Keepsakes carried by WTA staff

Hikers know the importance of only packing what they need: Every gram counts! But what you carry in your backpack isn’t simply decided by optimizing gearlists and counting ounces. What about items with sentimental value?

Maybe it’s a gift from a loved one. Maybe it’s an icon from a transformative time in your life. Maybe it’s a silly doodad, completely carried for silliness. Whatever it is, it means something to the hikers who tote them. 

As the holidays approach and 2025 comes to a close, we asked Washington Trails Association staff about the tokens, trinkets and knickknacks they carry on trail and what makes them so important.

A touch of magic (and adventure)

From Hogwarts to the high country, Dobby brings the magic. Photo by MJ Mahan

I first was gifted Dobby by my best friend who I met in college. We had this connection of going on adventures together but soon enough, moving to different states would put a pause on that.

My best friend hoped Dobby could keep the adventures going and she surely was right. Dobby has been to Alaska, Wyoming, California, Washington and Oregon.  Dobby has gone fly fishing, snowshoeing and backpacking. He has cooked a meal with high schoolers in the tundra of Alaska, he has seen a moose and a porcupine, he has biked 50 miles across the Bay Bridge (this was when I only recently learned how to ride a bike!) and he hits new dance moves with every group he meets. 

Most importantly, I've used Dobby as a sense of community when I worked with students who were very shy or didn't feel like they were safe in the outdoors. Little did I know that Dobby would become this sense of safety and imagination for me and the students I was working with.

Dobby is a free roaming and inspiring elf!

— MJ Mahan, senior community partnerships and leadership development coordinator

Laying the groundwork (sheet) for a long walk

Protection from root and rock with the memory of a friend. Photo by Tiffany Chou

In 2018, I was lucky enough to meet a Pacific Crest Trail thru-hiker I was following through social media in person, and he stayed with me when he got to Snoqualmie Pass for a couple of rest days. He answered a ton of my questions to help me prepare for my own thru-hike the following year, and left me his Tyvek ground tarp. That ground tarp carried me through my own PCT thru-hike — protecting my tent from many a root and rock — as well as several backpacking trips afterward (including an Arizona Trail attempt, cut short by COVID). I used it to its proverbial end, until it started becoming more of a sponge, rather than a waterproof tent footprint.

My thru-hiker friend tragically passed away a few years later in a climbing accident, and, although I don’t carry the footprint around anymore, it’s very special to me how it traveled thousands of miles with me and thousands with him as well. It reminds me of his extreme kindness and how much he helped me prepare for my own hike, as well as the general kindness of the thru-hiker and the general hiking community. That piece of Tyvek still sits in my old gear pile, holding many memories.

— Tiffany Chou, senior communications and hiking content coordinator

A multi-generational multitool

The classic Swiss Army Knife is a handy tool — especially when it reminds of what you're capable of. Photo by Ashton Weis

My uncle gifted me this Swiss Army knife when I first moved out of my parents' house to go to college. Since then, it has accompanied me to several states and countries. It now lives in my hiking pack as a nice (heavy) reminder that I am capable, but also that there's always someone in my corner.

— Ashton Weis, senior operations coordinator

A doughboy who spreads trails joy

Even Poppin' Fresh, AKA the Pillsbury Doughboy, needs to check the mail sometimes. Photo by Catherine Vine

This tiny doughboy made his way into my life as a joke gift for my partner after we both became obsessed with a GEICO commercial he was in. We started hiding him around the house for the other person to find. One morning, I found him in my backpack when I was headed out on a hike to Shriners Peak and decided to bring him along. I had a blast taking photos of him along the hike and at the lookout. Since then, he's come with me on almost all of my adventures. I often hike alone, and I enjoy having him along as a companion. Most of my friends have embraced his presence on hikes, although I still have one that needs a bit more convincing!

— Catherine Vine, development coordinator

the perspective-providing pilgrimage balloon

An uninflated balloon is easier than a soccer ball to fit into a first aid kit. Photo by Jenn Seva

Since 2015, I've been carrying an uninflated green balloon given to me along the Camino de Santiago in Spain by a fellow pilgrim who came from the Czech Republic. He had lots of these balloons, and he gave them out to any other pilgrims who would take one and listen to the story. The logic (if we might call it that) is that if I still have that totally unnecessary, kind of delightful green balloon, things must be going well enough along my outdoor adventures.

