Urban girl tip: surviving in nature

The boyfriend and I are going to Yosemite this weekend for a little camping and rock climbing. Plus, my good friends from SLO are giving up civilized life this weekend and moving to New Mexico. With all this urban abandonment, now is the perfect time to talk about tips for surviving in the wild. Here’s some of my favorite:

Cleansing face towelettes: Hot water, soap, etc are all sparse when your are out camping. Pack some of these cleansing towelettes to give you face a quick scrub without soap and water. You’ll feel much more chipper when you have a chance to wash valley dust off your face once a day. Throw in a toothbrushing and you are fresh as an irish spring, as they say.

Good reading: There are no blogs in the wilderness so you need to bring a nice thick book along for the ride. I am taking A People’s History of the United States with me camping this weekend. I love taking related books like John Muir for Yosemite or Georgia O’Keeffe for the desert, but I ran out of time this week.

Cozy clothes: It’s cold at night when you are camping so bring lots of snuggly layers to keep you warm. I prefer down jackets, fleece lined beanies and Hot Chili long underwear for chilly nights in Yosemite.

Oatmeal: Even though it’s a pain in the but to set up the stove and boil water…you can’t camp without oatmeal for breakfast. It’s filling, tasty and healthy. Just be sure to store it in the bear box, otherwise Smokey and Grizzly are going to be helping themselves.

Headlamps: Why fuss with a flashlight when you can use a headlamp instead and look retarded while wearing it. I admit that a headlamp is key, but why can’t they make one that looks a bit less like a cross between headgear/zombie doctor headpiece. Ideally, it should be a tiara or a cute headband with LED lights across the top.

Have a great weekend…stay safe outdoors…and happy trails!