Women's Adventure Spring 2014

DON’T GET POISONED • SOLVE YOUR SADDLE WOES • THRU-HIKE RIGHT

The Soul

SPRING 2014

Of Sports How To

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Explore Our New Travel Section, Unplug Your Family, Go Gear Shopping

Contents

Beneath the Surface

Finding the Sacred in Life, in Ourselves, and in Adventure

Exploratory caver Emily Zuber gets to literally go where no man (or woman) has gone before, but pays a price for her adventure lifestyle.

By Jayme Moye

The Adventure Moms weigh in on the topic of soul in sports

By Jen Charrette, with Erica Lineberry and Kristen Lummis

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48

Gear

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10 Discuss Modern-Day Amelia Earhart 14 Discuss Memoir of WAM’s Founder 16 Tech Talk Choosing a Saddle 20 Tech Talk Camp Hygiene 22 Travel New Travel Section 23 Not a Tourist Universal Village of Women 25 Travel Hack Miles that Move You 26 Journeys Multi-Day Mountain Bike Trek 28 Urban Adventure Boston’s Outdoors 29 Disaster Detour Unexpectedly Solo

32 34 36 38 40 43 46

travel

30

master

8

aspire

wonder

Camp and backpack right this season with these pack choices and cozy sleep systems.

Camps Leadership & Adventure Summit Beyond Kids Unplugged Beyond Disability Rights Advocate Sustainable Straws Dream Job Pro Cyclist and Women’s Advocate I’m Proof Walking the AT I’m Proof Teen Champ

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58 60 62 64

Skill Plants 101

70 71

Partnerships

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It’s Personal Bucket List Surprises

Sport Thru-Hiking Mix It Up Dutch Oven Cooking Skill Bike Safety

Marketplace

Cover: Cheryl Albrecht-Harvey and Logan pausing for a view of the rising moon while hiking through Teardrop Arch, Monument Valley, Utah.

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contributors

Helen Olsson is the author of The Down & Dirty Guide to Camping with Kids.

She is a former executive editor at Skiing magazine, winner of the Canadian Tourism’s Northern Lights Journalism Award for magazine writing, and a finalist in the Women’s Sports Foundation Sports Journalism Awards.

She has written often about camping with kids for the New York Times, including a story about a llama-trekking trip, which was the inspiration for her book.

Olsson first camped with her family as a toddler in the late sixties in the wilds of upstate New York. She now camps often in Colorado and elsewhere in the West with her husband, Jeff, and their three children. She endeavors on a regular basis to unplug her kids and connect them instead to the natural world.

Jennifer Charrette is the creator of velomom.com and is focusing on new adventures after 15 years in the corporate world. She lives under the San Juan Mountains of Colorado, with her husband, son, and a baby on the way late Spring. She is an avid road cyclist and mountain biker but dabbles in surfing, skiing and hiking. Jen writes on the topic of soul in sports (“Finding the Sacred in Life, In Ourselves, and In Adventure”) on page 48.

Dana McMahan, a serial learner of sports (beginning with her foray into competitive powerlifting), chronic adventurer, and bourbon enthusiast lives in Louisville, Kentucky. Her work can be found on major travel websites and in publications ranging from Elle and Food Network magazines to the Chicago Tribune and NBCNews.com. She travels the globe in search of great food and whiskey, adventure, and stories, and counts among her favorite experiences rock climbing in Vietnam’s HaLong Bay, trying her hand at Muay Thai in Bangkok, and learning to white water raft on Oregon’s Rogue River. Learn more at bodybybourbon.com or follow her @danamac.

2 2 WAM WAM • • SPRING SPRING| |2014 2014

SPRING 2014

EDITORIAL

PUBLISHER SUE SHEERIN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF JENNIFER C. OLSON Designers D. Kari Luraas, Kristal Rhodes Web Director Susan Hayse Travel Editor Robin Enright Online Communications Manager Jennifer Davis-Flynn Copy Editor Mira Perrizo Contributing Writers Robin Enright, Helen Olsson, Dana McMahan, Morgan Tilton, Cindy Ross, Jen Charrette, Erica Lineberry, Kristen Lummis, Jayme Moye, Chris Kassar, Anna Brones, Carla DeVelder, Kelly Phanco, Kerry Marder Contributing Photographers Kennan Harvey (cover), Camrin Dengel, Robin Enright, New Brunswick Tourism, Gorge-Us Photography. Kelly Schwan, Chanelle Sladics, Cindy Ross, Elliot Stahl, Scott Markewitz, Porter Storey, Simon Crowther

SUBMISSIONS For contributor’s guidelines, visit www.womensadventuremagazine.com/contributors-guidelines Editorial queries or submissions should be sent to edit@womensadventuremagazine.com Photo queries should be sent to design@womensadventuremagazine.com Women’s Adventure is always looking for new and innovative products for women.

For consideration, please send non-returnable samples to P.O. Box 111, Silver City, NM 88062.

Send all other correspondence to PO Box 888, Telluride, CO 81435.

Key Accounts Julie Peirano

julie@womensadventuremagazine.com

Jenny Page jenny.page@womensadventuremagazine.com

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Get Women’s Adventure hot off the presses four times a year and enjoy our seasonal issues packed with outdoor adventure, tips, gear reviews, and feature articles.

BACKPACK SOLO • ADVENTURE RACE • STAY IN A FIRE TOWER

SUMMER 2013

Journey Across the Rockies A Finisher’s Story of Fear, Fun, and Discovery

Off-Roading in Morocco

Bethany Hamilton and Chrissie Beavis Team Up

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On the Web

Adventure’s just a click away!

If you haven’t yet, make sure to check out the new and improved website that we launched in August. Thanks to a fresh, clean design and a brand new layout, our site is much easier to navigate. You’ll find new posts on a variety of topics every day!

Contests Visit our website to win products from:

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FALL 2013

The Road Not Ridden

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Afghanistan’s First Women’s Cycling Team

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Trail Running Biking and Jogging Safety Muscle Recovery

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Q&A With The Youngest AT Thru-Hiker Ever, Why Spend On Socks, Autumn In The Adirondacks

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FORAGE FOR FOOD • PLAY WITH FIRE • TRAIN LIKE A PRO

Highliner Emily Sukiennik On Fear and Falling

SPRING 2013

TRAVEL

Our travel section has been reimagined to capture the spirit of the modern journeywoman. Stories and tips are organized by international and domestic destinations, and we’re introducing a new category called “Out There” for women who crave more exotic or remote experiences.

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Cast Your Line, Dive A Wreck, Protect Your Skin, Retreat In Hill Country

TRY BIATHLON • SURVIVE IN THE SNOW • CONQUER YOUR FEARS • GET AVY SAVVY

Winter 2013/14

Pedal-Powered Skiing in Arctic Norway The New Age of Adventure: Exploring Into Your Golden Years

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H E A LT H

Good health requires a holistic approach, so that’s why we’ve divided our new health section into both “Mind” and “Body.” Our new health section features tips from life coaches and wellness experts, muscle recovery and nutrition advice, and recipes galore!

Athletes and Autoimmunity, Winter Out West, Avalanche Rescue Dogs, Italy’s Volcanoes

COLUMNS

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Our dedicated online columnists are experts in their field, be it raising outdoorsy kids, living on the road fulltime, or even whipping up a delicious kale smoothie. Drop by and say hello.

They’re always willing to answer any questions in the comments section.

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for contest updates!

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From the Editor T

he first trail that I ever ran is part of a network of singletrack paths at the edge of the Gila National Forest. In general, that entire network is referred to as “Little Walnut,” though I couldn’t name this particular trail for the life of me.

When I first ran on this trail, it was for 20 minutes as an uncoordinated high schooler. My

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cross country coach had our team run the same route almost every time we took the school bus out to Little Walnut. That route led us uphill, over a saddle, and down to the Continental Divide Trail (CDT), where we’d usually head south for an “out and back” workout. Occasionally, we’d head north on the CDT and make a loop

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back to the picnic grounds via the dirt road also named Little Walnut.

Along the way, we’d pass (as you might on any trail) countless intersections, which inherently ask, “Which direction do you want to head?” and “How far do you want to go?”

There were very few signs or trail maps posted along the route then. We just knew where to turn, where not to turn, and where the five-minute, 15-minute, and 30-minute landmarks stood.

We knew the shortcuts and how much farther we’d travel if we took “the long way around.” Our familiarity with this set of trails helped us track our progress as runners. What was my 15-minute milestone when I first started trail running became my 10-minute mark by the time I graduated high school. And that progress—plus, perhaps, some other influence we still don’t understand—drew us back to the trail, deepening our connection to it and inspiring a drive to explore other trails, comparing them always to this first one, the one that cast the spell destining us to obedience when a trail calls.

Since safety was a priority, our coach couldn’t have his runners scattered along every trail out at Little Walnut. But I’ve been hiking and running there recently and better understand our team’s designated route in relation to the rest of those trails now.

On a hike a few weeks ago, I hung a right where I would have made a left during my high school running days. That right fork leads, beautifully and gently, up to the saddle where a hiker can choose to go beyond the ridgeline’s fence and toward the CDT, or along the fence toward a small nearby peak, or straight back down to the picnic grounds. That’s where a person decides whether to go farther into the forest or head back to the start, whether to explore or retreat to a comfort zone of sorts.

So much factors into a little choice like that: How much time do I have? How long can I go before I need to eat or drink? Are my shoes comfy?

Will I have a chance to come back to this place?

Does my body want more exercise?

But the outcome can feel so momentous.

I ended up looping straight back to the picnic grounds that day, knowing I would return to explore again.

When I did, I was running and was feeling great at the top of the hill, at the intersection where the choice to-turn or not-to-turn feels

weightier, where, if you go straight, you end up on the almighty CDT in a mile or so. I chose the Divide.

It’s been years since I’ve ventured out on the CDT in this part of the country. I have run, hiked, and ridden hundreds of miles of trail since my first steps on the trails at Little Walnut, and my memory of this well-traveled path is fading.

It’s been too long. But, pressed for time again, I had to turn around after reaching the triangleshaped intersection of the usual trail and the CDT. Still, I had touched the CDT and felt its draw. I’ll go back soon to explore farther into the forest and travel the same trail thru-hikers and mountain bike tourists do at the beginnings and ends of their journeys across the nation. The trail unites me with women and men who’ve trekked so far to this southern piece of it, and I only have to go out my back door. I only have to choose to leave my house, go one more mile, and maybe another after that, and just look up to experience what others dream a lifetime to see and be in a place that others plan for decades to visit.

It’s a privilege.

And I vow to take advantage.

In this edition of Women’s Adventure magazine, the women who offer their expertise, share their incredible stories, and encourage you to do more of what you love this spring have callings of their own. Some, like Gail Storey (page 60) and Stephanie Cutts (page 43), answer the trail’s call. Others, like Fiona Wylde (page 46), follow a passion for water sports. Our new travel editor finds wisdom through international experiences (page 23), while others gather courage through relationships with outdoorsy peers (page 32).

Robin Farina of the Women’s Cycling Association (page 40) feels compelled to advance the state of professional bike racing. Emily Zuber, though, is drawn deep into the earth (page 52).

Which trails are calling you? What direction will you head? How far will you go? When will you return? Where are you drawn? In the words of The Adventure Moms (page 48), what inspires passion in your soul?

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7

CAMRIN DENGEL

wonder

Emily Erickson and Sarah Parker enjoy an evening soak in Wyoming Hotsprings just north of Grand Teton National Park.

w Discuss

Amelia Rose Earhart Follows In Her Namesake’s Footsteps This self-described aviatrix is set to embark on a flight around the world in a single-engine airplane this June Interview by Jennifer C. Olson We’ve put together a recreation of Amelia Earhart’s around the world flight in a single-engine aircraft. I’ve been flying for about ten years, planning for the last about five years, and training more intensely for the last year and a half for a flight around the world. Even planning it has been an adventure, because I had no idea how to go about it. We’ll take off in June for two or three weeks.

We’ll do one leg per day, and our longest leg will be about nine hours long. I want to show women that there are still adventures to be had.

A few people have done this flight but nobody yet with her name.

My interest in aviation started early. When I found out that every single day of my life people would ask if I were related to Amelia Earhart, I realized I had two choices. Either embrace it and fly or ignore it and do something completely different. My parents were supportive but couldn’t afford to help me learn to fly. So I worked a few jobs and saved money. During my first flight lesson, my heart was on fire. I thought, ‘I really want to do this.’

I thought I was somehow related to Amelia Earhart, but I eventually found out we aren’t related to her. It was interesting because I’d already established myself as a pilot and had built my life around it.

A couple years after I got my pilot’s license, people started asking what I was going to do with it.

I thought, ‘Well, why don’t I fly around the world? Why wouldn’t I try this?’ I took out a big sheet of paper, laid it on the kitchen table, 10

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drew it out, wrote it all down. What would I take? Who would I take?

Where would we go? I was happiest in this dreamy flight-planning stage.

Every time I talked about the idea, people would get excited. So, it was a lot of encouragement from other people that helped me to follow in her [the original Amelia Earhart’s] footsteps. When I finally started saying ‘yes,’ I realized how much bigger and more engaged my life became.

I work with young women and started a foundation to put girls through flight school.

The Fly With Amelia Foundation was granted 501c3 status in 2013.

The program’s mission is to, first, give young women (ages 16-18) flight scholarships and, also, create curriculum—downloadable lesson plans—based on the dynamics of flight. This is in conjunction with the Wings of the Rockies Air and Space Museum, where I’m on the board of directors. The late teen years are the time in our lives when we’ll make those big decisions; we’ll either choose our own adventurous path or choose what our parents are telling us to do.

The girls with adventurous spirits but without the money to pay for it [flight school] are the girls we work with.

Through this around-the-world flight, I get to raise money to put girls through flight school and also have this big adventure myself. If I show young girls that I executed this plan and how they can do it too, that’s becoming a well-rounded role model.

The most intense training for this summer’s flight has been in the last year and a half.

I trained to fly in zero visibility weather, clouds, snow, any of that, and went through my instrument certification. I had to learn how to

fly the exact airplane we’re flying, of course. When we did simulations, it was eight days of sitting in this crazy box with screens that look like a dashboard.

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Photography: Gabe Rogel

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aircraft, but this plane has great ratings and I’ve done a ton of training.

Survival training was so much fun.

We put on survival suits rated for water cooler than 60 degrees. Then they put us in rafts and dropped us in the ocean; we had to learn how to deploy the life raft and basically learned how to live out there for a few days until someone could rescue us.

We also did dunker training.

They essentially dunk the plane in a pool and flip it over; you have to unbuckle your seatbelt, kick out your window and escape—all while holding my breath. It was mental!

When I took a job in LA working for CBS and started taking flight lessons again, I was flying a Cessna 172 and had to do cross-country flights. You go from one airport to another, a certain distance. I was going to Santa Barbara. You do have to go over the mountains, and when you’re coming in the runway, you’re pointed straight at the ocean. You’ve got the lights of Santa Barbara and the moon in the sky and all the stars were out. I was coming in and was totally focused and it was one of the happiest moments of my life.

I was totally independent, having a real adventure, and experiencing

someone no one else gets to see. After that flight was over, I wanted to commemorate that moment. I wear a ring on my right ring finger and it’s a sapphire with tiny diamonds around the edge. It reminds me of the color of the ocean, the color of the stars. I always tap the bottom of the ring on the throttle before I thrust it forward and remember that flight, that moment when I was totally independent.

Some people think it’s strange for a 30-year-old woman to be flying an airplane without her boyfriend. People still ask me if I’m lost when I’m out walking to my plane.

To be honest, I haven’t had a lot of moments where I was fearful because of the airplane.

I haven’t had any major mechanical issues or scary scenarios. When I was flying helicopters—I have 4,000 hours—nothing scary happened even then. Once you get up there, you’ve got to do what it takes to get through the weather safely, navigate safely, work with your co-pilot in a balanced way, and also have fun doing it. You can go to all sorts of amazing places. You can go camping, and create a tent around the wing. There are so many fun ways to use an aircraft. It’s all I want

to do, and I’m happiest when I’m in the air.

My mom’s been one of my biggest supporters. She’s an adventurer in her own right. She’s originally from Brazil, and her parents are from Hungary and Romania. She moved to LA and, from then on, has been a total outdoors’ woman. The equestrian love goes really deep within her. So I grew up with “You can be daring. You’ll get bounced around but it’ll be fun.”

And, my dad raised me riding dirt bikes in the desert. They’ll tell me honestly whether something is a good idea. I’ve also had great girl friends along the way. They don’t necessary understand what I’m doing, but they’re encouraging.

When I complete the flight, I’ll be the world’s youngest female to complete the flight around the world in a singleengine plane. It all comes down to adventure. I’m big on pursuing adventures for the sake of adventure. There’s nothing like meeting a strong, empowered woman who’s on a mission. You can tell she’s naturally happy because she’s doing what she loves. We need more women talking about what it’s like to get out of your comfort zone instead of on what’s easy and predictable. It’s so much more fun to get out and surprise people.

Whatever your version of adventure is, you’ve got to pursue it. It’s fun to think of adventure in terms of other things: having a conversation with someone you’re scared to talk to, or writing a letter to someone and asking them to get involved in your project. If you view everything as an adventure, your life becomes so much more exciting. It makes everything so much more fun. �

Amelia encourages you to connect with her on Facebook or Twitter, watch the live stream of her flight this June, and learn more about her Fly With Amelia Foundation at flywithamelia.org.

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14 Stops, 14 Days, 24,301 nautical miles In the summer of 2014, myself and co-pilot Patrick Carter will recreate and symbolically complete the flight of my namesake, Amelia Mary Earhart. In 1937, she began a flight around the globe and disappeared over the South Pacific, becoming one of history’s greatest mysteries. Over 75 years after her disappearance, Amelia continues to inspire adventure and flight through her bold courage and desire to open doors for women in aviation.

In fourteen stops, and approximately 28,000 miles we will fly a Pilatus PC-12NG around the globe, completing the flight that Amelia never got to finish.

When the flight is complete, I will be the youngest woman to fly around the world in a single engine aircraft, honoring Amelia’s tenacity and love for aviation possibilities along the way.

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The Healing Power of Wild Places Michelle Theall started Women’s Adventure magazine in 2003 because she believed that a title like this one should exist for the millions of women like her who found fulfillment and strength from outdoor sports and adventure travel. So it’s not surprising that at the core of Teaching the Cat to Sit, Theall’s memoir about childhood abuse and her struggles growing up gay and Catholic in the Texas Bible Belt, is the healing power of nature and wild places. After living in three of the largest cities in the country and being disowned by her parents, Theall escapes to the mountains of Colorado to find a home and to learn to accept herself. It’s there on ten acres in the middle of an elk migration pattern that she learns to live again.

This book about the modern roles of family, parenting, and faith explores the weight of our secrets and the toll they can take on our bodies. In the end, it’s the lessons Michelle learns from adventure that help her overcome these obstacles, including a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, to become the person she was meant to be in the world. An excerpt from her book appears below:

T

he MRI scanner reverberates like a machine gun. A little mirror a few inches above my nose angles in such a way that I can see the technicians in the glass booth in front of me. They laugh about something, maybe the basketball game last night or the lame auditions on American Idol. I try to hold still, but my MS makes me twitchy.

