If you know me, it’s no secret that I love outdoor adventuring/exploring. Any spare time I have is spent hiking, paddling, or even just sitting outside amongst the trees, basking in the glory that is Mother Nature. Being connected to nature is such an important part of being a sustainability advocate – if you don’t love the Earth, how are you supposed to be motivated to protect it?
There are a ton of ways to be more eco-friendly while hiking and camping in the wilderness, but I wanted to focus on where it all begins: the bag you pack for your adventures! Here are my sustainable essentials for a low impact trip to the trails:
Reusable Water Bottle: I love my Nalgene – holds a ton of water and is literally indestructible!
Kula Cloth: If you haven’t heard of a pee cloth, you have the check it out! No more carrying toilet paper on your hikes and packing it out. This bad boy is reusable/easy to wash and you air dry it on your pack with no smell at all!
Reusable Food Bags/Beeswax Wraps: These are a staple/given for leaving the house on any occasion! I bring them hiking or paddling with snacks inside to keep them fresh and to avoid plastic waste.
Lip Balm: You always need a good lip balm on a day in the outdoors! This one is my go to, made by a local Toronto brand that I love.
Bug Hoodie: Bug spray is great, but if you want them to be super effective they usually have to have DEET, which is of course not great for the environment. I am no saint – I have a huge vendetta against deer flies – so I still use bug spray fairly often, but the bug hoodie is a great alternative or addition to keep the bugs away, plus it’s reusable and doesn’t cause any environmental damage.
Garbage Bag: I always like to bring a bag from home (either a plastic one that I couldn’t avoid, or something compostable) to pick up trash on the trail. I forget this a lot, so I’m trying to keep one inside my bag at all times just in case!
Reef Safe Sunscreen: Of course it’s very important to keep your skin safe, but it’s also important to keep the environment safe. I know there are several plastic free brands out there to try, but for now I’m using up my bottle of Coola.
Happy bag packing! Let me know your adventure pack essentials in the comments or on Instagram @sustainablesydb.
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