Survival Monday: In love with long johns

Life took a tough turn for my family this weekend. I've been trying to write about it, but it's still too soon for the words to come. The words will come eventually. In the meantime, simple routines provide a semblance of comfort.

The posts appearing on my blog this week, including the little blurb below, were written and placed in my blog's "publish" queue days ago. I'll let them continue to be published as originally scheduled, because they reflect some of my favorite small pleasures that help keep life bright.

Old school long johns

I could not have survived my first January in Salt Lake City without long johns. OK, well, technically thermals. I own two sets of Terramar Helix tops and bottoms, and if I could, I would wear them every hour of every winter day.

The first set is about three years old, and it's still in great shape: not too saggy or baggy and no pilling or thinning. Silky soft, wonderfully warm, and incredibly fast drying, I use them for hiking, cycling, and skiing. On particularly cold weekday mornings, I snuggle into them and add extra layers on top for my commute to work. Once at work, I change into my professional clothes -- happily dry and warm.

Whether waiting for a bus, riding on a ski lift, or crawling out of a sleeping bag, I am so happy to rely on this soft, warm layer. And sometimes, there's nothing better than lounging on the couch with just long johns, wool socks, and beer.

You Camp Like a Girl

This is an old post that I wrote last summer but never published—until now!

While reading the July 2011 issue of Self magazine, a small sidebar caught my eye: "Happy Camper." The sidebar features six items—ranging from clothes and makeup bags to a crank radio and water purifier—that Self recommends for camping excursions. The introduction to the sidebar reads:

"When you think of tents, do you picture Fashion Week instead of Yosemite? Never fear, roughing it is so yesterday. These easy-to-tote items let you go wild with style. Ready, set, s'mores!" 

The online version of the side bar (a simple slideshow of the recommended products) simply says, "Rough it in style with easy-to-pack essentials."

So, what's the message here? Are we ladies roughing it, or was that so yesterday? And why are women still afraid of a little dirt?

Let's get muddy.

Women often gape at me in disbelief when I tell them I'm going backpacking for a few days.

"Will there be showers?" they ask in concern. "Where do you go to the bathroom? How can you stand it?"

I usually laugh, explaining that it's not really so bad. The truth, however, is that forgoing the hot shower for a night under the stars used to be gross to me, too. The first time I went camping with Andy was a 1-night trip that involved 2 days of hiking. We were not camping out of the backs of our cars. In order to sleep that night, we needed to hike until we found a suitable place for our tents in the dense woods -- impending thunderstorm and all.

It was a nice introduction to the idea of going without soap and toilet paper. After all, I was able to run straight to the shower when we got home on Day 2. Not much different from lounging around at home, unshowered, on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Right?

Fast forward to our first 2-night camping trip. We hiked 30 miles in 3 days. It was hot, humid, and buggy. By the third morning, I reeked of bug spray and sweat, and I was greasy from a three-day layer of sunscreen. I had brought some camping soap along with me, sheepishly washing my face and hair in a nearby pond. I knew that the soap wasn't the best thing for the critters in the water, even if it was biodegradable; I knew that the scent could attract larger animals to the spot later; and I knew that even a little rinsed-off bug spray and sun screen could contaminate the water. (After all, what if everyone bathed in the pond?) Yet, I still did it. I couldn't fully embrace the "gross" idea of truly roughing it.

Much to my surprise, my habits changed gradually over time. It wasn't an epiphany about being one with the wilderness. It wasn't guilt that forced me to leave the soap at home. As I went on more and longer trips, I just became a better camper. I learned to pack light by leaving extra comforts behind, and I learned to be comfortable in my own skin.

Being afraid of a little dirt closes the door on so many adventures. I've seen gorgeous wildflowers, beautiful animals, bright constellations, and unbelievable sunrises. I've felt closer to my partner and my friends as we spend time together without the distractions of daily life. I've challenged my body and I've learned new skills.

Don't believe for a second that "roughing it is so yesterday." Leave the insulated makeup case at home, and let yourself get stinky! Your body and your brain may actually thank you for it.

Adventure Friday: Go with a group

I have a confession.

All those amazing adventures I've been on? Backcountry camping trips? Epic bicycling trips? All those miles I've logged on the trail and on the road?

Two (or more!) are better than one.

I probably wouldn't have done half of them if it hadn't been for Andy. I'm a doer, but he's a planner. I get up on a sunny morning, hop on my bicycle, and happily combine playtime with weekend errands. He conceives an idea, researches the hell out of it, and creates amazing and well-thought trips. Together, we're a (sometimes bickering) tour de force that squeezes a lot of play into very short periods of time. 

Plus, he always has lots of handy gear.

If your friends are just as new to outdoor adventures as you, look up guided hikes or local clubs. A quick Google search turns up an almost overwhelming amount of options. Some clubs require annual dues or trip fees, while others target specific age groups or attachment status. (Singles only!)

If you're more interested in going hiking than doing research, sign up for a group on Meetup.com. While I've had varying levels of success with Meetup.com activities, I love these groups for one big reason: once you join a group, all the adventures come straight to your email inbox. 

No planning muss, no scheduling fuss — perfect for this get-up-and-go girl.

These people know — it's better with a group.

Survival Monday: How to protect yourself against ticks

"Dan, there's a spider on your hat."

Dan threw his baseball cap to the ground, and Katie bent down to pick it up. There, on the underside of the brim, was a small black-and-red bug. It wasn't a spider. It was a deer tick.

