Another attempt at Moonlight Buttress and dodging the rain

The feeling of relief is tangible as I pull in to the East entrance of Zion National Park.

Not a bad view to wake up to.

 This spring has more closely resembled a pinball game for me than a climbing trip since I left Aspen and my seasonal employment. First venturing into the desert, climbing with huge rain storms rolling through valleys to either side, mountain biking the White Rim trail through Canyonlands through rain, snow, hail and plenty of lightning. Then being chased from the San Luis Valley after climbing a couple of days in Penitente Canyon by more storms...or the same one recirculating around the west. Then driving to Denver on rumors of a weather window, only to find more torrential rains and lightning across the horizon. I found myself back in Moab in scorching temps and clear blue skies, climbing with out a shirt and sweating bullets. Then after a couple of desert tower summits bagged and about 12 hours in Indian Creek, right on time the downpours started again, turning our campsite into a small pond and the creek into an obstacle not to be underestimated.

I bailed to the Roaring Fork Valley to regroup and look for a weather windown...anywhere. I quickly discovered that every significant climbing area in the U.S. was either being actively rained on or was about to receive significant precipitation. A few days later the forecast looked good enough in Moab to mountain bike for a few days before potentially resume the rocks climbing adventures. A modelling opporunity fell into my lap. I returned, driving out proved to be largely uneventful aside from the van in front of me rolling a couple of times just outside of Moab. Was this a bad omen? Eh, who has time to worry about such things when trying to calm a concussed and highly irritated driver.

The end of the JEM Trail in Virgin, UT.

Thankfully, the next day found my rising with the sun, donning my bike kit and riding off for a morning ride on the Mag 7 trail, one highly recommended, that I'd never ridden before. A couple of post-ride boxes of Annies with avocado and bacon, a beer and a nap and I was more psyched than ever! As I woke the next morning I could feel the positive momentum building as I kitted up again and prepared to ride in circles, back and forth, up and down the slick rock for my friend Dan. I felt great as I lapped slickrock ledges and talked shot angles and shutter speeds. And then it began raining again.

Looking up at Moonlight Buttress from the base.

That night I met up with a few friends and was convinced to join them on their road trip to California, with the rain over Moab not forecasted to clear anytime soon and with pre-established plans to meet a climbing partner in Zion, I was convinced! The next morning, after a leisurely breakfast at the Moab Diner, we caravaned off. Along the way stopping and checking out several National Parks on the side roads heading west. Lots of laughs later I could feel the frustration of being foiled by the weather time and time again, slowly releasing.

The view from the first night's spot.

But, it wasn't until the road into Zion, lit by the last rays of sun that I knew for certain that this was where the driving ended. I pulled into a BLM pullout down the road from Springdale and sighed, psyched to just be present in such an awesome place. And so, I find myself happily writing away underneath Moonlight Buttress, after an awesome mountain bike ride this morning, with climbing plans on the horizon, a fortunate result of the closeness fo the climbing community and smallness of the world. A couple of ascents of Moonlight (1,200ft, 5.12+) are planned, and I am more excited than ever to get ,back on it to try and free it again.
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I have to say that while I gripe about the rains and snows this spring I am super glad that they're coming late rather than never for the snowpack and much needed moisture for the west and first ascents, I realize will be there in the fall or whenever the rains slow.

Chris and Oli, thawing out and racking up.

The view from the top of pitch two.

Justin taking off on pitch seven.

The top of pitch nine I think

Soooooo good!

The view from the top of Moonlight

6 Tips From a Dirtbag on Finances

Whether you’re currently living the dream, chasing storms, avoiding them or dreaming to do so and in either scenario find yourself underfunded and dreaming of a lottery win. Well these tips won’t equate to a lotto win and you can keep dreaming on that point but these certainly will keep a healthy sum of cash on hand.

1. 