“This one’s two minutes,” the tech says through the intercom.

Inside the luge tunnel, the chamber clicks three times and then echoes with what sounds exactly like jackhammers and chisels whacking stone. It’s hard to tell if I’m under construction or being demolished, but something is under way.

When I was first diagnosed, I panicked. All I could think about were all the things I hadn’t done or seen yet. I wanted to photograph grizzlies in Alaska, follow polar bears across the arctic ice, and track lions in the Serengeti. A wheelchair wasn’t part of my plan. Without questioning my neurologist, I got on the medications she prescribed, even though the injections of inter-

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feron, a cancer-fighting medication, made me feel fluish and created toxic liver levels in my body. After one month on the drug, my eyes started hemorrhaging, a completely new and undocumented side effect.

After four months on the drugs, I stopped the injections altogether. I took matters into my own hands.

My doctor said I was playing “Russian roulette” with my health. I lost fifteen pounds, became a vegetarian, started delegating more at work. I had my mercury dental fillings removed, tried giving up gluten, had myofacial-release massage. And then I did what every sane person who has been diagnosed with a progressive neurological disease would do: I booked a trip to Africa to climb Kilimanjaro.

Mount Kilimanjaro rose 19,341 feet above sea level and was the tallest free-standing mountain in the world. Only 33 percent of the people who tried to climb it made the summit. On the day I arrived in Tanzania, I thanked God and the baggage handlers in Amsterdam for losing our luggage so that we gained

one day of rest at a hotel before starting our forty-two-mile trek. In Colorado, we had trained, climbing fourteen-thousand-foot peaks outside Boulder. Still, I had no idea what effect the exertion and the altitude would have on my scarred brain, and on top of that, I had picked up a cold and sore throat somewhere en route.

We woke to the smell of wood smoke and the eager brooms of our hotel staff sweeping dirt from the floors, ate breakfast beneath a thatched roof and stared at Kilimanjaro in the distance. We piled into Land Rovers and bumped along washboards that rocked the truck and worked my muscles just to balance. I coughed from the dirt, my chest still congested, mucus-like rubber cement inside my sinuses.

When we arrived at the trailhead, I read a large wooden sign: IF YOU HAVE A SORE THROAT OR COLD OR BREATHING PROBLEMS DO NOT GO BEYOND THIS POINT. I lived among fourteen-thousand-foot peaks.

Those warnings didn’t apply to me.

The first day we trekked for hours through slick, muddy rainforests with monkeys swinging over our heads through candelabra trees. The porters carried our bags on their heads, some in crude sandals, many without warm coats or rain gear. They passed us on the trail, moving forward to set up camp tents and cook for us. Our guide, Jamaica, told us, “Pole. Pole.”

Slowly. Slowly. “You must acclimate to the altitude. Already we lose one day we needed. We will rise too soon.” My muscles refused to cooperate. It took more effort for me to go slowly, to hold a step, than to release it quickly. The fatigue showed up in tremors and spasms.

The second day, less than an hour into our route, I shook uncontrollably.

I asked the group to stop so I could recover. Was I having a seizure? I downed chocolate and peanut butter granola bars. I didn’t want to be treated any differently from anyone else. But shaking on that rock with my co-climbers staring at me with concern, I fessed up

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Discuss

to my disease. I still maintained that I didn’t want help—didn’t need it.

Even so, a man took my daypack and clipped it onto his own. He wouldn’t take no for an answer.

I felt embarrassed, guilty, and, finally, relieved. By day four, we reached the lava towers, a series of projectiles bursting to the sky from their base of fifteen thousand feet— higher than I had ever been. A woman in our group, fit and in her late thirties, fell ill due to altitude sickness, weaving, vomiting, her skin and lips blue with hypothermia. Jamaica dragged her down two thousand feet to our base camp.

Shortly after, a twenty-year-old man crumpled into tears. I wasn’t alone in my struggle with the mountain.

Still, I was glad I’d told the group about having MS. The secret was one less thing I had to carry.

Inside my tent, my head filled with a dull ache that made me close my eyes. The pressure reminded me of the spinal tap I’d taken to diagnose my MS—the test I swore I’d never take again. I stumbled out of the tent, nauseated and weak, and asked Jamaica about alternative routes and what would happen if I needed to quit and go back down.

“Only in an emergency,” he said. He adjusted his wool cap.

“Even so, we must get to the next camp before we can get on the route where we descend. There is no way down except to go up.”

Jamaica gave me Diamox and Advil and some other white pills without names on them. I took them all. I hadn’t trusted my neurologist, but I held out my open hands to Jamaica.

I just wanted relief.

By morning, I felt able to ascend again. I thought about Alex always urging me to use the momentum of going down to get back up a hill.

I soldiered on with the group to the Barranco Wall, a nontechnical rock climb. My fingers held to the porous yet inexplicably solid formations, and my body instinctively knew what to do. One hundred

feet later, our team perched above a bank of clouds. We watched waterfalls below us through the gaps.

It didn’t get easier. Two days later, I was using my hiking poles like canes, unable to bear my own weight without assistance. I staggered into the base camp where we would start our summit bid at midnight.

I skipped the training hike before dinner and stayed behind. I sat with a woman named Stacy, a marathon runner who groaned in a fitful sleep and after waking started talking gibberish. She keened with coughing, retching in the breaks in between. I called out to Jamaica and he evaluated her. “The start of pulmonary edema,” he said. “Fluid is building in her lungs.” He ordered two of the porters to take her down to a lower camp. Another woman volunteered to go with them so she wouldn’t be alone.

Inside my tent, I thought about the summit. I tried to lift my water bottle and zip the tent, simple tasks I could not accomplish. There were battles worth risking my health for, and this wasn’t one of them. We had prettier mountains in Colorado. Between the terrible food, lack of sleep, filthy conditions, and a trail littered with people and toilet paper, I knew there was only one reason to attempt the summit: to prove I wasn’t sick.

I didn’t want to accept my disease, but it was as much a part of me as my eyes or skin. Climbing this mountain wouldn’t cure my MS. Continuing to deny it would be far more devastating than making peace with it. At midnight, I joined the others for dinner in the food tent. I sent my climbing friends off on their summit quest and wished them good luck. I watched the light from their headlights zigzag above me like cars on a highway. After they disappeared behind a ridge, I stood alone outside the tent and stared at the sky. It was the only place I’d

ever been where I didn’t hear or see planes flying overhead. The stars blinked at me from a thick Milky Way. I planted my feet—curled my toes to the soil—and thought about how silly I’d been. Wherever I stood at any given moment, here in Africa or back home, I had the earth beneath me. I didn’t need to climb a mountain to stand on top of the world.

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Excerpted from Teaching the Cat to Sit: A Memoir by Michelle Theall.

Copyright © 2014 by Michelle Theall. Reprinted with permission from Gallery, a Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Teaching the Cat to Sit is available on Amazon.com. Michelle Theall is the editor-in-chief of Alaska magazine and runs writing workshops in Boulder, Colorado. Follow her at facebook.com/michelletheall and michelletheall.com.

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Sitting Pretty How to Choose the Right Bike Saddle

By Jennifer C. Olson

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earn from the bike industry’s leading experts as they discuss the history, technology, and key features of a bicycle seat. Injuries and pain caused by cycling with the wrong saddle for your body and ride style are much more common than you ever imagined.

Abby Santurbane, saddle expert and Liv/giant Global Category Manager has been with Giant for more than five years and involved in the cycling industry for more than 15 years. “I started working at a bike shop when I was 15 and totally fell in love with the sport,” Abby says. “In college, I raced the Indiana University Little 500, which fueled a passion for racing. I moved out to California after college to pursue my dream of racing at the pro level, which I did for a number of years before finding my job at Giant.” Read on for Abby’s professional take on the importance of women’s-specific bike seats and choosing the right saddle for you.

Our next expert, Alessandro Matteucci, runs a popular Brooklyn-based coaching business (italianschoolofcycling.com) and is a rep for Italian bike brand, Albabici, which makes Selle SMP saddles. “Women are even more sensitive to the saddle issue,” he says. “Finding the proper model is the equivalent of fitting a very tight glove: The same rider cannot sit comfortably with several different models. The width, relating to the distance between the sitting bones, is only one

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of the factors, since the shape is what guarantees the contouring of the saddle against the bones.”

Also lending her expertise is Paula Dyba, who has been the saddle developer for the past decade at Terry Bicycles, a women’s-specific brand that’s known for designing bike seats for the female anatomy. “I’ve been with Terry Bicycles for 20 years, which is a very long time,” she says, jokingly. “When I first started, I spoke to a lot of people over the phone about things I can’t even believe and I won’t even say out loud.” Luckily, Paula got to have a hand in developing solutions for them. In this article, she narrates a history of saddle design and offers advice that your female parts will thank you for taking.

Here’s Your Sign “If a woman is absolutely new to cycling there will be some discomfort—tenderness in the soft tissue and on the sit bones,” Abby says. “A little discomfort is okay because that will likely subside in a short period of time; but, if a woman stops riding or is hesitant to ride due to severe bruising or chafing, it means the saddle or her overall fit is not right for her.”

Before Going Saddle Shopping “Shopping for the right saddle can be a process,” Abby says. “At times, a woman may strike gold and find the exact right saddle from the get-go.

Other women aren’t so lucky.”

“Number one: Do no harm. That’s the biblical approach [to choosing a saddle],” Paula says.

“You’ve got to be comfortable.”

First, a rider should consult with the fit professional at her local bike shop to ensure that she isn’t experiencing discomfort with her saddle due to a fit issue elsewhere. “There are countless variables that could be at play—perhaps a rider’s seat height is too high or the stem length could be too long,” Abby says. “In short, an improper fit on your bike can lead to issues with your saddle.”

Alessandro agrees. “Women should choose a saddle in the context of a bike fitting; seat height, fore and aft position, and reach affect the rotation of the hips and therefore the point of contact for the sitting bones [hereafter, referred to as sit bones].”

When you are ready to start shopping, go to the bike shop equipped with some complaints about your current saddle and knowledge of the type of bike you’re currently riding or will be

riding. Also do your best to identify your most vulnerable places in the saddle, where you’re most and least comfortable. “I think it’s always good to do a little homework before you go,” Paula adds.

“Look saddles up online, read some reviews, and go in and talk to the bike shop about what their customers seem to respond best to riding.”

Go in prepared to test ride a saddle, too. A lot of shops allow and encourage you to try their demo saddles. “You don’t have to buy it and feel like you dropped a hundred bucks and don’t like it,” Paula assures.

Dawn Of The Cutaway When Paula started at Terry Bicycles, the company was getting calls from women and men with serious issues—sores and numbness, in particular.

“They wanted to keep riding so it was difficult to not have a solution for them,” Paula says.

About then, Miyata—a Japanese company that had been making saddles with cutaways— went out of business, and their customers called Terry Bicycles. “There was a tiny following but they were really vocal,” Paula says.

So they worked with a manufacturer on the concept of a saddle with a hole all the way through it, and they developed it: a regular saddle in most ways but with an opening in the middle. “We can’t take credit for that design,” Paula says, since Miyata made something like it first. “We took it to Interbike, and all the dealers were laughing, ‘Oh my god! It’s like a toilet seat!’”

But there was instant customer acceptance of that saddle. “They saw it and knew it would work for them. It didn’t work for everybody but it worked for a lot of people,” Paula says.

“This feature [the big opening in the middle] is to virtually eliminate any pressure to the perineum [the area with the most delicate tissues],” Alessandro says. “All women are very sensitive to the pressure in that area, but, even more, mothers who have delivered their babies naturally and could have scar issue that is prone to getting irritated.”

Though many brands have played around with the size of the cutaway, the really important things are the placement (in terms of fore and aft) and flexibility. “You need a certain amount of variability so it’s not a static environment where you’re stuck in one position,” Paula says. “You want comfort no matter your position.”

womensadventuremagazine.com

w Tech Talk The bottom line is: Choose a saddle with a relief cut away. “It’s such a critical and wonderful comfort feature that we put it in everything now, just about,” Paula says.

Don’t equate having more material with happier private parts. “A big saddle doesn’t mean a comfortable saddle,” Paula of Terry Bicycles says.

What To Look For In A Women’s Saddle We women are physiologically and anatomically different from men. Men are very sensitive but their discomfort tends to be more toward the back of the saddle. Women tend to have more front-of-saddle discomfort, so the saddle should relieve that area as much as possible. “The concept here for women is that your weight is supported by your sit bones and not by your soft tissue area,” Paula says. The aim is to get all the weight and pressure off your tissues but not have a saddle that’s so soft that you sink into it and have even pressure everywhere.

“When I first started with the company, Georgina [the founder of Terry Bicycles] had the only women’s sports saddle in the market,” Paula remembers. “She’s really sensitive to the issues women were facing. Women were riding bikes that were way too big for them; they were so stretched out that it put more pressure on them.” Women complained about discomfort at the front of the saddle, so Georgina cut a hole in the plastic at the bottom of the saddle to release pressure in the front. “A lot of people were made more comfortable by that seemingly insignificant change,” Paula says.

Now, the brand’s most popular women’s saddle to date is the Butterfly. “It’s fairly wide,” Paula says. The reason being that the difference between men and women’s sit bones, in general, are about a half inch. Women’s are half an inch wider. A woman’s pelvis is also more U-shaped and the placement of the cutaway is the key to making it more comfortable.

Another important factor in determining the correct saddle is finding the angle of your pelvis while you are riding. “This is referred to as pelvic tilt,” Abby says. For the most part, women fall into one of two categories—upright pelvic tilt and forward pelvic tilt. Evaluating overall flexibility is the easiest way to determine which type of pelvic tilt you have. “If you are naturally very flexible—for example, you can touch your nose to your knees when you reach down to touch your toes—then you most likely have an upright pelvic tilt when riding a bike. If you are less flexible—for example, you may be able to touch your toes but don’t bend in half like a pretzel— then you most likely have a forward pelvic tilt when riding a bike,” Abby explains.

The upright pelvic tilt group makes the most contact with the saddle on their sit bones and the

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forward pelvic tilt group will make more contact with the pelvic bone. If you have an upright tilt, you’ll need a saddle with increased padding where the sit bones make contact with the saddle. If your pelvis has a forward tilt, your ideal saddle has a wider and deeper central depression to make room for soft tissue and to decrease the possibility for chafing.

Your clothing matters, too. “It is important to find a comfortable chamois with the right amount of padding,” Abby says. “Ultimately, choosing a saddle and shorts that work comfortably can require some trial and error and an understanding that every woman is different.”

How Bike Type Factors Into Saddle Choice “The type of bike affects the choice of saddle,” Alessandro says, “because ultimately the rider’s position could be different.”

Simply put, Paula says, “If you’re on a comfort bike, you will need a wider rear [portion of the saddle]. More hardcore riders like a narrower saddle and one that allows them to feel the road easier and move around, fore and aft. Mountain bikers really need a narrower rear so they can move back.”

There are saddle choices for every ride style and each is different. For example, Terry Bicycles has 15 unique models. Alessandro says SMP, the brand he reps, has around 17 different saddles, and Liv/giant also has several models, though their brand philosophy is a bit different.

“Liv/giant’s research shows that, for the most part, a woman’s pelvis is in a very similar position no matter what bike she is riding,” Abby explains. “The exception is a triathlete who may be in an extreme aero position for long periods

of time. In general, the saddle that is the most comfortable for a woman on her road bike will also be the best choice for her mountain bike, commuter, and town bike.”

Bicycle seats are made from a variety of materials but the amount of foam you need depends on how much you ride and how much you stand up when riding. Distance riders will probably need a decent amount of foam. “A little gel on top is a good option for super long distances, too, if you’re not a weight nazi.”

But, don’t equate having more material with happier private parts. “A big saddle doesn’t mean a comfortable saddle,” Paula clarifies. “A lot of cushion can feel good for about 20 minutes. But then you sink into it and will start to squirm.”

Shoot for a seat with a supportive rear, a relieved front, and a narrow enough mid-section that you’re not getting into a chafing situation and not feeling like you’re being spread apart.

“On super narrow saddles you can get the impression that there’s something trying to separate your sit bones,” Paula says. “A little bit of a recession in the middle gives women a platform of stability and support. That too, tends to be the best environment.”

The Bottom Line “Saddle testing is worth the effort,” Paula says.

“Don’t get discouraged. The right saddle will become the one you won’t even remember after the ride.”

Most of all, keep in mind that each woman is unique and every rider’s fit is different. If you are experiencing long-term pain, bruising, or severe chaffing it’s time to find another saddle. “It is like playing Goldilocks,” Abby says. “Don’t settle until you find the fit that is ‘just right.’”

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w Tech Talk

Camp Hygiene Keep Feeling (and Smelling) Like Your Best Self in the Backcountry

By Jennifer C. Olson

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self-proclaimed travel hound with a gypsy soul, healthy hoohoo founder Stacy Lyon recalls this particularly un-fun backcountry hygiene issue, which inspired her company. “It was on a Himalayan trek to Kala Pattar, near the base camp of Everest,” Stacy says, “that I learned—the uncomfortable way—about bringing the correct wipes with you on a long, shower-less journey. Thinking that, if I used feminine wipes, I would feel clean and fresh enough to last almost two weeks without a shower, I unfortunately discovered that mass-marketed hygiene products are laden with harsh chemicals that can cause irritation.”

That led to what she calls “an annoying distraction from my most excellent adventure,” but she used that memory as motivation to create her brand of gentler feminine wipes.

Stacy’s funniest travel hygiene memory was made in Bhutan. “While trying to maneuver myself over a hole in the ground community ‘toilet,’ I dropped my sunglasses. I let out a howl that made my husband come running,” she remembers. “He had a good laugh while watching me ‘sanitize’ my Ray Bans!”

Our next camp hygiene expert, Rosielani Enos, co-owns an outdoor leadership and lightweight backpacking guide company called Roam the Woods (roamthewoods.com). While instructing a course on the Appalachian Trail last year, Rosie had her most unpleasant in-camp experience yet. “I had just gotten over the Norovirus [that wrecks havoc on your system like the flu or food poisoning would], which was spreading rapidly on the trail. Thankfully, I was reunited with my group and in high spirits,” she says. “That night, as I was setting up my tent, I stepped in human poop. It was right in the middle of camp and conveniently right where I had decided to set up my tent!” She wiped down her tent and shoes with some Clorox wipes she had on hand, which appeased her mentally, at least.

“Nothing feels better at the end of the day than soaking your feet in some cold creek water or taking a dip in a pond when your near water,” Rosie says, offering Women’s Adventure more camp hygiene tips, most of which she developed based on her own experiences.

What to consider when planning your outdoor hygiene routine “I think it’s important to consider just how remote you’ll be and what time of the month it is for your cycle,” Stacy says. “If I’m headed for a wilderness adventure—no running water, toilets, or trash disposal—I’ll pack differently than if I’ll be near facilities. Also, if you’re traveling to a foreign country, I highly recommend bringing supplies from home. I call them ‘period packs,’” she says, suggesting you include applicator-free tampons or a menstrual cup, Advil, and chocolate.

