Learning to live simply

By Sarah Kneezle

A backpack, two wool t-shirts, one pair of shorts, one pair of pants, a lightweight fleece, raincoat, windbreaker, three pairs of socks and underwear, a stove, two pots, a tent, a sleeping bag, camp shoes, trekking poles and food.

For 23 days last summer that list was everything I owned. My hike on the oldest wilderness trail in the country was a lesson on living simply. Traveling through the picturesque Green Mountains along the Long Trail in Vermont, nearly every item was a necessity.

Here, your apartment is a small waterproof tent and your closet, storage and dresser are on your back. The more you own, the more your back hurts.

On the first day, my boyfriend and I walked seven miles to the first shelter while lugging enough food to get us 155 miles -- a larger than average amount of grub before a re-supply. After a couple days, we were more than willing to donate a few unnecessary food items to fellow hikers.

It’s a strange feeling to be aware of every possession you own, from how much quinoa you have left in your food bag, to how dry each pair of socks you own is. But what’s stranger is your relationship to waste -- from Pop Tarts wrappers to human waste.

It was surprising to compare the amount of waste I produced living in a small apartment in Boston to what my boyfriend and I were carrying in the woods. A normal week in the city would result in about one to two kitchen-size trash bags, excluding recycling. But in the woods, we’d maybe fill a quart size zip-top bag.

Though the vagabond lifestyle of a thru-hiker isn’t for everyone, it’s easy to become an environmentalist and a conservationist by living in the woods. Many hikers, trail workers and mountain clubs advocate Leave No Trace outdoor ethics, which aims to respect wildlife habitats, minimize human impact and pack it in, pack it out waste reduction.

Not only is readjusting to “civilized” life a challenge, but it is easy to jump back into your old wasteful habits.

Last weekend, my boyfriend and I went backpacking again and I was reminded that living simply and monitoring your waste and consumption is important for a healthy planet.