   Winter time van stoke. Photo by Natalie Noakes

   I cannot reiterate this enough. Know the difference between wants and needs. This will save you more money than you realize if you just ask yourself before big and small purchases alike if you need it or you want it. A new rope because yours is raggedy and has been in the field for years is a need despite it being a rope. Buying a bag of organic kale chips because you’re a bit peckish is a want, do those exist?
2. Never pay retail when you do need to make purchases. There are a gajillion sites out there that will help you on this mission. They sometimes require a bit of patience but they pay off can be awesome. To name a few: Steep and cheap, chain love, left lane sports, the clymb and sierra trading post. Few things will drain your bank account faster than a new pair of full priced skis, a mountain bike at retail or a rack of cams from REI.
3. Accept free things (embrace the freegan lifestyle). Whether things are given from dumpsters, friendship or in exchange for services say yes. Unless they won’t fit in your vehicle they can be of immediate or later use, they can be sold off or bartered with later.
4. Learn as much about vehicular maintenance as possible. What sounds better, $50 for an oil change or $20 knowing you did it right (on most vehicles they’re dead easy) and saved $30? Breakdowns are costly and it’s better to head them off with regular maintenance for cheap when done yourself.

5. 

   Post photo shoot coffee.
   Photo by Dan Holz

   Live for free. Whether it’s rent, hotels or camping costs, spend the extra ten minutes to try and figure out they might be avoided. I figure, conservatively, over the past three years I have avoided many of these and saved easily $5,500!
6. Pay for experiences that last, Forbes agrees. Buy a board game instead of a movie ticket, a plane ticket instead of a new T.V. I guarantee that the memories and relationships formed through the game or trip will far outlast those of the movie or T.V.!
7. Be positive and enthusiastic, good things will come.

Living in a Van during the Summer

In response to the uber popular winter tips and tricks post here is a summer themed one!

A friend of mine used to say with some frequency that sometimes living the dream ain't so dreamy. Which can sometimes certainly be the case for van life in the winter but I think is even more true in the summa' time.

Location, location, location.
It has been my experience that unless you have a friend's house that you're able to park at or are willing to rent a campsite the summer can be troublesome to a dirtbag as the added camping crowds heighten the awareness of campsite poaching (not paying for an established campsite or camping in a turnout) as dirtbags and respectable folk alike are attempting this. And then with all the regular people looking to enjoy the outdoors, there is tremendous competition for free camping close to town.

Getting an early start on a high country mountain bike ride,
enjoying the blankets of wildflowers. Picture by John Fleury

If you choose to stay within city limits, there is certainly a risk of having a chat with police officers at 2AM about where you are living and sleeping that isn't the most fun thing to do at that hour. It also means that unless you have a driveway to sleep in it's best to keep moving locations to keep a low profile, which is a surprisingly exhausting endeavor.

Food and the heat.
You definitely have to be a bit more aware of food going bad in the heat as refrigeration is a luxury of more sedentary folk. That being said it's not hard to toss a wet towel or shirt on the cooler for some evaporation cooling and taking advantage of freezers when possible, either freezing food or water bottles to put in the cooler. Also, I have found that I just shop more frequently for fresh fruits and vegetables during summers in the van just to minimize the frequency of food being wasted.

All of the pros.

-Daylight Hours They're long and glorious, allowing you to get out and play in off(ish) the grid locations, sleep there and cruise back to town with the early rising sun. It can make for long days but I also personally love rising and falling asleep with the sun.

-Not Cold enough said right? You're not cold while you sleep, while you dress in the morning etc. While I prefer to sleep cold, there is something to be said for being comfortable all the time.

Just doing a little sorting in the park.

-Van Organization is Made Easy it's easy to spend 30 minutes at a park on a fine summer day, unload you're worldly possessions and pack them back just they way you would like to with out worrying about them getting wet, snowy blown away etc.

-More Naps what better way to beat the heat than to sleep through it to awake refreshed and ready to enjoy the extended daylight hours of the summer.

