Packing for Backpacking

Last year, everything went according to plan: we entered the backcountry, rambled around for four days, then exited the way we came. We swam in alpine lakes, scrambled up peaks, ate well, played “pigs in a blanket” over a small campfire before bed, slept deeply, surveyed the landscape, and had a great time. This year, we got foiled. We planned eight days of efficient travel on a stunning route, but instead spent four days sick, breathing heavily, and trekking slowly, eventually cutting the trip short due to unexpected group illness. Goal-oriented by nature and with a particular attachment to this trip, I had a hard time letting go of original plans and settling into our new reality. But, we made it out and back safe. We got to spend time in the mountains together. All disappointment aside, every moment in the Sierra Nevada mountain range is precious, and every experience preparing for a long trip-- even if the trip doesn’t go as planned-- is a valuable learning experience in communication and packing. 

Communication

• We planned our big-picture trip idea and determined entry and exit points via texting and emailing about nine months before our desired trip date, to be poised and ready to strike once permits opened six months in advance of our desired trip dates. Even with such suave maneuvering, someone (likely a bot) snatched up all permits for our desired dates/ locations immediately upon permits opening. So, we changed our starting point and dates, and figured out a new plan. Always be ready to pivot-- although some pivots are easier than others! 
• Group meal planning is fun! We made a spreadsheet with dates, and each person signed up for two dinners. Individuals prepared their own breakfast, lunch, and snacks. We took turns cooking the dinners we planned/ hauled. 
• Two weeks before our trip, we held a video call to finalize our route, group gear, food, and other logistics. 
• A final smattering of text exchanges the day before leaving, day of travel-- then boom! We are in the mountains hugging, stoked, and ready to roll. 

Packing
Packing needs vary, depending on individual preference, and seasonal/ locational needs. For late summer in the high Sierra ranging around 10,000 feet elevation of a heavy-snowpack late-melt high-mosquito kinda year, we packed: 

Pack

• 60-L pack
• Hiking poles
• Camera

Clothing
Day-outfit: 

• 2 quick-dry underwear (Patagonia)
• 2 quick-dry sports bras (Patagonia)
• 1 sun-shirt (Columbia)
• 1 pants (Mountain Hardwear)
• 2 ankle socks (Smartwool)
• 1 hat
• Mosquito headnet
• Bandanna
• 1 pair shoes (Altra trail-runners)
• glasses/ bag/ wipe

Night-outfit: 

• 1 underlayer top (Smartwool merino)
• 1 underlayer pants (Smartwool merino)
• 1 fleece vest (Columbia)
• 1 down jacket (Patagonia)
• 1 beanie (Smartwool)
• 1 light gloves (Patagonia)

Just in case: 

• 1 rain jacket
• 1 tarp-poncho 

Cooking

• 1 titanium 900-mL pot & lid (Snowpeak, with husband-designed insulating-cozy)
• 1 titanium ~2 L pot & lid (Snowpeak, with husband-designed insulating-cozy)
• 1 stove (my old stove is Snowpeak/ propane. New set-up from husband: Evernew titanium alcohol stove (EBY254) with DIY aluminum windshield heat-cone)
• Bear box, or bear bag (Ursack)
• Knife, spork, lighter
• Water bag/ filter
• All the food!

Sleeping

• Sleeping bag
• Sleeping pad
• Tent
• Stuff sack (for clothing by day, for pillow by night)
• Tenacious tape (repair kit)

First aid

• Chapstick
• Sunscreen (group share)
• Bandaids
• Pine pitch salve (½ oz)
• My friend Mason carried a larger 1rst-aid kit with ace-wrap, splint, gauze, tape, ibuprofen, etc.

Miscellaneous

• Toiletries (toothbrush, mini-toothpaste, melatonin, floss, 2 mL argan oil, cut-in-half baby wipes, 2 extra hair ties)
• Compass
• Hip sack (or UL day-pack)
• journal/ pen/ watercolor mini-set/ waterbrush
• Headlamp
• Mini-towel (REI)

Parting Thoughts

A few years ago, we planned a long 10-day through-hike. It got canceled last-minute due to fire. We had spent the past month dehydrating our meals and designing our trip. The night before driving up to the Sierra, our hearts sank as we watched the air quality numbers worsening-- and decided to cancel our trip. So we stayed home, celebrating our smoke-free staycation by surfing and taking small local hikes; we slowly ate all that dehydrated food spaced across various other smaller backpacking trips. 

Surprises happen. We can only try our best to prevent adversity, prepare for what we can, pivot when needed, and enjoy the journey because, as my fellow adventurer Mason reminded me as I was bemoaning this trip, “We’re here to have fun!” 

So, may your adventures be fun! May you prepare well, roam light, and feel the freedom of the wild. May you embrace the mountains’ siren call, and return again and again. May the wilderness inspire all the ways you show up in this complex beautiful world. May these adventures of Body and Spirit walk far with you, carrying you home to yourself, to Nature, and to community. Have fun! 

Fruiting Beauty

 

Enjoy the inaugural issue of the Mountain Rose Herbs Journal! 

Here's my recorded story on "Fruiting Beauty," in celebration of foraging urban fruits. 

For more podcasts, visit https://www.jilinglin.com/podcasts

Happy foraging! 

Mount Giraud & Motivation

I free-fall 40 feet, fracturing the crisp Sierra Nevada air. Bouncing and rolling down another 400 feet over rock and ice, I mar the tranquil alpine tundra with bones and blood. Somehow, I live. “What will you do with your one wild precious life?” whispers the landscape.

