My daypack had deteriorated to an embarrassing state, but it is hopefully now restored to respectability. Today, before my hike, I carefully applied deodorant. However, approximately 3 miles in, I noticed that I smelled like a horse. Not just any horse, but maybe how Man o' War would have smelled after a particularly close race for the Belmont Stakes. This has happened on my last few hikes. The problem is that the straps on my pack had become inoculated with my armpit bacteria over the course of successive hikes, such that the bacteria are reactivated by my body heat/sweat each time I hike and party down in some sort of bacteria smell-o-thon.

After my hike today I applied a thick paste of baking soda + water to the regions of the backpack that are most intimate with my armpits. After carefully checking all compartments (I found a really old pack of gum!) I laundered the entire pack on gentle cycle and it is now drying on my front porch. We shall see.