What’s in Your Bag, Karen Schroyer?

As of early February, when she joined the Aspen/Sopris District after two years in Utah’s Dixie National Forest, that might mean planning a redesign of Avalanche Campground near Redstone or assessing the Smuggler/Hunter Creek area for trail redesign and habitat improvement. On those and her many other days even further afield, Schroyer walks well-prepared.

CONTENTS:

1. The bag: Schroyer’s ORTOVOX is “small enough to discourage overpacking.” – 2. Even on hot days, temps can drop enough for GLOVES and a HAT. – 3. BAGGIE and TOILET PAPER: carrying everything out is the Leave No Trace ethic. – 4. Her WATER BOTTLE rule: “Don’t wait till you’re thirsty to drink.” –5. The FIRST AID KIT is for minor scrapes and pains. – 6. High-energy foods—like the LARABAR and CUTIE—help keep her warm. – 7. A BLACK DIAMOND HEADLAMP: It’s always possible to get caught out overnight. – 8. A KEEN WALLET holds her insurance card, ID, and cash for a cold one on the way home. – 9. Colorado is awash in sunshine all summer. So, yeah: SUNGLASSES. – 10. A WHISTLE draws attention just in case she’s lost and can spook bears when necessary. – 11. She never wants to use her EMERGENCY BLANKET, but she knows how: “Get it over you before you’re wet.” – 12. Plant-based BUG REPELLENT is easier on the skin. – 13. Carrying a COMPASS and a MAP: good. Knowing how to use them: better. – 14. The Leave No Trace ethics card: “Learn it. Live it,” Schroyer says. – 15. SUNSCREEN: Duh! – 16. GERBER MULTI-TOOL. No.1 implement: knife. No. 2: corkscrew. Not pictured: a good pinot noir. – 17. The CELL PHONE is mostly for taking great photos. – 18. HANDWARMERS: not just for winter. – 19. A WHITE RIVER NATIONAL FOREST HAT “shields the sun and warms my heart.” Awwww. – 20. PLASTIC BAG for her garbage—or anyone else’s. – 21. Another put-it-on-before-you-get-wet item: the SHELL. – 22. HAND SANITIZER, her backcountry sink. – 23. Good ol’ CHAPSTICK. – 24. DUCT TAPE can deal with “blisters, broken pack straps, your hiking partner who won’t shut up.”

Published in the Field Guide to Summer Culture issue of Aspensojo.