Hello and happy Friday!

I hope you had a great week.

Let's keep things short and sweet today.

Weekly thought...

You don't really want that goal you set.

You want the feeling you expect to feel if you were to finally achieve it.

You can feel that feeling, right now, if you choose.

Now, on to the ideas and resources I've got for you this week:

1. How to reduce the weight of your consumables

Hikers and backpackers often spend lots of money to reduce the weight of their gear, but there are other ways to lighten your pack other than purchasing the lightest backpacks, tents, sleeping bags, etc.

Consumables are the items in your pack that get used up during your hike or backpacking trip, such as food, water, and fuel. Your consumables get lighter throughout your trip.

Reducing the weight of your consumables is an overlooked way to lighten your pack without buying lighter, more expensive gear. These are some great tips on how to do this.

2. How to make your landscape photos less boring‍

It’s easy to get stuck in a pattern of taking the same type of photos over and over again.

This video will give you some simple tricks and ideas to make your photos more interesting, even if you are shooting landscapes on an iPhone.

Some of my favorite tips that I like to use include natural framing, varying focal lengths (e.g. using a telephoto lens to shoot a landscape rather than the standard wide-angle approach), and getting low to the ground to change up the perspective.

3. The unusual ways that wild animals are adapting to life in the city‍

If you live in a city, chances are that you have more furry neighbors - like coyotes, bears, and raccoons - than you realize.

New data is emerging that urban mammals are learning and using new, human-like survival skills, such as checking for traffic before crossing a street. Some of these behaviors are really quite fascinating.

One study showed that 93 percent of mammals living in urban environments behave differently from those living in rural areas.

The photos and videos in this article are incredible and definitely worth checking out.

Friday Nature Fact:

Did you know? Ponderosa pines - one of the most abundant and iconic trees in the Mountain West - smell like butterscotch or vanilla this time of year when they are warmed by the sun. Go ahead and stick your nose into the bark of a Ponderosa when you see one while hiking. People will think you are weird, but I promise you will be delighted by the aroma of cookies and candy. Learn more…

Talk to you next week, friends.

Meredith