January 31, 2020
Summarizing a mountain’s worth of stories, current events,
creative ideas and stuff that makes us lol.

weekly survival tip:
Seems odd, we know, but if you’re stuck outside overnight in the winter
and you’ve run out of water, you shouldn’t just eat snow. You should
know how to turn that snow into water. Here are a few tips.
trail talk
It’s deep winter now so you’d be forgiven if you’ve already started dreaming about a vacation somewhere warm. And if that dream happened to come with a side serving of a little guilt (the expense, the time away from work), toss it quick. Not only is a family vacation good for bonding between you and your children, but science tells us that vacations also support your children’s brain development, concentration skills and IQ. Just burying their feet in the sand, boosting them up for a piggy-back ride or exploring a beach, a forest or a tiny tucked away village together exercises important systems in the brain that release opioids, oxytocin and dopamine. These, in turn, reduce stress and generate loving feelings between parents and children. That then supports brain growth, particularly in the frontal lobes, areas key to “cognitive functioning, social intelligence and well-focused, goal-directed behaviors that may last a lifetime.” 
trail magic
China, one of the world’s largest producers of waste, announced earlier this month that it would ban all single-use plastics nationwide by the year 2025 . The ban will go into effect in a phased approach with the first deadlines coming at the end of 2020. The policy will include prohibitions on the production and sale of plastics such as disposable plastic tableware, cotton swabs, household products that contain micro-beads, non-degradable plastic bags and straws. The news couldn’t come sooner. Last November, the country announced that it’s largest landfill, one that is the size of 100 football fields, is already full – 25 years ahead of schedule. 
trail treasures
If you’ve ever found yourself out on the trail desperate for a tiny screwdriver or knife, this mini hair-clip / multi-tool might be just the thing you need. Yes, it actually does work as a hair clip, and it will keep those pesky fly aways or not-quite-fully-grown bangs out of your face. But, you can also use it to open boxes, cut through ropes, file your nails, tighten the screw on your sunglasses and even crack a beer at the end of a long day. That’s true functionality if we ever saw it.  
yard sale
Just keeping track of the neighborhood goings-on…

before you go...
shop the little iksplorer base layers!
sho
orders shipping this month, limited quantities available!
#letsgoiksplor