No bento box required

I was working late and asked my husband to bring me a snack. The result was a reminder that you don't always need a bento box to make a big impression with food displays

Dayhiking Pack List and Rainy Day Blues

It's raining this weekend and while I could hike in it, I prefer not to. Not only do you get uncomfortable, but I don't want to be in a downpour 6 miles away with a river to cross. The best prevention is avoiding a bad situation. So instead, I wanted to cover what I keep in my day pack.
I see TONS of lists on long hiking gear lists and found some dayhiking lists (see below) but they are harder to find and probably what more people are doing.

For my pack, I have a camelback bag that's probably about a 30 liter bag. The very back of the bag has a separate compartment for a 1.5 liter camelback.

Below is the gear that lives in my bag for all hikes -

Starting at the top left and working down, row by row we have:

• Extra hair band
• Headlamp with extra battery
• Lip balm w/ SPF
• Notepad
• Cell phone
• Long sleeve shirt
• Beef Jerky (or some food/snack)
• Trail map (I typically pick it up from the visitor center)
• Sun Block (Yes, I have two - 30 and 70 SPF)
• Bug spray
• First Aid tape
• Pens and pencil 
• Wet ones, travel size
• First Aid and survial gear
• Emergency blanket
• Emergency Whistle - It's a five in one!
• Rei microfiber towel
• Sunglasses (not pictures - they live on my head)

Then my maybe gear list includes:

• MSR water filter
• Rain coat 
• flip flips
• Hat (not pictured)
• Swiss Knife (not pictured)

I know there are a lot of other things people encourage you to bring, but I've never really needed anything outside of this list. In Georgia, the cold is not an issue so I don't bring a warm hat or gloves. The rain feels pretty good, so I rarely pack my coat but it's nice to have the option. I include my flip flops when I'm breaking in new shoes. After a few bad blister situations, I rather have them on me then wish I did. My husband has a good knife, so while it's not the best practice I typically don't have one in my pack.

Here's what some other people suggest:
- Backpacking.net's Dayhiking list
- The Backpacker.com's list with weights
- Erik the Black has what I consider one of the best lists

I think next week, I'll break down the first aid and other emergency gear. Until then!

A week off..sort of

Sorry for the lack of posting last weekend and no, I did not even get to hike. That's because I was busy doing something just as fun and a bit more important:

That's right! I have a badass job and part of it is planning Commencement. To see all the fun of the day, check out the Flickr album and the PhotoStream. I have some ideas for this weekend's post that are a bit more technical so keep watching!