a meadow in a tin

When you finally find a meadow with the perfect sitting rock after hours on the trail—this salve is that feeling, but in a pocket-sized tin.

I formulated this salve for my sister-in-law after she hiked the John Muir Trail. It’s made especially for hikers, backpackers, thru hikers, and anybody else who goes hard outside and needs a single salve that can manage the multifaceted challenges of caring for their skin—especially their feet—in the field.

I infuse olive and jojoba oils with herbs native to Southwest Colorado: yarrow and Oregon grape leaf, whose constituents have demonstrated healing and antimicrobial properties; willow, with its anti-inflammatory salicylates; and goldenrod, which brings a gentle warmth to achy tissues. Plus plantain, a weed you’ll likely see along the trail, and which contains allantoin, a chemical compound commonly extracted or synthesized in skincare products for its skin-soothing properties. The base of this salve is naturally hydrophobic beeswax, a boon for sweaty, hard-working feet, with a touch of lanolin for deeper moisture.

This salve can be used for minor cuts and abrasions, and for cracked, dry, and overworked feet and hands. Apply to your feet the night before a hike, and again in the morning anywhere you’re prone to blisters.

Comes in a packable 0.5-oz tin.

ingredients

plantain, goldenrod, willow, yarrow, Oregon grape, organic olive oil, organic jojoba oil, Colorado cappings beeswax, lanolin

All herbs are either ethically wildcrafted by me or grown organically in the US.