Can you drink from a boot?

Can you freeze a Nalgene water bottle?

Well. You can try.

I hike as often as possible. Sometimes spontaneously. I like to be prepared. I travel a good deal. I live in the desert. I have learned to carry extra water. Two liters stays in the car – especially if I leave a full camelback pack in the back seat for a week or two. There is extra water in each of the conservancy fleet vehicles as well. 64 ounces regularly rolls around in the back recesses of the delivery van, clunking against seat braces at odd times. At work we have found that square, milk jug-type containers sprout leaks so staff prefers a nice sturdy juice bottle rinsed and refilled. Roll on sustaining waters. I solved the loose cannon problem in my Subaru by standing a 32-ounce Nalgene up in one of my hiking boots. The other boot holds an extra pair of wool socks and a bana (buff, neck-gaiter, whatever you choose to call it). The boots lodge perennially in the backseat foot well with toes tucked under the driver seat. I prefer to hike in sandals and wool socks or sneakers with socks but the boots – like the PFD, swim tote, hammock, tent, sleeping bag and hiking poles -are there for both storage and spontaneity. I want to be prepared. To put that another way; I don’t ever want to miss out on an opportunity to do the activities I love.

I got away for a few days in advance of the holidays, hiking and soaking at high and cold elevations. It was a sultry 34 degrees on my return to Page and may have hit the upper 30s next day as we conducted inventory at one of our visitor centers. Daylight lingered when I entered my car after work. A bit of water was pooling in the trench of the mud mat. And it was coming from my boot. This was not snowmelt coming from the sole of the boot. No, the water was oozing over the brim of the high top. The exterior of the boot was dry. But the padding around the ankle was wet. My 32-ounce Nalgene still wedged comfortably with a frozen core of ice, but the ice was beginning to melt. I tugged at the bottle. The bottom fell out. Water filled the interior of my boot. It held. Water tight as a leather wineskin, that boot. So. In case you were wondering, yes, in a pinch you could drink water from a boot. It will hold. It will haul. But I am fairly disappointed that my Nalgene will not freeze and thaw.