I quit my job and travel across the US and Asia, discovering myself through the world around me. I experience deep pain, wonder, confusion, and clarity. I guide wilderness trips, gaining grace and confidence. “I’m doing this for you,” I smile, “and me.”

I return to Mount Giraud three times, finally summiting its austere 12,608 foot beauty. I sit atop what transformed my life, gazing down, grateful. Again, “What will you do with your one wild precious life?”

I return to my roots and practice Chinese medicine, providing quality holistic healthcare with the same curiosity and respect as I’d approached Giraud. Wilderness experiences invigorate my embodied understanding of life, and the body. Nature bolsters classical Chinese medical theory, strengthens my clinical logic and intuition, and enlivens profound metaphors for explaining complex concepts and crafting well-rounded treatment plans.

I ground my busy professional life by digging in my garden, and exploring wild places inaccessible by car. On longer adventures, I challenge both constructed and actual physical and mental limitations, gracefully honoring what’s unchangeable, and gently transforming more malleable boundaries. Through experience, I ask my patients, students, and community, “What will you do with your one wild precious life?”

JilingLin.com

Outdoor Adventures

Reaching for a right crimp while shaking and sweating, I slip on the cold smooth wall, and whip out over the triangular crag. Unseen and unheard, my climbing partner belays from above. Fingers scrabbling on uncompromising rock, I dangle under the overhang, swinging back and forth over the ocean. As the sun rapidly sets, I focus, clamber back onto the crux, zone in and, one deliberate move at a time, send it home.

Surfing the next day, the swell fills the horizon. I paddle into position, anticipating the surging wave. As I power through the pinkening pre-dawn water, I feel it push. I pop up, merging with the wave. I gaze down the line with single-focused present moment intent, body graceful, actions aligned, brilliantly alive.

I share this crystalline clarity and vibrant aliveness with the athletes, artists, and healthcare practitioners who I support through pain, trauma, and complex chronic conditions in my Earth-centered acupuncture and Chinese medicine practice. They know that my adventures hiking, backpacking, surfing, climbing, and traveling inspire my dedicated clinical focus, and their positive treatment results. The joys and challenges of wilderness adventures creates internal resilience in both me and my patients, inspiring love and understanding for our Earth, while empowering personal and environmental stewardship.

JilingLin.com

Nature Connection

have you ever

stayed up all night to watch the sun rise

because you were so cold

that you could not fall asleep

because you chose

to walk into the wilderness

with nothing but the clothes on your back

huddled in a ball by a makeshift shelter

with fire that you rubbed to life with two sticks

curling tight to stay warm

and watching

the fire

the sky

and the stars

the stars

the stars are so beautiful

and you are so cold

that you cannot

sleep

and wait

for the

sun

?

I hope you experience this one day,

feeling truly cold,

exhausted,

exhilarated,

ALIVE

~

I cherish my "old" life and travels as a full-time outdoor instructor. These sacred experiences continue powerfully walking with me, informing and inspiring my life in deeply Earth- connected ancient ways, while informing my clinical practice. 

I not only practice acupuncture and prescribe herbs, but also prescribe "dirt-time," be it gardening, a daily walk, or a daily "sit spot." 

Sit spot is one of our core nature- connection practices:

1. Pick a natural outdoor spot close to home. (Closer is better! Backyards or local parks are fine.)
2. Spend 20 minutes there everyday, observing silence. (You can just sit and watch, or explore, etc).

Over time, through developing consistent daily connection with one location, you learn things about both yourself and your natural environment that would have been otherwise invisible. 

Also consider a weekly or monthly full-day or multi-day outdoor excursion. If you're not sure where to go, then join your local Sierra Club to meet like-minded people, and explore new places. If you're not sure what gear you need if you're doing more than just a hike, then join REI's workshops that range from free to medium price-range... then get your gear for cheap used, on Ebay.

Build ritual into your life. Give yourself a quarterly full-day or multi-day outdoor retreat to rest, reflect, and digest the past, while designing and planning the future.

If you have not experienced a formal rite of passage such as a Vision Fast or prolonged period of intentional ceremonial fasting, then the School of Lost Borders or Animas Valley Institute offer profound (albeit expensive) journeys. If not attending a supported Fast, then you can research the process, then simply build your own ceremony: create a solo community-supported journey of silence and fasting in the wilderness for a Vision. These are particularly helpful in facilitating clarity in times of great transformation or transition. 

Enjoy. 

~

Other Resources

Locally, Ventura Wild brings children into wild places, familiarizing them with their natural environment, creating internal and external ease, confidence, and resilience through developing both hard and soft skills through play and solid dirt-time.

Good books

• Coyote's Guide to Connecting with Nature, by Young, Haas, and McGown
• Soulcraft, by Bill Plotkin
• Becoming Nature, by Tamarack Song

Outdoor Education Schools

• 8 Shields Institute
• Boulder Outdoor Survival School (BOSS)
• National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS)

Primitive Skills Gatherings

• Rabbitstick
• Wintercount

Joy is Edible

photo from the final day of this year's Jiling-Wilderness-Fast (duan shi, bi guan) 2011
love and so much gratitude to all my friends, family, and people, animals, plants, minerals, and universe in my life!

the Fall

August 7, 2006... the Fall. It's been four years now. Thank you...