-No Moisture Issues No need to worry about rust, mildew or any other excessive moisture issues as the summer heat should evaporate any condensation that does accrue overnight. This evaporation as previously mentioned, when is does occur can be coolly harnessed for your benefit.

-Easier Night Time Activities if you're not exhausted at the end of your day it is so much easier to get out and enjoy the great outdoors or other night time activities when the nighttime temperatures are pleasant and conducive to not hanging out in your vehicle reading or listening to podcasts.

-Bathing in Rivers is best done in less populated areas to minimize the likelihood of offense; but is an easy way to feel like a badass as well as not mooching a shower off of friends and coworkers. It's also great for getting in touch, literally, with nature and checking out the next great fishing hole! Remember to pack a biodegradable soap like campsuds or Dr. Bronners, I've been pretty psyched on Bronner's citrus orange and classic peppermint scents!

Ten Van Life Essentials

A few weeks ago in the desert a friend asked me what I thought my top van living essentials were. At the time I wasn’t really sure what was essential and what just made living easier. With a bit of reflection I realize now that the van life by definition is easier living and so those conveniences make it what it is. They help me not work, whether that’s by saving money or not having to pump my whisperlight a thousand times when I’m cooking a multi course meal.  And so I’ve compiled the top ten things that make living in a van super bitchin’. This list is not assembled in any particular order, though there are items that are certainly, in my opinion, more important.

1.       Some quality light proofing. This is one of the more important ones. This is nice, certainly for the summer when the sun is rising at 5:15 and you just want to sleep in a little longer, or to block out the light from the neighbors raging bonfire. However, if you are like many van dwellers you will find yourself camped alongside a road, in a town, in a parking lot with ‘no camping’ signs, etc. and it is rather important to keep a low profile to prevent a light night conversation with the sheriff or park ranger. Also, in those same situations as well as when one is in a crowded camp ground, it’s nice to prevent the fishbowl effect, particularly if you’re changing or spending some quality time with your significant other.

2.       A cast iron cooking implement. I think I’ve mentioned this before but cast iron is so great it has earned a second mention. They’re great because they add some flava flave to your meal just by being cooked in, they are non-stick if you treat them well, you can earn edgy cool points when cooking over an open fire with them (just watch the handle) and they could double as your weapon of choice in a zombie apocalypse.  Oh and if you have a lid or your implement is a dutch oven you can bake a cake, brownies or cinnamon rolls while on the road and that also will earn you edgy cool points.

3.       A nice warm down jacket. Again, I know I’ve mentioned this before but I was just watching an interview with some sponsored athlete and they were talking about how they’ve traveled all over the world, through every climate and every season and the only piece of gear that they’ve taken with them on every single trip is their down jacket or puffy. They pack down small when you need them to, they’re super warm, often very comfortable, stylish, light weight and by some magic they seem to be relatively easy to regulate your body temperature. That being said I don’t recommend wearing them to the beach in the summer; you will almost certainly experience heat stroke.

4.       Easy to reconfigure sleeping arrangement. Like going out in to the mountains when driving around you want to be able to add or drop layers while sleeping. You never know when you might have a friend stop by that needs to share your bed and you don’t want to overheat or when seasons change and you can pull out that heavy quilt that is just super awesome, or those light cotton (or if you’re a super classy dirtbag, silk) summer weight sheets that seem to keep just enough of the chill off at night for the perfect night’s sleep, rather than wallowing in your sweat and misery.

5.       A good cooler. This is one of the more important ones as well. It keeps your beer cold while you’re out climbing, hiking or mountain biking. It keeps your fresh fruits and vegetables…and wine from freezing in the winter. It’s an extra chair around the camp fire or kitchen table.  It is a podium to gather everyone that’s drinking coffee and lazing about in the mornings. I’m all about the chest coolers; they’re compact and fairly cheap. That being said I would be super psyched to get a YETI cooler (YETI if you’re reading this I would be happy to do some gear testing for you), as they’re bear proof, really well insulated and can still do all of the aforementioned things.

