On long treks, it seems wise to carry a small jar of olives. To the haggard and weary wanderer, they represent taste (seasoned, stuffed olives), culinary techniques (pickling, marinade), and even global trade (seeing as how they don’t come from around these parts) – touchstones of modern civilized life, and good things to remember when your faced with expanses of wilderness (unless that’s what you’re trying to get away from in the first place, in which case you ought to leave the olives at home in the refrigerator). Precautions like these can keep you from going feral, pretty much like keeping inuksuit in a jar in your pocket.

On a side note, I’ve recently found that Cheese does not travel well. As it so happened, the soft cooler (containing cheese) was carelessly placed on the floor right above the pickup’s transmission, which produces a noticeable amount of heat. By the time we reached Halifax, the cooler contained a soggy “ice” pack, and a nicely wrapped bit of Colby Soup. Oh well… convection happens.