SEATTLE SUMMERTIME SURVIVAL HANDBOOK
What I love about backpacking, besides access to unparralelled views and complete peace, is the simplicity of it all. My hygenic demands, which at home comprized an entire room, are here condensed into a quart sized zippie that could hold a menagerie of airtraffick approved 3oz containers. In this issue are my top 12 favorite “10 essentials.” So, have a safe, healthy summer enjoying all Seattle offers!

Yours in fantastic health,
Dr. Tolle Murphy

Crystal deoderant keeps the flies down! The $2 trial size will last you for years, measuring in at uber-value. Also the active component of most deoderants and anti-perspirants, alumina, is in a larger molecule alum, which cannot be absorbed into the skin in the same way aluminum, can be. This is one of my secrets to decreasing your risk of breast cancer, alzheimers, and other diseases associated with aluminum exposure.

Lavendar essential oil, 100% pure multitasks as a sunburn relief, perfum, antimicrobial, moisturizer and relaxer, (for when your hiking partners are getting on your nerves, and there's no one else around for miles or days).

Aloe vera gel heals the skin when sunprotection and sunburn are of paramount concern. If you're at home having an armchair vacation, pop it in the fridge for delicious soothing relief.

Dr. Bronners soap doubles for facial cleanser, laundry soap, dishwashing detergent, all biodegradable. Just make sure to use it at least 100 feet away from any stream. Even when you're at home, this multipurpose gentle soap can nicely handle delicates as you save money and diminish your reliance on environmentally unfriendly dry-cleaners.

Olive oil is as great for coating those dandilion greens you can munch along the trail, as for soothing any dry rough patches of skin. Your skin is like a large tongue, soaking up all that you feed it, so it’s important that your skin care products are pure enough to eat. Natural oils like olive, hazlenut or grapeseed are high in essential fatty acids without dozens of added carcinogenic ingredients offer a significant health benefit on and off the trail. It’s nutty scent won’t attract bugs in the same way fruity or flowery scented moisturizers will, and it can double as a mess kit ingredient. What could be better?!

Salt, the great emergency ration, is also fantastic for scrubbing down rough skin from going without your pedicure. Antimicrobial so if you get a scratch you could use a 10-50ml syringe and wash it out with saline solution. Sterile water is best, but filtered water with maximally dissolved salt will also do. And while you’re at it, don't forget to check out Seattle’s own outdoor saltwater Colman Pool in Lincoln Park in West Seattle. It began as a tide-fed swimming hole in 1929 and continues to be a popular desitination today to keep your skin and your body fresh all summer long.

Sonicare toothbrush. No kidding! When I worked in the backcountry doing field botany my co-workers would tease me for carrying my elecric toothbrush because of the extra weight of the battery. The charge lasts about a week, though and delivers 30,000 brushstrokes per second. Keep those pearly whites pearly and white!

Floss with “gentle gum care woven floss”. For all your time and investment during the daily flossing ritual you want to be effectively removing plaque and preventing gum disease. I used to be a huge fan of Glide, (hey it’s made of gortex, what hiker couldn’t love it?) until my dentist told me it’s only ligitimate use is for retrieving stuck floss! It’s so smooth it actually glides OVER the plaque instead of abrading it away from between your teeth and gums. The proper way to floss is to use 3 up and downward strokes along each inner tooth surface. Keep this as part of your routine in the backcountry too. Floss is extremely light, and makes for a great way to pass the evening sans electronic entertainment.

Glass or metal waterbottle. The Swiss company Sigg is well known among backpackers for making the fuel bottles. What you may not have known isthat they also make similar canisters for drinking water. The taste is so pure and untainted by hormone mimicking pthalates and leached plastic.

Homeopathic remedies to augment your first aid kit. Arnica montana 30c for bruises, strains, sprains. Rhus toxicodendron 30c for those achy joints that stiffen up when you stop to rest. Apis mellifica 30c for bee stings and hives with burning, swelling and stinging that feel better with cold applications. Ledum palustre 30c for insect bites.

Essential insect repellent: for an ounce of prevention mix together into a small spray bottle 70 drops of Lemon Eucalyptus and 30 drops of Palmarosa essential oils into 1 ounce of water. Created and field tested by herbalist Tim Blakley of Frontier Coop.

Laser eye surgery makes it so nice to be able to see the amazing views when you first open your eyes in the morning. It’s also nice to not worry about losing a contact, getting sand in your contact lense case, breaking a lense, or getting an eye infection all while in the backwoods when medical help is not a phone call away. Somehow I feel fitter, better able to survive the wilderness, being equiped with 20/15 vision even if my sunglasses (which would have been prescription) were washed downstream with all my 10 essentials in a woefully miscalculated river ford.

The traditional 10 essentials, which you will still want to have when venturing into the wilderness, which could now be defined as anywhere out of cell-phone range:
Sunglasses, map, compass, extra food, extra clothes, firestarter, waterproof matches, knife, first aid kit, and flashlight with extra batteries.

Take A Walk
Don't miss out on this wonderful summer weather and take a walk. Find a walking buddy to talk to or just get out and enjoy a peaceful walk to rejuvenate your spirit. It also helps you relax.

So, enjoy the summer folks, and when you and your friends are ready to feel fabulous and energized, or detox and quit smoking, personalized natural health care and inside out wellbeing are just an appointment away. Now accepting new patients for September.

click here - to download a pdf version of this newsletter

Past Issues of the ink SPAhT:
June/July 2007 Vol.2 Issue 1 - SPRING TO SUMMER FEVER
Aprill/May 2007 Vol.2 Issue 2 - SUFFERLESS ALLERGIES