intermission: little tricks

i want to interrupt the daily update with a few things i've been doing along the way to make bike touring life even better. 

1. reduce a wire mess by using a toilet paper roll!

2. dry your socks on your brakes (while riding)!

3. air dry your underwear on your rear pannier (and give people a show!)

4. buy cheese that comes on a little piece of wood, then reuse it as your cutting board over and over!

5. bring your own containers and baggies and ask the deli people to put the food directly in. no fussing with trash!

zero waste home adventures: around the house

my husband has been an true support in my (sometimes ocd) zero waste (zw) adventure. he pokes fun at me when i'm being neurotic and genuinely asks about what to do in a possible wasteful situations. obviously adopting a zw lifestyle can't be done alone in a household or everyone involved in said household would go crazy. but here are a few things we've been doing together:

• we live out "if it's yellow let it mellow. if it's brown, flush it down."
• we make whatever food we can, instead of buying it prepared/packaged. if it doesn't make sense for us to make it, we buy it in bulk.
• we started an indoor composting system!! we went with bokashi because it takes meat/fats. it's awesome, and the juice is fantastic for our septic tank. win-win!
• we make an effort to eat whatever we have at home before buying more of something we might already have. this isn't always easy because my cravings can be impulsive, and i'll put up a good fight. (poor samuel...)
• we are learning about (and trying to implement) vinegar as the solution to most questions. for example, you can use a 1/2 cup of vinegar in the rinse cycle instead of using dryer sheets. awesome.
• we've eliminated paper towels. we're a towel/linen household now.
• we purchased a few handkerchieves from the vintage store and use that in lieu of tissues.
• we reuse padded envelopes and boxes that have been sent to us (b/c we love receiving love mail from friends!). 
• we tracked down someone who will sell us "pet food" (aka: raw cow milk!) in a jar. now i can make plenty of yogurt and have milk leftover for the baked goods samuel brings home on thursday nights without all the plastic containers! (note: selling privately sourced milk is apparently illegal here. hence the "pet food" label. shhh, don't tell.)

below is all of our non-recyclable trash for the past month, collected in an 8 gallon bag. we just dumped it at the disposal site. i hope our next bag lasts us at least two months! 

small steps towards progress! onward! 

zero waste home adventures: waste disposal in rural montana

a few years ago, when i first heard of bea johnson's zero waste home in a sunset article, i was thoroughly impressed and inspired. i started making some changes in my life to reduce waste. i started composting everything i could, thanks to fosth's composting system in the backyard and the county of san mateo's industrial composting program. then, recycled everything else, and finally, threw away what i couldn't compost or recycle. it was pretty amazing. i would throw out my 8 gallon bag of trash every 4-6 weeks, instead of every week or so. in addition to getting my waste down, i made some other decisions to minimize waste: no more paper towels, paper napkins, plastic wrap, ziplock bags, etc. i wasn't extremely strict about this new lifestyle but i did try to live out this intention.

but after a while, i noticed how quickly i turned back to the way of convenience. it was easier for me live in tune with the north american majority culture way of consumption and waste. i didn't like inconveniencing others and the upfront cost of trying to make a full conversion to zero waste.

anyway, fast forward to now: i got married, reduced our lives down to a carload, and moved out to very rural montana with my husband. the operative words being: very rural. 

to prove it, we have become trash collectors. we have to take our trash to a disposal site about 10 miles away, where there is no fancy industrial composting program. in fact, they only take cans, paper/cardboard, recyclable plastics 1 and 2 (of 7) and NO glass! and burying our compost in the (frozen, snow covered) ground isn't really an option, since it'll also entice unwanted critters.

so how do we implement bea's 5 R's (Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rot) in a place lacking the mindset and resources of the bay area? i'm not sure. but this is what we've resolved for now:

