Cutting the Toothbrush Handles

It's become a cliche' of the ultralight crowd.  Folks who look at every item in their pack with a jaundiced eye.  "Do I need that?"  "Can I improvise the function with something else?"  "Can I make it lighter?"  After getting rid of nice to have and redundant things, and making sure that one's big four items are as light as practicable, many embark on a process exploring items made with lighter materials, trimming excess straps, and unused features off of packs, trimming the edges of their maps, and yes, cutting their toothbrush handles in half.  Whereas each thing taken out of context seems silly, combined it's not unusual to trim a pound of excess off one's back.

Trail Food - Bill's Suet

I've been playing with recipes for fruit nut bars for awhile now, and have more or less settled on a concept I like. I say concept 'cause, with a larder full of dried fruits, nuts and seeds, one can have an almost infinite number of recipes based on the same basic no-cook concept ...