Survival Monday: 5 outdoor gear items for every day use

In a comment on a previous post, a fellow blogger shared this short article about loving your stuff. Materialism is only bad, the writer argues, when we constantly dispose of old items and seek better ones. Stuff isn't bad when you really use it, you really love it, and you really make it last the test of time.

This is true for most of the outdoor gear that I own. I love that gear, and I use it well. Here are 5 gear items that I use on a daily basis, just because they're that good.

1. Kleen Kanteen 12 oz Insulated Mug - I love this mug so much that I've already dedicated an entire blog post to it. Almost one year later, the love affair is still going strong. 

2. Light My Fire Spork - Light My Fire is a Swedish company that sells an eclectic mix of camping gear, best recognized for its bright colors. Of the entire product line, this spork is the lay woman's winner. I use my spork for lunches at work and snacks on the go. The curved shape is comfy in the hand, and both the spoon and fork sides function beautifully.

3. Turtle Fur Neck Warmer - I have always had a weakness for scarves, but now I've done one better: fleece neck warmers. This Turtle Fur neck warmer not only keeps me warm while skiing and hiking,  but also proves to be a toasty accessory for around-the-town use. Plus, this particular fuzzy is made with Polartec Repreve fleece, a textile made from recycled materials. How cool is that?

4. Merino wool socks - I know what you're thinking: "Wool socks? Ugh. How boring." What could be better than toasty toes on a frigid day? Many merino wool yarns are now heavenly soft, and warm socks can be found for almost any sporting adventure. Best of all, it takes days of wear to make these merino wool stink, and these socks can really take a beating before holes appear. My favorites are Chrome no-show socks for warm weather walking and cycling, Darn Tough for hiking, and Fits for every day coziness.

5. KEEN Targhee Mid II hiking boots - Andy and I are both on our second pair of Keen boots, but not because they're made poorly. On the contrary, we both loved and used our Keen Targhees so much that we wore our first pairs right into the ground. Sure, these boots are waterproof and sturdy, but the real attraction lies in how wonderfully easy it is to break them in. No blisters, no stiffness—KEENs are ready for rain, snow, and shine; trail, park, and sidewalk.

What gear gets you through the daily grind? What things do you absolutely love?

Fuel Up Wednesday: My favorite food blogs

A tiny New York kitchen

Let's be honest. The "Local Wednesday" post idea never worked very well. While the theme was initiated with good intentions, I am too  spontaneous (or too disorganized) to successfully post on local outdoorsy events before they happen. Heck, after they happen.

Instead, let's turn to the other passion in my life: food. 

I'm not a health nut and I'm not a master chef. I do love to cook, though, and the food I put in my body changes with the seasons and the activities of my life. In all its delicious and complex glory, food is fuel.

A number of fantastic food bloggers inspire my cooking, and I'm looking forward to featuring them on Wednesdays. After all, what better way to get through a rough week than a comforting meal? 

Emily Bites

This healthy blog features American-style Italian and Tex-Mex cooking, perfect for feeding families and husbands. Think buffalo sauces, pasta casseroles, chicken bakes, and football food -- but with a Weight Watcher's twist.

Green Kitchen Stories

When I want to challenge myself with an elaborate and time-consuming dish, I go here. These elegant vegetarian recipes, crafted by two young artistic parents in Stockholm, are not for the timid or unadventurous. I am in love with their beet bourguignon (yes, beet with a 't') and no-rice risotto with chard.

Love and Lemons

Now that I'm writing about this blog, I don't think I've actually made any of their recipes yet! But the pictures are absolutely beautiful, and I read every post.

Oh She Glows

Monstrously green but oh so yummy!

My inner vegan has a crush on this blogger. Although I'm not faithful vegan myself, I love experimenting with her recipes. They are delicious, refreshing, and fun. This blog is also the source of my dangerous Green Monster addiction.

Peas and Thank You

This was the the first food blog I ever followed religiously. Try her Summer Succotash Quesadillas with Nacho Mmmm Sauce or her Noodle Salad with Peanut Mmmm Sauce, and you'll understand how she wooed me.

Pioneer Woman Cooks

With a wonderfully organized labeling system that includes categories like "Cowboy Meals," "16-minute meals," and "canning," this blog offers awesome down-home do-it-yourself resources.

Santa Fe chicken a la Skinny Taste

Skinny Taste

Gina's recipes always hit the spot. From breakfasts and smoothies to slow cooker meals and easy weeknight dinners, Skinny Taste has an amazing range of delicious recipes.

Two Peas and Their Pod

I can't remember how I stumbled across this blog, but I was very excited when I re-discovered that this family lives in Utah! It's fun to cook along with someone who also shops at Utah farmer's markets — our veggie seasons are in sync! Their corn chowder recipe inspired a slow cooker spin off of my own.

What food blogs do you follow? Where do you find your cooking inspiration?

Survival Monday: For Your Health

After spending eight years in cities that had great walking and public transit infrastructures, I have a hard time picturing myself in a residential suburb. I prefer being able to walk or bike or bus for work, errands, and fun.

Where we live in Salt Lake City, I can get away with doing most of my commuting and small errands on the bus. Even still, there are some nights when I find myself spitting and cursing because the bus only runs at 8 and 9 p.m. before stopping completely. 

The limited accessibility to public transportation is particularly frustrating on days like—well, any day last week. With the exception of a few weekend snow storms, Salt Lake City had been trapped under a layer of thick polluted haze since the beginning of January. 

The pollution stays in our bowl-shaped valley during a weather phenomenon called an inversion, as illustrated by the graphic below. 

