What I'm Loving Now: November 2013

I really wanted to write about some of the pieces of gear that I'm currently looking into getting.  A few of these are completely new additions to my gear rack and others are extra because I think they would be better in certain circumstances.  Or maybe just cause they are cool.

First , I found this stove on Amazon while browsing one day and I couldn't really get over the 750 near perfect reviews that it had. It is small, lightweight (3.9oz in the case), reliable, adaptable to almost any fuel source, and comes with a hard protective case.  So where is the catch you might ask?

Well, I found one.  It's $6.  Plus shipping and handling, of course.  Wait, what?!?!?!?  I know, right!  I was waiting for someone to pop out and tell me it secretly sucked, but no such Debby-downer showed up.  So I think I'm going to buy like ten of these.  Just in case there's a defect or I break one or to give out as Christmas gifts or maybe just because they're $6.  So, my suggestion is... Pick up one (or twenty) and try it out. Maybe it will turn out to be the best backpacking stove.  Ever.
Amazon Ultralight Backpacking Stove

Second, I'm kinda all about being very prepared.  I guess that comes with years of experience as a guide and my WFR training and being a lifeguard and a Girl Scout and a woman... You get the idea; I like to be prepared for every situation.  And one of those that makes me the most nervous, since it has happened, is being in the backcountry and having your filter die on you.  Especially when you know the water isn't the cleanest or the only water source is murky and gross (like most of PA in the summer), I would really love to start carrying a backup emergency system.  But these two items, can kinda be used just on their own.  I guess it just depends on if I like them more than my Platypus Gravity Filter (which is big for one person).  So without further ado, the Life Straw and the Sawyer.

The LifeStraw weighs a mere 2oz, can filter up to 264 gallons of water, and it is a straw.  Completely idiot-proof.  Just stick in water and drink.  They are marketing it to under-privileged countries that have limited access to safe drinking water and for the price ($20) they should give one to every person in that situation.  Hell, I'll buy two and send one to a mother in the Congo.  So, another item I'm eager to buy and give a go.
LifeStraw on REI

The Sawyer Squeeze system can get a little more pricey than the LifeStraw, but it is just as fun and small.  First off, it comes with its own pouch water bottle.  Second, it screws onto most normal bottle tops.  Thirdly, it filters 1,000 gallons of water.  Fourthly, its $20-40.  Need I go on?  If only it came with a cleaning system...  Oh, wait... It does!!!  (Add to checklist for future gear testing...)
 Sawyer Squeeze Mini

Life Lessons: Laugh

“Laughter is the sound of the soul dancing. My soul probably looks like Fred Astaire.”     ~ Jarod Kintz
“If you wish to glimpse inside a human soul and get to know a man, don't bother analyzing his ways of being silent, of talking, of weeping, of seeing how much he is moved by noble ideas; you will get better results if you just watch him laugh. If he laughs well, he's a good man.”     ~ Fyodor Dostoyevsky
“I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints.”     ~ Billy Joel
“The human race has only one really effective weapon and that is laughter.”     ~ Mark Twain

They all have it right: Mark Twain especially.  This world would be a much better place if we all took the time to laugh.  To forget our worries and forget our greedy ambitions and realize that we all laugh and cry and bleed, and that is our common denominator.  Those are our unifying factors.  These are the things that need to bring us together and we need to forget what divides us.

So start each day with a laugh, end it with a giggle, and make at least one person roar everyday until their sides split and their faces hurt from smiling.  If every person awoke with this resolve, the world's problems could be solved.

Laugh.