• be okay with using up what we have. the house had a lot of supplies in here already, and we brought a number of things i didn't want to just throw out for the sake of starting fresh. it seemed like a ... well, waste. i wanted to finish using our stuff before moving onto making the transition to "all things bulk" and making our own cleaning solutions. again, not ideal, but i'm coming to terms with it. 
• buy only what we absolutely need. and when we buy it, try returning the packaging before leaving the store. and if we need to order something from amazon, we try to have it all shipped in one box. 
• refuse plastic bags and receipts. we bring our own bags for everything or just carry it in our hands. montana isn't like california where BYOBag is ubiquitous. 
• reuse glass jars. we've collected some jars, brought some with us, and have bought some glass snapware we take to any store we can. our meat guy is currently closed to not using a piece of plastic to weigh and wrap the meat. (i'm gonna try to work some charm on this situation...)
• recycle the rest in gallatin county. since ennis doesn't take recyclables 3-7, we're collecting the rest of our recyclables to do a run in bozeman in a few months. in fact, the state of montana doesn't recycle glass, so we need to take it to a private recycling company.
• buy in bulk. so the ennis grocery store is kinda pricey, not super fresh, and sells almost everything in a package. if we are in a bind, we'll go there. but if we can help it, we will make a trip out to bozeman (60 miles away) and go to town & country foods and the community food co-op to pick up what we'll need for the week. tip 1: community food co-op on 908 w main gives $0.10 off for every jar and bag you use! tip 2: use a sharpie to write on your glass jar if you don't have a crayon like me. it comes off and it saves you from using a sticker or twisty tie.
• reuse the plastic bag that the local tortillas come in. btw: i need a solution for tortilla packaging! 
• return the egg carton to deemo's where we buy meat occasionally and local eggs often.
• be aware. because i'm sorting recycling, collecting compost, and throwing away what we must, i can see how much waste piles up. it helps to just notice...
• rot's not hot. actually, to prevent rotting (and therefore, wildlife scavenging our trash), we freeze all of our compostables until the freezer drawer is full. then we treat it like regular trash. this is not ideal, but it's saved us from having to make a dumpster run for almost two weeks.

even though i'm not confident we can become a zero waste household at this time (season and location), i'm proud of what we've been able to figure out thus far with our limited resources. i just need to remember to not feel defeated when i notice the trash bin getting more and more full and that becoming a zero waste household is slow process of transforming a deeply engrained lifestyle. for now, i'm just trying to remember to take my bags and clunky jars to the store. 

tips on lightening the load | from phil

i might keep mentioning this "phil" character because he's been superbly helpful to me in my process of reducing my pack weight.  we met on the trail in the summer of 2011 in the high sierras, right before a "jaunt" up to the hot springs in between maurine lake and junction meadow. it was day 4 on the trail and i had become intimately aware of the weight and size of my pack.

a few hours before meeting phil, we passed a couple with smaller-ish packs, who were just devouring the trail. they were fast, and the woman hadn't even broken a sweat. (mind you, we met them while we were going downhill, at which point they had climbed quite a bit.) 

then came phil, his bro and friend. their packs were even smaller, and they were happily making their way to go fishing! (yum, fresh fish for dinner sounded amazing after days of rehydrated meals.) we were all sweaty and wiped (okay, i was), and they looked so fresh and energized.

it was the first time i saw people with such small packs and i was wide-eyed and curious. how could they possibly do that? after learning about their homemade filtration system and their shared meals, i was convinced i wanted to change my backpacking ways. but when he said i could be "skipping up that mountain," i was sold.

thankfully, phil and i were able to get in touch after our hikes so he and i have been emailing about going ultralight. he has lots of great tips and i've appreciated his thoughtfulness in sharing what he's learned. 

this is what he last shared with me about how to think about weight distribution:

Pack 3lbs, tent 2lbs, sleeping bag 3lbs, air mattress 1lb, clothes 5lbs, toiletries and pills 1lb, rain gear 3lbs = 18lbs

Bear canister 2lbs, food 7lbs, small knife, stove, pot and utensils 3lbs, = 12 pounds (way lighter shared)

water isn't represented on this list, so i'd add 4lbs (2lbs/liter). on one of my last trips, i stopped carrying all 3L of water because i can't stand bearing that weight anymore and water has been abundant wherever i've gone thus far. the other thing that isn't represented is my camera, which adds another 5lbs.

grand total: 39lbs or less (if shared)

i still need to shed quite a bit more weight, but this is certainly a start. i'll post my current (heavy) packing list next because some of my equipment reflects a slightly different breakdown. 

tips on lightening the load | the problem

for me, i think there are four major factors that might explain why my pack is so heavy: 
1) who i'm backpacking with
2) my camera
3) extraneous stuff
4) i'm not willing to fork over $$$ to buy the most ultralight gear (well, not yet)

who i backpack with
the group i've gone on my two longest trips (7-days, 5-days) with have been supportive and entertaining, but the one qualm i have is that everyone's pretty much doing their own thing. i.e. there's a couple that have their own food system, and then a couple guys who are basically doing their own thing. there isn't a communal mentality for how we backpack together. that is, we cook our own meals, bring our own supplies (even when we could be sharing), split up on the trail, etc. it's very individualistic.

for consideration: are your adventure-mates on the same page with you? is there a value for communal backpacking/shared goods? if not, would you be open to finding a different group of people to backpack with? or are there incremental steps the group can take to move towards a more communal experience? 

if so, i believe it requires a lot more planning ahead of time to be clear on who's bringing what and how all of it gets divvied up. i imagine this prep time will decrease as you get more practice and you and your backpacking crew learn a groove.

