Northerly Nomad

  Working seasonally in a customer service environment, I tend to meet a lot of interesting people. Some of them love to tell their story. So today I'm doing my inventory thing in the razor aisle, and this woman comes up to me to ask me where to find something. After I tell her where to go, she picks up a shaver and starts to tell me a story about her young son. She explains how she's trying to get him to take better care of his personal hygiene, and so chooses to purchase him the most trendy smells and gels and products to use. But the one thing he doesn't like to do is shave his face. She tells me that she insisted he scrapes that scraggly little beard off of his face, and leans in to say to me jokingly, "wouldn't want him looking like one of those homeless bums on the street". Heh. Nope, wouldn't want that I said. I wasn't sure how to feel at first, but I'm guessing my tone suggested I may have been a little annoyed by her comment. The first r...

  Well it's been a long time since I've written about a product I enjoy, and I promised my readers on the homeless how-to many moons ago that I'd write more about my favourite gear... so here it is. I've been through a few packs, many pairs of footwear, tried a couple different shelters and stoves, but the one original piece of gear that I still have and use since the beginning of my backpacking years is my Therm-a-Rest Ridgerest sleep mat. I made the purchase in early 2008, and took it for a test drive on a somewhat mild night in mid-winter. The main purpose of such a product is to keep your body warmth from being stolen by the cold ground, and it does this superbly. When I bought the mat, it came in three different sizes. I believe I bought the medium one [3/4 length] as the small was a little too short, and the large was more mat than I needed. At first the roll was rather bulky, but after a few weeks of nightly use, I was able to roll it more tightly to fit better ...

  I was pacing back and forth out front of the laundromat today, the wind had picked up and the billowing dark clouds carried in sure signs of winter's approach. I could feel myself shiver and clench my teeth a little.. damn, I've gotten soft I thought. It's been a good few years since I was 'homeless' or spent any good amount of time outside on purpose. I felt weak in that moment thinking, I'm not sure I'd be able to handle it again. But then again.. back in those days the thought of being a domesticated creature racked me. I could have never seen myself pursuing a 'career' of any sort, or having the desire to settle, be contained by four walls, own anything or marry.. my how i've changed. or have I? Every once in a while i'm overtaken by anxiety.. i think to myself, what in the hell have I gotten myself into? I rent a basement apartment, I work full time, I have this stuff and did those things that I now have to pay for.. I'm locked i...