Beneath The Briar

I’d highly recommend putting together a couple of plastic bins. One for your kitchen, for sure.

Here’s a comprehensive list of things you might want to bring.

Starting with your kitchen bin:

Scrubbers and dish towels.

Campsuds soap. It’s eco friendly and won’t disrupt the natural flora or fauna if poured out on the ground.

Collapsible dish tub.

Plastic reusable plates, bowls, cups, and utensils. Hit up your local Dollar Tree for these.

Ladle, spatula, a can opener, and a big ass pan.

Seasonings and cooking spray.

Metal sticks for hot dogs and s’mores.

Something to start fires with for your campfire rings.

Mugs that won’t break.

Camp stove/portable cookware set and subsequent propane.

In another bin, here’s some items I’d recommend:

Portable fans (if you run hot) and lights (battery operated).

Sleeping bag, sleeping pad, tent, and camp blankets.

Puzzle piece foam flooring for the inside of your tent. It’s a game changer, trust me.

Camp chair and a hammock.

Backpacking essentials are a lot like hiking essentials except just a bit more intense. For example, you want to bring all ten items listed under my hiking post but you’ll probably need other things as well.

Body Glide stick for chafing bc you’ll be walking a lot

A Kula Cloth is a handy lil microfiber, anti-bacterial cloth made with backpackers in mind and helps you clean up when you pee in the woods.

If you don’t wanna pay for laundry on the trail, I recommend a portable wash bag to clean your hiking clothes on town stops.

A really good sleep system. A tent is a must, a sleeping bag that can handle rly cold temperatures, a sleep pad so you’re not sleeping directly on the hard ground, and a footprint to extend the life of your tent (basically a tarp that goes between your tent and the ground).

If having hot food on the trail is a necessity for you, I recommend a lil cooking system. I have a cook set from Amazon that comes with everything you need except the propane.

If you’re not interested in trying to make hot meals on trail, then you’ll want a cold soak jar. Backpackers swear by the tubs that carry Talenti sorbet. Then you can start soaking things like knorr packets and ramen around lunchtime so that by the time you stop for dinner, you’ll have a meal ready to eat.

Speaking of food… Your body needs fuel. High fat, high protein, high carbs. Here’s a list of suggestions:

Sugar. Omg candy bars, sour gummies, etc…

Starkist makes great tuna and chicken packets that are practically flat so they’ll be easy to carry.

Peanut butter.

Tortillas bc they’re an excellent vessel for almost anything. Ditch the plates, use a tortilla.

Cheddar cheese keeps surprisingly well on a trail.

Knorr and pastaroni packets.

Protein bars and granola bars.

Basically anything that’s lightweight, easy to prepare, and easy to consume.

Finally, gear can be expensive. Here’s a few items you can save money on by buying secondhand:

Backpack, closed cell foam pad, and sleeping bag.

And here’s some things you should splurge on and buy brand new:

Before you even go hiking, here’s some ways to prepare:

Start hydrating three days before your hike. Trust me, you’ll feel much better the day of.

Trim your toenails so you don’t bash them against the inside of your boot, that shit hurts.

Essentials for your daypack:

More water than you think you’ll need.

Snacks! Lots of snacks! A good mixture of protein and carbs will keep you energized and satiated.

Navigation tools. Don’t rely on a phone; some places won’t have service. I recommend learning to utilize a compass and a map or investing in a satellite GPS.

Lighters and/or matches.

Headlamp or flashlight with extra batteries.

Sun protection, either in the form of a hat and/or sunscreen.

Layers for different weather scenarios.

First aid kit. Definitely bandaids, Ace bandage, neosporin, maybe even bug spray. I find tweezers are worth it.

Knife/multitool.

Emergency shelter, like a tarp or tent.

While on trail…

As soon as you feel a hot spot coming on, take care of it. Get it covered to prevent a blister from forming.

If you hike with a furry friend, keep them on leash, pack out waste, and make sure you check if a trail is pet-friendly.

This collection of posts will cover hiking, backpacking, and camping.

It’s the Saturday before Donald Trump’s Presidential Inauguration, his second term. The TikTok servers have shut down where I’m at, close to Nashville, TN, but I’ve been prepared for this moment.

This past week has been a whirlwind of uncertainty, denial, and abject horror. It’s also been a time of determination. I had a meticulously curated archive of Likes on TikTok and I didn’t want a single scrap of knowledge or information I’d gathered since Covid to just… Disappear.

So I’ve compiled lists of everything I learned from TikTok. I hope to post them here.

Hope you stick around 💕

Radically yours,