Inversion Smog Episodes by Salt Lake Tribune

For two locations just 45 minutes from each other, you end up with a weather forecast that looks something like this:

(And really, the mountains were closer to 40 degrees by midday.) 

A significant portion of this pollution comes from vehicle emissions, from the things you and I do every day. 

The Utah Division of Air Quality offers a great list of "things you can do" to help, and I plan on adding a few to my own routine. However, many of the transportation suggestions are either truly unrealistic or psychologically daunting for the majority of the population. 

Kennecott Copper Mine recently donated 2,500 free transit passes to the public. That's an amazing start, but it just scratches the surface. Local businesses and local governments both need to focus on active infrastructure change and sustainable consumer incentives. Public transportation needs to be more convenient than driving. Industry needs to invest in longterm upgrades and cleaner technology. Most importantly, the public needs to demand change. 

The Utah Physicians for Healthy Environment highlight key issues. Are you on board?

Update 29 Jan. 2013: Governor Herbert and transportation officials met today to discuss the air quality issue. Read more. 

Adventure Fridays: Experimenting with food

When eating for your adventures, experimentation is key. Everyone experiences different cravings — sweet treat or salty snack; cold drink or hot meal —as well as different levels of hunger. 

Lately, I've been experimenting with the amount of food I need to pack for a bicycle commute. Packing my own lunches and snacks is healthy, cheap, fun, and a lot easier than running out of the office every other hour to buy a granola bar. 

Planning your meals for a bicycle commute depends on the length of your commute and your body type. A relaxed 15-minute commute may not require a significant change in eating habits, but a fast-paced 45-minute commute may leave you feeling ravenous. While I am a fan of using instinct to tune into your body's needs, a basic calorie counter can help you identify your target range for losing, maintaining, or gaining weight while cycling.

The food I eat changes with the weather and seasons (lighter meals during a heat wave and more oatmeal on cold mornings), but I think I've nailed down a basic pattern that works for me.

Morning

• Before hopping on the bike, I eat a small bowl of oatmeal with honey and ground flaxseed, or homemade granola with plain yogurt.
• I drink water with breakfast, and water on my ride.
• Within 30 minutes of getting off my bike, I follow up with a snack: banana with peanut butter, or a hardboiled egg and a slice of toast with honey. Don't forget coffee! 

Afternoon

• For lunch, I bring a home-cooked meal to reheat in the office microwave. Hearty fibers and proteins keep me full. I drink water instead of soda or juice.
• To stave off my inevitable afternoon craving for chocolate, I finish off my lunch with sweet fruit like grapes or homemade applesauce. Or, I go straight for the chocolate.
• Later in the afternoon, I munch on homemade popcorn—not from a buttery microwave bag, but popped on the stovetop with some olive oil and sea salt.

Evening

• I always pack an emergency granola bar or energy gel for my ride home, just in case my body can't wait until dinner. 
• I'm still drinking water. Really, the only beverages I consume are water, coffee, and the occasional beer. 

What foods do you eat to fuel your outdoor fun? What's your favorite meal of the day?

Survival Monday: My travel mug got me through Daylight Saving Time

When it comes to outdoor sports, an insulated mug isn't necessarily a key survival item. In the urban jungle, however, it's an entirely different story.

While I enjoyed every last drop of evening sunshine yesterday, the first Monday of Daylight Saving Time is no joke. My slothful reaction to my morning alarm ("It's really 4:30 a.m., you can't fool me!") meant that I didn't have time to make my usual pot of home-brewed coffee. Even worse, I really needed that coffee.

No big deal. Just grab a cup on the way to work, right?

Well, somewhere along the line, the great outdoors gave me a little bit of a green conscience. Or, perhaps, I've simply stopped isolating my life on the trail from my life in the city.

On hikes, Andy and I try to practice leave no trace (LNT). On its most basic level, LNT means carrying your garbage out of the woods and respecting the trails that everyone comes to enjoy. After numerous camping trips of lugging around our empty food wrappers, drink cans, and other unmentionables, we eventually started to think about reducing the amount of garbage we created in the first place.

I also took a fresh look at my city life. As much as New York can feel like a bubble, it's not. All those disposable products come from somewhere, and they go somewhere, too. What if we had to carry our garbage with us all the time, and not just on the trail? 

I'm trying really hard to eliminate my use of disposable items, like paper and plastic cups, but it can be difficult in a fast-paced lifestyle. That's where my favorite piece of Monday morning survival gear comes in: my insulated 12oz Klean Kanteen. Why do I love it so much?

1. It's insulated. The Klean Kanteen uses double-walled vacuum insulation. In normal words, this means that the insulating liner is nothing but an empty space with all the air sucked out of it. (Remember science class, air particles, and convection?) Regardless of how it works, this thing can keep coffee (or tea, or soup, or so on) hot for up to 6 hours. I tested this on a cold hike, and it works. Exactly six hours after I had put hot chili in my little Kanteen, it still served up a satisfyingly hot lunch. 
2. It's a canteen. With a well-fitting screw top, it won't leak when you throw it in your bag.
3. It's a mug. If you like your coffee on-the-go, I would recommend purchasing the Klean Kanteen café top. It's comfortable for drinking, it has proven relatively splash proof, and it snaps apart for easy cleaning. No more coffee gunk stuck in reusable lids!
4. It's 12 ounces. Some New York City cafés like to charge for a large coffee, even if you only fill your tall travel mug halfway. Why pay extra for doing the right thing? Eliminate any chance of dispute and save money with this standard-size small container.

I got my cheap coffee fix, and I still lived to see another Monday.

What mug helps you get through the day?