My trail running bag (used daily, though not at work)
I chose to show this bag because I use it every morning when I either go for a run, take my dogs for a walk or go on a longer trail run on the weekends. I am lucky to live in a Country Park in Hong Kong that has dozens of trails that link and inter-link to beaches, mountains and quite isolated spaces. I have one trail that begins right outside my village. Running, hiking and trail running have been part of my life since I was a 10-year old joining the cross-country running and track team. It provides a mental and physical space for me to escape stress and wonder at the beauty of being outside.
This bag carries all the items I consider necessities: a hat, sunscreen, a buff to cover my neck if it’s extra hot and sunny out, extra socks, an umbrella (works well to break spider webs if I end up on a trail with Golden Orb spiders), a water bottle, a swiss army knife, a whistle in case I need to get someone’s attention (people get lost amazingly often while hiking here), a compass (that I carry but am not sure I would use very well), caffeine energy gel, tissues, a collapsible water bowl in case I am bringing one of my dogs, a biodegradable bag in case said dog poops somewhere public and I need to clean it up, a foldable wallet with enough money to take a taxi home ($200 HK), an Octopus card (a ‘smart, contactless payment tool’ used in Hong Kong for transit and purchases, I think there is about $100 on it right now), and my ‘first aid’ kit which consists of lots of electrolyte hydration packets, bandaids, gauze, compression bandages, antibiotic ointment, a bottle of hydrogen peroxide and a ‘heat blanket’. What you don’t see is my mobile phone because I used it to take this picture. I always bring my phone, and usually use the Strava app to track the distances and routes of places I’ve run / hiked.
There are a few things that I have in or on my bag that aren’t necessary: a golden frond I picked up after last Chinese New Year celebrations and have hooked to the outside of my bag for good luck, and some pieces of trash that I picked up off the trail that I haven’t cleared out of the bag yet.
These items demonstrate that I have been hiking and running in a number of different locations and cultures over time. My bag was purchased in Hong Kong over 10 years ago, and I used it to train for a ultra-marathon in Mongolia in 2010. These items show that I am familiar with long-distance running in hot weather (electrolyte powder, hat, buff, water bottle). They also demonstrate that I have dogs (biodegradable poop bag, collapsible water bowl). My umbrella and swiss army knife show that I’ve had a few experiences with some of the big spiders, and have a healthy respect for the big snakes that also live in Hong Kong (Burmese pythons). I don’t think I could use my knife against a snake, but if the snake grabbed my dog, I think I would do something with my umbrella and knife? I hope I never find out. My golden frond demonstrates that I interact with Hong Kong local villagers in celebrations around the Chinese Lunar New Year, and the fact I carry it for good luck shows some of my superstition!
My hat was purchased on Savary Island, off the coast of Powell River, British Columbia. It has the name of the general store on the island, and it’s where I own property. I always wear this hat, my CBC logo hat or my Soi Dog hat when I run to communicate to the world what is important to me and where I come from. I would imagine that also the golden frond that I picked up and the koi fish pattern on my buff was chosen because they are quite ‘Hong Kong’ to me and I am trying to communicate that I am from Hong Kong (or at least a long-term resident). Though I look like a tourist, I am not.
The literacies I have a predominantly English if you read my hat, but looking at the money in my wallet it is written in English and traditional Chinese, as is the information on my Octopus card. Inside my medical kit, my electrolyte salts are written in Thai because I picked those up in Northern Thailand in 2019 in our last trip out of Hong Kong. My sunscreen was purchased in British Columbia when I last visited my family (summer 2019) so it is in French and English. The caffeine energy gel is from an American company so it is has both English and Spanish instructions.
The narrative of the private contents of my bag does reflect the image I outwardly try to project. I am a third world kid (born in Canada, grew up in Sabah as a child, lived in Powell River BC until 15, then moved around Canada, the US, Europe and Asia for UG, PG and work until landing in Hong Kong in 2003). What is my ‘culture’? I am Canadian, but I’ve been out of the country most of my life. My narrative is that I love being outdoors, I love Hong Kong, I love discovering new trails, especially with my dogs. I’m also aware that I can and do get hurt (spiders, wasps, twisted ankles) sometimes so need a first aid kit and a way to get home. I think this is part of my narrative of being independent.
What would this same bag have looked like, say, 15 or 25 years ago?
Yes, I’ve been trail running in Hong Kong since 2003, so almost 20 years. My bag would have looked different 25 years ago because I was living in Montreal, so I would have been more concerned with warmth, and actually I only did trail running in the summer. I would have had a bigger bag with more references to Quebec, and things like a jacket in case it got cold. I also wouldn’t have had a dog at that point.
How do you imagine an archeologist aiming to understand this temporal period might view the contents of your bag many years in the future?
An archaeologist would first look at all the items together within the context of where this bag was found, and that all of these items were kept within this bag. Next, they would look at all the writing, all the dates of expiry to get a sense of when these things were created, they would marvel at where all these things were created (in many different locations around the world, yet found in one backpack). They would try to understand the supply chains behind all these products and how this globalized economy worked, for even some random individual like me to have access to. They might also try to image the purpose of this backpack, to understand more about the culture and entertainment of this time period. If everything were preserved in-situ, as it is right now, it would be relatively easy for the archaeologist to see there is a utensil for drinking, some basic clothing items (hat, socks, buff), a collapsible bowl. Perhaps if the environment changes significantly, it may be more confusing that someone might be running outside for pleasure?
