Packing……

Here is a short-list of everything that is in my backpack.

CLOTHING:

• 2 –Under Armor quick-dry shirt
• 1 Columbia Short Sleeve Shirt (quick-dry)
• 2 pairs of shorts
• 1 pair of linen pants
• 2 tank-tops (one tight, one loose)
• 1 pair of fisherman pants
• 4 thongs
• 3 ExOfficio quick-dry-underware
• 1 sports bras
• 2 normal-bras
• 2 pairs of socks
• long-john pants
• rain-coat
• convertible dress
• Work Gloves
• bandana

All of the above is packed into a sports-sack. (so I have a day-sack)

SHOES:

• Vibrams
• flip-flops
• Cushe Slipper (flats)

TOILETRY KIT:

• toothbrush
• toothpaste dots
• condoms (multi-purpose!)
• vitamins
• deodorant
• soap dish (with both conditioner and body soap in it)
• contacts (year supply)
• contact case (x2)
• ear-spoon
• perfume soild
• razor (and extra blades)
• mascara
• small eye-shadow compact
• hankies (x2)
• q-tips
• Facial Cloths
• chapstick
• hair-bands
• mirror
• tweezers

LIQUIDS:

• contact solution
• castile soap (super high-concentrated soap that is good for everything! including laundry)
• hair gel
• Neosporin
• sunscreen
• OFF (with deet!)
• body/face lotion
• anti-itch cream

LAUNDRY/MEDICAL KIT:

• Snake-bite Kit
• tourniquet rubber piece
• rubber gloves
• emergency blanket
• bandaids
• sport-wrap
• athletic tape
• sudafed
• benedryl
• advil
• immodium
• safety pins
• matches
• super glue
• iodine
• scissors (TSA approved!)
• eye-glasses screwdriver
• SteriPEN
• nylon rope
• drain-stopper
• clothes pins (x4)
• needle and some thread
• tampons (x3) (Read about all the useful things you can do with tampons!)

GADGETS:

• Apple MacBook Air
• Travel adaptor plug set
• iphone 4S
• ipod shuffle
• Shure earbuds
• Kindle

ETC:

• paper notepad
• colored pens
• blue ink-pens
• my travel-cards (business cards but with my facebook/blog info)
• USB drives
• Towel (microfiber)
• wristlet-wallet
• Utili-Key
• bottle-opener
• flat waterbottle

What am I missing?

Gifs of knots!

Gifs of knots!

Wanna know how to tie a bunch of different kinds of knots? (A useful skill for the zombie apocalypse, let me tell ya!)

100-item challenge

I was told about the 100-item challenge from a friend who knew a couple who did just this. Sold/got rid of everything and bought a streamline trailer to live.

Since I’m about to live out of a backpack for over a year, I decided that this culling would have to be done in stages.

1. Get rid of all clothes that don’t fit. (why keep them? They don’t fit now. They certainly won’t fit later, and if they do- I won’t be interested in them later.)
2. Start consolidating all papers/tax crap/music/DVDs etc and scanning/ripping them so they fit on a harddrive. (I consider 1 harddrive to be 1 item.) sell hard-copies of DVDs and CDs.
3. Only have 5 pairs of shoes. (I consider a pair of shoes to be 1 item… because 1 shoe is kinda useless by itself). I’m not much of a shoe-girl, but I will have 1 pair of flip-flops/sandals, 1 pair of vibrams, 1 pair of sneakers.
4. Sell my bed, car, computer, and other big-ticket items that I won’t need for/in a year.
5. Get used to bar-conditioner (as opposed to liquid) (I have curly hair– and I’m picky about my products. I usually just use conditioner (no shampoo). This is actually pretty awesome the more you use it.

(seed)* grape seed enriched conditioning hair shampoo bar, simply unscented 3.5 oz (99 g)

The next few steps will be harder…. Get rid of all the items that give me memories.

• The sweatshirt that I got from Woodstock ’99.
• The handmade picture frame from when I got my first tattoo.
• My snoopy pajama pants that I’ve worn every xmas since I was 19. (yes, they still fit!)
• My xbox/kinect/all my games.

