In the last post we talked about some basic gear we should all have. Be sure and check that out. And we also promised that we would say something about water purification and backwoods toileting in this post.

But a lot has changed since then. For one, we’ve got our tribe locked in.

Let’s spend a minute celebrating that:

Brother Asim joins us. Although acquainted with him for years, it wasn’t until 2014 that I really connected with him while kayak camping in Tomales Bay. Since then I have learned to deeply appreciate his humor, his physicality, and beneath it all, his profound love for his family and his community.

Brother Hadi and I are strangely intertwined. It was almost 20 years ago when I would spend long, loud nights at his home, making music and grilling chicken. Although our shared history tapered off, we too shared a kayak at Tomales and we now marvel at the parallels in our respective lives.

Brother Todd is another man whose life folds so interestingly into mine. The details won’t be shared here, but I will offer that he is a man of great passion and intensity. This can be scary, but also super delicious when he channels it into his cooking.

Brother Riaz will be coming out for his first ever D&T adventure. That really means a lot to me. He is a man who has tirelessly served his family and our community with his heart and considerable business acumen. We all benefit from those courageous enough to lean into their aptitudes and he continues to do this beautifully.

Brother Jamil is new to me. But he is linked to Brother Riaz who was very quick to vouch for him. That’s all we need to know, but we want to know more and I pray that our time in the Sierra will allow for this.

Brother Omar is a man that has, quite literally, changed my life, wal-hamdu lillah. I met him last year in training for D&T Grind and have found unfathomable enrichment through him and his family.

Brother Shama (actually Ahmed, but that’s my name and I’m trying to avoid confusion and I think that Shama sounds nice, maybe because it actually IS nice, or possibly because it reminds me of Sea World before I saw Blackfish) was last seen by me in 2015 when we shared an evening in the Emigrant Wilderness. He is man with a strong sense of justice and I hope to borrow from his principled mindset, insha Allah.

Brother Asif is also new to me, though I am fortunate to be acquainted with his well-respected family, wal-hamdu lillah. May the crisp, cool mornings and the promise of mountain trout bind us!

With me, that makes nine. We are the second smallest group ever assembled for a D&T adventure.

And boy oh boy does that open up possibilities!

Brother Hadi was the first to note this and he made the suggestion that we consider a cabin instead of tent camping. A key element in the Dust and Tribe experience is co-creation: we work together to realize our adventure in the best way possible by leveraging our respective talents and vision. I have a strong sense of what we are going to do together, but I leave plenty of space for participants to build into the experience.

Brother Hadi did just that and now our little group is going to be that much more comfortable (and warm), God willing.

We now have ourselves a little kitchen. And a bathroom. But we still need to learn how to crap in the woods because that might come up when we are fishing. Click here to learn all you need to know about Leave No Trace (LNT) ethics as they apply to managing our waste.

We should also have a plan to collect any other trash we find out there. We are charged by God as stewards of the earth, so maybe we’ll have a little contest. The guy with the most trash collected while out fishing on Saturday will get something rad.

I have no idea what that is yet because the contest idea just came to me right now. But the prize criteria is clear enough: rad. So look out for that.

I don’t imagine that water purification is going to be an issue as long as we have large enough bottles or hydration bladders or both. Before we head out for the day, we just need to make sure that we’re topped off with water and snacks and we should be good, insha Allah. But if you want to pack along a Steripen for a sip ‘o the wild, be my guest.

With larger groups on past adventures, we used to break into smaller clans for the purpose of figuring out things like food and transportation. I don’t think we’ll do that this time, although we will break into tactical groups of three for fishing, insha Allah. No sense in having all nine of us casting from the same spot unless our goal is to wrap each other up in fishing line.

If that is your goal, I’m not judging. I’m just asking you to keep it to yourself.

We’ll pick up the carpool and cooking conversation in our email group, insha Allah.