“Hydration is key to staying healthy, even down there,” Stacy says, referring to your female parts, which is why she suggests drinking all day long.

Whether going out for one day or multiple days, be prepared to be use the bathroom in the outdoors. “Our body functions a little bit more efficiently with consistent exercise,” Rosie says, “so ensure you have some way to dig a cat hole and clean yourself. For example, on a multi-day cycling trip, you will probably decide to carry a couple chamois so you can change into a clean one each day; on a multi-day mountaineering trip, you may be 20

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required to carry a wag bag or a ‘blue’ bag, in which you carry your solid waste out of the backcountry; and, on a paddling trip, you may bring along a Go Girl—a brand of female urinary device—to make peeing a little bit easier and fun, too!” Female urinary devices (FUDs) help you pee standing up, which Rosie says can be very convenient on water-based trips.

Recommended hygiene practices when camping and backpacking “It really makes for a much more enjoyable excursion if you get into a morning hygiene routine,” Stacy says. “No matter how cold, wet, or inconvenient, get into the habit of brushing your teeth, washing your face, and wiping your crotch. In the evenings, wipe your pits and rinse out your undies.”

“When traveling with a group, we women tend to put ourselves last so as not to inconvenience others, but make sure you make the time to take care of yourself,” Rosie says. “We had a participant once walk a mile with a toothbrush in her shoe, because she didn’t want to hold up the group.

Definitely listen to your body; it’s the best present we can give ourselves.”

Become familiar with and practice Leave No Trace principles. “Not only will it help you with good hygiene in the wild, it will help you become a better outdoor steward,” Rosie says. “Disposing of your waste properly is a good principle to start with, because it’s paramount to good hygiene in the wild.

“There are no lines to the ladies room out here. Make sure you are away from the trail and water before you squat to pee” Rosie instructs. “Leave No Trace can differ slightly depending on the environment and activity. For example, in a high-volume river while canoeing or kayaking, peeing in the river may be the best practice.”

Rosie suggests carrying what she calls a dab rag. Instead of drip-drying or using toilet paper, use and pack out a dab rag—a.k.a. the pee rag. “A cotton bandana works well as a dab rag, due to its absorbency, not to mention you have a multitude of color choices!” she says, making peeing sound way more exciting than anyone ever quoted in Women’s Adventure magazine.

This method works best in dry environments because you should allow your dab rag to air-dry after every use. Tie it on the outside of your backpack while hiking so it will get direct sunlight, she suggests. “As long you are staying hydrated and drying out your rag, there will be no smell. You can also rinse it out daily and then air dry.”

Trimming your pubic hair will help you stay cleaner and cooler out in the woods, Rosie says. “This also makes tick checks easier.

“Although intimidating at first, pooping outside can be liberating, plus you can’t beat the views,” Rosie says. Find a nice spot 200 feet away from trails, camp, and water sources, then dig a cat hole that’s six to eight inches deep and “wide enough to aim properly.” Dig your cat hole with a sturdy trowel that packs down small.

Ideally, toilet paper should be packed out. “Double-bag it in Ziploc freezer bags or substitute one of the freezer bags for a dog waste bag for more privacy,” Rosie suggests. “Per Leave No Trace, if this is not possible, use as little toilet paper as possible and bury it deep in the cat hole to prevent the toilet paper from surfacing.” womensadventuremagazine.com

Tech Talk

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Products We Love When done, cover your deposit well to ensure no one finds any hidden surprises. “These are not good surprises!” Rosie would know.

“Always bring something to deal with your period, even if you are not expecting your period,” Rosie says. “From my experience, our bodies can sync with other women’s cycles, throwing your normal schedule off.”

When you’re on your period in the woods, handle it as you normally would. “First, forget about the bears being attracted to menstruating women,” Rosie says. “It is just a myth. Following standard bear precautions are a must, though, as bears could be pre-disposed to viewing your period trash as food if it’s not stored properly.”

Be mindful of your hygienic footprint, too, Stacy says. “Please do not leave applicators or non-biodegradable products behind.” Pack out all menstrual trash. The menstrual cup is also a good option for day trips or extended backpacking trips. It can be worn for longer (up to 12 hours) and is less messy than conventional pads and tampons. The menstrual waste from a cup should be disposed of in a cat hole.

Wash your hands often—after using the bathroom and before eating.

“Bring hand sanitizer at the very least,” Rosie says. “Having a small amount of biodegradable soap to get some proper hand washing can be important as well.”

To that note, avoid sharing food that others have touched. “Although the gal with the candy bar may be your best friend, sanitation may not be as important to her, and that mint dark chocolate may not be worth a long night of uncontrollable vomiting and/or diarrhea.”

No matter how long you’re in the woods, always bring a way to treat your water. “Even if you are out on a day-long adventure, it may be a good idea to have some way to make your water potable.”

Another good idea is hiking in a skirt. “Try it! You might love it,” Rosie says. “Skirts are great because they allow everything to breathe. They also get bonus points for providing some extra coverage when you pee and when you need to change!” She suggests wearing a compression-style short in lieu of underwear under your skirt to help prevent chafing.

Almost everyone encounters chafing at some point, especially on the thighs, around the underwear line, under the arms, and around your sports bra. So carry a small amount of anti-chafing product. Body Glide is a great preventive product, while diaper rash care products like Desitin and Butt Paste can be used in the same fashion and are also good to use once chafing has begun. “They also work well for ‘cookie butt’ or ‘itchy butt,’” Rosie says.

“Both can stem from sweating a lot or being wet for days on end.”

If you do chafe, keep the area clean and apply triple antibiotic ointment to speed the healing process.

Products or ingredients to avoid “Something we always get questions about is Dr. Bronner’s Soap,” Rosie says. “People think that, because it’s biodegradable, it’s okay to wash with the soap in a creek or stream. It’s always a good practice to wash 200 feet away from these sources when using soap. Even something biodegradable will change the ecosystem of your waterway.”

Avoid products with alcohol in them to clean your private parts, as it can kill both the good and bad bacteria.

“Less is more!” Stacy says. “Your vagina is truly a self-cleaning oven. You only need to wash the vulvular area where sweat and bacteria accumulate.”

Give your skin a vacation and avoid bringing loads of beauty products, Stacy suggests. “Drink plenty of water, eat well, wash with mild products, wear natural fiber underwear, and don’t forget your sunscreen.”

The pros favorite beauty and hygiene routines in the wild

• healthy hoohoo Natural Feminine Wipes. “For shorter journeys, when I can carry more, I use healthy hoohoo biodegradable natural wipes!” $4.79 (10-pack); healthyhoohoo.com • Action Wipes 30-Sheet Soft Pack.

Pre-moistened, all-natural body wipes (9 by 10-inches) with tea tree and eucalyptus oils and other plant-derived ingredients. $24.99; ActionWipes.com • The V Book, by Elizabeth G. Stewart and Paula Spencer. “It’s on my reading list in 2014,” Rosie says, “and was recommended to me by other female long-distance backpackers.

It helps you understand your body, specifically your ‘V,’ and will help you spot abnormalities early on, preventing bigger problems.” thevbook.com • The Scrubba Wash Bag. Toss your filthy clothes in with a little soap and water, swish them around for a few minutes, and pull out clothes as clean as they would be after a cycle in the machine at home. $64.95; thescrubba.com

“When backpacking and paddling, I have a little morning routine that helps me stay clean and healthy,” Stacy says. “After breakfast, I use a small towel and some hot water to wash my face then wipe my vulva—the outside bits that contain sweat glands. I rinse the cloth with remaining hot water, wring-out, and store in a little Ziploc bag. If can find a warm, dry spot, I lay the cloth out in the sun to let it dry during the day.”

Stacy uses this same cloth to wipe her armpits after a long day. “But be prepared to wash your cloth with a little soap and super hot water or you’ll have one nasty washcloth after a few days!”

Rosie gives herself a sponge bath every night. “The build-up of salt from sweating all day will increase the likelihood of chafing,” she says. “Salt plus dirt plus friction equals chafing. Make sure to wipe the places where you sweat the most. If you want an extra pick-me-up, use some warm water for this process. After a long day, this will feel luxurious.”

Rosie discourages Roam the Woods backpackers from carrying makeup kits. “We encourage our participants to embrace everything the outdoors has to offer,” she says. “Sometimes the dirt brings a lot more confidence than makeup ever could!”

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New Travel Section

We’re going places and bringing you along for the ride

By Robin Enright

The role of Travel Editor with Women’s Adventure magazine is a dream come true for me as a writer who enjoys exploring new places and spaces and is committed to inspiring others to get out there and live their own adventure. I want to share more than where to go; I want you to feel the spaces we write about in the travel section.

New in this issue is our fresh and revamped travel section that we hope will not only keep you in the know, as it relates to all things travel, but also will make you feel like you are right there with us experiencing the places we visit. In addition, we’re adding a department where you’ll have an opportunity to tell us your own story of a travel experience gone awry (see “Disaster Detours” on page 27).

This issue’s introductory travel section debuts our new departments: “Journeys,” which will this time spotlight a hut-to-hut adventure in the forest of Maine’s lush Carrabassett Valley; “Not a Tourist,” which will tell the story of a woman’s personal growth in Ghana; “Urban Adventure,” a column devoted to ways travelers can experience the outdoors in urban settings and which will feature Boston this go-round; “Travel Hack,” which will cover apps, gear, and tips to improve your travel experience; and “Disaster Detour,” which will tell the story of Leonie Bronwyn Foy who was in the midst of backpacking the John Muir Trail in the High Sierra Nevada mountains when her boyfriend injured his knee and was airlifted to safety, unexpectedly leaving her to complete the hike alone.

I hope you will reach out and share your impressions of our new section, ask questions, and suggest spots or adventures you’re curious about and would like to see us cover. We are actively seeking interviews with you or someone you know who has a Disaster Detour story to share. If you want to share how you solved a potential travel disaster, please send me a note at robin@womensadventuremagazine.com. If your idea seems like a good match, I’ll reach back!

Here’s hoping you enjoy the revamped Women’s Adventure magazine Travel Section and find the inspiration to take a leap into your own unique adventure.

Adventure on!

Robin, Women’s Adventure Travel Editor 22

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womensadventuremagazine.com

Not A Tourist: The Personal Experience in Travel

travel

The Universal Village of Women Discovering Sisterhood in Ghana

By Robin Enright

ROBIN ENRIGHT

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circle of women are dancing underneath a mahogany tree, undulating freely, clapping their hands and stamping their feet in the red dusty dirt, wearing bright, beautiful, hand-made batik outfits with wrapped turbans on top of their majestic heads. The Ghanian women in Kologu, a village in northern Ghana, have features that sing of eternity. Deep and dark crevasses outline their eyes and there is an ethereal beauty in their movement that eerily balances me between the present moment experiencing their lives in a village without plumbing and minimal electricity, where the schoolrooms burst at eighty students per room without any windows to open and close, and my contemporary life in Colorado, where I can turn on air conditioning should I get too hot, or let the tap run until the water is warm enough for my shower.

I am in Ghana as a journalist and photographer compliments of Routes to Africa (routestoafrica.org), a nonprofit that my dear friend Chris Bierbrier founded to help improve the lives of children in Bolgatanga by providing them with a secondary education. To date, 24 students have matriculated thanks to her efforts.

I have spent most of this trip shell-shocked and destabilized. I am also embarrassed. I left my hometown of Boulder excited and ready to strike out on an adventure and embrace a new experience. I left to the sounds of friends and family saying, “Have a great time,” and instead all I’ve done is wish for home. I feel lost here without my usual routine, comforts, and connections.

We arrived via car, accompanied by our host, Donald Amuah, who is Chris’s contact in northern Ghana. We have spent the day visiting students who have directly benefited from the efforts of Routes to Africa and touring Donald’s homestead in Kologu. Donald is the respected elder of the village, and the man whom villagers turn to for advice.

As we step from the SUV, the women’s celebratory mood intensifies and, when we move toward them, I am grateful for my oversized sunglasses because I am startled to tears by the joy in the air for reasons I continue striving to emotionally unpack and understand. I longed to climb the magnificent and gnarly mahogany tree in front of me to observe unencumbered, to not be a part of this at all, wishing I was invisible, and I begin to see that this is a large part of who I am, what I am—this woman who does not always jump in with abandon and who needs to watch, understand, and feel safe before she can participate, though she wishes she could just let go and stop fighting herself. I do sometimes feel I fight against myself, perhaps against my authentic soul, the part of me who longs to put on a colorful skirt and sway her hips and sing to strangers while looking into their eyes without fear. I remember how I took salsa lessons after my marriage collapsed and how my instructor would implore me to “feel the music, just feel the lovely rhythm,” and how I was only able to do that in the privacy of my own home unencumbered by another’s expectation or observance.

The women carry two plastic chairs over their heads toward us and place them on the dusty and tree root-covered ground and gesture for us to sit.

They continue to dance, their song slowly fading, before the greetings begin once again as they come to us one-by-one and graciously bow, taking our hands in theirs as they smile. My body rebels against remaining seated as they stand and make their way around us, feeling that this greeting is subservient and an undeserved gift, but it is the way respect and welcome are demonstrated in the northern part of Ghana. One woman—her face lined with canyons and punctuated with crooked and damaged teeth but her eyes

playfully sparkling—points to the blue beaded bracelet on my right wrist. I cannot understand what she is saying, but she motions over and over again and I become concerned that I have somehow offended her with my jewelry choice. I wear blue beads around my wrist for the tactile comfort they provide, and cannot understand why this concerns her until I turn to Donald, and ask, “What is she saying? I don’t understand,” and he speaks to her in their native dialect and then turns to me with a smile. “My sister is saying she likes your bracelet and you should give it to her,” he says. “She is joking with you.” I am relieved. I smile at her and I do not give her my bracelet— though, today as I write this, I wish I had.

But like so many of my moments in Africa, I am caught off guard, my processing power slowed and my ability to respond delayed and, as I will discover when I return home, I walk through most of this experience in culture shock, in a bit of other-worldly drift, not feeling the ground beneath my feet. I sense the reality of death here, and it’s not due to the physical struggles I see everywhere, struggles that at home are effortless and thoughtless privileges, like transportation, WiFi, trash disposal, clean water, or hygiene. I feel in many ways that I have died here, knowing that who I was before this trip is gone. I have been stripped of creature comforts and familiar people and the ease of my life, and this has had the unexpected result WAM • SPRING | 2014

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travel Not a Tourist: The Personal Experience in Travel of breaking me, and I am without the things I might utilize to self-soothe: my bike, yoga, a run, browsing Facebook, my boyfriend’s voice, a drive into the mountains at dusk. I cannot turn away from my discomfort. I fight it, I hold it in, but I cannot turn away. There is no place to go.

Powerful experiences come from a shedding, or a breaking. Ghana is breaking me and I think that perhaps this has been a long time coming and perhaps this is what an open heart does, it lets in pain so that it can also fully feel joy. This is frightening, and I question whether the life I have at home really exists and will still be there when I return. I want to run away, and this makes me feel like a coward, an impostor or someone without the grit to do the truly hard life work, the work I long to do, and make the changes I desire to make, to “leave a dent in the universe” as the result of my existence.

The women sit then and one by one more introductions are made and we are told of their individual roles in this assembly and they smile with pride as they speak and I begin snapping pictures of them, shifting into my role as observer. I see women with broad smiles and strong faces, children coyly flirting with me and quietly begging me to aim my camera lens at them, and the air is buoyant with hope and gratitude but I feel unworthy of receiving this bounty.

I begin to find a sliver of beauty and comfort here. Until now, I have been neck-deep in dismay, dismantled and disoriented by the distance from my beautiful life, and finding that I am not as tough as I thought I was.

I see brilliant colors, chiseled cheekbones, and eyes that reflect the wisdom of the universe. I am not certain if I am making that up or romanticizing reality but, in this one single moment as I snap photos, it really doesn’t matter. I find myself comfortable behind the lens of my camera, which allows me to distance myself from the confusing chaos of my own emotions for a moment. It allows me to be present. It allows me to be a part of the community of women of Ghana. I do not belong here but, for the briefest of seconds, this does not matter. I am in the company of women. And then it hits me, with a stinging slap, why I am fighting tears. � This sisterhood—this female gathering and invitation to belong—is a rarity in my experience with women.

My female friends are treasures, but they are individuals scattered all over the world and not to be found in any one group. I have no village and, if I struggle, there is no ready resource to help me sort out what to do next. I remember how easily I isolated myself inside my suburban home when going through my divorce almost eight years ago, and I remember how most of my female friends were pre-occupied with their own families. I remember how I hid my pain and embarrassment and think about how that would not be possible here. Here, everything is shared—joy, sadness, and the desire

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for a better life. My life is rich but not as rich in the gathering of women as I would like.

I am envious of this village and, in this moment, as much as I long to be back home, I also long to lie myself down on the scruffy ground, close my eyes, and allow myself to be comforted by these strangers in my midst.

I, of course, do none of that. But I do take home this feeling of loss and this gnawing awareness that, while I might have more material goods than these women, I am missing something else. I remember my childhood—being raised by my mother and her five sisters and my two grandmothers— and, for the first time in a very long time, begin to appreciate how much I miss that world of women.

It is a village I need. In the month’s following, I consider how I might build such a thing for myself.

We travel great distances for as many reasons as there are people, but what many of us seem to find in the most unusual of spaces is a piece of ourselves we had mislaid, forgotten, or ignored. When we are especially fortunate, we return home with that part ready to be unwrapped a bit more so we can return to who we are. We travel great distances with open hearts.

We return home wondering how to help them remain open.

womensadventuremagazine.com

Travel Hack

travel

Miles That Will Move You Reward yourself for loyalty

By Robin Enright

T

here are countless airline frequent flyer or credit card mile programs to choose from, but many of them have so many restrictions to overcome before taking advantage that travelers either opt out or ignore what can be a great opportunity to save on travel. The key is finding the mileage or point program that works for you, and this edition’s Travel Hack department explores two rewards programs* that are worth exploring and might just help enhance your travel experiences.

American Express Platinum Card

NEW BRUNSWICK TOURISM

Some clubs are worth the hefty entry fee, and the annual fee for an American Express Platinum credit card is steep at $450, but frequent travelers will get at least that equivalent in benefits with this work-for-you credit card.

If you are the type of traveler who pays off your card in full every month, the AMEX Platinum might be perfect for you. Following is a partial list of benefits: • My personal favorite: Access to more than 600 VIP lounges. Once you begin to take advantage of airport lounges, hanging at the gate will feel like slumming.

• International travelers receive a free application to Global Entry, which will speed you through customs.

• An annual airline credit fee of $200. You pick the airline and the credit will be applied automatically toward baggage fees, seat upgrades, etc.

• Accumulate one point for each dollar you spend and an additional point per dollar when you book travel on the AMEX website.

• No foreign transaction fees.

• 24/7 travel assistance is provided to all Platinum card members.

