I’ve done a few different posts over the years about my summer travel fiber kit. This year I’m taking it on a long backpacking trip so it has to be especially streamlined and lightweight. I’ll be hiking the Colorado Trail this summer for about 5 weeks. At least I hope so. You never know whether a long trail will actually happen end to end. So many things can take you off trail from injury to illness to weather. But I’m going to give it a try.
I’ve given myself a 6 ounce weight limit for this fiber kit with an additional few ounces for a drawing/journaling kit. So half a pound total for my entertainment on trail (plus I bring Kindle books on my phone which I need for camera and back-up navigation).*
Journaling/Drawing
I am a big journaler but I don’t want to carry a full sketchbook with me. I decided to learn enough about bookbinding to make a book when I get done with the trail. I temporarily stitched some signatures which I will have in my resupply boxes and I will do a Coptic binding when I get off trail of the whole book. Some of the pages are watercolor paper, some are nice journaling paper that will take drawing pens as well.
Stitching signatures for my journal
I wanted to bring a little watercolor kit along but even the small commercial ones are too heavy. Sarah Swett always has a tiny watercolor kit with her when she is out and about and I copied her idea with this Altoid tin. I used Sculpey clay to make the wells for the paint and then filled with liquid watercolors. I tested it on a hike and it seems to work!
I have been experimenting with nature journaling and since I’m starting this hike more slowly than I normally would (think 11 miles a day instead of 18-20), I’m going to spend some time drawing. I expect some of that will be in the tent in the monsoon rains we are having in Colorado. By the time the monsoons quit completely in a couple weeks (fingers crossed), I’ll be ready to hike those 20 mile days when I have to. Most days will be in the 15-18 mile range.
Fiber
I can’t go hiking (or really anywhere) without a spindle, loom, or some sort of fiber project. Backpacking is no exception. I love spinning on the trail and have found that making my own yarn and then weaving it is rewarding. So this year I’m bringing some fleece locks dyed by me and to spin them I need a tiny flick carder. In past I’ve brought the large Schacht version on the left but it is heavy and big. After a search for a small light-weight carder, I decided I could certainly make my own. I ordered some carding cloth and went in search of a lightweight but strong piece of wood to glue a bit of it to.
I found this cute frog at a craft store and glued on a piece of the carding cloth. Only after it dried did I realize that I glued the cloth on upside down. I need the teeth to be angled toward the handle side and I put it on upside down. That’ll never work.
Fortunately I had enough carding cloth left to make another one. Went back to the same craft store and couldn’t find the frogs, much to my disappointment. I did find this much lighter piece of wood and made a second carder. This one I’ll bring and I suspect it’ll be decorated by the end of the trail. It works just fine even if it lacks the personality of Mr. Frog.**
Spinning on a backpacking trip in 2020 in the Rawah Wilderness.
Weaving
And of course I almost always bring a tiny loom while backpacking. This tiny Hokett loom has been my main backpacking loom for years now. It is made of very lightweight wood and so far I have managed not to break any teeth off of it. I don’t usually weave on looms this small because the shed is so short it is difficult to make anything very large without a struggle. So I usually make things just 2-3 inches long which suits my trail life just fine. It is a 6 dent loom and I warp it for 12 epi which works with my handspun.
One of last summer’s weavings in the Rawah Wilderness
Finished weaving: bottom portion after the pink paintbrush flowers and the top about the alpine snowfields still present in August.
I have the kit for this year together and no surprise, it looks much like earlier years. I’ve swapped out the tapestry bobbin for a lighter version (made by Alexandra Iosub), but otherwise the kit is the same as past years.
I bring a 4 x 6 inch Hokett loom***. I take small amounts of warp which I wind on my ball winder and then just wrap the tail around. This works for small amounts of cotton seine twine warp, but if you need more than about 25 yards, I’d recommend wrapping the warp on a boat shuttle bobbin or something similar. There is a 5 inch weaving needle, a tapestry bobbin, my trusty Hokett shed stick, a tiny tapestry fork, and a tiny plastic container of two sizes of tapestry needles. I also have a Turkish spindle, the flick carder I made, and a bit of fleece in lock formation, some of which I’ve dyed. The colors are pretty bright because when you start mixing them, they blend beautifully. Sometimes I also bring tiny bits of roving.
Hiking fiber kit
That is the whole kit. It is enough to keep me entertained.
I’m excited to get on the trail. We’ll see what creativity some time in the woods brings. But most importantly, the miles under my feet will allow my mind to rest and my eyes to experience the wonders of living outside for weeks on end. Long-distance hiking is a different kind of experience. It takes 3-4 days before I can relax into it, but after that the simplicity of living from what I’m carrying on my back, making my own schedule, figuring out where I need to be to get water and avoid lightening storms for the day ahead, and being able to sit still and watch the clouds or the birds or the moose is the best way to unspool the tension that develops in our way-too-busy world.
If you have missed my announcements about this hike, I’m going to be away for quite awhile. You can find out more in THIS blog post and on the NEWS page of my website.
*I didn’t make it. The crafty stuff which included the weaving and spinning plus my journal kit (pens, tiny watercolor set, water pen) ended up being 14 ounces. I’m going with it.
**For the gram-weenie appreciators among you, the Schacht carder weighs 5 ounces (!), Mr. Frog weighs 0.6 ounces, and the carder I’m bringing is 0.5 ounces.
*** Jim Hokett retired in 2019 but there are other people who make small lightweight looms. Look at Sketchlooms, Handywoman Shop looms, the Mirrix Saffron Pocket Loom, or any number of small makers. Check out the Looms category on my blog for more ideas.