What’s in your backpack? Ten…Eleven Essential and No Machete
May 2021: Harpers Ferry Hike
It’s been a year since Arizona Eagle, our son, was in Ohio. He flew back for a two-week break between semesters using a soon-to-expire Southwest Airline ticket (Southwest had allowed a one-year extension for the ticket due to COVID). The winter season had brought another round of COVID infections that increased the number of hospitalizations and deaths. When May finally came with its sunshine and flowers, it felt different to me. The world felt hopeful and we (universal we) would get through this. Spring was a good reason to celebrate and we decided on a family vacation. I suggested Harpers Ferry, West Virginia: the mecca for the Appalachian Trail, for history (Ohioan, Abolitionist John Brown’s raid of the Federal Armory), and for baked goods (Bolivar Bakery).
Back in May 2021, we didn’t have an actual start date for our flip-flop. Our flip-flop was a vague adventure to happen somewhere in the future. I wanted to see the Appalachian Trail Conservatory Headquarters; watch AT thru hikers posing for their celebratory halfway photo; talk to volunteers at the conservatory, and place my hiking boots on the trail for this future dream.
The first day in Harpers Ferry, we planned a day hike in Virginia. The three of us slung on our daypacks filled with “The 10 Essentials for Hiking” (The American Hiking Society and The Mountaineers recommend ten pieces of equipment for hikers. These items have been identified as “lifesavers” in an emergency). The three of us have used the “Essentials” as a foundation for building out our gear for either a day hike or an extended backpacking adventure. That day we ate my go-to lunch menu: Curried Chicken Salad served on Triscuits, Girl Scout Cookies, and apples.
October 30, 2024
Beth Malchus Stafa
Hola desde los terrenos de senderismo de la abuela Gatewood, el montículo de la serpiente de la cultura Hopewell y el lago Erie. Somos Beth y Tom, llamados Dessert Queen (la que mira primero el menú de postres antes que el plato principal) y Mr. Rook (el que juega al ajedrez), excursionistas de toda la vida que nos embarcamos en nuestra próxima aventura, una excursión flip flop por el Sendero de los Apalaches. Nuestro viaje comienza en abril de 2023, cuando voluntariamente pisamos el Goodloe E. Byron Memorial Pedestrian Walkway para cruzar el río Potomac con nuestras mochilas llenas del equipo necesario para este viaje de seis meses. Adoptamos el espíritu del mes y las características del arquetipo junguiano El Loco demostrando confianza, persistencia y valentía. Creemos que no es demasiado tarde para apuntar alto, para practicar la alegría y el asombro, para ser curiosos y probar cosas nuevas y para enfrentarnos juntos a lo desconocido.
Explorar más contenidos
Menciones en los medios de comunicación
Sawyer’s donation of water filters represents a significant shift away from the cumbersome logistics of bottled water, offering a faster and more efficient solution.
Menciones en los medios de comunicación
Summer tick season used to be a problem only in the southern part of Ontario, but tick populations are moving north as the climate grows warmer.
Menciones en los medios de comunicación
Mosquitos are nasty creatures. They bite, they transmit terrible diseases to people and pets, and from what I read, they have absolutely no redeeming value in the ecosystem.
Del Escuadrón
Conversaciones de campamento con nuestra comunidad, desde los miembros del escuadrón y los embajadores hasta los socios de marca y el equipo de Sawyer.