6.       Two burner stove. I have a regular propane Coleman one that has done the job for years and was about twenty dollars. I know Camp Chef makes some pretty nice ones as well, though it’s hard to find replacement parts. The cheaper stoves are definitely lacking in quality and features so it’s best to get a nicer one.  The secret beta on this in my experience is buy a Coleman from Wal-Mart (it pains me to say this) because not all of them are of the same quality and some will crap out pretty quickly, so you can take advantage of their return policy and get hopefully a better one. Two burner stoves make cooking way easier than over a normal backpacking or single burner stove (I’ve paid my dues with years of cooking on one of those and I’ve seen the light), they also will save you a ton of money if you get a small propane tank that costs a bit more initially but is super cheap to refill and then you’re keeping those green bottles out of the landfill!

7.       A pee bottle. I won’t get into the details of this one again, if you want to revisit them check out previous van living in the winter tips post. But for guys super nice especially when covert camping and a bathroom is not readily accessible, you could use wag bags also if you’re super desperate.

8.        Entertainment sources, again I’ll not rehash this one too much as there’s already been a full post on it but , since you’ll be spending so much time in the van doing something enjoyable like twiddling your thumbs or reading is way better than wishing you had something awesome to do.

9.       A quality organizational system. This is definitely a super important one. It doesn’t matter if it’s shelving, bins under your bed or stacked milk crates, so long as you have a system that keeps your belongings in place while driving and keeps them organized. This is so clutch because with such a small space it is super easy for it to become extremely cluttered, with an organizational system in place it moderates the mess that can occur and expedites the cleaning/reorganizing process. There have been many different systems that I’ve seen with varying levels of success. If you want more details or suggestions feel free to shoot me an email or leave a comment as I’m psyched to geek out on van builds.

10.   High levels of psyche. Sometimes living the dream ain’t so dreamy (as a friend once put it) but just pause and think about what your initial motivation was and why that’s still relevant. Think about the number of days a year you’re able to pursue your passions and go on some grand adventures.

Check out Alex Honnold's van rig, all he's missing is a truck topper for some standing room...

The Art of Choosing a New Van.

The Art of Choosing a New Van...or Home on wheels.

Oh man this winter has brought nearly endless day dreams and discussions with fellow dirtbags and van livers. Diagrams have taken care of a number of trees (of course they were all drawn on pre-used paper) while pondering new setups, alterations, ways to maximize storage as well as figuring the finances of buying a new van, building it up, making necessary repairs etc.

After months of planning and figuring out what kind of van would be the next in my fleet, as well as combing through Craigslist emailing and texting folks about vans and after spending a month traveling all over the place drooling over vans with rims and spoilers, vans of the perfect dimensions and vans already built up to live in I returned to Glenwood ready to upgrade. After spending another week chasing leads and trying to fix the old van and with a climbing trip looming I knew not to let desperations get to me.  So one day while perusing what Craigslist had to offer Taryn walked up just as I saw this crazy looking van slathered with bumper stickers and half joking I showed her the monstrosity I’d found.

Long story short, one blown water pump, giving in to my desire to spend a week and a half climbing rather than dawdling around Glenwood and a little price talk down I found myself in a new van with exception headroom, a comfy bed and insanely poor fuel efficiency out in the desert, needless to say psyche was high. However, now that I’m in the process of moving in, rearranging and redesigning I guess I more fully understand the saying about battle plans being great until the battle begins. So now I have scrapped all the previous plans and am working with what I have, while also thinking about the van I really want.

 So now I’m challenged with the task of building up the new van in such a way that I might (if I can find an even better van) easily transfer and reuse the get up for the ultimate van build up. That’s not to mention the hours spent cleaning the van with pounds of dust, hair, dog food and trash removed to give it the ol’ livable feel.

Here is what I am working with, let me introduce Sabrina the Frankenvan.