“No one said this would be easy… They said it would be worth it.”

The many uses of tampons!

this link shows all the amazingly useful ways to use a tampon!

• kindling/tinder
• medical bandages
• water filter
• straw for water
• blow tube (to make fire)
• Wick (for candles)
• cordage
• waterproof container (the wrapper) for matches
• bobber for fishing

Etc!!!

Also, according to Orange is the New Black, you can also smuggle/trade contraband in them!

*NOTE: OB tampons won’t work for any of the above. You need the type with the applicator/wrapper.

Zombie Survival Skills (video)

Skills that you will probably need during the Zombie Apocalypse: 

• Running
• Jumping
• Climbing
• Throwing
• etc.

 

Of course, some will say “shooting”, which is also very valid.

 

What skills do you think you’ll need? Are you preparing?

 

“That Bear Ate My Pants”

Kindle book link

I’ve been reading this book for about a week. I never ever want it to end. It’s not a good “going to bed” book because I will constantly disrupt the cat with fits of giggles that will last 30seconds or more.

I only hope that my experience is half this awesome– or I become half as good of a writer during my trip. 🙂

Tony, not only are you incredibly hot-but you’re also my hero. Thank you.

New bag

I got a new bag from Amazon. Before (when I backpacked across Europe) I had the Rick Steve’s convertible bag. I loved that bag, but wondered if there was something that would be bigger than 2500cu in.

I found one.
The Kelty 90m/L is 5492 cu. in.

It also has all sorts of beams and pockets and stuff that may come in handy.

I tried to fit as much as I could fathom needing:
-6 shirts
-2 pairs of shorts
-2 pairs of pants (planning on getting linen fisherman pants)
-10 days of underware
-pair of flip flops
-pair of shoes (vibrams- yes, they work for hiking)
-2 sports bras
-sundress
-hoodie (won’t take one, but was curious on space)
-rain coat
-silk long johns (bottom/top)
-kindle
-passport
-nalgene
-toiletry kit (plus first aid kit)
-lunch box (just for space/curiosity)
-bungie chords (fun)
-towel

(cat is pictured- and she would totally fit! But she won’t be coming with me, unfortunately) 😦

All of this only took up half the space…………..
Who wants to come with me? 🙂

Best Places for an apocalypse (list)

A lot of people ask me “sooooo. what are your plans during the zombie apocalypse? Where are you going to go? What is in your kit?” etc. The kit is published here–but the places I haven’t really tackled/explored yet.

 

So here is a general list of things I will be looking for when I visit each place:

1. Location! (Mostly weather stuff. What are the wind patterns? What natural disasters are there? How stable is the land?) etc.
2. Water-  (drinkable and useability for escape)
3. Lodging– (Are there good trees for tree-houses?)
4. Food– (What is the hunting/gathering like? If I ever learned how to plant/grow things, could I?)
5. Costco equivalent– are there big gun/super stores around? (in the states we have no problems– but in other parts of the world this may be rare).
6. Non-dead Dangers – (mosquitoes! Malaria, yellow fever, etc. All these things could be dangerous and you want to avoid while shooting zombies/surviving.)
7. Locals – (Say you survive the apocalypse, what are the neighbors like? What is their culture like? What is the music like? the bars? etc.) 

 

What am I missing?

Getting fit for the apocalypse

About a year ago I took a long hard look at myself in the mirror and said “Gosh Darn it, LN, there is NO WAY you’d be able to physically survive a zombie apocalypse! Look at you! You’re obese! You can’t run! You have charisma–but that won’t last you long among the walking dead… What are you going to do about this?”

So I decided that getting in shape is KEY for zombie survival! So I joined Crossfit and fixed my diet and I’m now on the path of semi-success. (I can out-run some people in a 5K!)

Yesterday I did a little too much. Working out in the morning (partner wod!) jumping on a trampoline, hiking through completely wild terrain in the Seattle rain. I woke up this morning feeling like I got hit by a train.

