Here’s  my “riff off” of photographer Ellie Brown’s visual art project:  Brown’s BAG project

I have chosen to share a photo of my hydration pack and its contents because it is my sanity saver. I try to get out onto the trails every day that I can to destress and to think. Moving meditation. I also use my bag to train for trail marathons and on occasion, if I am ambitious, ultra marathons. So, there you have a general overarching theme for my bag and its contents: survival.

 

The bag itself is an Aspire hydration pack without the hydration sac (for now) chosen because it chafes less than my Salomon pack (which I am wearing pictured above).  Comfort is more important than looks. This bag travels with me in the trunk of my car for the moment when I can escape from work which, ironically,  I have been doing only to find myself filming  trails to share with my PE 8 class. The pack’s back is expandable or can be cinched down to reduce its bulk and has generous stretchable pockets to accommodate all the essentials that I might need for a long hike or run in the forests.

Bag  essentials (listed moving clockwise):   

• Bear spray and bell for protection  (also for social distancing) -some debate over the usefulness of these
• A packable jacket for protection from the elements
• Cellphone – SE small enough to fit in a pocket- outdoor apps but photo app is most used – compass and communication capabilities are also important
•   First aid kit & a tiny container of meds including Tylenol, Claritin (and Noon) because so far my friends have twice broken legs, once broken arm and a dislocated patella
• Sunscreen
• Blister stick- Foot glide
• Inhaler for asthma 
• Small rock (because the big one wouldn’t fit and is too heavy)
•  Kona cola NUUN (sadly discontinued) for electrolyte balance 
• nourishment cucumber mint GU, Justin’s Almond butter
•  lifestraw for when I run out of water and need to drink out of a stream or puddle
• Finally a water bottle for hydration which never is enough

* missing item – car keys zipped into small pocket 

 

These items are texts which communicate that I enjoy outdoor activities and I like to be prepared. I will be gone for a long time. My husband now knows it means: “See ya later, Sweetie.”  Because of the sheer amount of stuff, one might read this as, “a hiker” when most of the time I run with it. The iPhone, my text technology, quite literally, might appear to say that I cannot do without being tethered to technology; however, it is really there because I am a storyteller who loves to share my adventures and photos with family and friends. The outdoor apps are fun (iNaturalist, Plantsnap, Trailforks . . .) but the photo app is most used to snap pics and short videos.  I am now creating iMovie trailers to entice grade 8s to hike. I hate listening to music as I run as it blocks out the sound of impending doom in the form of surprised wildlife. It is encased in a torn, worn out Life-proof case because either I take it everywhere. Sometimes I will check messages if they ping incessantly, more so now that my daughters are both expecting. 

 

The literacies displayed include outdoor skills and safety awareness in the form of bear aware tools and first aid supplies. Some of these have been learned through experience some have been taught from more skilled outdoor enthusiasts and conservation officers. There has also been life experience (see note above regarding broken appendages).  Another literacy is in physical movement and nutrition necessary for endurance activities. A literacy in technology is also displayed in the iPhone with many apps apparent. My contents truly are who I think I am or aspire to be. I really try to get out into the wild as much as I can even though  sometimes the bag lies in wait in the trunk of my car. Sometimes but not often. The real lie in this photo is the arrangement that I have chosen for my items. In reality, I am a disorganized mess and this arrangement is my attempt to rectify it and create some measure of control in my life. I even re-copied and pasted, rearranging my list in clockwise order because my initial attempt of counter-clockwise was just “not right.” This is the hidden, backstory of  who I hope to be seen as or hope to become.

 

If an archeologist found my bag decades from now, I would hope, first, they would organize the contents in a similar fashion. (Perhaps I should include a photo and instructions as to proper layout?) The iPhone would long be obsolete as well as the bear bell. Would we have imagined handheld computers twenty years ago when flip phones were the rage? A search of the device, if a power cord and source were available would reveal a multitude of apps (+112) and texts in the form of messages, reminders, notes, docs and sheets. The icons are a language of their own.  Replacing the bear bell, a different signalling device would be used in the future or even be unnecessary as the bear species might even be extinct, also rendering the spray a curiosity. The idea of social distancing would also be obscure as COVID-19 would finally have subsided but still it forms a text which tells a story. Because many of the items are clearly labelled with written (print) information, their use would be easier to ascertain except for maybe the purpose of the small rock as well as the NUUN tablet if the container wasn’t present. I wonder if they would puzzle over that rock . . . kept for sentimental reasons of a far off trip to a trail. I only wish I had kept the larger, tiger striped one now. This is the story my bag tells. 

Reference:

Brown, E. (2018). Ellie Brown Photography and Artworks Ellie Brown Photography and Artworks. Retrieved May 15, 2020, from Ellie Brown Photography and Artworks website:http://www.elliebrown.com/