One of the nice things about getting to stay in one place more than a night is getting to do a little housekeeping. You also get some free time not checking in or out or setting up/taking down camp.
Laundry
I did some of my laundry with a canoe dry bag that also doubles as a canoe dry bag or a recycling bin or trash can using water from the the jacuzzi tub. I use a couple of drops of Dr. Bronners soap. The bag works great for agitation cycle. And the rinse. I roll everything in a towel to get as much water as possible out of it before hanging it up, on every available surface. The dry bag is better than a trash can because it flexes. It uses less water, more efficiently than trying to wash directly in the tub. A clean trash can or the sink works too. I think the dry bag works better. Hotel sinks are scientifically designed to slosh water.
The Load Out
I was carrying more clothes on this trip than the previous several trips combined. Usually, I carry one bag, like I am carrying on an airplane, with no checked luggage. Three pairs or four pairs of everything. I wash clothes every night or two. Small toiletry bag. Chargers for everything I am carrying. I have basically 9 pairs of everything this trip and some dressier stuff, cause we fancy like Applebees on a date night.
The Carry-on Load Out.
- Usually in a Timbuk2 Classic Messenger Bag.
- 3- Ex Officio boxer briefs
- 3- Wright Socks, ankle length
- 3- Columbia shirts long sleeve, button down PFGs, Fishing shirts
- 3- short sleeve quick drying, this time its Uniqlo brand.
- Merrell Moab Low shoes – My trail shoes for walking on stuff that isn’t smooth or dry
- Merrell Trail Glove 5’s – My everyday shoes, worthless on rocks
- Northface rain jacket –
- My Trail 800 fill Down jacket – because high altitude is chilly. So is the Pacific Northwest. Also make a nice pillow.
- A pair of Levi 550s.
- 1 – Shelta Condor – XXL. I have been using this hat, off an on, in place of my Tilley LTM6 AIRFLO. This is usually my dump spot at the end of the day for all my keys and receipts and wallet.
- 2- Belts
- 2 – Quiksilver Union Amphibian Hybrid shorts. See below
Traveling with Mrs. JonTheBruce
- 2 – RSVLTS The Big Lebowski “El Duderino” Long Sleeve – These are kind of like Columbia PFG’s but very “EXTRA”
- 1- RSVLTS The Big Lebowski “El Duderino” Short Sleeve – “EXTRA” also
- 1- O’NEILL Men’s Standard Fit Chino Walk Short – we did fancy stuff
What I wish I had brought
At one point, I thought it would be fun to have my Barbour coat or puffy vest. Probably San Francisco. I wouldn’t have enjoyed carrying it around until I needed it. Damn, I would have looked cool wearing it.
There is a more detailed run down of the luggage in this post over here.
Where there is fire, there is smoke
Smoke is bad.. It’s not healthy. I haven’t had much experience with large fires. Merryweather and I drove around a fire near Yellowstone, a while back. My main experience has been living in Omaha, Nebraska. Every spring cattle farmers in Kansas burn off their fields to force new growth and fatten cows quicker. The smoke from these fires blows away and then ruins air quality in Omaha or some place else. Look at a map. It is not very neighborly.
I am pretty much pro-wildfire, don’t be surprised I am pro-flood too. I think we nature sends you a message, you should listen. I am not pro loss of life. I am pro choice. Parts of Yosemite have several feet of material on the ground that could be burned. FEET. We need forest fires. It is a natural part of the life cycle of a forrest. All the flammable stuff on the ground needs to burn occasionally. It’s the circle of life. Forrests can Build Back Better! It will make America great again.
Wildfires have an upside
Yosemite wasn’t packed. I presume this was because of the wildfires and the smoke. It seemed a little like it was just us and French and German people. We were wearing masks for smoke instead of COVID, which was a nice change of pace. Our ranger friend’s n95 mask was legitimately dirty from soot and over use. I wish we had been able to bring another case of them with us and leave them for the staffers. Smoke is not healthy, but for a couple of days we traded crowds for smoke. One of the best parts of nature is being alone. I enjoy a good people watch as much as the next guy, but I despise waiting in lines. There was still plenty of people watching in Yosemite. We didn’t have to wait in line for much in Yosemite Valley at the end of July. This was pretty awesome.
It was hazy. The smoke and haze ruined some of my pictures. It ruined my cardio-vascular ability.
Jon The Bruce 
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