tips 自用

红军

Tip # 94: LATS technique for weather prediction
It’s nice to be familiar with the weather patterns in the area of your camping trip, but there’s no need for a satellite uplink to the National Weather Service. I’ve found that foul weather rarely surprises anyone, because you will (almost) always have a lot of clues for a fairly accurate prediction, even if it’s only an hour in advance.
I use the acronym LATS to assess the potential for a change in weather. It stands for Look At The Sky. If its gunna rain, you don’t need to be a meteorologist, you can usually tell. This very simple mnemonic tool helps me decide whether I’ll set up a tarp or sleep out under the stars. The success rate is pretty good, but on rare occasions I get wet.

红军

Tip # 54: Toothpaste Dots

Just so you know, those tiny travel tubes weigh in at about an ounce, so this tip is more fun than a true weight saver, and fun counts for a lot.

Don’t shirk good dental hygiene. Some ultralighters will obsess about finding the tiniest tube of toothpaste at their grocery store. You can forgo the tube altogether, and simply dry the paste itself into cute little dots. The chalky white toothpaste works better than anything that looks like clear jelly (avoid stripes and sparkles).

Squirt a long coiled snake of toothpaste out on a plate. Then, leave the plate in an out of the way corner for a few days. You’ll end up with a hard length of dried toothpaste. Please note: I live at 6,100 feet in Idaho, and it’s VERY dry. If you live in Florida, the humidity won’t let you off as easy; you’ll need to employ a dehydrator.

After it’s dry, I use a sharp knife and cut the “rope” into tiny half-inch segments and then let ‘em sit out another few days. These turn into weird gummy dots and are easily packaged in a tiny ziploc baggie. Sometimes I sprinkle a tiny bit of baking soda into the baggie to keep the dots from sticking to each other. Right before bedtime in the mountains, I chew 'em like gum before brushing. Easy!

Another option is baking soda in a tiny ziploc baggie, but what’s the fun in that?