This could be fun. I'm wondering how many have habits  that are unique to canoe trips. Not talking about everyday stuff, but what you do differently in canoe Country when you are out in the wilderness? 8-)

You can vote for multiple choices. :o

I drink hard liquor more consistently. I rarely drink it when not on canoe trip but will have a couple shots of JD first barrel most evenings.

I'm not a coffee drinker unless I'm camping.  I also work evenings, and rise later, so it makes sense!

A little bit of good small-batch Kentucky bourbon each evening, sometimes with filtered water, sometimes straight.  Or perhaps a sip of blackberry brandy.  Or perhaps a bit of each at different times.   ;)

Chocolate.  Spartan1 insisted that there must be a bar of German's Sweet Chocolate as a treat for snack breaks.  We broke off sections as needed.  At home we eat dark chocolate, but the German's seems to travel well, so since that was his tradition back in the 70's, it remained.  I squirreled away a Symphony Bar with toffee chips in the bottom of the food box and that was my special treat for an especially hard day.  Sometimes it  survived the trip and made it home.

Marshmallows.  My husband can toast a marshmallow over an open fire better than any human being I have ever known!

I also clicked "others" and I guess that would include swimming in the lakes in my underwear (because I didn't pack a swimsuit) andn some other activities are too personal to share.

Except on canoe trips I never drink hard liquor - on trips it's tequila (El Patron.)  Except on canoe trips I never drink coffee - on trips the day starts with a morning cuppa.

I usually like to bring a little Bourbon(whatever brand strikes my fancy at the time) or Sour Mash or sometimes just pick up a plastic bottle of rye at the LCBO for mixing. I pack a few decent cigars, Oliva, Padron, Acid, Cohiba and a few stinkers too. I guess they don’t count as vices but are something you won’t find me doing at home on a typical day: sleeping on the ground and crapping in the woods.

Hmmm...

1) 1-2 shots of Maker's Mark around dinner time.
2) Not shaving every day, though I shave twice as much as anyone else in camp... and I swim/bathe EVERY day, no matter what the temp or weather.
3) Take afternoon naps more frequently (particularly if fishing has slowed).
4) Blow on my owl hooter each evening, attempting to lure these nocturnal predators closer to camp.
5)  Arrange for avian gladiatorial events on nearby islands, points of land, and/or rocks within view of camp by depositing fish carcasses.  It is somehow perversely entertaining to see which bird emerges victorious: gulls, ravens, eagles or cormorants.
6) Display my flamingo flag to see what sort of riff-raff might be lured into camp.  This is something I would definitely never do around my home!

Jimbo   8-)

a 3 ltr bladder of chardonnay from a box has been making the trip recently.

I PEE/POOP wherever ( not in camp/ portage trail  ;)) and whenever I want while SOLO. I find that incredibly liberating for some perverse reason:-/ ;D ;D

Maybe letting the primitive come out a little where no-one else is impacted by my behavior.

I also like to bring my own little mix of Coffee Liquor/Whiskey for Irish Coffee/ Hot Chocolate around the campfire at night.

I rarely drink anything more than a few beers or the occasional glass of wine at home but camping or tripping I like my Labat Blue beer/ Irish Coffee.

I buy a case when I hit Canada so I can have a few maybe more when I visit with Q-Dave before starting the trip.

I'm a rum drinker and usually bring 4-5 different favorites - top shelf stuff - qty. depends on the crew size.  I drink that at home too, but on the odd occasion, will have a snort after a tough portage.  (side note re: SP2's Bbrry brandy - a pint of that b/w a buddy as a junior in HS...I will NEVER touch that stuff again...I get dry heaves just thinking about it... :P)

Occasionally swim/sun bathe in the buff, but out of sight of other paddlers...don't want to scare anyone.  :o

Desserts - which I rarely eat at home, will prepare some pretty gourmet stuff in the back country.  I can do a killer backwoods crème brulee and turtle cheese cake.  None of that backpacker/just add water cr@p - real deal stuff.

pd

I take Makers Mark on my solo and rarely drink hard liquor outside of canoe country.
Like Jimbo I bathe every day except for the coldest of weather (like right after ice out or the second half of October) when I might push it to every other..
I swim with abandon in warm water season. Never pack a suit. On the tother hand I much prefer swimming sans clothes; outside of the Q I rarely (like three times in ten years) wear a suit to swim and I love swimming. There are a plethora of lakes in northern MN and folks is spread thin I am careful not to offend.
I bring chocolate for post dinner treats and some candy for during the day- in my day to day life almost never.

Solus wrote on Jun 5^th, 2017 at 10:59pm:

I swim with abandon in warm water season. Never pack a suit. On the tother hand I much prefer swimming sans clothes; outside of the Q I rarely (like three times in ten years) wear a suit to swim and I love swimming.