I figure this was my experience:
1) practice at jumping high distances
2) running with weights in hands (don’t know how much a gun weighs– but I could probably run with one now).
3) Sandbag carries (I plan on getting better at this so I can lift a person fireman style)
4) Traversing through rough terrain quickly and nimbly!

Dan (travel partner) is really big into “StrongMan” exercises. Some of these include loading up a sled with a crap-ton of weights and dragging it to a different location. Obviously, all of these are very useful in the real-world during apocalypse time. I’m glad he’ll be traveling with me during Dec 21, 2012.

First Aid kit

This is copied/pasted from rei’s website, but I couldn’t pin-it on pinterest, so I’m copying the list here 😛

(lazy award goes to me!)

First Aid Checklist
For a printer-friendly version, click Print at right.

Basic care: Prepackaged first-aid kits available at REI typically contain many of the following items:

*Antiseptic wipes (BZK-based wipes preferred; alcohol-based OK)
*Antibacterial ointment (e.g., bacitracin)
*Tincture of benzoin (bandage adhesive)
*Assorted adhesive bandages (fabric preferred)
*Butterfly bandages/adhesive wound-closure strips
*Gauze pads (various sizes)
*Nonstick sterile pads
*Medical adhesive tape (10-yd. roll, min. 1″ width)
*Blister treatment (e.g., Moleskin, 2nd Skin, Glacier Gel)
*Ibuprofen/other pain-relief medication
*Insect-sting relief treatment (e.g., AfterBite)
*Antihistamine to treat allergic reactions
*Splinter (fine-point) tweezers
*Safety pins (LOTS! can be used for repairs and other stuff)
*Comprehensive first-aid manual or information cards
*Comprehensive care: Carry all of the basic items listed above; add items below based on anticipated needs.

Note: The list below is intentionally extensive; rarely will a single kit include every item shown here.

*Wound coverings
*Rolled gauze
*Rolled, stretch-to-conform bandages
*Elastic wrap
*Hydrogel-based pads
*First-aid cleansing pads with topical anesthetic
*Hemostatic (blood-stopping) gauze
*Liquid bandages
*Oval eye pads
______________________
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Medications/treatments
*Hand sanitizer (BKZ- or alcohol-based)
*Aloe vera gel (sun exposure relief)
*Aspirin (primarily for response to a heart attack)
*Antacid tablets
*Throat lozenges
*Lubricating eye drops
*Loperamide tablets (for diarrhea symptoms)
*Poison ivy/poison oak preventative
*Poison ivy/poison oak treatment
*Glucose or other sugar to treat hypoglycemia
*Oral rehydration salts (e.g., CeraLyte)
*Antifungal foot powder
*Prescription medications (e.g., antibiotics)
*Injectable epinephrine to treat allergic reactions (e.g., EpiPen, Twinject)
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First-aid

*Knife (or multi-tool with knife) (this is hard to get through TSA…)
*Paramedic shears (blunt-tip scissors)
*Safety razor blade (or scalpel w/#15 or #12 blade) (again..hard to get through TSA)
*Finger splint(s)
*SAM splint(s)
*Cotton-tipped swabs
*Standard oral thermometer
*Low-reading (hypothermia) thermometer
*Irrigation syringe with 18 gauge catheter
*Magnifying glass
*Small mirror
*Medical/surgical gloves (nitrile preferred; avoid latex)
*Triangular cravat bandage
*Steel sewing needle with heavy-duty thread (a basic sewing kit would be helpful)
*Needle-nose pliers with wire cutter
*Headlamp (preferred) or flashlight
*Whistle (pealess preferred)
*Duct tape (small roll)
*Small notepad with waterproof pencil or pen
*Medical waste bag (plus box for sharp items)
*Waterproof container to hold supplies and meds (lots of zip-lock baggies)
*Emergency heat-reflecting blanket
______________________
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Personal care, other items

*Sunscreen
*Lip balm
*Insect repellent (plus headnet, if needed)
*Biodegradable soap
*Water-disinfection system
*Collapsible water sink or basin