For backpacking, I always bring a hilarious paperback book. We snuggle in the tent, reading aloud with headlamps.

Three of us were pinned inside a two-man tent for three days, during a massive snowstorm in the Olympic National Park. We had fun playing Scrabble. Mountain goats eyed our tent, sitting on the only patch of grass.

Later I left my Pocket Scrabble game on a airplane. It is now discontinued.

Baby wipes do NOT decompose. Animals dig them up, and they blow around the landscape. It's disgusting.

Although I pick up litter while hiking, I'm not willing to touch poopy wipes. I eat with my hands.

PACK IT OUT. For this reason, I stopped taking baby wipes while hiking.

It has to be, 'don't eat yellow snow'.

For backpacking, I carry a backpacking candle lantern. With fire bans, the candle lantern provides cheering light. We joke about "sitting around the candle, telling stories and lies."

For meals, I bring 2-3 cloves of garlic, 1/4 sweet onion, and a tiny bottle of olive oil. It improves meals to add sauteed garlic and onions to freeze-dried meals.

Are you talking about personal tricks for camping and hiking or in general?

To prevent waste, I figured out a handy way to freeze ginger.

1. Peel ginger with a carrot peeler. Slice into 1/4" rounds.

2. Lay a single row of ginger on a large piece of wax paper. Leave room at the sides for twisting later. (Don't use parchment paper; it sticks to the ginger.) Fold over the wax paper to enclosed the row of ginger. Repeat.

3. To finish, twist ends of rolls. Put rolls into a freezer bag and freeze.

4. To use, take out 2-3 frozen ginger rounds. They defrost in a few minutes. Partially frozen ginger is easier to chop.

When making chicken broth, I add 2-3 ginger rounds the pot. This give the flavor depth and a mild snap of heat.

I wrap duct tape around a small flash light or my trecking poles.

Not sure it would be worth the bother for me. On the other hand I'm an enviro-nazi. Anything that is wasted - especially fossil fuels - causes me to freak.