I’m a pretty particular person when it comes to things that go on my head. I had a bunch of beanies accumulating around my house from years past, but none of them were quite right. One 20% off REI coupon last winter had me trying on every cold weather hat in the store. That’s when I stumbled across the Arc’teryx Bird Head Toque. This has been the best beanie I’ve tried yet.
A few days prior to my Eastern Sierra birthday trip I poked around the #easternsierra hashtag on Instagram looking for some ideas and inspiration on what to do. I was pretty stumped and so over planning a detailed itinerary at that point. My friend, Sarah, suggested the Black Point Fissures at Mono Lake.
After soaking for a bit at Travertine Hot Springs, we made our way down to Lee Vining and Mono Lake. We’d originally planned to drive down to Mammoth that night, but after brief stop at the Mono Lake Committee Information Center & Bookstore (visitor center is closed in the winter) we decided to try some dispersed camping in the area to maximize our time at the lake.
When I’m traveling anywhere, doesn’t matter where, I always bring two things: cosmetics and electronics. And those are two things that I’m really bad at keeping organized. Items always end up stuffed haphazardly wherever they fit or where I can easily reach for security checkpoints. For a while I was stealing my boyfriend’s Eagle Creek pouch, but he eventually wanted it back. When I discovered the Chums Latitude accessory cases, it was a match made in heaven.
Insulation is an important part of any outdoorperson’s kit. The Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer Down Jacket is an excellent lightweight addition to your pack.
Photo by Nelson Salvatera
Since moving to San Francisco, I’ve come to realize that space and storage is a premium. There’s only so many backpacks I can own in a space that’s sub 600 square feet. I find that solid, all-around backpacks are hard to find. Most only excel at one thing or another, resulting in a giant collection of packs that you use for one thing, maybe two.
This is where the Mountain Hardwear Scrambler 30 pack shines.