Luckily for me the game of Mooseballs got thrown in as a bonus.
Photo by Taryn Pearce.

The Van Life Eats

One of the foremost topics on my mind is food because,  if you're anything like me when you get cold your body kicks it's metabolic activity up a notch or ten in order to keep you warm, as a result you need more calories. Food in the van, especially during the winter, can be quite the logistical challenge. I guess I should rephrase that, food that you could serve your mom and be proud of is a challenge. I suppose one could live off of those dried backpackers meals that only require the addition of hot water, note this is not an option I have ever exercised while in the van. I, instead choose to eat food that I have prepared and can control the flavors beyond adding hot sauce. I’ll admit I do use instant mashed potatoes from time to time because of their convenience. I digress, when you get down to it meals in the van are influenced by logistics and personal practices. I’ll mostly be focusing on what I've been doing for my winter meals, to remain consistent with my previous posts of course (but perhaps there will be a warm weather cooking themed post in the future).

I have found that I pretty much cook breakfasts and dinners in the van, leaving either left overs for lunch or, more often, I find myself cruising by the grocery store for discount groceries. I'm sure my co-workers will confirm that I am a master of finding the managers special items. Favorites include salad kits, racks of ribs, chicken tenders, unhealthy amounts of Italian sausage and brats.

Shizzam, it's pavlova!
Photo Credit: Meril Shane

While it is not impossible to eat luxuriously in the van a few of the set backs that I have encountered over the past couple years have included a longing for a few kitchen appliances that I just can't fit or run in the van. Those appliances include and are limited (by my memory) to: an oven, blender, kitchen aid and a crock pot. To compensate the lack of these amenities I'm sure to take advantage of them whenever I have the chance whether it's to bake a quick cake or whip up a pavlova.

That being said I’ll share some wisdom that I was sent off to college with and has certainly held true after moving in the van. If you want to eat well, a well stocked spice cabinet is a necessity.

Recent menu items include:
Cream cheese stuffed jalapeños wrapped in bacon
Spicy Italian sausage w. colby jack on hoagies
Grilled cheese supplemented by instant oatmeal
Penne with red sauce and an unhealthy amount of cheese
Mashed potatoes with shredded turkey and cheese
Eggplant Parmesan with grilled asparagus
Rotini with sausage and red sauce
Moose chili, of course sprinkled with some sharp cheddar

Can you tell which of these were made and eaten within a conventional house and which were eaten with snow falling and winter winds rocking the van?

Chicken Cordon Bleu with grilled veggies made over the Coleman,
 utilizing the 3rd burner option.

Living in a Van During the Winter Part 2: The Necessities

Whenever people find out that I live in a van I am pretty consistently asked three questions that might vary in construction but have the same gist. 1. Where do you shower? 2. Where do you go to the bathroom? 3. Where do you park? In the winter often a 'Doesn't it get cold?' gets thrown in there pretty regularly also.

#8 Showering is one of the easier questions to field particularly during the winter. Basically, the way I see it is during the winter either you're super hardcore (read: not me) and you have to options: snow baths or no showers, pretty burly either way. Or you shower at friends houses and community centers with a few sink spritz ups to see you through longer shower less periods which is fairly normal van dwelling protocol.

#9 or is it #2...Unless you're living in a real RV chances are you don't have a full blown bathroom in your vehicle unless you've retro fitted your Outback's passenger seat with an after market hole or something of that ilk. And so you are faced with a dilemma, a where and when to do. This van life issue is magnified and really only becomes an issue during the winter, as during the summer in a pinch one can always dig a little cat hole somewhere, step outside at night to relieve that pressure etc. Getting out of one's sleeping bag in the middle of the night is unappealing, forget getting out of your home into knee deep snow to go pee. And so the simple solution that truckers have been using for decades is a simple pee bottle. There has been an ongoing discussion between myself and one of my cousins about the potentially harmful effects of human urine on grass (basing this on the observations of dogs) and I think that if you are emptying your pee bottles on lawns or areas that might be an eye sore it might be worthwhile using grass saver to minimize your impact. Stay tuned in the spring for more on how bottle dumping in a regular location can alter the local ecology.