• Upgrades and discounts on car rentals.

• This card is a no-brainer for the frequent business traveler, because points add up quickly. I’ve used my points to rent cars, fly, and book hotels.

Plus, I have enjoyed automatic upgrades from time to time.

Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards

Southwest Airlines has come a long way from the days when the airline was perceived as a cattle call with their numeric boarding system. Frequent travelers get the preflight system down pat quickly and understand how to take full advantage of Rapid Reward Miles. Some of the Rapid Rewards program advantages: • • • •

Miles that don’t expire. Ever.

No blackout dates or limited seat selection when using points.

Earn one point for every dollar you spend on Southwest flights.

Take advantage and apply for a Chase Southwest Visa card during one of their promotions and earn even more miles. Past promotions have included two roundtrip flights and 50,000 miles after your first purchase for new cardholders. There are two options with either a $69 or $99 annual fee, depending on which tier best meets your needs.

• Cardholders receive two points per dollar spent booking flights and one point per dollar on other purchases when using the card.

• One of the best benefits of traveling Southwest Airlines is the ability to change flights at any time without a fee and receive a credit or refund, depending on which fare you book. *These rewards were current as we went to print. Interested travelers should check with Southwest and American Express for updated benefits.

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travel Journeys: Feel Like You Were There

Multi-Day Mountain Bike Trek Experience a Hut-to-Hut Adventure in Maine

By Robin Enright

Going Hut-to-Hut

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magine yourself on paths lined with maple, elm, and poplar trees, with the pungent and sweet smell of mulching leaves in the woods, a view from water-front huts, and a trail system that has something for every level of adventurer with days that end beneath star-bright skies without artificial light to diffuse their brilliance. Such a spot beckoned, and we heralded the call. How could we ignore exploring a place so rich?

Maine might not come readily to mind as a top tier destination for mountain biking, hiking, fishing, and kayaking, but—thanks to the 80mile Maine Huts and Trails system in the Carrabassett Valley, or Sugarloaf region—that is certain to change. Sugarloaf is a popular ski area well known to New Englander’s for its snow sports, but its recreational popularity in all seasons is just beginning to hit its stride. Cyclists and hikers are led on an adventure through tree-laden forests via both single- and double-track trails with days that end inside cozy huts. Visitors can either opt to hike from hut to hut or, if they desire to just visit one, park at the closest trailhead and hike into it. As guests of Maine Huts and Trails (mainehuts.org), my boyfriend and I explored the trails and huts in early September, in between summer’s last ditch attempt to hold on and fall’s imminent arrival. A New England girl at heart, now living in Boulder, Colorado, I was delighted to see the subtle beginning of color change on a few trees.

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Our journey involved one night at Stratton Brook Hut, two nights at Poplar, and finished with a night at Flagstaff Hut. Maine Huts and Trails huts are likely to be somewhat of a luxurious surprise for anyone who has had other hut experiences. The four huts are lodge-like despite their remote locations. Hot, family-style meals are prepared by talented crew cooks at the conclusion of your outdoor adventure day and beer and wine are available for sale, making the evening downright decadent for a hut. To top it off, there are showers and a drying room for the inevitable wet weather. The rooms are simple, but roomy and comfortable—you can even rent a private one! Mornings begin with the scent of coffee mingled with outside air and a hearty breakfast shared at a long table with other guests, and lunch is ready to go if you want to get a start immediately after breakfast. Each hut has a common area or living room complete with books and games, plus cozy couches and chairs to relax in before dinner or on a lazy rainy morning. Two huts—Flagstaff and Grand Falls—have lake access, where kayaks and canoes are available, making this a fantastic multi-sport option.

One of the wonderful things about Maine’s trail network is the terrain versatility so everyone can enjoy what they love here. This stems directly from the system’s design to reach out to youth and encourage families to get off the couch, get outside, and explore. Depending on a family or individual’s level of physical fitness or desire, rides or hikes can be relaxing and gentle or provide for a bit more of an adrenaline rush. It’s all about what experience you want to have. Though we explored the huts on mountain bikes, hiking or skiing in the forest could just as easily satisfied my yearning for a woodsy outdoor adventure.

The four huts are in place thanks to a vision a man named Larry Warren had about 20 years ago. He conceived of the idea and then sold it to his fellow board members, proving that dreams do come true. Poplar Hut was the first of the Maine Huts and Trails huts to be built in 2007 followed by Flagstaff in 2008, Grand Falls in 2011, and Stratton Brook in 2012. The eventual goal is to add eight more huts for a total of 12 and connect the Mahoosuc Range to Moosehead Lake with a trail stretching 180 miles across Maine, to create a people-powered recreational corridor. Maine Huts and Trails is a nonprofit organization centered around the goals of regional economic development and a desire to provide programming for youth. Thanks to the growing popularity of these four huts, the board is taking a moment to catch its breath to develop and stabilize the business model so it will continue to be self-supporting. Land acquisition is handled by easements, gifts, and fees.

All huts have been built with sustainability in mind and each lodge boosts impressive systems to either keep them off grid or minimize the impact on the environment. If you go, you can take a tour of the hut energy infrastructure, and I would strongly encourage you to participate and see solar power, a powerful wood-burning stove in operation, and composting toilets. The kids will enjoy this too, given the opportunity they will have to see what happens to their poop once it leaves the composting toilets. Kids will be kids, after all.

womensadventuremagazine.com

Journeys: Feel Like You Were There

travel

If you plan to fly, you have a few choices …

• Fly into Portland, Maine, and drive the roughly two hours to the trailhead.

• Fly into Boston and drive the four hours to Campbell Field Trailhead, even combining your Maine adventure with this issue’s Urban Adventure (page 28).

Tips for you, based on my experience

As a beginner mountain biker, I have ridden trails in Moab, Fruita, Crested Butte, and Boulder, and the trails of Maine were a fantastic compliment to my growing repertoire of terrain. The more technical trails I ventured on produced giggles as I attempted tight turns on packed dirt, and rock-laden heavily rooted paths. For this trip, I was on a hard tail Trek, a rental bike picked up at Carrabasset Valley Bike, which was a tad different from my own full suspension bike. Aside from the first three miles I spent getting used to balancing my pack while riding my bike, one key benefit of my rental was discovering that the seat on my own bike back home was set far too high. Dropping my rear behind the seat on descents became second nature on this bike, something I had found a bit too challenging on my other set of wheels.

In terms of our other gear, we quickly realized we had brought along more than we needed. Both somewhat experienced with hut trips, we came prepared for more of a self-supported and less comfortable journey. Things we didn’t need: snacks and extra clothing in the event of rain (remember they have a drying room). We also instantly learned the value of the right pack for a cycling adventure. While we brought our cell phones, service is iffy and we opted to disconnect from the rest of the world, which I highly recommend.

Whether you hike or bike, be sure you have the right pack and test it ahead of time. I wore my 32-liter backpack—fantastic but not optimal for mountain biking thanks to its top compartment, which bumped into the base Packing: of my helmet as I rode. There are plans to Try out your pack (or frame bag) for a few provide gear shuttles eventually for those miles on a ride before you go. who don’t want to be bogged down with • Keep the weight of your pack to a the weight of a pack. minimum and, if you are doing a multi-day Put Maine on your bucket list. You adventure on a bike, drop your pack at the won’t be disappointed. Personally, we hut before heading out again to explore can’t wait to return and enjoy the hut without weight. system in the winter!

• Bring only the bare minimum in terms of clothing. There’s a drying room, remember?

• Bring only cosmetics that do double duty (i.e. moisturizing sunblock, Dr. Bronner’s Magic Pure Castile Soap, and mineral tint lip balm with SPF) to lighten your load.

• Bring a small towel to take advantage of the shower.

• Bringing a map and compass is recommended. Trails are not all well marked.

• Unless you bring your own, rent a bike from Carrabassett Valley Bike, three miles from Stratton Brook Hut. Reservations are recommended.

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travel Urban Adventure

Boston’s Great Outdoors Make the most of business or family travel and discover nature in the city

By Robin Enright

ities can cause a bit of claustrophobia for outdoor adventurers who may feel like they are locked up in an urban zoo. But, often, all one has to do to find an urban outdoor adventure is a little research. Many cities have jewels within their midst for outdoor lovers and our Urban Adventure section will help you find the outdoors in cities across the country so you can get your fresh air groove on wherever you travel. This month we spotlight Boston in honor of the Boston Marathon on April 21.

C

Walden Pond

Marathon Route

Fresh Pond Loop

Get a head start on the marathon and take advantage of less motor traffic on the route by riding part (or all) of the 26.2-mile marathon course on your bike on race day. Grab the best viewing spot after experiencing Heartbreak Hill on two wheels. Be sure you check with local event coverage to learn when you must be off the course, and adhere to the rules. Begin at the finish line and ride west or start in Hopkington and travel the route east. Rent a bike at Urban Adventours on Atlantic Avenue.

Minuteman Bikeway

Grab a HubCycle, bring your roller blades, or run and walk from Cambridge to Bedford on the Minuteman Bikeway and explore communities west of the city without worrying about traffic or getting lost. The Bikeway is a relaxing and mostly flat paved path with multiple opportunities to stop for lunch or a cup of coffee along the 11-mile tree-lined trail.

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Not in the city but shouldn’t be missed if you have the time, this historic and picturesque pond in Concord is a mere 15 miles from Boston and well worth the drive to get a flavor of this 1.5-mile, packed dirt loop around the water. Extend the walk on any of the multiple trails and feel like you are channeling your very own Henry David Thoreau sense of solitude before you head back into the exciting bustle of the city.

Visitors to the Somerville Cambridge area have the opportunity for a wellmarked and pretty run on a paved path along the Fresh Pond, which is 2.5 miles and hugs the water. The loop is easily accessible on foot from the Somerville area or via the MBTA (get off at Alewife).

Harborwalk

Boston’s 38-mile Harborwalk will provide any visitor from a land-locked state with a full-on ocean fix. Enjoy a relaxing stroll or heart-thumping run along piers, wharfs, the shoreline. The walk provides an opportunity to explore the seaport and coastline of Boston Harbor and spots to stop and grab a cup of chowder. Restaurants to consider include The Daily Catch and the Barking Crab on Sleeper Street. If you add the Freedom Trail to your walk, don’t miss the experience of a visit to Boston’s oldest restaurant, Union Oyster House on Union Street.

womensadventuremagazine.com

Disaster Detour

travel

Unexpectedly Solo on the John Muir Trail

How one woman handled being abandoned in the High Sierras

By Robin Enright

W

hen Leonie Bronwyn Foy agreed to accompany her boyfriend, Bill Luisi, on the 250 miles from Yosemite Valley to Mt. Whitney, it was to cross the adventure off her boyfriend’s bucket list, not her own. Leonie, a native New Englander, was no stranger to backpacking experiences, but this was her first with Bill, whom she had known for three years. She had recently crossed Mt. Kilimanjaro off her personal list, but that trip had been a supported climb and this one would be self-supported, with all the necessary gear being shared between the two of them.

While the couple, both in their early sixties, shared the inevitable aches and pains of a multi-day backpacking adventure with blisters, sore feet, and a pulled quadricep muscle for Leonie, Bill’s knee injury was one they eventually could not ignore. The knee began swelling, became more painful and felt like it was collapsing, making the ascents and descents of the trail treacherous and eventually leading to the conclusion that Bill could not continue and was in need of rescue when they were 15 days and 180 miles into the hike.

Fortunately, the pair was hiking with a SPOT! GPS transponder that, when activated, sent a signal and worked as an SOS. After they activated it, they set up their tent in cold and blustery winds next to a grassy alpine area near a lake at 11,500 feet, just above treeline. About two hours after sending the signal, they heard a helicopter in the distance and jumped out of the tent to wave their arms around to identify themselves.

The tiny helicopter contained three people from the King’s Canyon Sequoia National Park Service who immediately began to assess Bill’s condition and ask questions about his weight and the weight of his pack. Leonie waited patiently for them to ask her the same, but instead received the news that the helicopter would not be transporting her as well, that there was only space for one patient. Even worse, the helicopter had to take off quickly for another emergency, not leaving much time for Leonie and Bill to reshuffle their packs. In the panicked moments that followed, the couple had mere moments to determine what Leonie would need to safely complete her hike over the next two days since they had not duplicated supplies when they set out in an effort to keep their packs as light as possible.

Adding insult to injury, as the helicopter lifted Bill on his way to safety, the wind from the blades combined with the winds from an approaching storm made their tent airborne and Leonie was forced into quick action.

When she finally secured the tent, soaking wet now, she sat inside the wet tent shaking, the events of the last few moments sinking in at last.

This is where Leonie’s years of experience did battle with her emotions and forced her fear to take a back seat to the gathering of her wits. It had never occurred to either Bill or Leonie that one of them might be left behind in the event of injury and though Leonie was an experienced hiker, she felt unprepared and abandoned.

Full disclosure here: Leonie has been a friend of mine for almost seven years and we have backpacked the Presidential Range together in New Hampshire’s White Mountains twice. When we got caught in intense fog and 80 mph gusts between Mt. Adams and Mt. Madison on our way to our final hut in 2009, Leonie was the one who nimbly led the way across barely decipherable trails above treeline and gave me the mental slap I needed to avoid dissolving into full-fledged panic as the winds literally knocked me to

my knees over and over again, so this woman knows how to get it together and do what needs to be done to survive.

This was different though. This time she was alone.

Travel misadventures often have the positive influence of forcing individuals to dig deep and do their best to go with the flow regardless of circumstance. There really is no other choice. Panicking or hysterics would not solve the problem and Leonie fortunately knew that. Although, when she discovered she had no matches with which to start a fire to prepare dinner and was inside a tent that was wet after being blown almost inside out and she had mistakenly placed the SPOT! transponder back in Bill’s pack and was shivering in her only pair of now-soaked pants, her despair hit new lows.

But Leonie forced herself to focus on what needed to be done so that she, too, wouldn’t need a rescue and she set about the tasks of Lessons Learned finding a way to light Though there is no way to know when her Jetboil whose self disaster will strike, Leonie said that, lighter had worn out. in addition to doing one’s best to Serendipity combined mentally prepare yourself for disaster with her cooler head on the trail, there are three things she reminded her that would do differently: there was a group of 1. Always carry waterproof matches. hikers nearby and she 2. Keep the SPOT! transponder and set out to ask if anyone consider carrying a Satellite telehad any matches they phone, despite its bulk and weight. could spare, which 3.

Make no advance reservations they did. that require paying ahead of time Her first night (at the resupply stations and their alone was not restful, lodging), because it forced them to but when she woke, hike faster than they were comfortthe sky was sunny and able with, and the pace aggrashe was able to dry her vated Bill’s already injured knee clothing before setting by repeatedly hiking faster and for out on the trail again. longer hours.

The group nearby told her where they would camp that night and offered assistance should she need it, which made her feel like someone was watching out for her and like she was less alone as she set out. Then she did what hikers do: put one foot in front of the other.

After Leonie’s second uneventful night alone, she hiked to Independence where she was reunited with Bill and where her solo adventure on the John Muir Trail was halted. Bill discovered he would need knee surgery. This misadventure might have ended their hike this time, but the couple is determined to return to finish the last part of the trail. Together.

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Hood River local elite paddler, Fiona Wylde, enjoys a late evening paddle in her backyard on the Columbia River. Read about Fiona and her journey to success as a champion standup paddler and windsurfer on page 46.

GORGE-US PHOTOGRAPHY

aspire

a Camps

Adventurous Connections and Outdoor Confidence Getting inspired, chasing dreams, and building relationships at the Peaks Foundation’s Women’s Leadership and Adventure Summit

About the 2014 Peaks Foundation’s Women’s Leadership and Adventure Summit When: July 10-13, 2014 Where: American Mountaineering Center (Golden, CO) Speakers: Women's Adventure magazine founder Michelle Theall, Shari Leach, Heather "Anish" Anderson, Heidi Boynton, Pamela Shanti Pack, Jill Wheeler, Sharon Yazowski, Lisa Youngwerth Activities: rock climbing, trekking, kayaking, SUPing, fly fishing, trail running, mountain biking, slacklining, yoga

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had been cyber-stalking the Peaks Foundation for a while when I saw its announcement for the 2013 Women’s Leadership and Adventure Summit (WLAS). For those who aren’t familiar, the Peaks Foundation is a non-profit organization that raises funds for grassroots organizations by offering amazing women’s adventures around the globe. Their first challenge, called “3 Peaks, 3 Weeks” in 2004, raised awareness and funds in support of education, environment, and health issues in Africa. The participants climbed three of Africa’s highest peaks in less than three weeks, challenging themselves and donors to make a difference and spread the word.

I desperately wanted to climb with Peaks but struggled with the time and financial commit-

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ments. In the meantime, I kept close tabs on the Peaks Foundation’s website and Facebook page, dreaming of how to make a climb work.

So, when the WLAS was announced, I sprang into action, filling out the application immediately and hoping I’d be selected to attend the three days of motivation, inspiration, and adventure in the Rockies.

When I was actually selected, I was a bit stunned. As much as I wanted to attend, I wasn’t sure I was “badass” enough to hang with this crowd. Despite my hesitation, I was thrilled to have the chance to challenge myself alongside professional female athletes, try new outdoor pursuits, and meet like-minded women. When I arrived for the event in Golden, Colorado, I was

Number of Attendees: Limited to 50 participants.

More info: peaksfoundation.org/summits

immediately blown away by other attendees and what they had accomplished. And then there were the speakers: incredibly accomplished women who were achieving amazing things through adventure and the outdoors! So, I settled in, ready to be in awe of these people.

Then a funny thing happened that I hadn’t ever experienced at a conference: The group— featured speakers and attendees alike—connected at such an amazing and genuine level.

Almost immediately, the stars fell from my eyes and I saw these women as real people, who were sometimes confused, who struggled to make it all work, who made mistakes and occasionally failed. They weren’t some super human race of women hiking the Camino, climbing Mt. Everest, or starting their own businesses. They were simply determined women pursuing their passions, in spite of obstacles in the way. And that was way more inspiring to me than admiring them on the pedestals where I envisioned them.

I left WLAS with more than inspiration. I left with a group of friends and supporters who continue to be here for me, also struggling to balance adventure, work, family, and everyday life.

Since WLAS, I appreciate that failure happens to everyone and understand now that you can’t fear it or you will be paralyzed. Thanks to my time at WLAS and the connections I made there, I realize that inspiration doesn’t come from perfection but from determination and perseverance. I recognize my own ability to inspire. —Carla DeVelder

womensadventuremagazine.com

Camps

a

W

M

en. Women. Adventure. There are some differences between the genders. Research shows that, for women, adventure is more social.

But how can the women who love adventure find each other? The Women’s Leadership and Adventure Summit (WLAS) hosted by the Peak Foundation is an exciting way for women to connect.

I left my career in nonprofit leadership in January 2013. I knew my future was in outdoor adventure, so I applied for WLAS through a fundraiser for the Outdoor Industry Women’s Coalition (OIWC). My new network was already working!

