I've personally never been charged by a grizzly or any other deadly beast. I wouldn't mind going to the grave without the experience, but you never know what the future holds. This handy graphic will help you decide ahead of time what do to do in the event of an encounter. Spoiler alert! Running in terror is not recommended for any kind of encounter. Except maybe squirrel.
instructional article
The truth behind Mosquito repellent
Mosquitos are the worst. They can put a serious damper on a trip. I've seen hikers literally running out of the woods trying to escape thick clouds in central Oregon. I've heard the woods humming like high voltage power lines with the darn things. So, short of not going outside, how can you get rid of them?! Do the crazy Chemicals work? Are there natural ways? This little info graphic will help you decide which of your options way be the best for you. Hopefully this will make your next trip a bit more pleasant and a lot less itchy.
Survival skills
Okay, I love pinterest. I've been using it for years. It has been good to see it expand and develop into something more than just a wedding planners digital hoarding space. There is some pretty great stuff on there. This collection for example. Pinterest puts together collections of board with different themes. This one happens to be survival skills. There are suggestions of board to follow ranging from growing food, building shelters, long term and short term survival strategy, and tips for the apparently imminent zombie apocalypse. Even if the zombie premise is a bit far fetched, some of the ideas are pretty cool. If you haven't taken a stroll down pinterest avenue, this is a good way to start.
Waxed Canvas
Waxed canvas is a material that is making a come back and I for one am glad. For lots of reasons. First of all, it looks great. It has texture and character and ages well. It's very durable and can have a very long lifespan. Unlike a lot of new synthetic material, it can be easily rewaterproofed to factory standards at home. There are different formulas for creating waxed canvas but the basic idea is to melt paraffin wax, bees wax, and/or various kinds of oils into the canvas which repels the water and helps prevent the canvas from rotting. If the wax works its way out through repeated bending and folding you simply need to melt more wax in and you are golden. Is it great for ultralight backpacking? No. Is it good for car camping? Yes. Is it a good material for a super stylish and manly everyday backpack? Oh yeah! I recently got a Fjallraven canvas backpack that I love. And it will probably out last me.
Here are a few of my favorites when it comes to waxed canvas:
If you're interested in trying it yourself check out this tutorial. You don't need to wax your canvas around a campfire like they do, but it is much more manly that way...