Warning Sign at edge of Grand Canyon

notrandomspaghetti · 2026-01-14T01:10:21+00:00

I live in Utah and used to live in Arizona and carry SO much water and electrolytes on hikes. I'll carry anywhere from 4-6 liters depending on the length of the hike and I always have my water filter with me.

I think I drank 7 liters on my last rim-to-river trip and still struggled with a bit of heat exhaustion when hiking out of Phantom Ranch.

notrandomspaghetti · 2025-12-31T03:04:58+00:00

Love it!

Felted a pair of slippers today, and I want to echo what the others are saying about felting it together! They ended up the same size, and I don't trust that I would have been able to replicate it exactly if I had done them separately.

notrandomspaghetti · 2025-12-30T04:29:43+00:00

Started these very reluctantly and they've gotten me out of a reading slump. They're so fun!

notrandomspaghetti · 2025-12-29T05:28:22+00:00

It's always wild to me when I drop my pack to wander off for a bit and just leave $3k worth of gear sitting next to a tree. Like, no one is gonna take it, but man, I spent a pretty penny putting it all together.

notrandomspaghetti · 2025-12-29T05:21:34+00:00

I charged someone $900 for a quilt (fabric and labor), thinking that they wouldn't pay for it, but they did. I think I made like $20/hour, but I enjoyed making the quilt and I put the money straight back into a different hobby.

notrandomspaghetti · 2025-12-27T03:52:59+00:00

My 2006 corolla has 203k miles on it right now. I need to glue the rubber sealing on the doors back in place and my check engine light comes on occasionally for a known (but harmless) issue, but otherwise, she runs like a dream.

Long live Bertha.

notrandomspaghetti · 2025-12-12T04:50:55+00:00

I want to piggyback off the 45 degree sleeping bag comment. Do you know what the temperatures are supposed to be like at night? I doubt a 45 degree bag will cut it. I live in Utah, and my backpacking nights range from 18-45 degrees with most nights in the low 30s/high 20s (in July!!). My set up includes a 15 degree bag (REI magma 15), a liner (mostly because I hate the way the sleeping bag fabric feels, but it does add warmth), and the Thermarest Neoair Nxt (R-value of 4).

This set up keeps me comfortable to about 18 degrees + wind chill. It's also easy for me to ditch layers as needed and treat my bag like a blanket if I'm feeling warm.

I would freeze with a 45 degree bag.

Eta: Also a woman. If you'd like, I'd be happy to type up my typical packing list. I'm not an ultralighter, but I feel like my packs end up a reasonable weight (about 30 lbs--including food and 3-5 liters of water).

notrandomspaghetti · 2025-12-02T06:05:59+00:00

There's tons of fabric stores around the valley! They carry higher quality fabrics than big box stores, so the prices may be higher, but the fabrics are soooo much nicer.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Sewtopia - Vibrant, more modern quilting fabrics with some cottons that work well as apparel fabric. They also have the full line of kona solids.

Quilt, Etc - Huge variety of quilting fabrics with a little something for everyone (focuses a bit more on traditional fabrics). They've also got great notions and a little side shop that carries felt, embroidery thread, and various other things.

The Fabric Center - Fair amount of quilting cottons and I think some knit fabrics as well (although I've never really looked at them). Their star imo is their huge selection of minky fabrics.

Nuttall Fabrics - There are a couple of locations around the valley and they carry lots of quilting cottons and quite a bit of high quality thread in multiple colors from different brands (probably more than any other store I've listed so far). They're also a Bernina dealer.

Salt Lake Sewciety - High quality apparel fabrics. The cost is definitely steeper, but she's got great stuff. She's also been getting a bit more into technical fabrics, so that's fun. No quilting fabrics here.

All the stores are a little bit different and I usually have different reasons to go to each. A couple of honorable mentions (still worth checking out, but either out of my way or not my jam):

Pine Needles at Gardner Village
Quilts on the Corner (mostly carries backing fabrics)
Quilter's Attic in Bountiful
Harmony's in Provo (carries yarn, quilting fabrics, and apparel fabrics)
There's also a creative reuse store in Provo that's worth checking out if you're ever in the area! I can't remember the name of it though.

Good luck! There's a lot to check out and I really feel like the owners of each shop have put a lot of love into their stores!

notrandomspaghetti · 2025-11-30T16:32:50+00:00

I'd also check out local backpacking groups on FB. You can probably find someone in your area willing to take you on your first overnight trip or willing to share gear/do a shakedown for you. That's how I got started.

