bits and pieces

Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone NP, Wyoming

My husband and I are back from our trip out west to see national parks. Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming are beautiful states, and the state and national parks within them are stunningly gorgeous. There were many “gasp moments” for us, as you can probably imagine.

Some scattered thoughts from our travels:

bears: After months of reading about the need for bear spray on this trip, we bought some because we’re not idiots and have no wish to end up in the news as a headline that goes something like “Virginia couple dies after gruesome mauling by a grizzly bear.” I always went outside with my canister at the ready, whereas my husband was slightly more relaxed about it.

No exaggeration, one day we were hiking along the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone when we heard a fellow hiker squeal and shout-whisper “Oooh look!” I swirled around to look while simultaneously whipping out my bear spray like I was some sort of Wild West gunslinger at the OK Corral. Y’all, the other hiker was pointing to a chipmunk.

Anyway, the total number of bears we saw out in the wild was ONE and it was a half mile away across a valley and viewed through binoculars. Even then, I had my bear spray canister handy in case another grizzly came up behind me and tapped me on the shoulder while I looked at its friend in the distance.

maps: The ability to read maps and follow them is a vital skill.¹ Oh sure, Google Maps and the like are handy, but they’re worthless if you find yourself in an area with no cellphone coverage and you didn’t remember to download Google Maps for offline use.²

packing: Every time we travel, my husband and I end up discussing something that we really need or want and that we should include in our permanent packing lists, regardless of how minimal those packing lists are. In this case, two items came up repeatedly:

• binder clips: Yes the humble clip that you use to corral piles of paper. Binder clips are also handy for a variety of uses, including closing food bags.³ Going forward, we’ll make sure we have a couple with us.

• a cellphone lanyard/strap: Holding one’s phone out in nature to take photos comes with some risks, which we realized as we visited geothermal areas, went on hikes, stood at overlooks, and so many other places. It’s a wonder neither one of us dropped our phone and lost it forever. Going forward, we’ll pack some sort of lanyard or strap to keep our phones attached in certain situations.

wool: Merino wool clothes really came in clutch for us on this past trip. We experienced a wide range of temperatures (highs from the 40s-60s) and weather (sunshine, rain, snow, brisk wind) and being able to easily add and remove layers was the key to being comfortable without overpacking.

nylon: That said, a nylon wind-breaking layer is really handy and not negotiable. You just can’t layer merino wool endlessly when it’s windy. Eventually you need something to protect against the wind. We both packed lightweight puffer coats for warbut honestly we could have just stuck with our raincoats layered over wool sweaters.

Those are the bits and pieces floating through my mind this week as I catch up on work and life.

Tell me what oddities are on your packing list and I’d love to know if you’ve ever seen a bear out in the wild.

1. My husband and I are both Gen X and have long used (and collected) paper maps and atlases. Alas, our Gen Z offspring do not read paper maps very well, in spite of our attempts to teach them.

2. Hi, yes it’s me, I’m the problem here. Luckily my husband remembered.

3. Hello bag of stale tortilla chips.