For all my outdoor adventuring on the east coast, I never encountered a tick until I spent a week in Shenandoah National Park last summer. In one day, we brushed a lone-star tick off my hiking pants and pulled a deer tick off of ARA's shin. 

Now, on this St. Patrick's Day hike near Garrison, N.Y., my friends and I suddenly realized that we should be checking for ticks. In fact, we should do this after spending time in any wooded or grassy area, as ticks have been reported in many Manhattan and outer borough parks. 

Only deer ticks (picture) are known to carry the bacteria that causes Lyme Disease, but lone-star (picture) and dog ticks (picture) can pose other health risks.

To protect yourself against ticks, the New York Department of Health recommends the following:

• Wear light-colored clothing with a tight weave to spot ticks easily.
• Wear enclosed shoes, long pants and a long-sleeved shirt. Tuck pant legs into socks or boots and shirt into pants.
• Check clothes and any exposed skin frequently for ticks while outdoors and check again once indoors.
• Consider using insect repellent. Follow label directions.
• Stay on cleared, well-traveled trails. Avoid contacting vegetation.
• Avoid sitting directly on the ground or on stone walls.
• Keep long hair tied back, especially when gardening.
• Bathe or shower as soon as possible after going indoors (preferably within two hours) to wash off and more easily find ticks that may be on you.
• Do a final, full-body tick check at the end of the day (of yourself, children, and pets), and remove ticks promptly.

If you find a tick, don't panic. Do familiarize yourself with the tips in the graphic at the top of this post.

Blogspiration: There and back again

Hobbits on the Hudson

Cutest hobbits ever, courtesy of @folowbredcrumbs

My love of the outdoors is constantly rekindled by many muses. It is difficult to put my finger on exactly why, or how, or when I fell in love with the outdoors, but it may have happened while reading books as a child.

All my favorite heroes and heroines had to, at some point, trek through the wilderness. Wonderful and scary things happened in that wilderness, and I wanted to find my own adventures there.

I do find my adventures now, and sometimes still with books. One of my favorite camping memories took place a few years ago in the pouring rain. ARA and I had had a beautiful day of hiking, but a storm rolled in just before sunset. Luckily, one of us almost always carries a paperback book on camping trips. We huddled in our tent, taking turns reading aloud from The Hobbit:

"...his hood was dripping into his eyes; his cloak was full of water; the pony was tired and stumbled on the stones; the others were too grumpy to talk. 'And I'm sure the rain has got into the dry clothes and into the food-bags,' thought Bilbo."

Rain isn't so bad. Let's just hope my luck holds, and that I never encounter an unhappy bear, a hungry troll, or a wicked witch.

Blogspiration is a meme hosted jointly by GrowingUp YA and saz101. The meme was created to help spark inspiration among bloggers and readers. An inspirational quote, picture, or video is posted weekly, on the day of the author's choosing, so that it may inspire creativity, conversation, and just a little something.

How to Choose the Right Backpack (via REI)

I love infographics. Well-made infographics are beautifully designed, easy to read, and quite useful! Today, REI released a new infographic on choosing and using a backpack.

(Click here to see the full chart.)

This chart includes everything from choosing your pack size and finding the right fit, to packing it correctly and deciding what to leave at home.

It's a pretty handy tool, but I would add one key piece of advice:

Unless you're a veteran backpacker who knows what she wants, always try on your pack in a store, with the help of an expert, before buying. Packs—and bodies—come in all shapes and sizes, and a too-loose belt or too-long torso can lead to a lot of pain on the trail.

Use this chart as a guide, but use your local outdoor store to make the final purchase.

Blogspiration: Get Outdoors

I'm reading Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey for two reasons: it was recommended to me by one of my favorite reading buddies, and it's set in Utah.









Edward Abbey was a pretty crazy guy, judging by his picture alone. (Yes, he is leaning on a rifle, next to a television with a bullet hole in the screen.) He is perhaps most well known for Monkey Wrench Gang, a novel about "environmental terrorists" that allegedly inspired the early actions of a real-life radical group.






Radical environmentalism aside, Abbey was pretty sharp. In Desert Solitaire, Abbey dedicates one chapter to a detailed proposal for a car-free national parks system. His proposal includes everything from bicycle paths to backcountry leadership, from shuttle buses to infrastructure maintenance. It's quite brilliant.


One particular passage on car-free tourists had me giggling on the subway to work:

But the rest, the majority, most of them new to the out-of-doors, will need and welcome assistance, instruction and guidance. Many will not know how to saddle a horse, read a topographical map, follow a trail over slick rock, memorize landmarks, build a fire in rain, treat snakebite, rappel down a cliff, glissade down a glacier, read a compass, find water under sand, load a burro, splint a broken bone, bury a body, patch a rubber boat, portage a waterfall, survive a blizzard, avoid lightning, cook a porcupine, comfort a girl during a thunderstorm, predict the weather, dodge falling rock, climb out of a box canyon, or pour piss out of a boot.  

Abbey's point was that, even without the responsibilities of collecting car fees and handing out road maps, park rangers would be wonderfully and absolutely needed in a car-free national parks system. Get people out of their hot cars and into the (newly) quiet wilderness of our beautiful country.

Just please don't tell me that I'll have to learn how to bury a body.

Blogspiration is a new meme hosted jointly by GrowingUp YA and saz101.

Splitting camping gear for two

Two packs. Two hammocks. A two-person tent. I need to either replace some of this gear or be creative with what I'll be keeping with me. Can I hang that hammock without asking someone else to tie the fancy knots? Should I invest in an expensive 1-person tent? The New York City frost will be setting in sometime soon, but I would like to see camping in my future!