Forty-Four Uses for a Trail Bandana

Recovered by the Wayback Machine from http://web.archive.org/web/20041017024131/http://www.aldhawest.org/Gazette/V4_3_bandana.asp Forty-Four Uses for a Trail Bandana Most experienced long distance hikers accept the Spartan regimen of traveling light for the duration of their trip. The pack load of a homeless wanderer, however, must serve year-long beyond a single hiking season. Except for a possible blanket cache hidden in the desert, both winter and summer gear may be carried at all times. Therefore a summer pack may contain a few surprising extras such as an unbreakable one-inch wood chisel digging tool, a pocket diamond matrix whetstone, barber’s scissors, candy gifts for children or Tarahumara Indians, wool socks and wool mittens, a down jacket and six bandanas. Bandanas are used for different purposes and some of them alternately, as much for variety and souvenir memories as for the daily laundry routine, drying on the back of the pack. The four main functions detailed below are kept separate. Mudder Rag:    1. Wash/dry feet after fording a creek    2. Clean muddy shoes    3. Wipe mud/rain off ground cloth    4. Wipe up spills of all kinds    5. Plug sink drain Hip Pocket Handkerchief (100% cotton):    6. Shade head/eyes/neck from burning sun    7. Muff ears from freezing sleet    8. Forehead sweatband hiking up a hill    9. Clean/dry eyeglasses   10. Wipe a tear   11. Blow a nose   12. Muffle a sneeze   13. Cover a cough   14. Cover face to take a forest nap after lunch   15. Neckerchief to dress up going to town   16. Washcloth   17. Towel   18. Pad shoulders carrying a load   19. Pad elbow resting on the ground while eating Roman style   20. All-terrain sitting cloth   21. Pillow stuffer   22. Filter dust/smoke/bright lights   23. Filter water coarsely   24. Apply hot/cold/medicinal compresses   25. Bandage/sling/tourniquet   26. Suppress rattling of jumbled items   27. Collect loose items such as spare change, butterfly cocoons, cotton balls, cafe salt/pepper,                 Laundromat detergent   28. Forget-me-not reminder for clothes drying on a bush   29. Flag a passing motorist   30. Distract a charging wild animal   31. Whisk pestering insects   32. Coax a spider out of a corner   33. Capture a caterpillar or an assassin bug for non-violent removal elsewhere   34. Bind stone to toss a line over a tree limb (Killick bend works as well,             if you know knots: a timber hitch with an under turn up into the V) Dinner Napkin:   35. Thermal insulator for hot handles/bowls   36. Bib/lap napkin   37. Wash/dry inside of pot/bowl/spoon   38. Tablecloth   39. Cover exposed food   40. Conceal indigestible fruit pits   41. Carry out/store leftovers   42. Open a stuck jar Meditation Cloth:   43. Cover bare feet in half-lotus position All:   44. Give them away or wear them out With good wishes for all from Willis Whoa - August 4, 1999