Great Inclinations

> How to bring your hiking snack game up another level

Jacey Gibb
Distribution Manager

 

Great Inclinations is your go-to source for
diving into the world of casual hiking in
and around the Lower Mainland. Because
hiking’s not just for assholes anymore.

Or of the best parts about hiking,
camping, or doing anything outdoors
is the amount of snackage that occurs.
You're roughing it; you're burning
through calories like they’re on fire; it’s
easy to justify nearly any level of snack
to yourself. However, not every hiking
snack is created equal, and what food
you bring will depend on what kind of
hike you're on. Here are a few tidbits
to help you dazzle everyone with your
new and improved snacking A-game.
First off, the kind of food and
accompanying devices will depend on
what kind of hike you're going on. Snacks
for a casual jaunt up Quarry Rock area
lot different than what you'd bring on a
day-long hike in Whistler. It’s also better
to overestimate when youre packing, since
you can't really swing by a McDonalds
when you get the munchies and you're
stuck on top of a mountain. Think ahead
and avoid being that person who ends
up bumming off everyone else’s snacks.
In terms of gear that can help you
become a snacking guru, cooler bags
are a new addition to my life, and it’s
hard to remember a time before them.
Add a few reusable ice packs, and you've
got a compressible fridge that’s easy to
transport and that retains cold fairly well.
Cooler bags are handy even if your snacks
don't necessarily need refrigeration:
They prevent stuff from melting in
your pack, or they can keep other foods
slightly chilled. They’re also relatively

inexpensive—most range from $15 to
$50—but the branded ones that often
come with packs of beer will do just fine.
It’s also worth investing in some
decent plastic Tupperware and durable
elastic bands. Glass jars and containers
might seem like the stronger option,
but they weigh a lot more and can
break in your backpack. Load all of your
food into Tupperware containers, and
either wrap them in elastic bands or
plastic wrap to prevent any spillage.
Another important thing to
remember is that preparing food for a hike
is always full of trade-offs. You could buy
a ton of dehydrated food from Mountain

 

Equipment Co-op, which is light to carry
and conveniently premade; however, most
dehydrated meals cost about $14 each,
and some of them taste like soapy vomit.
You could prepare a few meals ahead
of time and pack them in Tupperware
containers, but they'll likely be heavy in
your pack and might pop open during
the hike. Think about what's important
to you—are you more concerned about
being thrifty, being satisfied, or being
light on the trail? Pick snacks and
meals that line up with those values.
Personally, my snacking game is all
over the place, but it works for me. Here
are a few favourites for taking on the trail:

Hard-boiled eggs

They’re easy to make, delicious, and
chock-full of calories, protein, and fat.
Make sure you have some experience
peeling these bad boys before bringing
them on a hike though, as some people
find them difficult to peel and end

up pulling them apart completely.

Frozen grapes

Pop ’em in the freezer the night
before, and you have a tasty cold treat
that also keeps your other snacks
chilled. I prefer the sweetness of red
grapes, but any kind works here.

Quinoa salad

As long as it doesn’t have dairy in it,
quinoa salad can be enjoyed at any
temperature. Batch cook a ton so
you have leftovers, and then pack

a Tupperware full of it for the hike.
(Just don’t forget to bring spoons!)

Chickpea wraps

Probably my go-to on-the-go snack.
Chickpeas are brimming with calories and
carbohydrates, and their flavour is so mild
that you can do anything with them. Load
a tortilla wrap up with hummus, spinach,
and some kind of mashed chickpea
filling, and you've got a meal on the go.
For a good recipeexample of these check
out the Other Press’ recipe “Meatless
Monday: Vegetarian chickpea wraps.”

Vegetables

I love fruit, but most of them either bruise
too easily or area high risk for getting
smashed ina backpack. Hikes are where
vegetables shine: Pack a container full of
prepared vegetables—carrots, cucumbers,
grape tomatoes, broccoli, radishes—and
enjoy the convenience of easily-accessible,
fresh veggies throughout your hike.

Esports shooting raises a familiar debate

> Gun control versus video game violence

Brittney MacDonald
Life & Style Editor

 

he shooting that took place
on August 26 in Jacksonville,

Florida, has rekindled the arguments
of a few familiar debates.

The gunman, David Katz, opened
fire on the participants and spectators
of an esports competition featuring the
video game Madden NFL, published by EA
Sports. While a mass shooting is sadly not
an unfamiliar event, this one in particular
has proved to be quite divisive. Many have
called for a reexamination of American
gun laws, but some have chosen to latch
onto the correlative existence of this act of
violence and the presence of video games.

For those familiar with the
Columbine High School massacre—an
event largely seen as the beginning of
the modern mass shooting craze—you
will recall that the shooting then sparked
debate over violence in video games.
It is theorized that this was partly due
to the formation of the Entertainment
Software Rating Board (ESRB) in 1994—
the Columbine attack occurred in 1999.

