With the Sierra Nevada snowpack at a virtually non-existent level of 5% of historic average, running out of water in California isn’t something that’s too far-fetched. I came up with a few tips to help conserve water while we still have it:
When local brand Alite Designs had a buy one, get one free deal on one of their signature chairs, I couldn’t say no. I was tired of never having a comfortable chair to lounge in by the campfire. And I hate how bulky most outdoor camp chairs are. And that’s how I ended up with two tropical-print Alite Designs Mayfly Chairs.
Backcountry meals don’t always have to be freeze dried meals in pouches. In fact, you can get high protein, gluten-free, sustainably caught, and locally grown and absolutely tasty meals where you don’t even have to add water. How? By eating Fishpeople Seafood.
With a mission of harvesting only sustainable seafood, Fishpeople Seafood helps support local communities and fisheries to ensure healthy fish populations for years to come. This detail and attention to the product ensures that you know exactly who caught your fish and where it came from. You can even track your food with the code on the back of your pouch. All ingredients are sourced locally and each product lists out the ingredients in painstaking detail.
Pillows are kind of a thing of luxury when you’re out in the wilderness. Why pack extra weight when you can just stuff some clothes into a stuff sack or your down jacket into its hood and call it a night? With the Pillow Plus, you can call those uncomfortable nights a thing of the past.
Made out of thick plastic and covered in a polyester-spandex material, the Pillow Plus weighs about 4 oz and packs down to about 6″ x 4”. To inflate the pillow, you bite down on the valve and blow; it’s pretty simple, as long as you remember to bite. Otherwise, you’ll be huffing and puffing for nothing. You also need to make sure you’re inflating the Pillow Plus inside the cover. It’s near impossible to get the cover over the fully blown up plastic. Inflated, the Pillow Plus dimensions are about 18” x 10”, large enough for even the biggest of heads. The stretchy fabric comes with a strap that you can use to clip to your sleeping pad, preventing your pillow from sliding around.
Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park is a beautiful park, but it’s a fairly small park. There is probably less than 15 miles of hiking trails, some connecting deeper into Ventana Wilderness like Sykes Hot Springs via the Pine Ridge trail. Some are gems like the Big Sur River Gorge and Pfeiffer Falls. Others are less so, but still worth checking off the list, just to say I did it. Buzzard’s Roost is one of those hikes.