviously a battery problem of some sort.  I pried off the cap to check and see how much water was in the battery.  It was dark outside and I couldn't see.  So I grabbed the first source of light I could find, Tim's lighter.

Fortunately I had less hair to burn off than Firepit.  At least I learned a valuable lesson....

those are great guys!!  I have one to,but i really dont think i should share it :o has to do with drugs from a long time ago :-?