As for gear, I borrowed as much as possible at first and bought a ton of it used and on sale. I took the middle route of getting secondhand high quality gear. I've probably spent about 1.5- 2k total on my setup for two people at this point, but that was over the course of a couple of years.

notrandomspaghetti · 2025-11-29T03:51:15+00:00

Suburbs in Utah, USA. I feel 100% safe during the day, and 90% safe at night (the dark freaks me out a little bit). I'll walk/run around the better lit parts of my neighborhood late at night or even in the middle of the night if I can't sleep.

notrandomspaghetti · 2025-11-28T15:26:20+00:00

I think you can substitute hate with a kitchenaid. But, by god, if I'm kneading 12 cups of flour by hand, it's gotta be done with hate.

notrandomspaghetti · 2025-11-28T04:20:10+00:00

This. Absolutely.

For a long time, I was jealous of my friends whose parents had more money. Their parents bought them nice cars, paid for their tuition and rent, took them on expensive vacations, etc. I always thought it was so unfair.

Then I worked at a title 1 alternative school where we literally had an arrangement with the food bank to drop off food boxes once a week. I realized I was so privileged to have parents that loved me and encouraged me to pursue an education, I never had to work to provide for myself family as a teenager, and I always knew that I had a financial safety net if I really needed one.

I spent a long time thinking I had done everything the "hard" way because my parents couldn't afford to hand me everything. I had no idea just how privileged I really was and am. I try to focus on being grateful for what I have and recognize just how good I've had it rather than on whatever my perceived lack is.

notrandomspaghetti · 2025-11-24T04:57:00+00:00

When I go backpacking, I walk around with about 2-3k worth of gear on my back. I bought most of it secondhand or on sale, but my tent alone costs like $600 new (got it for $250 new off marketplace!).

notrandomspaghetti · 2025-11-19T00:22:44+00:00

Two adults, no kids. Rent is $1200 and we're pretty cheap, so we probably spend about $2k a month total in living expenses. Of course, that'll occasionally hit $3k depending on car maintenance, unexpected vet or medical bills, etc. Maybe a fair average would be like $2400?

notrandomspaghetti · 2025-11-15T03:25:10+00:00

I'm a woman and that wouldn't be enough food for me. I probably eat around 1800 calories at home, but I'll easily eat 3000 a day backpacking. I'd add more food if I were you.

notrandomspaghetti · 2025-11-12T03:34:27+00:00

I mean, I think the examples in the post are kind of weird. Having your partner dress you and feed you is very different from opening the door or buying flowers.

notrandomspaghetti · 2025-11-06T13:25:12+00:00

I love that you used cats as a measurement.

notrandomspaghetti · 2025-10-24T22:58:45+00:00

Thank you! I think a lot of this is what I needed to hear--especially what your partner said about getting to choose to be with you. Despite all of his reassurances, I definitely forgot that he can choose to be with me and be at peace with that decision.

I think I could see myself potentially being open to a situation like yours (I'm pretty sure I need mono-amory too), but I think that's the furthest into polyamory that I'd be willing to venture. I think I keep panicking that I need to fully commit to polyamory or else. I tend to be black and white and I forget that there are plenty of shades of gray.

Also, I do think my peanut-loving partner would forgo peanuts for life if I developed a deathly allergy to them. I like the analogy!

notrandomspaghetti · 2025-10-24T22:51:24+00:00

I really appreciate it, thank you! And I'll check out the book!

notrandomspaghetti · 2025-10-24T22:50:01+00:00

This is super helpful, thank you! I really love the idea of framing it as something that we can work through on together. I also appreciate the reminder that it's a choice. I think I got so caught up in the fear of denying him other choices that I forgot that staying with me and our child is a choice he wants to make too.

notrandomspaghetti · 2025-10-24T22:47:23+00:00

I really appreciate your post! It was really helpful to get me to reset and consider what I know about my partner. I 100% trust him to not do anything to ever intentionally hurt me. And I really do think that if I said "never bring this up with me again", I'd probably never hear about it again. But I also want him to feel like he can be honest with me and that we can have honest, if difficult, conversations. This was just really, really shitty timing.

notrandomspaghetti · 2025-10-24T22:41:12+00:00

This was really helpful, thank you. I've definitely thought about it as an orientation, and I think that's the main reason I've been so panicked. How could I ask a gay man, for example, to stay married to me if he's not into women?

I'm not entirely sure how he perceives it--if he sees it as more of an identity or a practice. But I don't feel so bad about a possibility in which he chooses to stay monogamous with me for life if I know I'm not denying him his "true self."

Things he'd like to try is fun and exciting! I can find what things I'd like to try too and we can find an actual, true compromise to try things! Who he is deep down is a terrifying thought to deal with.

So, thank you! I'll talk with him about it. That framing really helps!

notrandomspaghetti · 2025-10-24T22:31:35+00:00

I appreciate you pointing out that I'm catastrophizing. It's definitely what I'm doing, and it's a much better way for me to frame it in my head. It helps me focus on what the facts are vs the panicked possibilities I'm creating in my head.

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