Day Trip Preparedness

September has arrived, and with it summer begins its transition into fall. This season has been filled with enourmous amounts of heat (and horrific forest fires), making day hiking a bit more difficult. School is starting for some, and ‘regular’ life and routine have returned. The weather has started to cool, and thus begins one of my favorite times of year; day trip season! I continually re-evaluate my day trip needs, reviewing packlists and current contents of my pack. I would like to share with you a bit of day trip prepardness for those non-camping jaunts into nature.

Day Trip Pack List
Depending on your destination, and the journey to get there, your list may vary. These are some things that I ALWAYS take with me despite where I may end up.

Clothing Items
* Extra socks
* Knit hat (beanie)
* Gloves (the little “magic” gloves will do)
* Jacket/hoodie
* Towel

Food
* Granola bars (I prefer Larabars, very few ingredients and yummy!)
* Nuts. dried fruit. trail mix type items.
* Shot Blocs (for extra electrolytes if needed)
[The above items can be stored in your day pack and changed out as needed since they have a longer shelf life and no need for refrigeration}
* Fresh fruit; mandarin oranges, apples, grapes etc
* String cheese (can go awhile without refrigeration)
* PBJ
* Lots of water

Miscellaneous
* Big black trash bag for setting my stuff on or myself, also works as a rain jacket in a pinch
* Small plastic grocery bags for picking up others trash
* Head lamp/flashlight
* Knife
* Lip balm
* Lotion
* Bug spray
* Sun screen
* Camera
* Notepad and pen

A few of these items may seem frivolous or unnecessary, but in my fairly extensive experience these are must haves for me. I dream fondly of the next adventure to come. I’m sure it will be here sooner than later.

Are there any items that are must haves for you to include? Please remember to pack it in, pack it out, to leave the wilderness better than you found it and to tell someone where you’ll be. Safety is important!

Happy Adventuring!

Coping With the Unexpected

Life has a way of throwing up unforeseen obstacles that must be overcome. This transcends into time in the outdoors. There are some trips, no matter the detailed preparation, that the unexpected creeps up and can whap you in the kisser. One such journey into the forest recently happened to me.

I was planning on spending a few days in the Payette and Boise National Forests, with the intentions of avoiding the traditional holiday campers. I looked back through old trip notes as well, because I also wanted to avoid the Tribal Salmon fishing season. I have entered into this area in the past during fishing time, and was greeted with an overwhelming amount of people, noise and rude behavior. My notes dictated that this particular event was still a couple weeks away. I was in the clear!

For days I was looking forward to campfires, starlit nights and serene hot spring soaks. My food was in order, gear double checked, weather forcast perused and the vehicle had been given the preliminary once over. I was ready. The drive, as usual, was gorgeous. The scent of pine and earth drifted through the open windows. A smile split my face from ear to ear. It was just me, SS and our four legged friend. The trip was lining up for perfection, until we turned onto the forest road of our destination.

This narrow, winding mountain road had turned into L.A. gridlock. Almost every pullout was packed with cars and trucks. Our usual campground was filled beyond capacity. We slowly made our way further down. We found a half full campground! The first night was quite peaceful. There was even a midnight soak to be had.

Upon awaking with the sun, the campground had filled up completely. There were even illegal makeshifts spots created by the creek. I was dumbfounded. The holiday was still 5 days off, how could there be so many people? As we sipped our tea and coffee, the answer was shown to us. Truck after SUV after car rolled by with traditional spear and nets. We had arrived just before salmon fishing started. The signs had not yet been posted when we entered the forest road. Run-off was also early this year so fishing was able to begin sooner. I was almost crushed. There went our peace and quiet. There went our private soaks. There went less stressful driving. We had already paid our camping fees, so we decided to make the best of it.

Up went the privacy shelter, which helped tremendously. The volume of people was not the only issue we faced. Mother Nature decided to be about 15 degrees hotter than the weather man predicted. Now 15* doesn’t sound like much, but when it is 90* as to 75*, with little shade and the creek being bogarted, it’s just plain hot.

Solutions, solutions. The privacy shelter helped with the overfilled campground and provided a little extra shade. We also explored a new trail which we didn’t have to drive to which led to another section of the creek with bountiful trees and a great spot to picnic. The biggest and most important solution, was an attitude adjustment. Sometimes you simply can not predict what is going to happen. During this same trip we experienced a few more unexpected obstacles. However, making up my mind to enjoy my time in the mountains, not letting the unplanned grate my nerves, allowed me to truly experience nature. I still found my moments of tranquility, my moments to reconnect. And I took away a valuable lesson; to cope and adjust are a necessity if one is to adventure.

Rebeginning

Oregon Desert Landscapre

Staring out at the desert landscape I contemplate the last 18 months. Crickets chirp, insects buzz my head and a breeze blows through the stubby grass and sage brush. There is so much life in this corner of the Oregon desert.

A great deal of life has happened since I last posted to Suniechick. I graduated college, the first in my family. Many adventures were had including foreign places and a foiled pack trip to a still sought after hot spring. Healing of the heart and soul from the loss of my Mom and darling Dolly, has begun. I have had to refocus on other aspects of my life for awhile. A temporary hiatus was needed for all this life to occur.

The sun begins its descent, yet still nicely warms my skin. I think about myself, direction, who is Suniechick? She is a strong, independent woman. Someone who is surrounded by love. She is passionate for the outdoors and wishes to protect it and share it with whomever will listen. Suniechick believes that these places are the foundation of life, and that everyone has the right to experience them. Whether you’re packing out 50 miles into wilderness or strolling through the park watching the ducks, those experiences, those moments where we can connect with nature are deeply important.

There has been a refocus, a rejuvenation. While I, Suniechick, will be here to help guide you to partaking in the glories of nature and sharing my adventures, I will also be sharing with you some of what else lies close to my heart. As I said, I wish to help protect and preserve the drastically dwindling amounts of wildlands left. This may come in the form of “activism” or my rambling thoughts. For me, Suniechick is new and improved. This is an exciting time. To live life, take advantage instead of for granted. It is a rebeginning. I hope you join me.