When the situation in the winter is more dire, particularly after a morning coffee, the best solution I can offer is a real bathroom, whether at a workplace, library, your coffee shop (they started it...) or if you're really hardcore you could invest in wag bags or a poop tube, which is perfect for practicing for climbing your next big wall, El Cap? Baffin? Zion? The poop tube could be a perfect way to transport you to your dream climbing destination while taking care of business.

#10 Heating is a tricky subject. Before the last post I was steadfast in my belief that heaters were for sissys and all you really need is a bit of insulation in the walls, a warm sleeping situation and a "if you're gonna be dumb you gotta be tough" attitude. Now...I'm not so sure as I got kind of sick just before the new year and the more I think about it, the more I've come to realize that it is probably a result of sleeping in -25F and forcing my body to keep itself warm rather than keeping my immune system in tip top shape. So, this past week I have begun using a rather rudimentary heating system while I am sleeping. To be clear this system doesn't keep the van a sweltering 75F. It mostly serves to simply take the sharp edge off the air and I find myself remaining in my down jacket. I've definitely found myself sleeping without waking to a frozen nose in the night and found that I have been slowly getting over this sickness, that's now just a lingering cough rather than pneumonia that my mom thinks it would be otherwise. Don't worry I'll remain a slightly compromised van purist with this heating system, at least until a cold snap like the one on the east coast at the moment, then I'll follow the Weldin Way and get one of these things.

My Improvised heater, terracotta pots are hard to come by but empty paint cans are not and seem to work well.

#11 Hot beverages are one thing that I fully endorse. I'm not bothered if it's tea, coffee, hot chocolate or hot water (believe me, all have been consumed in large quantities in the van) all are equally awesome when it's cold out and your hands are frozen from scraping the inside of your windshield, handling cold clothes etc. And they're good for you even if you don't live in a van, so I encourage you all do take a beverage break, if you're of age I encourage a drop of whiskey or schnapps to spice things up (kids you get to wait until your parents leave their drink unattended for a responsibly sized sip).

On that note I think I'm going to prolong this series (yes, it's a series now) as a result of the number of cups of coffee I've consumed this morning and the fact that my shaking hands are severely compromising my ability to type.

So in the next post I'll cover van life entertainment, how nifty brooms are, reiterate why planning ahead might be helpful (I'm still working on this one myself) and then as per some external inspiration I'll saving food for a grand finale post.

If you're impressed by my use of hyperlinks (a recent discovery) or all the labels, that are like the # things (also a recent discovery) feel free to share my blog with anyone that might like it. If you're unimpressed with any of these things or have feedback/suggestions for me give me a shout!

'Nuff said.

Tips, tricks and the shortcomings of winter van living P.1

So I should preface this post with the statement that the following points are in no particular order and all can be equally valid when living in a vehicle during the colder months or might be all equally irrelevant, sometimes it's hard to say.

The van loves snow so much that sometimes it even needs to be pushed into moving. 

#1 Wine and beer do not freeze well. (This is number one because the learning experience was a rather poignant one.) I think this one is fairly self-explanatory, if you freeze them through the bottles will explode and leave you with a wine or beer slushy all over the interior of your vehicle. This will make you sad.

#2 Small scented candles are wonderful. During the winter I have found that I'm less inclined to let the van 'air' out as that's also letting out precious heat. As a result of this the smell of cooking, flatulence and dirty clothes can linger. If you're driving anyone around or spending anytime kicking it in your van/car yourself it can be nice to just sweep that eau d' you under the rug with a scented candle until you get a break in the weather for an air out session. Nice bonus is the heat gained from the candle flame, it's just the right size to warm your hands over in the morning or before climbing into bed.

