We sit at our computers, typing up our adventures, and press Publish, wondering if anyone will ever read our posts, or worse yet, even care. What did we do before blogs? Show slides, I guess. Write letters. Have pen pals. Say what you will about the electronic age and people glued to their devices, but I would never have gotten to know a wide range of adventurous people without the blogosphere. Their stories get me off the couch, inspire me to try new things, or just plain be entertained.
Allison tagged me in this game called Blogstockchen, and posted this question:
What do you always take on a hike? The goal is for me then to tag three other bloggers. They tag others. Everyone reading can discover new and interesting blogs!
I had to laugh because I am famous for the things I have forgotten: tent poles, stove, rain fly for tent, hiking boots, two of the same kind of hiking boots...
My answer would have been a lot different three years ago:
In Alaska, I always, always carried rain gear and pepper spray. Rain gear because, well, 110 inches of rain a year. Pepper spray for big bears. Always had to use one, thankfully never had to use the other, though there were a couple of close calls.
But now in the sunny West it is:
A camera. Always! Even for trail runs, because you never know. I have managed to destroy several cameras and finally settled on this Lumix one, because it doesn't have a retractable lens. The others all got sand or dirt caught in their lenses and stopped working. ps. Enjoy the view of my lovely bathroom!
Blister stuff. I never ever carried this until after the JMT. My blisters were truly horrific there, and I still am not sure why. I still suffer PTSD from one day of hiking from Woods Creek to Rae Lakes. I had hiked in those boots all summer with a pack so it was mystifying. Now I always carry something, even if it is just a pad arrangement like above. I am trying out Ininji socks and will report back.
Dirty Girl Gaiters. (A little blurry). I can't say enough about this amazing product. On the JMT we would greet each other with, "I like your Dirty Girls"! Great colors, lightweight, and keep dirt out of your shoes.
There you have it, my three never-left-behind items.
I picked some amazing outdoor bloggers to tag. Check out their blogs! Your turn,
Karen,
Danni, and
Jill!
And for everyone else, what three items do you always take?
2 comments:
Sugar (sour patch kids or starburst, usually--from a costco run), comms (cell/vhf/fire dept radio), and TP. Annnnnd bear protection of some sort of course. I know I don't need the TP necessarily but the time you don't have it is the time you really really wish you had it, and I've had those times enough to have a teeny bit stashed in almost every pack, even my camelbak!! And yes a rain jacket/windbreaker of some sort... unless the temperatures are good and there is no chance of rain. Which you know how often that is!!
I have that exact same Lumix camera, but I more often carry my Sony Nex 3 unless the weather is bad or I'm racing something, in which case the Lumix fits better in a front pouch and generally handles better.
Another thing I started carrying all the time since I started running is Wet Wipes.
When I lived in Juneau and was mostly just a cyclist, I had a Camelbak Hawg full of stuff that I carried on every ride. I rarely emptied it out, until it accumulated all kinds of odds and ends, and old Power Bars. I even wrote a post about it once. http://arcticglass.blogspot.com/2007/05/camelbak-packrat.html
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