Last summer, walking into WLAS, which was filled with strong, spirited women of all ages, made my heart feel at home. There were women in their 20s and women their 50s. Some were new to adventure and some had years of stories to tell. All welcomed the opportunity to learn and practice leadership skills. In an all-female environment we would learn so much from each other.

The speakers inspired us by their own adventures—in life and in the wilderness. Some of them had world-class reputations. Some didn’t but spoke from their souls about how their lives had been touched and radically changed by adventure. We took a small group field trip to practice new outdoor skills and learn leadership skills through rock climbing, hiking, and standup paddleboarding. These shared experiences bonded us, planting deep friendships with tendrils reaching across the nation.

I used the opportunity to learn how other women built their professional lives around adventure, after “taking the plunge” and leaving employment that wasn’t serving their deepest yearnings. I made professional contacts resulting in a mentorship, bridged multiple avenues to pursue employment, and gleaned a million ideas about businesses that could contribute to the big world of adventure.

The precious relationships formed are tended now through a WLAS Facebook page and opportunities to travel to visit new friends, sharing in adventure together. We are looking forward to the Women’s Leadership and Adventure Summit 2014 to see what new adventures await! —Kelly Phanco

hen it came to life’s elusive To-Do List, I felt ahead of the game.

Successful career? Check. Satisfying relationship? Check. Own a home, go to the gym, enjoy good health? Check, check, and check. But, while checking items off of my to-do list and playing the part of the woman I thought I was supposed to be, I had forgotten to become the woman I actually wanted to be.

I had a basic appreciation that investing in one’s career and relationships and investing in oneself are inextricably linked, but actually having it all seemed impossible. Having it all had always meant having a wildly successful career full of accolades, an epically hot partner with whom the passion never ebbs, and a home that looks like a catalog centerfold. I wasn’t sure that those items alone were attainable, or that I could have time and energy left over to hike, camp, travel, and pursue new things.

I poured my heart into the search for both the adventures and answers that I felt were missing. The adventures were easy to find. And with each adventure I took—a camping trip here, a road trip there—I found a little bit of myself. The perspective I yearned for, however, was harder to grasp.

I continued to search. That pursuit led me to the Women’s Leadership and Adventure Summit in Golden, Colorado. There, in a room full of strong, independent, like-minded women, the last bit of myself was waiting to be found. The women with whom I spent the weekend sharing stories, encouragement, and standup paddleboards taught me that you can establish just as much identity capital in the backwoods as you can the boardroom.

Becoming the woman I wanted to be was not accomplished by ticking boxes on a checklist. That weekend was the first time I was able to reframe my perspective and see that “having it all” meant simply allowing myself to be happy. And I reveled in the afterglow of that realization the whole flight home.

After I returned to Philadelphia, even though I was geographically in the same place that I had started, I knew that I was nowhere close to where I had begun as a woman before WLAS. My wish for myself is that this experience marks the beginning of my growing from a woman who daydreams about life’s adventures to one who makes time to chase them down. —Kerry Marder

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a Beyond

Kids, Unplugged In the war against screen time, small battles are won in the campground

By Helen Olsson

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recently watched, aghast, as one mom whipped out her iPhone to show another mom’s toddler a video game. The child’s impossibly long eyelashes tilted down just so as her baby blues locked on the screen.

“Look, you tap the screen here … tap the bunny!” The woman was brimming with delight at how engaged the child was. “See, she loves it!” she crooned. Well, of course she does. Here’s what I saw: a precious young developing brain turning to mush and a years-ahead look at contentious moments between parent and child over screen time.

For possibly the first time in this child’s life, she was getting plugged into a world where digital devices are beyond ubiquitous. A world where a man can be so riveted by his smartphone that he walks smack

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into a bear (true story).

As a mom, I do daily battle with my kids on the thorny issue of screen time. There’s the iPad, iPod, Smartphone, Wii, DS … I’m not saying I didn’t watch my share of Gilligan’s Island and The Love Boat, but, most of the time, my parents turned us loose in the woods around our suburban subdivision in Buffalo, N.Y. Still, then and now, there’s nothing better for families than to pack up a tent and Coleman stove and go camping—to get kids immersed in nature and let their imaginations run wild.

A few years ago, my husband and I were planning a trip to Nebraska to canoe down the Niobrara River and camp along the banks.

When our three kids—now 8, 10, and 13—realized that we’d be away

from all manner of screen time for five whole days … well, they pretty much freaked out. They asked—in earnest—if we could bring our big screen TV. When we said no, they went into crisis management brainstorming mode. “We could use a generator!” “We could bring a really, really long extension cord!”

Honestly, they were not kidding about this.

That was the moment when I realized it was beyond imperative that we unplug our kids and get them outside. Around the same time, I read Richard Louv’s Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder. Louv warns that our children are essentially in peril, pointing to research that links a lack of exposure to nature to obesity, stress, decreased motor

coordination, and even ADHD. His call to order put my own mandate into overdrive.

Last summer, I took my two boys on a backpacking trip to Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) with another family. My 10 year old, Aidan, and his friend, Harry, spent the first two miles of the hike talking about Minecraft.

Of sponges, portals, diamond armor, and falling into the void if you mine too deep into the bedrock. I must admit, the chatter was grating.

Our children weren’t glued to the screen, but they were still talking about it.

For most of mile three, as we hiked steep switchbacks past moss-covered boulders and surging waterfalls that misted our cheeks, Aidan started to moan about his

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Beyond

sore feet and his 18-pound pack.

“I’m going to die!” he pronounced.

Most of the gear and the family’s food, stowed in a bear canister, was inside my 50-pound pack. If anyone was going to die, really, it was me. Soon we passed through the remains of a forest fire. Logs blackened by the flames crisscrossed the woods, juxtaposed by delicate columbines and fireweed bursting through the blanket of soot on the forest floor. Talking about the awesome power of nature and nature’s cycle of rebirth took my son’s mind off his aching legs. After a short time, he said, “I’m good,” and he took off down the trail to catch up with the group.

We camped at Fern Lake, a high alpine lake framed by soaring walls of granite. The boys helped set up the tent and pumped water for cooking from the stream, carrying it back to camp in a sloshing old aluminum pot. As the sun started to set, the kids headed down to the lake to fly fish for rainbow trout with Harry’s dad.

That night, as we were snuggled in our down sleeping bags, a mon-

ster thunderstorm rolled through, with rain slashing the tent walls.

Though I have little interest in getting zapped by lightning, at that moment, we felt fully unplugged and connected to nature. I do love a good storm when I’m in a tent.

I could tell my kids loved it, too.

Aidan turned to me and said, “This is so fun, Mom. It was totally worth the hike.”

In the morning, we sat on logs and sipped coffee and hot chocolate, steam swirling in the chilly air. My older son, Quinn, led the boys to a boulder field, where they played some variation on king of the mountain. Later, they all sat around camp whittling sticks and playing cards. When our family friend made a geological reference to bedrock, the kids scolded him for bringing up Minecraft.

For me, backpacking—being miles out in the woods, away from any flashing screens and beeping devices—was the ultimate in nature immersion. But we’ve found our kids can get a legit dose of nature even when we car camp. A few weekends later, we returned to

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RMNP for a camping trip with four other families.

The kids played hide and seek in the trees around camp, invented games with sticks, and came running to tell us about the Stellar’s jays and red-tailed hawks they’d spotted. During the day, we took a 3.6-mile hike to Emerald Lake, spotting yarrow, bluebells, and aster. The kids were delighted when I showed them how the pink flowers of the Pedicularis groenlandica look miraculously like a tiny elephant’s head. “That is awesome,” was the verdict.

At night, with bellies full of steak and corn on the cob, we sat around the campfire. As it hissed and cracked, the kids took turns holding a flashlight to their chins and telling scary stories. The next day, we kicked around camp and played games—not a one that required a motherboard or memory chip. In one game, kids were blindfolded and had to use their hands to explore a certain tree. To smell it and touch its bark and feel around for any distinguishing rocks or branches. After being spun in a circle to disorient them, the kids then removed the blindfold and had to find “their” tree.

Our children were in the woods, literally hugging trees. Not a one fell into the void beneath the bedrock. It was a beautiful thing.

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a Beyond

Portland to Patagonia

by Bike and Handcycle Raising Awareness for Disability Rights and the Importance of Active Lifestyles

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omething about Kelly Schwan tells you she’d be up for just about anything. It doesn’t take a fortune-teller to see that a life full of adventure lies ahead for this 32-year-old occupational therapist. She’s just as likely to pick up and move crosscountry on her own as she is to jet to Beijing and volunteer at the Paralympics. As of this writing, she’s pedaling through Tijuana with her partner, Seth McBride, a 30-year-old gold-medaling Paralympian. Quadriplegic since 17, Seth is traveling with her on a handcycle.

The pair left Portland, Oregon, last September for a 10,000-mile expedition to Patagonia. This will be the first time an athlete with a disability will have made a trip like this without a support crew, and the first time anyone will have taken on some of these roads on a handcycle. Seth tows his wheelchair, and Kelly’s got on her bike everything else they need for the trip—more than a hundred pounds’ worth.

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Their extraordinary journey landed them on National Geographic Traveler magazine’s 2013 Travelers of the Year list, but lifelong athlete Kelly doesn’t seem to see anything extraordinary in what she does. “I don’t remember a time when I didn’t play sports,” she told me over the phone just before they crossed into Mexico in November. “It’s taught me so much about discipline and the importance of movement and being physical.”

In the shadow

With a readily apparent physical disability, Seth becomes the center of attention. While people admire his strength in pedaling with his hands for 10,000 miles—Kelly calls him a beast—many seem to overlook that she’s carrying the bulk of the weight, itself no easy task. She’s also known to piggyback Seth when they encounter an obstacle not passable by wheelchair. Its got to be hard

to be the half of the couple in the shadows, but Kelly takes it in stride.

“He deals with it better. I couldn’t handle all the attention,” she says. “He’s gotten used to it. My efforts are totally overlooked, but they’re not overlooked by him. He knows how hard I’m working every day to carry our gear. He doesn’t look past that effort.”

She maintains an easy sense of humor about overcoming obstacles, always amused by the reactions they get. “You should have seen peoples’ faces when I was carrying Seth on my back up the stairs at the Great Wall of China!” she says. “Their eyes were humongous! Meanwhile I’m just trudging up the stairs because we have to get there. We decided that these stairs are not going to stop us.”

Then there was the time they were sneaking onto a train in Belgium. (Sneaking? Yep—they only had one stop to go and didn’t have a ticket.)

The platform, like many outside the United States, was not wheelchair accessible. When the train arrived, “I had Seth jump on my back. I was holding him with one arm and scooped up the chair with the other,” she explains. “Here I come charging up to this train with the guy and the wheelchair, and people parted the seas. That was perfect. But their eyes were so wide!”

A two way street

How does Kelly view this reversal of typical— physical, anyway—gender roles?

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COURTESY OF KELLY SCHWAN

By Dana McMahan

Beyond

“I’ve always, whether I’ve known it or not, had a feminist viewpoint,” she says, “I always wanted to play with the boys because, where I grew up, they were better athletes. I didn’t see the gender lines. It’s weird because I don’t even think about it. It’s society’s reaction that makes me think about it. I don’t see it as an issue.”

She goes on, “Although Seth can’t and will never piggyback me, he will return that favor.

This is a very two-way relationship. Despite what you see on the surface, we’re really helping each other out.”

While she’s bearing a significant portion of the physical side of the trip, Kelly relies on Seth for emotional support. “Most people don’t realize the emotional and psychological toll of a trip like this,” she says. “It can be difficult to be away from our family and friends. Seth is our rock. Even on a day-to-day level, navigating—if I don’t see it, he sees. What he doesn’t do, I do; what I don’t do, he does. It’s watching each other’s back.”

Changing perceptions

Kelly wants people to see what they accomplish together. Part of their reason for this trip is to show what’s possible when you try.

“There’s this perception that people with disabilities are unable to do anything,” she says. Mile by mile, she wants the trip to change that perception. “Whereas Seth is like, ‘It’s ok; we’ll get by,’ … I’m a little louder with the disability rights stuff and making sure people are educated and aware of why it’s important to have an accessible business. You’re not just welcoming one customer but a whole community. I don’t walk around with a banner … but, if the opportunity presents itself, I take it to educate. This entire trip is an opportunity to educate people, and I love it. I know that some people hear and see what we’re doing.”

Traveling on bikes allows the pair the chance to have conversations at every stop. “Every day, people ask [about the handcycle],” Kelly says.

“One lady asked if we took turns and switched bikes. We smiled and said, ‘Actually, Seth can’t use his legs.’ Then the whole perception changes. You can see it in their faces: ‘Wow, and he can still ride a bike!’ So, these people, you can educate.”

itself out—so I don’t get so sucked into the fine details that I miss the beauty of what we’re seeing every day.”

And there’s a lot left to see. “The majority of our trip is still to come,” Kelly says. “I don’t know what we’re going to accomplish. Are we going to make it the whole way? Will that matter? I don’t know.”

“Someone asked us, ‘At what point will you say you’re done?’” Kelly says. “Seth and I looked at each other and said, ‘Unless our bikes are stolen or we’re injured, there is no point at which we will say that until we’re at the finish line.’ We can expand on our goals. Traveling internationally will only raise awareness. We want to push ourselves as far as we can.”

How will they know if the trip is a success?

“We kind of had this conversation,” Kelly says, “because there are so many goals of this trip: meet with other adaptive sports programs, teach them, teach us, and raise awareness for the importance of movement and physicality no matter your situation. And, [our final goal is] that Seth is the first person with quadriplegia to go on a handcycle, unsupported on this route. Honestly, if our trip ended today, we would have already accomplished those things. But we’re still getting to the good part.”

“My friend who travels a lot is like a female version of Seth, and she said to trust the journey.

I trust our journey. It’s going to be good.”

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Follow Kelly and Seth’s journey at longroadsouth.com and send encouragement to longroadsouth2013@gmail.com.

Getting to the good part

Kelly’s not just looking to teach others, though.

“I am constantly trying to learn the art of patience,” she says. “With travel, there is typically inherent hurriedness. Seth is so laid back and so patient, and I have never been a very patient person. We’ve talked about it daily—let it go if something is not perfect; there’s time; it will work

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a Advocate

Sip Simply: Say No to Plastic Straws Glass straws stir up sustainability

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t can take up to 1,000 years for plastic bags to decompose, and Americans toss out close to 100 billion each year. From New York to California, shopping tote bans continue to rise—which is a colossal step for the environment—but how else can we cease the ever-growing plastic buildup in the ocean’s five gyres?

Passionate and proactive, professional snowboarder Chanelle Sladics was ready to do something about plastic debris—and all of the issues intertwining it. So she helped introduce a niche product to the market: glass drinking straws.

About 500 million straws are used and disposed of daily in the U.S., according to Be Straw Free campaign’s 2011 data. That’s enough straws to pack full more than 127 school buses every day for an entire year, and those numbers don’t even include the straws latched onto juice boxes and milk cartons.

In 2011, Chanelle launched the company Simply Straws with her family, bringing sustain-

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able plastic-free, chemical-free sipping tubes to the table.

Chanelle’s mother and partner founder, Cyndi Sladics, came up with the concept. As a dental hygienist for 31 years, nearly every day Cyndi was encouraging patients to use straws. The Academy of General Dentistry says that consuming beverages through a straw is advised to prevent tooth erosion, sensitivity, and staining. However, one catch-22 is the controversy surrounding BPA—Bisphenol A, a compound used in the manufacturing of polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins—which has been connected to health concerns, such as an increased risk of prostate cancer, cardiovascular disease, and metabolic issues in adults. “When you heat up plastic, the chemicals will leach into your drinks and are hormone disruptors in the body,” explains Chanelle.

“I get a little overwhelmed thinking about how everything’s connected,” she says, also noting the

devastating impact of plastic debris on wildlife: More than one million seabirds and hundreds of thousands of marine mammals, such as whales and sea turtles, die each year from plastic debris ingestion and entanglement, according to the Ocean Foundation’s See Turtles project. Both Cyndi and Chanelle felt compelled to provide a product that was as safe for human use as it was environmentally sustainable.

Chanelle’s advocacy for the environment grew stronger with the growth of her professional snowboarding career, as she became attuned to the variables that dictated her body’s own performance. “As an athlete you ask yourself, ‘Where are my energy levels? Am I getting stronger? Am I sleeping well?’” shares Chanelle. “So I learned about the food system and then I learned about water, and then I learned about plastics because plastic is heavily polluting our water. It’s a ripple effect.”

Then in 2008, Chanelle collaborated with fellow snowboarders and artists to form “One Life,” an ongoing documentation project to film and share the group’s passions—snowboarding, the beauty of nature, friendship, and cultural experiences—as well as sustainable living practices. Two years later, with support from Protect our Winters and other organizations, the crew traveled to Argentina to attend the South America Snow Sessions, where they constructed a greenhouse out of recycled plastic bottles and bamboo. One Life also filmed in Iceland and released that footage in May 2013. “I was going to Iceland to learn about what makes it the most sustainable country in the world. We wanted to observe what [Iceland] tastes and feels like,” says Chanelle.

These projects were just the beginning of Chanelle’s effort to raise public awareness about sustainability.

With all of these varied interests, the Sladics family put Simply Straws into motion. Now, the Sladics’ selection offers more than 250 skews of handcrafted straws. The lineup includes straight or bent, three varying lengths, three different

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COURTESY OF CHANELLE SLADICS

By Morgan Tilton

Advocate

diameters—not forgetting the wide smoothie sipper—and crystal clear or colored glass with optional etching. And, of course, they also offer a screw-top mason jar and straw bundle, inspired

by Chanelle’s travel-intensive athletic career and love for reusable mason jars. “You’re crosspollinating the concept of reusables; it’s not just about reusing straws, it’s about planting seeds beyond just our product. It’s about reusing the mason jar or a salsa jar,” she exclaims.

The varied straw colors also coincide with non-profit organizations that are raising plastic pollution awareness. Pink reps the Keep A Breast Foundation and Amber denotes the Plastic Pollution Coalition, and, through collaboration with One Percent for the Planet, a percentage of Simply Straws’ sales are allocated toward each of those non-profits. “The most important thing to understand is that your actions make a difference,” Chanelle voices. “When you buy something, that’s your vote. Are you investing in businesses that are advocating for the environment? It becomes even clearer when you own a business how every customer counts.”

A self-made businesswoman, Chanelle has always taken a charge-ahead approach. “I came out of the womb as an entrepreneur,” says Chanelle, who attempted to start a skate company and design a surf video game by the age of nine. “I was always trying to bring people together—I would say something like, ‘Let’s do a play, and then let’s charge our parents to watch the play and give the money to a local charity.’”

The network, marketing skills, and branding awareness that Chanelle cultivated through her decade-long profession in the snowboard industry solidified the co-founder’s launching pad. “This is really somewhere where I could make an impact,” she affirms. “We’re not going to change the world

with our company but we can change a piece of it.”

