Who doesn’t love ice cream? No one I know. But when you’re hot and in a primitive camp, there’s no way you can cool off with a bowl of this delicious frozen treat. Or is there?

It’s easy to make ice cream if you can pack the ingredients and some ice in a soft cooler. And making ice cream is a novel way to delight and entertain the kids, too. You’ll need only a few basic ingredients:

• 1 cup cream or half-and-half (milk works, too — even one-percent)
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup rock salt
• 4 cups ice (cubes or chunks)

Combine cream, half-and-half, or milk with vanilla extract and sugar in the quart-sized zip-close freezer bag, expel as much air as possible, and seal it up — carefully. Inspect for pin-holes and put the sealed bag inside the larger bag. Then add the ice and salt to the larger bag, expel the air, and seal. Now gently knead and roll the nested bags for five to ten minutes. You may want to wear gloves, even on a hot day. The bag will be cold. (No gloves? A towel or shirt will work fine.) You’ll feel the ice cream gelling as you knead. When the ice has melted, the ice cream is ready. Don’t expect it to be rock hard, by the way. If it’s the consistency of the soft ice cream you buy from roadside stands, it’s done. Just open the outer bag, carefully extract the inner, and rinse off the salty residue. Now unseal the inner bag and dish up the ice cream. That’s all there is to it. Enjoy!

Want to learn more ways to keep cool in a hot camp? Check out “Cool Treats for Hot Days” for help in how to “Chill Out! ”

Tags: Alimentary, camp food, ice cream

Life jacket, life vest, personal flotation device, or PFD

Tags: & Sit-on-Topping, Kayaking, Let's Paddle! Canoeing, life jacket, life vest, pfd

I recently decided to buy knickers for cycling round town, but was astonished by their high prices. I compromised and found two pair of knickers which aren’t made specifically for cycling, and the combined cost was less than the price of one pair of the great-looking purpose-made knickers. One of my new pair of knickers is made of nylon and was designed for climbing, and the other is made of a cotton blend for general wear. I’ll give them each a try on my bike. When I need extra padding, I’ll wear them over bike shorts. I’ll be especially interested to find out how the cotton and synthetic fabrics compare.

If you’re old enough, you’ll probably remember when synthetic clothes were universally derided. No more. High-tech man-made fabrics have been popular for some time now. They come with a caveat, however. While I may be a convert to twenty-first century engineered fabrics (at least for some uses), I’m still hedging my bets. As I watch the cost of oil surge upward, I’m reminded that the price of synthetic fabrics will go over the top someday, too — sooner rather than later, I expect. Meanwhile, I’ll continue to outfit myself in synthetic cycling and paddling clothes as long as the price is right, but I’m not about to throw out my serviceable wool sweaters and pants. Getting fleeced is one thing, being fleeced is something else. I don’t warm to that idea at all.

Tags: cycling, gas, hiking, Hubbert's peak, oil, outfitting