The discovery that the Columbine
perpetrators played video games allowed
for a link to be examined that could
possibly justify the ESRB’s continued
existence after the notoriety of their
political cases from the early to mid-’g0s
died down. Unfortunately, and despite
many studies proving the contrary, this
led to a belief that video games as a
whole encouraged violent behavior.

So how does this affect the
Jacksonville shooting? Many conservative-
leaning people and political parties have
chosen this tragedy as an example of
video games encouraging violent acts—
conveniently choosing to ignore the fact
that Katz was able to initiate this attack
with two handguns he had purchased
legally, despite having a readily-available
medical record detailing mental health
issues. Furthermore, it is the ignorant
prerogative of said parties to seemingly
ignore the fact that Madden NFL has
an “E” rating by the ESRB—a rating
only given to the most family-friendly
games—meaning it contains little to no
violence. However, as many members of
the gaming community know, and have
had to deal with due to this abhorrent

 

public association, this claim of video
games inciting violence has less to do with
any sort of causation and more to do with
acting as a red herring to distract from the
reemergence of the gun control debate.
With this in mind, the online
community of gamers has been
extremely vocal in retaliating against

‘Madden NFL 18’ screenshot via EBGames

these claims. They’re choosing instead
to attempt to refocus public attention
to the outdated gun control laws that
many believe need reform—but seem
to have gone largely ignored by the
American government due to political
ties with the National Rifle Association.

An examination of modern
street fashion: Part one

> Retaliation as a form of fashion

Brittney MacDonald
Life & Style Editor

 

have said often that fashion is
cyclical, but less often have I iterated
that it is also retaliatory. Let me explain.
The existence or emergence of certain
trends are often in direct retaliation
to the emergence of previous trends.
To put it in the most basic terms,
fashion moves from one extreme to
the other. Whether this is because the
universe needs balance, or because
people are bored easily, one will never
know. Currently, we see this most
plainly in the rise of street fashion.
Confused as to what constitutes
“street fashion”? Looking at a basic
definition it is a genre of fashion steeped
in youth culture popular in urban or
city centres. The style was originally
cited to have developed outside of
the studio space, in a more organic,
functional way. This idealization is
outdated, and I will explain why in a
later addition to this column series. For
now, modern street fashion can most
easily be identified as the “millennial”
aesthetic—that which has been
popularized by social media platforms
like Instagram and Tumblr. Some
staples of the fashion include athletic

Qc cave_youth °

 

or athleisure wear, a mixing of textures
and materials, and oversized fits.

The last time that we saw such
a popularization of street fashion
was in the late 80s to early gos. The
advanced casualness of streetwear

 

32 likes
cave_youth Some of our wonderful past participants
from the CAVE Youth Employment Program during
our CAVE reunion event. Lots of fun games, delicious
food and peer networking.

Image via Marielle.style

popped up all over the media and rose
in prominence as a direct result of the
decadence and excess of the ’7os and
impracticality of the fashion present

in the early ’8os. At that time, though
not cheap, brand labels like Adidas and

Nike were considerably less exorbitant
than what was available from the
iconic designers of the age—names like
Thierry Mugler and Christian Lacroix.
The rise in street fashion also coincided
with a growing interest in urban and
African-American youth culture,
thanks in part to films by Spike Lee.

With that in the back of your
mind, hopefully you can start to
see why | claim that fashion is often
retaliatory. The streetwear craze of
the late ’80s to early ’g0s was basically
the public biting back against nearly
a decade of puffed sleeves and taffeta.
They wanted something comfortable,
they wanted something affordable,
they wanted... SWEATPANTS! Well,
not exactly—but you get the idea.

How does that play into modern
street fashion, you may ask? Our current
obsession with this genre can be traced,
in part, to the present fascination with
the ’gos era. It can also be accredited
as being a direct retaliation of the
over-sexualized female empowerment
movement and flashy fashion trends of
the 2000s. I will be going into greater
depth regarding the sexualization
of street fashion in part two of this
series, when we classify the “anti-sex.”

ietm een aiis

Brittney MacDonald
Life and Style Editor

Well, it’s the start of another school year, and though we can't really say

Succ Bem dbl ATU Am bECOMOTbOT Mele Wice-vOCC RC Tal em Bel ca a KOM Dl

back! However, just in case you need a little mood music to get yourself
back into the rhythym of college life, we've got you covered. Here’s a
playlist curated by the Other Press staff for your auditory enjoyment.

Are You Ready? by Disturbed (Caroline)

Sunny Afternoon by The Kinks (Jessica)

Fish on the Sand by Allah-Las (CJ)

Personal by Stars (Chandler)

C.O.0.L Party by Confident Man (Jacey)

Tomboy by Vulfpeck (Klara)

HEX by Rezz (Brittney)