Going beyond simple product promotion, Simply Straws recently became a Certified B Corporation in recognition of the company’s dedication to high standards of transparency and environmental accountability. “We are a company that focuses on eliminating a plastic waste, but we still need to package our product and think about our labels,” says Chanelle. “So let’s make sure our inks are soy based and that our packaging is compostable. Let’s make sure we’re transparent from start to finish and that we’re not creating any other problems through what we’re creating,” she expresses. Beyond the company’s handmade, BPA-free Borosiliate Glass straws, it provides travel sleeves made from sustainable hemp, flax, and organic cotton. The dyes are non-toxic, the packaging is compostable, and the company opted into an eco-energy partnership to power web and print use.

Moreover, Chanelle loves that her company is family run. “The business brings our family back together. We run a booth at two to four shows a year. My dad makes every straw by hand, my brother does the etching, and my mom does administration,” she explains.

Next up, Simply Straws has fresh designs including a denim koozie, and Chanelle is developing Don’t Be a Suckup, a 2014 campaign to raise awareness about plastic drinking straws. “It’s a call to action to get people and local businesses to use alternatives and commit to banning plastic straws,” Chanelle summarizes. “This world is moving really fast—it’s not only about not buying plastic products. It’s about quality and slowing down, and realizing that your footprint is happening every single moment and that there is an opportunity to reestablish your habits.”

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Chanelle shares some simple tips for helping to eliminate plastic pollution: • Adopt a reusable mindset: When traveling, carry a reusable mug and straw.

• Use containers: For an order-to-go, bring your own Tupperware.

• Educate yourself: Become aware of the facts to eliminate insecurity and instill confidence in your actions.

• Juggle food: Use a reusable shopping bag, but, if you forget one, ask for a box from the produce section or walk out juggling the food!

• Buy in bulk: Purchase food from the bulk bins at the grocery store to reduce packaging waste—and if you use the available plastic bags, remember to keep and reuse those bags!

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a Dream Job meet

Robin Farina Professional Cyclist and Pro Women’s Cycling Advocate Interview by Jennifer C. Olson

Describe your path to professional cycling for us.

After working in sports event management for several years out of college and re-injuring my ACL, I was told to ride a bike or swim for athletic activity. There was no way I was going to swim, so I went out to my local bike shop in Nashville, TN, and bought a mountain bike.

Immediately I was hooked. I rode my mountain bike every chance I got and, with encouragement from the shop, I started racing the mountain bike circuit in Tennessee. I pushed myself hard to move up through the ranks. After two years of mountain biking, I felt a calling to the road bike and to team dynamics of the road. From then on, I was determined to make it as a pro racer. I rode for several regional teams and elite teams like Kenda, Target Training, and then Cheerwine Pro Cycling. I was the low woman on totem pole but was dedicated to racing for the team and taking every opportunity I got. That year I had a breakout year winning the Joe Martin Stage Race and getting several podiums at other races. That set the tone for being selected for other teams such as ValueAct Capital and Vera Bradley Pro Cycling. By this point, I was showing signs that I could climb [on my bike].

What led you to co-found the Women’s Cycling Association?

I’ve been racing for 12 years now, the past six on the pro level. I’ve

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struggled the same way most of these racers have struggled. I was encouraged by a friend in late 2012 to help bring the women’s peloton together. I realized that the state of the sport was so fragile. One day you can be on a great team, and the next day that team isn’t around any longer and you find yourself without a job, even though you’ve reached the highest peak of the sport. The state of women’s cycling needs much improvement. It needs a stronger infrastructure with the teams and it needs more media coverage. It’s so hard to be a fan of women’s cycling because you can’t watch us on TV and the live streaming of races is hard to find.

The masses want to be able to follow their favorite riders and get to know them. If there’s no avenue to do that, how can you be a fan? Furthermore, if we have a big fan base, then more sponsors will want to be on board. We all know some of the male riders because they’re on TV during [some of the major stage races]. Who are the women racing?

Good question! You can rarely find us on TV. But, you should be able to because our racing is just as exciting, and we’re funny, educated, and interesting!

I do consider this [serving as the president of the WCA] a dream job, even though I’m not getting paid actual money right now. This organization is growing so fast that I’m confident this will turn into a paid position. I’m so excited that I get to make a change in this sport.

I haven’t stopped racing and I will race this year, but I’m taking a step

Age: 36 Stomping Ground: NorCal these days Job: President of the Women’s Cycling Association (womenscyclingassociation. com), professional cyclist for the last six years, professional endurance coach, bike shop owner (Uptown Cycles, Charlotte, NC) Robin’s motto: Grow our fan base, grow our sport. back because I want this organization to work, because I want to make it better for our sport. Sometimes I think this sport is killing me but, at the same time, there’s so much opportunity. It’s bigger than me; I do it all for the cause. I look at the younger racers now and think, “This sport is wide open for you.” We want to create opportunities for the juniors. We’re fighting a good fight here.

What’s a typical day on the job like for you?

Well, since I wear multiple hats and am definitely not able to have just one job, it kind of depends on what’s most pressing that day. The WCA and my coaching job are the priorities these days, so I typically get up, drink espressos, answer e-mails and spend several hours on the phone, slip out for a training ride, and then come back and answer more e-mails and take phone calls. The fun days include putting

on events for the WCA and getting opportunities to ride with clients or upcoming junior riders.

What do you love about your job?

I love cycling and what is has taught me about myself and others.

Pretty much, I am immersed in

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Dream Job

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One of Robin’s biggest WCA projects is to help more U.S. races promote UCI (International Cycling Union) women’s races. the sport. I not only race but my work is also all about cycling, so I am fortunate to work in the field that I am highly passionate about.

For me, growing the sport of cycling and hopefully making a positive impact is the best thing I can do to give back and leave a legacy in the sport. Cycling provides a healthy lifestyle for people and it promotes community. Those are two things we need more of in the world!

What’s challenging about your work?

There is so much to do and it seems like there’s not enough hours in the day to reach out to everyone who wants to be involved. Also, trying to make companies and individuals realize that women’s cycling is a very positive outlet to invest in for the future [is a challenge]. Women’s cycling needs more media exposure so people can experience the excitement and become a fan. If we can attract more media, the fans and sponsors will follow.

How do you think that can be solved?

Revenue sharing, once we are established and have companies interested in investing in women’s cycling. Women control 80 percent of all retail spending in the USA. That’s a massive amount of buying power. It’s a prime opportunity to hook companies/media that want to market to women. Use women to market to women.

What’s inspiring or rewarding about what you do?

The most rewarding part is hearing all the encouragement from people who want to be involved in the WCA and want to see women’s cycling grow and become more main stream. They want to see us race, and they want to see us gain equality in sport and in life!

Your personal passions and work life are so intertwined. How do you balance the two?

I am pretty much an all or nothing kind of person. I am all in right now. I am a big believer in balance and it’s my philosophy in coaching so, while I give 100 percent to the WCA, my coaching business, and my training, I do try to step away every once in a while. But only for a brief minute.

What would you say to other women and young girls looking to pursue professional cycling?

I’m a huge advocate for women and juniors pursuing professional cycling, but I also recommend young girls stay on the academic path. Go to college. Find a school that has a cycling team or strong cycling program and get your degree while working toward cycling. You can be a world-class cyclist in your thirties.

Also, find a mentor who wants to take you under her wing and help

The WCA is striving to open the lines of communication with race promoters to help create more value for their event and get them to see women’s racing as an avenue. “Women have eighty percent of the buying power out there,” Robin says.

“Companies need to start supporting women, empowering women. What better way to create role models than to have strong, successful women who are powerful.”

She explains the importance of UCI-sanctioned races: “To compete in a UCI race, you have to have x number of UCI points. That’s how your team gets invited. Therefore, UCI teams want to travel to UCI races. Currently, there are only two UCI races for women in the country. USAC [USA Cycling] has been encouraging races to go UCI, so we can build a stronger race-competitive level here in the U.S. That’s why we want UCI races for women in the U.S., but the same goes for men. If they don’t have to go to Europe and spend their budgets racing there, they’ll choose to race here [in the States]. It’s more convenient and less expensive. Several races have come to the WCA to help encourage sponsorship, exposure, opportunity.”

This push is especially important for next year’s season, because the UCI Road World Championships will be in Richmond, VA, in 2015 (richmond2015.com). “You have to be top 15 in the world to compete in the Team Time Trial there,” Robin says, “and the U.S. wants their teams to race in Richmond.” Throughout the series of September 19–27 races, there will be an expected 450,000 spectators, plus a TV audience of 300 million.

“All of us ladies will still compete at races,” Robin says, “but we’re united under this goal of trying to help more races, like New Mexico’s Tour of the Gila, get sponsors. People have put aside their allegiances and are saying, ‘How can I help to better this sport?’”

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a Dream Job

you along the path. It won’t be easy, but having someone you trust to help you along the way and has your best interest top of mind is your best bet. Same goes for women new to the sport. Don’t quit your day job just yet. Find balance and a good coach who can help you maximize your potential and guide you down the correct path.

Right now, I can’t tell juniors that they should pursue a cycling career. But I want to be able to say, “Yes, you can make a living at this and not have to juggle five jobs.”

Because that’s not being a pro.

What would you say to people who want to support women’s cycling?

We have tons of non-cyclists and men that support women’s cycling.

If women’s cycling grows, then it’s a win/win for the sport. Cycling is a sport and it can be a healthy lifestyle choice. It’s in all our best interests to be healthy and find a sport we can believe in and take part in for the rest of our lives.

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What would you say to the Women’s Adventure audience?

I identify with the Women’s Adventure audience because, if you’re reading this, you’re probably a fan of the outdoors, the feeling of finding freedom through movement and exercise, and understand the importance of living a healthy lifestyle through sport and activity.

The bigger picture is that you don’t have to race a bike to achieve fitness and health. It truly can be as simple as just getting out on a bike ride.

Feel the wind in your hair and just be in the moment. Enjoy the experience of exercising, and it can bring mental and physical health.

Anything else?

I would like to encourage everyone who reads this to join the Women’s Cycling Association (womenscyclingassociation.com) as a member. With your support, we can provide a positive outlet for athletes to grow and be involved in a fantastic healthy sport.

A Little More about the Women’s Cycling Association The WCA was officially created in June 2013. “I’ve realized in the past six years that there’s no stability in this sport,” Robin says. “Hockey players are making millions of dollars annually, and then you have cyclists, specifically women, who are just barely making poverty level.”

Most pros agree, she says, that one of the challenges holding women’s cycling back is the negligible media exposure to create a fan base. Getting more media coverage [televising or broadcasting live streams of the races] is the WCA’s number one goal, because that trickles down to the creation of stable teams and infrastructure so that, eventually, the women’s and men’s fields can have equal prize purses for races. “We don’t like to separate the men and the women. But we have to take a step back and realize we don’t have the same opportunities or exposure as the men do.”

At the close of 2013, the WCA had 350 members. “Anybody can join,” Robin says, “from a licensed female racer who has voting rights to the everyday rider or man who just wants to support the WCA.” More info at: womenscyclingassociation.com.

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I'm Proof

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I’m Proof That …

It Is Solved

By Walking Navy Veteran Stephanie Cutts Completes the Appalachian Trail and Rediscovers Her Healthy Self

By Cindy Ross

COURTESY OF CINDY ROSS

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ut of the thousands of hikers who leave Springer Mountain, Georgia, every year hoping to successfully hike the entire 2,185-miles of the national scenic Appalachian Trail (AT), only a few hundred make it. Your odds aren’t good. And, if you would have heard that a 255 pound, 5-foot, 7-inch-tall female was in that group in 2013, Navy veteran Stephanie Cutts would not have been the one you would have put your money on.

Stephanie was part of a new wilderness therapy program for returning U.S. veterans called Warrior Hike (warriorhike.com), designed to help veterans deal with post-traumatic stress disorder and transition from their military service by thru-hiking America’s three national scenic trails. The fourteen veterans who participated in 2013 received the equipment and supplies required to complete a thru-hike. Besides the healing rhythm of walking through the natural world, part of their healing involved connecting to communities in the trail towns and veterans along the way at VFW and American Legion Posts that host them.

The climbs in Georgia’s southern Appalachians are hellacious—steep ups and steep downs and way too many in a day when you’re just starting out on your six-month journey. It’s a lot to handle for a hiker adjusting to carrying a loaded backpack—let alone the hundred additional pounds that Stephanie hauled along!

That’s like strapping 20 five-pound bags of flour or 50 one-liter bottles of liquid onto your frame, on top of your tent, sleeping bag, food, clothing, and essentials—virtually everything you need to travel and survive in the wilderness for days at a time.

As a professional long distance hiker with over 10,000 miles on my boot, I was planning on hosting the Warrior Hikers at my home in

Pennsylvania when they passed by on the trail in July. But I was worried about Stephanie. I picked up the phone and dialed the program director, Marine Corps Captain Sean Gobin, and expressed my concern for her.

“Sean, that trail is so hard down in Georgia.

How is she going to haul one hundred extra pounds and keep up? How is she going to make it?”

“They [her hiking buddies] won’t let her quit,” Sean explained. “In the military, your comrades have your back. They will support her.”

What I didn’t know then was what incredibly tough stuff Stephanie is made out of and how deeply passionate she was about succeeding at this monumental journey.

When a long distance hiker reaches Pennsylvania on the Appalachian Trail, they are usually at a psychological low point; the Tuscarora Sandstone rocks exposed on the long, spiny Blue Mountain trips up the fittest of hikers. The elevation map reads like a cruising trail with little or no elevation change, except for an occasional water gap break. So they expect to motor through the miles. The heat and humidity also soar in July (when most end-to-enders come through our fair state), and the denuded oak trees on the ridges, eaten by gypsy moth larvae, provide little shade from the oppressive sun. The halfway point of this 2,185-mile national scenic trail is in central Pennsylvania. One thousand miles is a nice chunk of trail to have on your boots, so quitting can become pretty darn attractive to weary hikers. It is a time when support and encouragement are most needed to get over the Pennsylvania hump and continue the long push toward Mount Katahdin in Maine.

My husband and I knew this problem intimately, as we have both completed the entire AT and ran a hostel along the route for years under

the Volunteers in the National Parks Program.

When I first got wind that the Warrior Hike program would happen along the AT last summer, I wanted to hear and write their story. I wanted to feed them, too, as long distance hikers have voracious appetites. It would be easy, because I have a large group of supportive friends who have huge hearts and love to cook. I asked Sean to put me on the schedule when the Warriors came through Pennsylvania. We had a big potluck dinner around the campfire and passed around my rain stick as a Native American Talking Stick, a tool used in many Native American traditions when a council is called. It allows each member to present his or her sacred point of view. It is passed

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a I'm Proof from person to person and only the person holding the stick is allowed to talk.

As the stick made its rounds, each Warrior shared one story from their time in the military and one story from the Appalachian Trail. When Stephanie held it, all ears were on her and not an eye was dry.

THE TALKING STICK

Stephanie stood up to share her story, wearing a pink sundress that she carried for in-town special occasions. She’d even applied makeup for the event here at my home. Her colorful sleeve tattoos appeared as if they were part of her dress.

“I joined the Navy when I was 17. I was a welder, a plumber, and a firefighter as part of Damage Control. I responded to and trained responders to react to any type of fire or toxic gas emergency. My ship, which was based out of Pearl Harbor, was deployed twice in the Persian Gulf.

“I was a rising star in the military,” Stephanie continued, “but then I learned through a Red Cross message that my father had died.” Stephanie was the only member of her family who could not attend the funeral, because her ship had just left on deployment and was too far away for her to catch a flight home from Hawaii.

“His death affected my career,” she said. “I still did my job the best that I could but it didn’t matter because I kept failing physical readiness weight standards.”

She struggled to stay in shape but lost motivation. The pounds kept adding up. Eventually, because she had failed so many tests, she was released from her eight-year contract two years early. And she kept gaining weight. “I stopped trying,” Stephanie said. “I couldn’t get off the couch.”

Out of the service, Stephanie felt lost, like she didn’t belong and had been out of touch with her non-military friends and relatives for too long. “My nieces and nephews don’t know me,” she said. “I needed to spend more time with my family.”

In addition to feeling lonely and adrift, Stephanie had other reasons for joining the Warrior Hike.

“My mother was diagnosed with cancer in her right kidney when I was seventeen,” she said, “and, right then, I stopped believing in God.” She could not understand how someone who believed so strongly in God could go through such suffering. “I’m hiking the trail to find God again, for God to find me.”

But Stephanie’s also hiking to get back her health, her life. “I’m going to find the motivation to put away the rest of my grief and anger.”

Stephanie paused, with the Talking Stick in her hand, to wipe the tears streaming down her cheeks, but then she smiled broadly.

“When I went down to Georgia to meet the Warrior Hikers and begin the trail, I was so scared that I was going to be in the worst shape of everyone and be the biggest,” she confessed, “but everyone had a gut—no one was in shape!

‘Damn right, we’re gonna stick together,’ I said to myself. I was way excited to see those big pot bellies!”

Stephanie had aimed to “dump a bunch of weight” before she left Springer Mountain on foot and tried to prepare herself by reading about the trail. She tried motivating herself with inspirational quotes and a chart that tracked her weight. She says she attempted to exercise but didn’t get much fitter. Still, Stephanie says, she wasn’t worried about her weight.

“I know my limitations,” she said. “When it comes to hiking, I go my own pace. I continually reminded myself to not go someone else’s speed.”

However, she did find that hiking as a heavier person was difficult. Stephanie explained: “It was hard to find clothing that fit and didn’t cause chafing. There are no plus sizes in name-brand hiking wear, and I was a size 22–24 when I started my hike. I busted the crotch out of my pants, bandaged my terribly chafed sores with bandages and white surgical tape, even trying duct tape, which was a terrible mistake. Finally, I found bright blue pants with orange stripes at the dollar store.”

Even though she was still waddling because of the scabs on her inner thighs, Stephanie felt better in her new pants. Still, her feet and ankles were swollen for much of the entire hike, so she elevated them every chance she got to sit down.

The day we passed around the Talking Stick, Stephanie stood before us, near the AT’s halfway point, with 1,000 miles in her legs and thirty fewer pounds on her body than when she started.

She was hugely hopeful.

MOUNT KATAHDIN

Three months after the Warrior Hikers visited my home, they planned to reach Mount Katahdin in Maine. I wanted to be there for the climb and join in the trails’ end celebration. Out of the fourteen Warriors who left Springer Mountain six months earlier, only four made it all the way.

One of them was Stephanie.

When she reached the two boulders marking the start of her ascent up Mount Katahdin, Stephanie shimmied through and looked at me, elated. “Two thousand miles ago and sixty pounds heavier, I could not have done this!”

She told me on the climb to the finish, “I was never worried that I couldn’t do it. The AT was exactly what I needed—a goal, something to believe in. I couldn’t quit. I was committed to the program, and when I give my word to someone, I keep it—no matter what it takes.”