#3 Water can be a bit tricky for the same reason (though not as messy) as #1. My way around water freezing solid, and thus inaccessible in water bottles or bladders is a little personalized but you may be able to extrapolate or adapt this strategy for yourselves. I will use what ever water I need at night for cooking and hot beverages and the remaining water is divided between my kettle (a standard enameled camping kettle) and my coffee percolator, so that in the morning I am able to reach over to my stove from the security and warmth of my sleeping bag and set those two to boiling, thus minimizing my time spent in the cold air and raising the level of stoke while waiting for a hot cup of coffee. Basically, just store your water in a place where, when it freezes you can easily melt it.

Remember in the winter time if you run out of water and you're in a snowy environment, in a pinch you can always melt snow, though it can be rather time consuming to get a sizable quantity of water this way but if you live in a van, chances are you have the time. Just stay away from snow that's not white...

#4 Layering. If you've spent anytime being active in the cold you understand the importance of layering. If you have not, the idea is as you get warmer you can drop layers and still maintain decent warmth and as you get cold you can add layers to trap warmth. This is true for the winter van dweller also but can be applied to more than just your clothes. I use layering in my sleeping set up as my sleeping bag is not sufficient alone on -20F nights so I have a light cotton liner (this is also for ease of washing), and several blankets and a quilt I can pile on top of my sleeping bag for the coldest nights. On warmer nights I might just sleep with my sleeping bag unzipped and as a blanket.

#5 Just to keep things complicated a super warm puffy is awesome and pretty much a requirement. Mine is one from PHD, you can check out their stuff via the link over >. This is awesome for when you first emerge from your sleeping bag, into your chilly interior or more importantly for when you venture out into the frigid world you are choosing to live in. A puffy just makes you feel all warm and fuzzy, literally and figuratively.

#6 Mess control. I'm still working on this one myself as my messes seem to ebb and flow but basically it's even easier to turn that small living environment into a pig stye during the winter than during the summer because you're wearing more layers that eventually have to be taken off and put somewhere, I, at least, am less inclined to organize in the cold because I'm hesitant to open doors and let out the warm air. Washing dishes is also less appealing because wet hands are cold hands and that sucks in the winter. This can be mitigated by washing dishes at work or friends houses where it's warm or by sucking it up and doing them in warm water and having a quick way to dry your hands, or just by not doing them and eating off dirty dishes.
                                    
                                             Argh, the dreaded mess can befall even me.

#7 Drying stuff kind of goes hand-in-hand with #6 in that when you're tromping around in the snow or whatever your clothes will get wet, whether it's from sweat or snow, and if you're like me and enjoy a winter sport or two then you know that ski or ice boots love to collect ice in all their nooks and crannies  and that it is far from the most enjoyable feeling to jam your toasty feet into a frozen liner and wait for your feet to thaw it out and then rewarm them. To avoid this, if possible put them in front of your vents when driving (this is imperfect but helps) or whenever possible bring them inside, this goes for liners as well as layers. I know that I try and wear wet layers in to work to hang and dry while I'm doing my thing.

A sample of a growing mess - note the missing boot liners.

Dampness is a huge thing in the winter van living because it is so present. This is a result as I said of bringing in the moisture from the outside as well as the condensation that occurs while sleeping, which is fairly unavoidable. I'm currently trying to experiment with silica and/or rice to absorb some of that moisture and I'll hopefully have results fairly soon to share.

I have spontaneously decided to make this a two part post as this is getting to be longer than anticipated and I am still just a little ways through my list and have not even gotten to some of the juicy stuff (besides boot liners).

So stay tuned for details on potty talk and personal hygiene, cooking, entertainment, heaters and my thoughts on planning. Until then here are a few pictures to keep the psyche high.

A day out climbing in December at the Puoux in Glenwood.

A delightful day in the backcountry with the Pearces. Looking over the Roaring Fork Valley.