my camera
i shoot with a canon 5d and switch between taking a 24mm 1.4 or 35mm 1.4 lens. (i also only take one lens because of weight.) the body+lens+accessories (batteries, cleaning cloth, etc) easily adds about 5lbs & plenty of bulk to my overall base weight. my camera's not something i'm ready to give up since part of what i enjoy is attempting to capture the exquisite detail and expansiveness of the backcountry. 

but, i read an article recently about seeing more by packing less, in direct reference to leaving your camera at home. (gasp!) the article, however, has me wondering about why it's important for me to take my dslr backpacking. is it to project to the world that i'm an adventurer? 

for consideration: does having a camera add to your experience in the backcountry? does it enable being present to all of your surroundings or take from it?

extraneous stuff
ok, there was a time when i took arm warmers on a 7-day trip to the sierras. "it weighs nothing!" i told myself. uh, yeah...all those "nothings" ended up weighing 50lbs. when packing, pick up every single item and ask yourself if it's absolutely necessary. if you have to even think twice, leave it behind. this is also where the communal experience helps tremendously. shared weight. enough said. 

i once took a book (a rather large hardcover book) on a 28-hr solo trip in the ventana wilderness. i had several moments when i wanted to burn it and i kept asking myself, "why did you think you'd actually read this book?!" thankfully i didn't have to carry much food on that trip since it was only an overnighter. it was one of my earlier experiences, however, which made even a 30lb pack to be quite heavy.

a pattern i've noticed is that i'll convince myself to take a book because "i'm sure i'll want to read. how romantic! who wouldn't want to dive into the adventures of narnia out in the wilderness?" (this is the story i tell myself when i'm packing.) the more accurate story i need to remind myself of is, "you'll be too tired to read and by the time you're cozy in your tent, all you'll want to do is sleep. don't trick yourself into carrying the damn thing again." 

oh yeah, and there was that time i took 1lb of beef jerky and 1lb of dried mango. i went overboard. no one needs to eat that much of anything. 

for consideration: why do you feel compelled to take ___fill in the blank__? what purpose(s) does it serve? is it absolutely essential? does this additional weight contribute to your comfort or misery? 

i'm not willing to fork over $$$ (yet)
i bought a bunch of gear when i started getting into backpacking in 2010. at the time, everything seemed "light." i later realized that "light" was a relative term. now, i'm trying to figure out how to sell some of my current camping gear to get ultralight stuff. (i'm referring to tents that can hold 2-3 people that weigh just over 1lb (versus my current 2-person tent weighing in at 4.5lbs). 

it's easy to spend an obscene amount of money on super lightweight gear. take for example, my $50 cookset. essentially, i paid $50 for a cup. that's insane!!!!! but do i regret it? no. my entire cooking system fits inside. it's compact, versatile (pot, cup, & bowl), and cute!  ;) 

for consideration: if you're a woman (or man) looking into getting backpacking gear and want to be conscious about getting the "right" gear, i would suggest going for lighter (and probably more expensive) gear. don't just get everything that's more expensive. do your research. it'll make your whole backpacking experience "easier" and less uncomfortable. plus, i think it's better to pay more upfront for higher quality goods than going for the cheap stuff just because it's cheaper. i'm not sure how much it'll save you in the end.

tips on lightening the load | intro

i have to confess something: i'm often miserable while backpacking in the glorious backcountry. seriously. miserable.

i don't think i've ever gone backpacking without asking myself, "why the hell are you doing this liz!?" why would i want to carry between 40-50lbs on my back, hike up and down mountains, and dig my own poop holes? don't get me wrong, the views are epic and i never regret having spent time in the wilderness. i'd just rather do it "skipping up those mountains," - as fellow hiker, phil said to me once - not sluggishly dragging my feet. 

my experience thus far tells me i self-impose unnecessary suffering, caused primarily by two things: the weight of my pack and the expectation for a certain kind of unobtainable comfort while on the Trail.

the former is something i'm working on (which i'll get to in the next post), the latter is more of a mental/heart practice that only wise people can obtain with a lot of practice. ;)  i'm not there yet, so i'm reading a book to help me learn how to re-orient my heart posture by reading jennifer pharr davis' "becoming odyssa."  (it's such an interesting read, btw.)

back to the weight of my pack. this year, i've made a goal to actively pursue getting my base pack weight down as low as possible without breaking the (piggy) bank. ideally, i'd like for my base weight to be at 17lbs or less, then add consumables and my camera and it should be at about 30lbs (which still feels a bit high). the typical "rule of thumb" is to carry about 25% of your body weight. i vacillate between 125-130lbs, so this means i should be carrying about 31lbs. to give you a bit of context, i have been typically carrying around 40% of my body weight = 50lbs. (it's painful just spelling that out.) 

so i'm going to start a series on tips i learned on how i'm reducing my pack weight (and other little things i learn along the way). hope it's helpful to you!