About the Warrior Hike’s “Walk Off The War” Program The first person to hike the entire length of the AT was a World War II veteran, and Warrior Hike—in recognition of the physical, mental, and spiritual benefits of long-distance hiking and in partnership with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, the Continental Divide Trail Coalition, and the Pacific Crest Trail Association—created the “Walk Off The War” Program to support combat veterans transitioning from their military service by thru-hiking America’s three national scenic trails. warriorhike.com

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I'm Proof

Sometimes, Stephanie says, hiking wasn’t very fun. “I was hurting a lot. I know I am not a fast hiker but I can do my two miles per hour.”

As the miles ticked by, Stephanie noticed a positive difference in herself and the other hikers.

“Once I got on track and had nowhere else to move but forward, I knew I would get there.”

There was misty fog on the summit when Stephanie arrived. From a distance, the Warrior Hikers’ figures looked ghostly, diffused. The large wooden sign stating, “Springer Mountain, Georgia—2,180 miles” emerged into view. Champagne bottles began to pop; cameras clicked.

The Warriors went up to the sign, one by one, as if it was a consecrated altar. Some embraced its rough wooden side and planted a kiss on the words, “Mount Katahdin.” Others collapsed at its base, draped an arm affectionately over its bulk, and murmured a prayer. Stephanie just cried and hugged the sign with reckless abandonment and a powerful release of emotion.

She told me, “I finally silenced the voice in my head that told me I couldn’t do something [like this], that I wasn’t good enough. Those negative voices plagued me since childhood and I worked on silencing them throughout my entire hike. I often thought about all the mistakes I made and learned to let go of them as the miles passed by.”

She said covering that distance gave her time to deal with emotions she wouldn’t allow herself to fully resolve. “I was able to work through all my issues and leave them on Mount Katahdin,”

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Stephanie said. “The trail changed me back to who I used to be.”

Saint Augustine’s Latin quote, “Solivtur Ambulando,” (It is solved by walking) could not be truer.

OFF THE SUMMIT

Today, Stephanie is a motorcycle mechanic and plans to open her own repair shop in the future.

She has returned to school to learn small business management. She’s also a wellness coach at her gym in Orange City, Florida, where she supports and encourages women to work hard and never quit.

“You cannot stay on the summit forever. You have to come down again. … So why bother in the first place?” Stephanie asks, continuing with author of Mount Analogue, Rene Daumal’s words. “Just this: What is above knows what is below, but what is below does not know what is above. One climbs, one sees. One descends, one no longer sees but one has seen. There is an art of conducting oneself in the lower regions by the memory of what one saw higher up. When one can no longer see, one can at least still know.”

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a I'm Proof I’m Proof That …

Passion and Commitment Fuel Champions Fiona Wylde maintains humility and dedication to her studies as a young standup paddle and windsurfing competitor

By Jennifer C. Olson

Age: 17 Hometown: Hood River, Oregon Quirkiest characteristic: “Sometimes, I can be a neat freak. The weird part is that it’s not all the time. I’m going along and I’ll be like, ‘Oh, that oven looks really dirty. I need to clean it!’ I’ll be in my room and there will be clothes everywhere, and I’ll think, “Oh, I need to clean up my room!”

Advocacy: She organized a Stand Up for Water Awareness program (standup4waterawareness.com) in 2013 for youth in the Hood River area.

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mmediately after her very first time standup paddling, Fiona Wylde went and bought her own board. She was ten years old.

The now 17-year-old waterwoman from Hood River, OR, has always been attracted to the water.

She remembers swimming in the ocean when she was “little” and her family vacationed on the Baja peninsula. “My dad would put me on his board and sail around,” she says. “By the time I was seven, I was surfing on my own, walking and jiving.”

Her love for water sports turned competitive when she was 11 and began standup paddleboard racing.

She was competing in waves at age 13 and now competes on the American windsurfing tour and at standup surfing and racing events worldwide.

Fiona was one of the founding athletes on the Big Winds’ Junior Elite Team (JET) in her hometown, formed in 2010 by sporting goods store owner Steve Gates. A week after putting together the team, Steve told the four young athletes that they’d been entered in a race. “We thought that was kind of fun!” Fiona remembers. “Three years later, most of us are still racing and some of us have taken it to a higher level.”

Fiona has especially excelled, Steve says. “She’s an unusually talented, motivated, and disciplined young lady, who is super fun but really very motivated.”

Steve first recognized her as an outstanding athlete when she was about 12. “We were windsurfing

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SIMON CROWTHER

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I'm Proof

together—actually on a tandem windsurfer,” he remembers. “We were having an absolute hoot! I was behind her on the rig and just laughing so hard at everything she was doing. At that point, I could tell she was an unusual kid, so full of spark and just having so much fun in the water, playing.”

The Big Winds youth SUP program has grown into the largest and most successful junior paddle team in the country with more than 30 members now, and Fiona has been an integral part of JET. “She’s been leading the charge there and has risen to being one of the most elite female paddlers on the planet, probably one of the top ten in terms of SUP racing,” Steve says.

“She’s probably one of the top ten female windsurfers on the planet right now as well.”

“I just am taking opportunities as far as they’ll go,” Fiona says, simply.

She splits her time between Oregon and the southern Baja peninsula, mostly, but was training in Hawaii when we spoke. “I take part in this online education program,” Fiona explains, “which is how I’m allowed to travel and train and go to these competitions.”

Whether it’s windsurfing, standup paddleboarding, or kiteboarding, Fiona still always has fun on the water. When asked if she has a favorite water sport, she says, “I definitely don’t. For me, doing all three balances each other out. It’s good to keep it interesting, exciting, and fresh. I like having options. My body likes it, too.”

Mixing it up is good cross training, Fiona says. “Your muscles don’t get blown up, so you can keep yourself healthy.”

To round out that healthy lifestyle, Fiona stays hydrated, eats a balanced diet, and runs. “That’s the biggest part of cross-training, besides calisthenics,” she says.

“The last thing I want to do is get injured. Sometimes you can’t avoid that, but, if you can prevent it, that’s better.”

Because Fiona is so grounded and exhibits more maturity than most young athletes do, Steve says working with her is a treat. “I ask all the kids to stay humble and work hard, and she’s a strong example of that philosophy.”

For those qualities, Fiona largely credits her parents. “My mom and dad are absolutely incredible,” she says. “They found the online school and have supported me through competitions, have helped me get to the contests, and make sure I’m having fun, so it’s not a chore.”

Ensuring competitions and training are fun and not a job is a big deal for Fiona.

“People ask about a career. I don’t think of it [her lifestyle of training and competitions] as a career,” Fiona says. “I’m a student so thinking of it as a career is difficult to do, because I put as much effort into school as I do sports.”

Still, a major highlight of her years competing was a victory at last year’s Naish Columbia Gorge Paddle Challenge, where Fiona went up against the most elite female standup paddlers. “We were

missing one top woman in the world but had the top three there,” Fiona recalls, saying that they ran a downwind race and a course race.

“I got second and then third. Because I did so well both days, I had the lowest combined time, which meant I won the weekend.” Fiona admits it was incredible, considering she was competing against the finest SUP racers around.

“Yeah, the watermen’s championship was definitely the best!” she says.

Refreshingly, “she’s doing the right things to achieve those successes,” says Steve, who’s most impressed with Fiona’s motivation and self-discipline. “It comes from within. She’s got tremendous drive.

She takes her own training program very seriously and is very involved with setting her own goals and schedules and following through with them.”

This coming year for Fiona is “gonna be really fun.” She’ll continue traveling for the Stand Up World Tour, head to a standup surf contest in Oahu, stop in Santa Cruz for a bunch of windsurfing competitions, and compete locally in Hood River whenever she can. “Most importantly,” Fiona says, “because I’m still a junior in high school, I want to make sure I make good grades through my senior year.”

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Her social life as a teenager is kind of hard, she says. “Even though I have friends all over the world, at some point, it gets difficult. I have a lot of friends back home but I don’t get to see them very often. I have a bunch of good friends here in Maui who I get to hang out with. It’s a pretty unique situation: I can say, ‘I’ll be in California for a week,’ and have people I can call up to see. That makes traveling more fun.”

If she doesn’t know any locals, she says, “Well, that’s a chance to meet new people.”

Her friends are a diverse bunch, too. “She’s in a couple of sports where there aren’t a lot of women going for it, frankly,” Steve says.

“There are an increasing number of women in SUP but, in terms of windsurfing, she’s only one of a handful of women who are really charging hard.”

Fiona maintains a humble perspective though. “There’s pressure to be good at one cool thing. But it’s really about enjoying the ride, having fun, and being healthy.”

To encourage other girls and women to enjoy the outdoors, Fiona says: “Grab a couple friends and go outside. It’ll fuel the stoke and transfer to other parts of your life.”

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LIFE, in OURSELVES, and in ADVENTURE

finding the sacred in

The Adventure Moms weigh in on the topic of soul in sports

By Jen Charrette, with Erica Lineberry and Kristen Lummis

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jen charrette

ix days of riding and hiking in British Columbia, add some yoga and top it off with catered meals and luxury lodges. That was the trip Sacred Rides was offering me, Erica, and Kristen (you may know us as the Adventure Moms for our monthly column on the Women’s Adventure website) last June. I had been a fan of Sacred Rides—a mountain biking tour company—for a few years and was excited to finally have the opportunity to check out one of their tours. Their core principle is “to inspire and uplift individuals and communities through mountain bike adventure.” I share their views that travel and riding are about community, fun, relationships, and personal growth.

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But then the trip fell through—for all three of us, one-by-one. First, it fell through for Erica.

With a young son at home, she felt it was too much time away. Then, it fell through for Kristen, conflicting with already planned family events.

For me, it fell through at the last minute, fewer than 24 hours before I was to board the plane.

Just as I was zipping my suitcase shut, I received an e-mail from Mike, the owner of Sacred Rides. The catastrophic flooding in Canada would cancel our trip.

This was a huge disappointment but it reminded me that ‘sacred rides’ can and do happen in our everyday lives. You don’t need to wait for that epic once-in-a-lifetime trip to experience the sacred.

Sometimes you just need to take the time to allow your bike, or your skis, or your climbing gear into your crazy, unpredictable, and busy life.

Biking has given me the opportunity to live life to the fullest, brought me meaningful experiences, and allowed me to forge deep connections within myself and with others. It has also been instrumental in helping me through one of the worst moments of my life.

womensadventuremagazine.com

Live Life to the Fullest

My bike became more than a bike back in 2000. I was working as a technology consultant traveling to California five days a week (or more), almost every week of the year, for three years. I was surrounded with intense work and even more intense people. The work fed my mind and my bank account, but not my soul.

I was miserable getting on the plane every Monday morning knowing that I was leaving behind my life in Colorado that was filled with outdoor adventures. It’s a place a lot of us find ourselves, when work wins out over our passions in life.

But I didn’t want work to win. I decided to take a little bit of my Colorado life with me to California—I took my bike. I didn’t have a lot of time to ride but I would get up early and commute to work via my bike and then devote my lunch hour to a ‘real’ ride.

The simple act of taking my bike with me and being bold enough to carve out the time to ride it completely changed my outlook. Instead of dreading the plane ride every week, I had more energy, more desire to work, and was happier.

Turns out, there is actually some science behind exercising on work days. University of Bristol researchers found that employees who enjoyed a workout before going to work—or exercised during lunch—were better equipped to handle whatever the day threw at them.

Meaningful Experiences

My life changed when I decided to have my first child. This change brought with it an end to full-time travel and a new routine of a desk job followed by the full-time mom job.

And why did I ever complain about my selfish life of travel, work, and free time?

During this period, my bike was a sanctuary. If only for an hour, it allowed me to be free of responsibilities and stress. I made sure to carve out time in the morning, during lunch breaks, after work, and on weekends to get on my saddle. Cycling gave me both the physical and mental relief I needed to juggle life as a working mom.

I also made sure my son saw and experienced the joy of being on a bike. From a young age, he came along on bike rides in the back of the trailer and, when he was old enough, he started to pedal along beside us. Being able to each share the same passion made family life enjoyable for all of us. We weren’t moving in different directions or being pulled apart by activities; the bike allowed us to move forward together.

Finding the Light in Darkness Last year, I experienced a parent’s worst nightmare: the death of my second son at the age of two. It was dreadful and unexpected, and it

completely changed the course of our lives. It may sound trivial and a stretch to say the bike helped me deal with his death, but that is exactly what the bike did for me.

Because I had spent time developing my passion of cycling, investing time in it, and understanding how it brings me a healthy mind and body, my bike was very much a part of my healing process.

At first, it was merely a way to get back outside and ride with my older son and husband.

We would go mountain or road biking at an easy pace and just be together. It was time when my son could just be a kid again and not have to hear or worry about the death of his brother. It was a place where we all could experience nature and get out any pent-up energy or emotions.

Next, cycling was an outlet to go as hard as I could, an outlet for my anger. It felt great to dig deep into my physical body and know I was still alive. In those early days of grief, when I was pushing my body, I would get a surge of massive energy. It was an almost unreal push to go harder, and my body would respond. I felt like my son’s energy was there helping me along, watching my journey, and giving me strength.

Gradually, cycling became a place where I could go to calm my mind and be present in the exact moment. Every pedal stroke is a chance to forget my worries and blend into the environment. I think about my breath, connect with nature, and even experience the pain of pushing my body without any negative emotions. I am mindful in motion.

I believe that how you live your life before a loss or tragedy is just as important as what you do after. I’m grateful that I built a solid foundation based on my life’s passions while things were going well. Seeking adventure, activities, and places where you can be at peace is not frivolous—it’s how you thrive.

active living promotes vitality and happiness TV, shopping, alcohol, and chocolate may all take your mind off your troubles and change your brain chemistry but they all have negative consequences when used for the long term—according to studies published by the Mayo Clinic, Harvard Health Publications, Harvard Medical School, and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

Want to reduce stress, be happier, and live longer? Now, more than ever, science is getting behind one thing: exercise.

Exercise has been shown to improve the sleep patterns of insomniacs, as well as lower their anxiety.

Exercise is responsible for the creation of new brain cells in the part of the brain responsible for learning and memory.

Exercise boosts good cholesterol while lowering the bad. Over time, a life of happy activity can reduce the risk of stroke, diabetes, depression, many kinds of cancer, and arthritis. So do what you love!

While being active may seem like one more “to-do” on the list, it actually buys you more time! Regular exercise will make your cardiovascular system stronger. A strong cardiovascular system is more efficient, freeing up energy for the things you like to do!

Studies have shown that natural light tends to make people happier and more relaxed.

Since there’s more light outside than in, out is a good place to be!

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emotional baggage that had cluttered my soul for so long. It offered a holistic experience that nourished body, mind, and spirit. I left the world of counting calories, lonely gym workouts, and smelly locker rooms, jumping head-first into a refreshing change of pace—fresh air, hiking, and camping in wide open spaces, and, of course, a bird’s eye view of the world high up on a rock!

Explore Together

RE-CREATION with RECREATION

Pardon the pun, but learning to rock climb with my husband really did take our marriage to new heights. So many of the lessons we learned as new climbers about belaying and safe partnering were awesome metaphors for the trust and commitment required for a healthy and happy marriage.

What we continually learn about ourselves and each other during our moments on the rock together just serves to strengthen and deepen our love for each other.

erica lineberry

It Takes a Village

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Although my specific life experiences are different from Jen’s, my relationship with the sport of rock climbing shares many common threads with Jen’s relationship with her bike.

Climbing has allowed me to explore some of the world’s most beautiful places with the people who I love the most. The relationships with my climbing partners run deep, as we routinely hold our lives in each other’s hands.

And, like Jen, my sport of choice has been an important vehicle in getting through times of personal darkness.

I discovered climbing at a key time in my life: After years of battling an eating disorder, I was physically healthy but emotionally stagnant.

I was trying my best to make healthy lifestyle choices, but exercising in a gym environment triggered an entourage of unhealthy thoughts and preoccupations. But then, along came climbing.

Suddenly, my focus shifted from what my body looked like to what it could do. My motivation was channeled into achieving goals rather than spurred on by unhealthy fears and obsessions.

Rock climbing laid the foundation for me to develop a healthy lifestyle that was free of the

After several years of just the two of us, the time came for my husband and I to embark on our greatest adventure yet—starting a family. In nine short months, I went from full-time teacher to full-time stay-at-home mom in need of adult conversation! It was then that I began to appreciate climbing as a social outlet. Midweek gym sessions and weekend climbing trips were a chance for me (as well as my son!) to get out of the house and learn how to interact with the world with my newfound identity as a mother. And, for our family, climbing days presented a chance to get away from schedules, routines, and distractions, and allowed us the opportunity to just enjoy being together in nature.

And, as my son has grown, it’s been amazing to watch him develop his own relationship with the sport. The extent to which his future endeavors involve rock climbing are a mystery right now, but what’s crystal clear is that we’re having a blast craggin’ as a family right now. Hopefully, we are building a foundation for him to develop an appreciation of the outdoors and a self-confidence that he’ll take with him throughout his life—regardless of whether he turns into the next Chris Sharma, or ends up trading his harness in for a set of drums.

We are actually expecting baby number two any day now, and it will be interesting to see how the dynamic will inevitably change as we expand from a family of three to a family of four. I don’t know whether we’ll end up climbing more or less than we did before, but the actual amount of time doesn’t matter. I know that, as long as rock climbing is a passion that our family shares together, we’ll find a way to get on the rocks together! womensadventuremagazine.com

kristen lummis

start skiing at a young age and progress successfully. Maybe it was because the time we spent together in the stunning Colorado Rocky Mountains struck a deep chord in each of us.

Skiing placed us in our world. We became zealots, skiing every day we could and enjoying every minute of it—together.

The Family that Skis Together …

finding the sacred in SKIING When the Sacred Rides trip fell through for me, it was because of a decision I made to put my family first.

While the details aren’t important, the decision was. Would I choose a “once-in-a-lifetime” journey or would I choose what I thought was right for my children?

As I’ve done many times in the past 17 years, I chose the children.

To me, family is sacred.

How We Came to be a Skiing Family

A definition of sacred is “connected with God, and so deserving veneration.” Obviously, “sacred” is serious, whether you have faith or not.

I’m at the other end of the parenting spectrum from Jen and Erica. My sons are in high school, so I know that our 24/7 days together are limited. I am thrilled to see our sons grow and thrive. I am also incredibly thankful for the bond we share.

That bond is skiing.

As a fifth-generation Coloradan, I grew up skiing. My dad was my instructor. I skied with family. I skied with friends. I even raced. Yet, while I loved skiing, my high school years were shaped more by competitive tennis and biking.

In college, I gave up competitive tennis after one year, but the biking continued. It was free.

Skiing was not. Even after I married a skier, skiing was for vacations, not for every weekend.

And then we had children.

Now, I don’t want to be one of those moms who believes progeny are the answer to everything for every woman. I hated babysitting. Kids were barely on my radar.

But, once our oldest son was born, I glimpsed the sacred for the first time. I found my purpose.

With his birth, followed by the birth of our younger son, our family was in place and skiing became our focus.

Maybe it was because skiing is easy from our community. Maybe it was because children can

Warren Miller, the father of ski movies, jokes that, “the family that skis together, bitches at each other.” He also says that, “the family that skis together, goes broke together.”

