The Best Cannabis Strains for Adventure and Exploration

Have you ever stood on top of a mountain? If you’re a skier or snowboarder, you have, and with boots strapped around cold feet. Many snowboarders are keen to consume cannabis before (or while) they ascend a mountain then carve their way down it. There’s something special about combining cannabis with the views of snow covered trees below and blue skies above that lets us connect fully to the present. Cannabis has a unique ability to enhance adventures like this by releasing our fears, doubts, and anxieties about our current situation. This is why so many are apt to ingest cannabis before they head out on an adventure; it’s a way to connect more deeply to the now.

Remember, cannabis affects everyone differently, so always be sure to do some trial and error to figure out which strains work best for your own individual needs. Below, find some of our personal favorites for use before an adventure.

When Skunk #1 was secretly mixed with a potent indica, its offspring grew into an earthy-but-sweet-smelling cannabis variety: Green Crack. Though it has fewer trichomes than other buds, the lack of residual stickiness makes it ideal for someone on-the-go who wants to consume with a pipe or vaporizer, or quickly roll up a joint, without having to wash their hands of the gluey cannabis residue. As an added bonus, Green Crack delivers an energetic buzz that is perfect for staying present in the task at hand, like hiking or rock climbing.

Mixing qualities found in cheese cultivars and from the ancestry line of Cinderella-99, Dairy Queen is an indica-dominant hybrid that elevates users. The cheesy, pungent smell and the slightly sweeter flavor make this variety a perfect match for an afternoon on a hike. A bowl full of Dairy Queen while walking through the forest is leaves consumers uplifted and feeling mellow, even after a long hike. True to its name, Dairy Queen can also be made into a delicious edible product to stay longer in the system and enhance an entire day’s adventure.

If you’re about to go climbing and are staring up at a stone mountain, hopefully you’ll have time to consume some Stone Mountain. It’s a heavy indica so you should be careful not to consume too much and induce its sleep-aid properties. The strong, musky scent of coffee is perfect motivation to tackle a mountain. So, put it in a vaporizer, take a few a draws, and be on your way.

In low doses like this, Stone Mountain will provide you with a sense of relaxation and remove and fears from climbing. You’ll also find relief from any muscle tension that climbing encourages. As an added bonus to climbers, if you spend time breaking up Stone Mountain in your hands, you’ll find an extra stickiness to them from the resinous plant buds.

A famous cultivar bred from famous parents, Agent Orange is packed full of citrusy smells. It’s a perfect counterpart to the earthy and musty smells you receive when spelunking, or cave diving. Despite its adventurous nature, descending into the Earth can have an ominous feel. The danger, the darkness, the cold drafts of old air.

To alleviate the melancholy, Agent Orange provides mood-elevating properties. Moreover, Agent Orange improves ocular attention, a much needed quality in the dark of a cave. If you should bang your elbow on an unseen rock, Agent Orange’s anesthetic effects will mitigate the pain. In short, diving into Agent Orange is the perfect choice before diving into the Earth.

Instead of diving into the Earth, try conquering one of its high points. Before you go off climbing a mountain, consider the perfect strain for your ascent: Elevation. Aptly named, the euphoric feeling associated with this strain variety will have you excited to conquer the climb upwards. While some may comment how the feelings of Elevation wear off quicker than they would like, that’s actually an advantage for the cannabis-consuming climber.

Taking the time to smoke a joint of Elevation also gives you and your climbing comrades a chance to collect your breath and the energy in your legs. Without an over-the-top high, Elevation allows consumers to continue their physical activity without becoming drowsy or distracted. If you’re looking for an uplifting cultivar that doesn’t negatively impact work productivity, Elevation is the way to go.

Much like the difficulty in learning to surf. There is a difficult beginning. Lemon G-13 is the same; with its notoriously ‘tough trim,’ it takes effort to prepare this cultivar. If you’ve learned to surf, you know it wasn’t the easiest sport to learn. Once you’re on the board and catching your first big wave, however, the euphoric feeling of oneness with the ocean is overwhelming. It’s like breaking open Lemon G-13 and getting that first smell of one of the most terpene-dense cannabis varieties. 

Much like riding a wave, Lemon G-13 provides a pleasant cerebral buzz. It’s also a wonderful strain to pair with surfing since it has energetic properties. When you’re exhausted from paddling through the waves, taking a moment to relax on the beach with Lemon G-13 in a vaporizer is the best way to maintain your state of being while remaining discreet.  

The best part of going on adventures is remembering all the wonderful details: having the water skim your hair as you ride a tube in a wave, the smell of pines thickening as you climb only to fade as you climb higher still. Cannabis is plant that draws attention to the present. It facilitates memories of bliss and oneness.

Cannabis has many ways of improving our adventures and time for exploration. It delivers an upbeat, energetic response you’ll feel from Green Crack; or, an anxiety-relieving, calming response from Stone Mountain. In this way, there is truly a cultivar for each adventure.

Choosing a cultivar for your adventure is fun! What’s your favorite adventure/cultivar combination?

Photo Credit: Wojciech Then (license)