Nuun Energy caffeine + electrolyte tablets
Make: Nuun | Model: Energy | Year: 2018 | 4g |$0.39 My pre-outdoors ritual only involves two things: McDonald'sCaffeine I'm often not terribly hungry at 5-something in the morning when I'm leaving for a trip. However, it turns out there's a McDonald's on the way to pretty much any trailhead which makes it a reliable way to get lots of cheap hot calories on the go once my tummy has warmed up a bit. I'm also often not terribly awake at 5-something in the morning which is where caffeine comes into play. Most people would turn towards coffee but there's [...]
SmartWater sport cap 700mL
Make: SmartWater | Model: sport cap 700mL | Year: 2018 | 32g | $1.49 When I first started hiking Nalgenes were all the rage - huge, heavy, and indestructible. In hindsight, none of those qualities are what I would consider selling points for a water bottle. They were also a pain to use, requiring you to stop and ask for assistance in removing one from your pack (and putting it back) whenever you wanted a drink, or taking your pack at least halfway off if you were hiking solo. When I finally upgraded to a hydration bladder (and with it [...]
Coolibar Performance Sun Bandana UPF 50+
Make: Coolibar | Model: Performance Sun Bandana UPF 50+ | Year: 2018 | 53g | $18.00 Problem: you are a bit short on hair Problem: you hate sunscreen Problem: you like the Lawrence of Arabia sun cape look (or, at least the practical sun protection that it provides) Also problem: you like to hike in mesh baseball caps for breathability but worry about all that sun coming down hard on your head Solution: bandana + baseball cap? Despite never having actually been burnt through the mesh on my baseball cap I decided to keep my winning streak against the sun [...]
3M Virtua 11330 Anti-Fog Sunglasses
Make: 3M | Model: Virtua 11330 | Year: 2018 | 23g | $4.64 I used to bring expensive sunglasses outdoors and worry about damaging and having to replace them, but no more. These 3M polycarbonate safety glasses function as actual sunglasses (absorbing 99.9% of UVA and UVB rays) and have an anti-fog coating. They are decently dark and offer good peripheral coverage, and from a distance they look like regular sunglasses - they're not so dorky that people are going to notice them on the trail. They are not polarized although I don't find that this matters in practice (keeping [...]
Park & Rides
The official King County Metro policy is that park and rides have a 24-hour limit (even on weekends), which makes them unusable for backpacking trips. However, the actual policy varies from lot to lot. Name Location Limit (hours) Tibbetts 1645 Newport Way NW, Issaquah, WA 98027 72