I skinny dipped in 2011 (McNiece Lake) and felt very vulnerable to the fish, turtles, etc.  Yeah, I skedaddled out of there pretty quick.  I ain't gonna be mistaken for a lure when northern pike are around.  :-/  I've worn shorts every time since.

Quote:

very vulnerable to the fish, turtles, etc.

I was standing hip deep in crystal clear water barefoot fishing on Quetico Lk  a long time back and glanced down and thought " How did that big "HUBCAP" get out here?

The the "hubcap" started moving toward my bare toes and I realized that is was one of the biggest snapping turtles I've ever seen anywhere.

No skinny dipping for me at least close to shore and NO bare-footing either.  ;) ;D ;D

I would never go in the water up there without shoes--I have a terrible fear of getting a fishhook in my foot.  Perhaps not rational, but nevertheless, I think water shoes are necessary.  I will never, ever go barefoot in camp for the same reason.

As for swim attire. . .when I was much younger and we went deeper into the parks with more solitude, skinny-dipping wasn't out of the question.  As I got less mobile, I felt less inclined to do so, particularly because we were in the BWCA and not always sure about privacy.  But I have always figured that if I am in my underwear, top and bottom, that I am covered as much as a bathing suit and, therefore by definition, "decent", should anyone happen by.  Now that he is on the insulin pump, Spartan1 rarely swims with me, so he watches from shore and helps me in and out of the lake if need be.  There usually isn't a "beach" and I never have done slippery rocks well.

We haven't had a canoe trip since 2013, and I haven't swum on one since 2011, now that I think about it, so this is all talk about the past.  Kawishiwi Lake was the last time.  It was delightful.  It was a hot day and there was a lovely beach.

And the blackberry brandy was never my idea.  My husband was the one who introduced me to canoe-tripping, and on our first trip in 1971 he explained to me that the drink to take was blackberry brandy.  I have no idea why.  I think it is because the guys he went with on his first trip (five fellow camp counselors from Camp Easton on Little Long Lake outside Ely) took it, so that made it "the thing".  We took it in a clear plastic Colgate 100 Mouthwash Bottle on our first few trips.  That was our "flask".   We didn't graduate to bourbon for probably 15 years or so after that.  But to this day, whenever I taste blackberry brandy, I do think, "canoe trip."   :'(   And I do like the flavor, too.

I drink whiskey in the Q, but for some reason only cheap stuff that I wouldn't touch at home. Makes no sense I know. At home, I drink it on the rocks, but up there it's only "neat". We've been bringing in a couple of boxes of wine and a bottle of Root 100 as a shooter. Don't really do shots much in "civilization".

For swimming I like deep drop offs and quick entry...
Demonstration of preferred methodology [Viewer discretion advised: video includes brief glimpse of over 50yo backside].
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You weren't kidding!   ;D

That HAD to hurt just a little  :-/ ;D ;D

In the primeval days, pre 40 years old, we packed vodka to mix with the crappy powered fruit drink the outfitters furnished with the food packs. We matured a bit more and embraced a wider variety including Patron Silver Tequila, Carolann's Irish Cream, Kahlua, etc., and did most of our drinking at the end of the day when bellies were full and chores were done.

Now it is mostly good Bourbon or A'bunadh Malt (Doc will applaud this one) enjoyed in very small amounts, but taken after lunch, after arriving at a campsite but before setting up, as soon as there is a chill in the air or anytime we have paddled in a daylong rain.

The lacquered Sigg bottles we carry it in are stowed with small cups just beneath the rainfly tarp that always goes up first.  Happy Campers.

MossBack

I never shave on trips till the day I get out. I never really have a beard in Civilization.

On trips its 100 proof wild turkey, with some of the finest lake water in the world and a smidgen of tang. The tang is a tradition that started before my tripping days began, and is aptly referred to by dad as a "Quetico sour". Would not be my first choice of beverage at home, as I'm typically a beer or Jack and Coke, or bourbon guy.

Being how I must be clean-shaven for work, not shaving until the day before my duty day following a trip is an indulgence.

As for swimming/bathing, nothing more refreshing than a dip in the lake after ice out haha! In reality, taking a dip is dependent on the weather.. Hot weather, I've done so daily to cool off and freshen things up a bit.. colder weather I may do so once mid trip or so. I've always done so just as I was brought into the world, however I definitely keep my eyes peeled and it's always in the back of my head about pike and large, sharp beaked 'hubcaps'. Valid point spartan2 regarding fishing hooks, just have to try be careful, and if I do get pierced hope the combo of clean water and some triple antibiotic ward of anything too nasty.

Crystal Light
Crystal Light and 151 run (or 180 proof brandy) and lake water
Powdered soup
Replace watching TV with watching the campfire

I eat a lot more fish....usually daily.  I'll also eat a desert such as pudding in the evening which I normally don't do at home.  Same with granola bars and gorp.
They say fish is brain food but I don't seem any smarter when I get back .  Just ask my wife and she'll tell you.