“Expect all four seasons…”

is what is repeating over and over in my head. It was a quote from Maia, the energy worker who I’m flying with from Seattle to Novisibirsk, Russia on August 5, 2011. Maia made this trek in 2006, so she was giving me advice on packing.

I’m sifting through 33 mandatory packing items and 27 optionals, I am realizing that packing for Siberia is stressing me out. I am perhaps the world’s worst packer. I have had a theory through all my travels, “whatever I forget, I’ll just buy there”….but when trekking in a remote Alpine wilderness, there isn’t going to be a corner 7-11 to buy the toothbrush I forgot.

For Example, a few years ago on a car-camping surf trip in Southern California, I had one bag. At 2am, packing for a 6am flight, (if you do the math, that left me with about one two hours sleep max) I packed the bag with some basics like underwear, a t-shirt, three or four shoe options and 3 pairs of black yoga pants (wtf? 3 pairs of the same thing? clearly, my priorities at 2am were on comfort). What I forgot to prioritize was that I was going camping….

After arriving to our campsite, I wanted to remind myself of my unpreparedness in case one day, I would need to actually be prepared. I made a list while sitting in the dirt outside our camper van we rented, telling the kids to throw rocks into a circle we drew with a stick in the same dirt I sat in. The list was titled: “Things to Remember Next Time I Go Camping.” It included over 50 items, but here are some highlights: water, wood, matches, chair, toothpaste, sweatshirt, sunscreen….it keeps going, but you get the picture…..Luckily the camper van had some necessities included. Otherwise, we would have been camping without utensils, a flash light, blankets, pillows, dishes, pots & pans, etc.

Needless to say, there was a large Target trip made including purchasing beverages to occupy the time. That spring night under a waxing moon in San Clemente, I jotted down this poem while wearing layers of yoga pants and no shoes:

“We will all catch up and celebrate.

The strangers dream will awaken…

were you calling out???”

What does this mean? I’m not entirely sure, but it was profound enought to write under my list entitled, “Things to Remember Next Time I Go Camping.” This is why packing for a remote trek in Siberia is stressing me out….I CAN’T forget things on this trip!! I must diligently pack…one month and counting….this week will include a trip to REI for sure.

Krystal Light

One fortuitous sun-up in May, I awoke midday. I wandered through a park... until it was dark. Passed by this fellow named Pete, it was fate that we should meet. I'm a writer with a voice, we all have that choice.... Shifting Circles allows us all to share... for mother earth, everyone should care. I have a story, long and deep, but it is the future we need to reap.

This Post Has 8 Comments

  1. Low Fat Recipes

    Excellent post. You must continue to offer excellent resources and content like you have been offering. I will most likely stop by again in the future.

    1. Kristy

      You’re a real deep thniker. Thanks for sharing.

  2. Karima Korthauer

    Hello Webmaster, I noticed that http://www.shiftingcircles.com/?p=78 is ranking pretty low for some keywords, this may be due to the new Google Panda update, or it could be due to a variety of other factors. I’m sure you already know about On-page SEO, where Google cares highly about proper formatting of various H1/H2/H3 tags, having your main keyword appear in the beginning of your post and having your post end with the keyword, along with having keyword related alt tags and very relevant LSI, I’m sure you’ve heard of WordPress Seo Plugin that takes care of all this On-page Seo for you. However, you do not seem to have the proper Keywords or relevant Keywords in your posts and in the website. Right now you need a tool or plugin that will allow you to check on Keyword insights, search trends and check for backlink analysis and to find out your Keyword competition. To find a Keyword Plugin that combines both Keyword Research and has the ability as a Rank Checker is what WordPress Seo Keyword, please check out our 5 minute video.

    1. Cade

      I don’t know who you wrote this for but you helped a broethr out.

  3. This was very fascinating, with most of the credit to you the poster. Would really like to hear far more about this from you. When you could would you email me, I believe you might have my e mail with this comment and we can speak that would be magnificent. Thank you so a lot look forward to hearing from you.

    1. Kethan

      You’re a real deep tnihekr. Thanks for sharing.

    1. Jailene

      That’s way the betesst answer so far!

Comments are closed.