My friend's backstory is from a Czech novel where a group of adventurers carried an unnecessary soccer ball through some very difficult challenges. A decade later, I may have some details off. Generally, if they kept the soccer ball with them, things must be going well enough despite their challenges. An uninflated balloon is way easier than a soccer ball to fit into a first aid kit, hence he brought those many symbolic "soccer balls" with him to hand out along his Camino.

— Jenn Seva, donor relations officer

My wingman: It’s worth its weight in function

The best wingman — or Leatherman — is always at your side. Photo by Moleek Busby

When I was working as a youth crew lead Seasonal for the Student Conservation Association, our senior director of partnership, Jay Watson, would give us returners little gifts at the end of the season. Me and another seasonal got these “wingman” Leatherman. Jay inspired me to keep working in youth engagement, he believed in me and my career path and was a huge advocate for me rising up to different levels in the organization. Jay still is working with SCA and advocates for the importance of youth getting out on trail.

The wingman, though a little thing, is hefty but has saved me on trail so many times. For first aid with the scissors, to adjusting a carburetor on a gas driven wheelbarrow with the flat head function, to tightening the bolts on a pole saw with the pliers. It’s really a special memento for me and not just because of its use, but who I got it from and why. To this day we continue the inside joke, when I see that other crew leader who came up with me we ask, “you got your wingman on you?”

— Moleek Busby, field operations senior manager

Not all jokes are ultralight

The desert section of the Pacific Crest Trail can be unforgiving. Imagine carrying extra weight another 2,000+ miles! Photo by Michael DeCramer

When I was 22-years-old, I thru-hiked the Pacific Crest Trail. Four-and-a-half months of blistering heat and icy wind, body aches, boredom and laughter. I’ll carry some parts of that experience with me for my entire life. 

In the Southern California desert, the PCT traverses hot and arid country. Many PCT hikers depend on water caches left by others to cross long miles of dry trail. Many of these caches have earnest signs imploring hikers to leave as much water as possible for other hikers. In a little grove of shrubs about 500 miles north of Mexico, two legendary Trail Angels, Terrie and Joe Anderson, maintained a cache of cold beverages and folding chairs with a small ammo can that said, “Take only what you need.” Inside were small pieces of metal about the size of my thumb, actual lead weights. I put one in my pack and carried it to Canada and onward. In the long distance hiking world, not all jokes are ultralight.

— Michael DeCramer, policy and planning manager

Dig this: the countless miles and countless catholes

Remember: a good trowel digs, but never buries. Photo by Lezlie Cox

I love my light but sturdy trowel. After two decades and 2,000 miles, my trowel has dug countless catholes with barely a scratch. Since it only digs but never buries, that's what boots are for, I have nailed it into upslope water seeps — voila a water spigot direct to my bottle.

— Lezlie Cox, office manager

Groovin’ to trails

Sometimes, all a hiker needs in a moment of darkness is a bright light by their side. Photo by Laura Rodriguez

A close friend gifted me a mini disco ball that plugs into my phone a while back and miraculously it still works! Bringing it camping has become a tradition as it provides opportunities to have dance parties in the woods and helps us lighten the mood when it’s extra dark or conditions are less than ideal. Our kids love seeing the lights sync up with music, using it to invent new games and as a focal point when telling stories. I took it on my first solo backpacking trip and it brought me a lot of comfort knowing the memories it holds.

— Laura Rodriguez, human resources coordinator

The roadtrip, the blade and the mountain

Victoria and her dad enjoy the outdoors together. Photo by Victoria Obermeyer

In 2017, I drove from Ohio to Washington  for a summer internship. It was a once in a lifetime trip with one of my favorite people, my dad, who has always been one of my biggest supporters and best friends. On the way out we stopped at Mount Rainier and he bought me this pocket knife. Even though it was early May and we couldn’t see the mountain yet, it was still my favorite trip to Mount Rainier ever and I take that same pocket knife with me on every backpacking trip.

My dad used to backpack when he was younger all over Daniel Boone National Forest and I love that I can take a piece of him with me as I explore the beautiful backcountry of Washington. Plus, it’s a super useful tool!

— Victoria Obermeyer, multimedia content coordinator

Stay trails smart with more resources and stories about hiking gear with WTA’s Trail Smarts series. Have a hiking token or trinket you carry with you? We'd love to see it in a WTA trip report!