Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 24, 2015 13:59:20 GMT -8
Do You "Clean House" before Leaving for the Trailhead?
It's fairly easy for me to forget civilization when I step away from the trailhead. Out of sight, out of mind. I don't have any nagging feeling that I have forgotten something at home. I know there is no door left unlocked, no window left accidentally open, no thermostat turned up, no food left uncovered on a kitchen counter. For however long I'm gone, the house does not need me and I do not need it.
Growing up on my grandfather's homestead in the remote Wyoming steppes, we often spoke of "chores." Back then they might include giving the horses a bale of hay, milking a cow, locking the windmill down, shutting a pasture gate or a barn door.
I still live in a rural area but near the mountains. So the "chores" have changed, but I like the word. I have an over 200-line checklist of pre-hike "chores" on my computer. I go through that list every week that I'm home to make sure I have not forgotten anything that could distract me while in the backcountry. Half the list can be checked off with just a little thought. Other items take more time.
But when I leave home, I leave the distractions behind. I'm going to see wildlife tracks and stars. I'm going to listen to wind or wolf howling in the night. I'm going to enjoy the storm or the sun, the snow or the flowers. I'm going to forget houses, roads, computers, walls and square corners.
Out of sight, out of mind.
How about you? Do you "clean house" before leaving for the trailhead? Or do you get some nagging feeling of "Darn, I forgot to . . ."?
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johnnyray
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Argle-Bargle, Jiggery-Pokery, and Applesauce
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Post by johnnyray on Nov 24, 2015 14:08:08 GMT -8
I do like to make sure there will be no surprises when I get home, or a pile of laundry, dishes, or other responsibilities.
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zeke
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Peekaboo slot 2023
Posts: 9,894
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Post by zeke on Nov 24, 2015 14:11:20 GMT -8
If both of us are going away for an extended time, like a week or more, I try to look at the list of tasks that have to be done. For a long vacation, I will turn off the water heater. Other than that, I make sure the dishes are done, no food left out, etc...
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Post by JRinGeorgia on Nov 24, 2015 14:29:51 GMT -8
I have a short "to do" checklist that prints out with my gear list, that way I can't forget the list of things I can't forget.
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desert dweller
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Power to the Peaceful...Hate does not create.
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Post by desert dweller on Nov 24, 2015 14:40:00 GMT -8
Not really. I get the dishes done and garbage taken out. Usually, there's a lot of misc backpacking gear on the floor consisting of stuff I didn't pack. I try to make sure there is beer in the fridge before I leave.
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echo
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Post by echo on Nov 24, 2015 16:18:02 GMT -8
I'm lucky or unfortunate enough to live near my adult sons, so when I leave for an extended time, as we love to do, it is a simple matter to tell the boys, we'll be gone, eat the food, and keep the animals alive. We try to make sure any bills that will need paid have been, that the trash is out and the dishes washed but there have been things that come up and my neighbor used to be a volunteer in taking care of them, someone called us to tell us a water line broke in my yard and was making a lake, he had already dug it up and repaired it, at somewhere around 90, while we were in Wyoming for six weeks. He died at 95 and I miss that added security of a nearby friend.
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gabby
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Post by gabby on Nov 24, 2015 16:23:45 GMT -8
Never clean. Roaches are living things, and they have to live somewhere.
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Nov 24, 2015 17:27:14 GMT -8
Clean house?
Henry David Thoreau got it right. In Wildness is the preservation of the world.
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Woodsie
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Colorado
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Post by Woodsie on Nov 24, 2015 17:27:57 GMT -8
I don't do much, other than throw away perishables, take out the trash, wash dishes. Everything else can wait. When I am out in the backcountry, I don't worry about a thing. That would defeat the whole purpose. 
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BlueBear
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@GoBlueHiker
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Post by BlueBear on Nov 24, 2015 19:26:21 GMT -8
I don't do much, other than throw away perishables, take out the trash, wash dishes. Everything else can wait. When I am out in the backcountry, I don't worry about a thing. That would defeat the whole purpose.
This.  I'll check the lights and the locks, and glance at the stove if I was recently cooking, but I don't make an ordeal over it. |
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Post by hikerjer on Nov 24, 2015 19:50:14 GMT -8
Well, I guess in some respects I'm fortunate in that my wife doesn't share my passion for the outdoors. She'll go on an occasional day hike if it's not too strenuous but has made it plain her days of sleeping on the ground are over. So, when I leave on a multi-day trip, the condition of the house is not an issue since she's generally there. On the occasions we're both gone together, we both are kind of anal about leaving a clean house. I hate coming home to unmade beds, a cluttered countertop and worst of all, dirty dishes.
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Post by llamero on Nov 24, 2015 20:40:28 GMT -8
I try to make sure there is beer in the fridge before I leave. I definitely make sure there are cold refreshments waiting for my return. It's a lot of work having this much fun with llamas and I have to focus on the ensuing adventure leaving the pasture and lawn to fend for themselves. In the duration my wonderful wife maintains the house, garden, orchard and whatnot. I'm welcome back home equal to the shambles I left behind so I pay enough attention to the keep sugar sweet. |
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Post by Coolkat on Nov 25, 2015 5:36:07 GMT -8
I hate coming home to unmade beds, a cluttered countertop and worst of all, dirty dishes. This! |
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tarol
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Redding, CA
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Post by tarol on Nov 25, 2015 7:47:14 GMT -8
If the whole family is going to be gone, then yes. We have an automatic cat feeding dish for trips of 4 days or less. More than that then my parents will stop by to check on the cats. But if I'm going on a hard trip and leaving the kid with his Dad, then no. Or if T and I are going on a trip that Daddy can't go on because of his work, then no. We don't share days off so that's been the case a lot the last 3 years, but that's about to change! Anyway, I don't worry about anything domestic while I'm gone. That's why I go.
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tigger
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Post by tigger on Nov 25, 2015 7:51:13 GMT -8
My family doesn't go with me. I leave it as clean as I can...and then my kids thrash it. When I get home, sometimes it is clean...other times, not so much.
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