Both are true. We’ve spent more money on our passion than we should have, along with dedicating more hours to it than anything else except sleeping and working. Skiing has brought out the worst aspects of our personalities, along with the best. My older son and I can be compulsive, selfish, and single-minded on ski days. We don’t want to wait and we’ve got no patience with dawdling.

Thankfully, my husband and younger son balance us out, keeping a clear-eyed focus on the fact that this should be FUN. And it is.

The rub on teens is that they don’t want to spend time with their parents, that they have to have a friend with them, and that they can be sullen and uncommunicative.

I guess that can be true.

But, for our family, it isn’t. I believe skiing has given us a sacred bond, a folder of memories from which to draw, to link us together.

So, as I like to say, “the family that skis together, enjoys life together.”

For us, the sacred connection is skiing.

For Jen and her family, it’s biking, while, for Erica and her growing clan, it’s defying gravity at the crag. These pursuits link us to something larger than ourselves—to a community but also to the beauty of our world.

You don’t have to be a parent to experience the sacred in your outdoor passion. You just have to have a passion.

What’s yours?

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Exploratory caver Emily Zuber gets to literally go where no man (or woman) has gone before, but pays a price for her adventure lifestyle.

By Jayme Moye

Beneath the Surface I

nside the deepest cave in the western hemisphere, Emily Zuber follows the glow of her headlamp.

More than 1,000 feet underground, she’s long past the point where the sun shines. Wearing a helmet and harness, she moves methodically down a rope, which is tied to a bolt in the rock. Over the course of the next few hours, Emily climbs, crawls, and slithers, leading a small team through an undiscovered section of the labyrinthine Huautla cave system in Mexico. If she’s afraid, she keeps it to herself. “On an expedition of this caliber, fear is not part of the equation,” she says. “You have to be focused, dedicated, and able to do what you said you’d do when you were back up on the surface.”

The monstrous Sistema Huautla leaves little room for error. Since its discovery in 1965, it’s become known as the most complex deep cave system on the planet—a mysterious world of underground waterfalls tumbling 60 stories into subterranean lakes called sumps, massive 300-foot tall chambers, and seemingly endless passages. In 2013, a British explorer reached a depth of 5,069 feet, officially making Huautla the deepest known point in the hemisphere. “It’s completely overwhelming,” says Emily. “And completely amazing.”

Her small team of speleologists—those engaged in the scientific study and exploration of caves—is in Mexico to map and survey a previously undiscovered section of Sistema Huautla, or what’s known as “booty” in exploratory caving. It is the most gratifying, and most dangerous, type of caving. At the end of the day, Emily and her team will have mapped 1,700 feet of a place where literally no man (or woman) has gone before.

At a glance, it’s difficult to imagine that Emily regularly spends time thousands of feet under-

ground. Her pixie haircut, supermodel smile, and big blue eyes don’t exactly scream troglodyte.

More often than not, she’s the only woman on her team. And not many 25-year-olds have her breadth and depth of exploratory caving experience: a dozen expeditions to-date.

But those who know Emily’s history are not surprised by her path. Her father, Ron Zuber, was also an exploratory caver and is a fellow of The Explorer’s Club. His notable work includes co-discovering a previously unknown amphipod WAM • SPRING | 2014

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in a Glacier National Park cave. Emily’s only sibling, older brother Adam, has been caving since 2003. “It’s in my blood,” Emily says. “I grew up hearing all my dad’s stories of caving and mountaineering.”

Even as a child, Emily was extreme. From nearly the time she could walk, she was backpacking and paddling with her family. Growing up in a small town in the San Juan Islands in Washington, she concentrated on sports. By high school, she’d committed herself exclusively to soccer. “I was obsessed with it,” she remembers.

Then a knee injury her sophomore year forced Emily off the field, and into an identity crisis.

Without the physical challenge of sports, the academic and social elements of high school no longer held her attention. “When I couldn’t be an athlete, everything changed,” she says. “Maybe it was the first time I’d ever experienced what it felt like to be cynical, but high school suddenly seemed like bullshit.”

For her junior and senior years, Emily enrolled in a Running Start program, which allowed her to earn her diploma by taking classes at community college instead of attending high school. The credits also counted toward university. She had multiple surgeries on her knee, but Emily would never play soccer again, at least not at the level she aspired to.

In 2007, Emily’s dad, who had graduated from college in Bozeman, encouraged her to consider a caving expedition in the Bob Marshal Wilderness in northwestern Montana.

Desperate for any kind of physical activity, she decided to try. “I fell in love instantly,” Emily says. “There’s a really intense athleticism required for caving, and the exploration is fascinating.”

Later that year, Emily did her first expedition in Mexico and solidified caving as her new obsession. She would continue to explore caves in Mexico while she pursued a degree in gender

studies and creative writing at Fairhaven College at Western Washington University.

From the earliest expeditions, Emily stood out as precocious, tenacious, and talented.

“Emily is unique,” says Bill Steele, fellow of the National Speleological Society, fellow emeritus of The Explorers Club, and the author of two books on caving. “She asked me for advice on becoming a cutting edge explorer, got it, and then actually acted on it.”

Emily’s approach to exploratory caving was similar to her earlier soccer dedication. “When I really get into something, I learn as much as I can, and push it as hard as I can,” Emily says.

She was soon participating in some of the most significant underground explorations on the planet, alongside industry icons like Steele. In addition to Montana and Mexico, she’s explored caves in Washington, Idaho, Canada, and China, and lectured nationally and internationally.

In 2013, she was admitted membership into The Explorer’s Club, and spoke to a standing-room only crowd at the annual dinner in New York City. Her topic? “Blessings for a Dark Future: Coming of Age through the Lens of Expeditionary Caving.”

“Emily gave a thoughtful talk that went far beyond the talks of much more experienced explorers,” says attendee Milbry Polk, the Founder and Executive director of Wings WorldQuest.

“Other explorers have her courage and skill, but she’ll go far because she also has the ability to express herself.”

The question Emily gets asked most during her presentations is if she ever feels claustrophobic. She doesn’t, but she says she was terrified of heights growing up. These days, she worries more about money. “It’s funny because I almost didn’t go to New York to do that speech,” Emily says.

“I didn’t want to spend the money on a plane ticket.” It was her dad who convinced her that it was worth it, so she put the flight on a credit card and went.

Emily’s career path is technically not a career.

She doesn’t get paid for her efforts “pushing” a cave, the term for exploring virgin passage, or the mapping and surveying work that she and her team complete. Nor is she sponsored.

Unlike mountaineering, caving is a low-profile activity that isn’t featured on the covers of major magazines. All of Emily’s expeditions have been self-funded, or occasionally father-funded. “I wish there was more money for it,” she says, “because there’s so much to explore, and most of us are living like bums trying to do it.”

To support her exploration habit, Emily works seasonal jobs. She’s been a bartender, server, shipwright, and scratch chef. She is currently working for a catering company and living outside of Dubois, Wyoming (pop. 171), in a cabin built by her boyfriend. They have no running water and, this winter, used a snowmobile to travel to and from the cabin, as snowplows couldn’t reach them. Despite the challenges, Emily seems to relish her unconventional lifestyle, or at least appreciates the humor. “It’s fun,” she says.

“I shit in a bucket.”

EXOCTIC CAVING DESTINATIONS RIO SECRETO Riviera Maya | Cost: $69 | Time: 3–4 hours Nine of the world’s deepest caves are found in Mexico. Get a taste of why Emily has done so many expeditions south of the border by visiting the Secret River—an ancient underground world of crystalline water, stalactites, and stalagmites. Wetsuit and gear provided.

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ACTUN TUNICHIL MUKNAL Belize | Cost: Varies | Time: Full day After a 45-minute hike into the jungle, visitors are guided through Actun Tunichil Muknal, which translates as cave of the crystal sepulchre. The cave is a living relic of the Mayan underworld, including burial chambers with calcified skeleton remains, ceremonial vessels, and other cultural artifacts left by the Maya thousands of years ago.

CAVES OF PANG MAPHA Thailand | Cost: $18–$37 | Time: Full day In northern Thailand, in the Pang Mapha district of the Mae Hong Son province are hundreds of limestone caves. Experts at the Cave Lodge Guest House (cavelodge.com) lead day trips. Visitors can tour caves containing 280 million-year-old fossilized shells, prehistoric remains, underground waterfalls, river tunnels, massive caverns, giant natural stone columns, and crystal flowstones 65-feet high.

womensadventuremagazine.com

ELLIOT STAHL

For a less dirty, but equally amazing underground experience, add any one of these three destinations to your next international vacation.

No caving experience required.

ELLIOT STAHL

Emily’s good nature and ability to withstand harsh conditions are, of course, some of the traits that make her so successful in exploratory caving. “Emily is a dream expedition member,” says Steele. “She can cook and jumps to do a chore, is tireless, always cheerful, and brave as a Viking.”

But Emily’s sunny disposition can belie the dark side of her passion. In exploratory caving, the risk-reward tradeoff is skewed toward risk.

Despite no monetary reward, Emily takes the ultimate risk on every expedition. Besides the inherent danger of being inside a cave—a rock could fall from above, or a flash flood could fill the cavern—explorers are woefully dependent on their gear. If Emily’s anchors pull out of the rock, she could fall to her death.

Call it youthful naiveté, or perhaps wisdom far beyond her years; Emily says that the reward is worth the risk, and that the reward is something more important than money. For her, exploratory caving is a spiritual experience. “It’s

a deeply personal satisfaction to fulfill my own wonder for the unknown,” she says.

Emily is saving up for her next big expedition, a return to Sistema Huautla in April 2014, to continue mapping and surveying more booty. She also started expanding her outdoor interests to include above-ground pursuits by taking up cycling and fly-fishing. In typical Emily go-big-or-go-home fashion, she spent the summer of 2012 biking 2,700 miles unsupported through the Rocky Mountains, and, during the summer of 2013, she went flyfishing every day.

She talks about eventually using her creative writing and gender studies background to become a steward for women in the outdoors.

“I have a lot of interests, but it all comes back to exploration, to being outside and learning what nature has to offer,” she says. “It’s helped me overcome challenges in my own life, and I really want to find a way to teach that to other women.”

TRY A WILD CAVE TOUR Exploratory caving may be an expert-only endeavor, but there are numerous established caves in the western hemisphere where visitors can experience the underground world.

Professionals call these caves “commercial show caves,” and most offer walking tours. For the more adventurous, there are Wild Cave Tours, where a guide leads a small group on a caving expedition off the beaten tour path.

Here are a few of our favorites: MAMMOTH CAVE NATIONAL PARK Kentucky | Cost: $48 | Time: 6 hours Emily’s mentor Bill Steele started exploring Mammoth when he was 19. It remains America’s longest known cave system, with more than 400 miles explored. The Wild Cave Tour covers five miles worth of underground wonders and is rated extremely strenuous.

Participants must be at least 16 years of age.

JEWEL CAVE NATIONAL MONUMENT South Dakota | Cost: $27 | Time: 3–4 hours The second longest cave system in the U.S., Jewel features calcite crystals and other natural wonders that inspired its name. Participants must prove themselves by squeezing through an 8.5-inch by 24-inch crawl space before starting the Wild Cave Tour.

WIND CAVE NATIONAL PARK South Dakota | Cost: $23 | Time: 4 hours The U.S.’s third longest cave system, Wind Cave is known for its unusual honeycomb-like formations called boxwork. The Wild Cave Tour is an introduction to basic caving that includes scrambling, climbing, and belly crawling. It’s rated as moderately strenuous.

GLENWOOD CAVERNS Colorado | Cost: $25 | Time: 2 hours For a memorable kid-friendly experience, Glenwood Caverns is a safe bet for ages 10 and up. The Wild Cave Tour is shorter and less rigorous than those in the larger and more famous caves, while still providing plenty of unusual underground formations and bellycrawling opportunities.

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angela broad and Lydia blandy run trails in the marin Headlands, California

By Chris Kassar

Plants 101

m Plants 101 Spring is back and, each day, a little bit of life returns to the Earth. So, embark on sunny adventures and keep an eye out for tiny buds pushing their way skyward. Many of these plants and flowers are both stunning and useful. Here’s a quick primer on some common plants from across the country. We hope you’ll be inspired to learn more about the places you visit and your own backyard.

EAST

LADYSLIPPER ORCHID

LOWBUSH BLUEBERRY

WILD STRAWBERRY

AMERICAN GINSENG

POISON IVY

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What’s Unique Here? “In the Southeast, with warmer winters and longer growing seasons, plant identification is more of a challenge because there’s more diversity,” says independent plant ecologist and botanist Dr. Stephen R. Johnson.

In the Northeast, the short growing season and soil type (acidic, basic, neutral) influences the plants you may encounter.

Wildflower: The distinctive, delicate slipper-like flower of pink Ladyslipper orchid (Cypripedium acaule) has a fissure down the front. It’s one of the largest native orchids and “perhaps one of the most readily recognized plants in the region and one of my favorites,” says Johnson.

Edible: “Most blueberries are fine,” says Johnson, who recommends Lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium), a twiggy shrub with small, whitish-pink bell-shaped flowers that give way to tiny blue fruit. He also recommends the nutritious and healing Wild strawberry (Fragaria virginiana) and Woodland strawberry (F. vesca).

“Both contain a substance called ellagic acid that is considered heart healthy and anti-cancer,” says Johnson.

Medicinal: American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) is a highly valued herb believed to boost energy and immunity and help the body cope with stress. It occurs all over the East, but is very easy to miss. “Deer may nip off some or all of a plant before you ever see it and, because it’s such a valuable medicinal on the world market, it is also likely that plants disappear through legal or illegal harvesting by humans,” says Johnson.

Poisonous: We’ve all heard terrible tales of poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) and the maddening rash it creates. It’s pervasive throughout the East but, if you can identify it, you can avoid it! Key features: almond-shaped leaves often with subtle teeth along edges; leaflets appear in threes and have pointed tips; middle leaflet has longer stalk. It can grow as a ground cover or woody vine that climbs trees.

SOUTHWEST What’s Unique Here? “The sheer number of species,” says Carianne Funicelli Campbell, president of the Tucson Chapter of Arizona Native Plant Society. Great variety in topography, geology, elevation, and ecosystems make for a “phenomenal diversity of species.”

Wildflower: Parry’s penstemon (Penstemon parryi) is an “iconic Sonoran Desert species with electric pink blooms,” says Campbell.

Because it is equally at home in desert canyons and yards, the AZNPS often hands out seeds at outreach events. “It is like a ‘gateway drug’ to other natives: It is readily PARRY’S available and easy to grow, PENSTEMON plus its beautiful blooms attract hummingbirds.”

Medicinal: “When the ‘desert smells like rain,’ it is actually resins within this ubiquitous shrub releasing that delicious and unmistakable odor,” says Campbell. Creosote (Larrea tridentata) has a wide variety of medicinal properties, including use as an anti-microbial agent.

It has been used to cure fever, influenza, colds, upset stomach, gas, gout, arthritis, sinusitis, anemia, CREOSOTE and fungus infections.

Edible: Chiltepin (Capsicum annuum var. glabriusculum), the natural progenitor of the cultivated chile pepper, grows wild in the sheltered canyons of southern Arizona and northern Sonora, Mexico.

It produces small round reddish orange peppers that CHILTEPIN are very hot, important in local cuisine, and relished by birds.

Poisonous: Sacred datura (Datura wrightii) is best known and most often used as a hallucinogenic, but all of its parts are poisonous if ingested. “This doesn’t diminish its beauty and ecological importance.

The hand-sized white trumpet flowers bloom at SACRED DATURA night and early morning to attract pollinators, including bats and moths.” womensadventuremagazine.com

Plants 101

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ROCKIES What’s Unique Here? “Plant and ecosystem diversity and the changes that occur with elevation, exposure, and moisture,” says Christina MacLeod, an experienced teacher specializing in native and medicinal plants.

CAMAS LILY

PACIFIC NORTHWEST What’s Unique Here? “Relatively fewer kinds of plants grow here than in other regions making plant identification easier than in some areas,” says Tierra Curry, a conservation biologist with the Center for Biological Diversity. The habitats in the Pacific Northwest are relatively homogenous (moist forests or big peaks) and, because the growing season is so much shorter, plants have to be adapted to grow there, which limits the options.

Wildflower: Camas lily (Camassia quamash) is a lovely deep blue-violet flower with an open spike of star-shaped blossoms. It grows in meadows in spring seasonal flood plains, and the bulbs were a staple in the diet of tribes along the Columbia River.

Medicinal: The common understory plant, Oregon grape (Mahonia aquifolium) is an evergreen shrub with spiny, holly-like leaves, clusters of sweet-smelling yellow flowers, and dark bitter berries. “Tinctures made from Oregon grape roots are used to treat digestive issues and are used externally for their anti-microbial properties,” says Curry of Oregon’s state flower.

Edible: Salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis) has magenta flowers that produce big, pinkish-orange berries in summer. This plant grows along streambanks and can tower to 12 feet tall. “Salmonberries only turn red if they are exposed to a lot of sunlight and they aren’t as sweet as other berries,” says Curry, but they still make a tasty trail treat.

OREGON GRAPE

SALMON BERRY

Poisonous: Cascara (Rhamnus purshiana) has mottled gray bark, CASCARA deeply ridged oval leaves, and round black berries. The aged cascara bark of this shrub can be used to treat constipation, but ingesting fresh-cut cascara bark causes severe vomiting and diarrhea. “Even roasting marshmallows on a cascara stick can cause severe diarrhea, as can eating too many of the edible, but not tasty, berries,” says Curry.

Wildflower: The iconic, showy, blue and white Colorado columbine (Aquilegia coerulea) was designated as the state flower of Colorado in 1899 thanks to a special referendum proposed by school children. It’s commonly found in moist, shaded forests, meadows, and aspen groves. Picking it is illegal.

Medicinal: Heart-leaf arnica (Arnica cordifolia) is a showy yellow sunflower-type blossom with a solitary flower head and hairy, heart-shaped leaves. “It’s used topically in salves, ointments, and creams for healing traumatic injuries like bruising, sprains, muscle tears, and overuse,” says MacLeod, who warns that it is toxic so it “should not be taken internally except with professional supervision.”

Edible: All parts of the Wild rose (Rosa woodsii) are edible and medicinal, but of particular interest is its fruit, the “rosehip.” The tiny round, fleshy reddish-orange hips can be eaten raw, cooked, or made as a tea—just be sure to split them open and pull out the hairy inner seeds. “It is rich in Vitamin C, flavonoids, and antioxidants and tastes best harvested after the first frost,” advised MacLeod.

Poisonous: Despite the appealing appearance of Monkshood’s (Aconitum columbianum) beautiful purple flowers, all parts of this plant are toxic to the touch and deadly if ingested.

COLORADO COLUMBINE

HEART-LEAF ARNICA

WILD ROSE

MONKSHOOD

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m Thru-Hiking BEFORE

By Chris Kassar

Thru-Hiking

Deciding To Go

3 Things to Consider

The sun isn’t up, but you can’t Most folks don’t need to go through 1. Pick a direction. Your schedule an intense decision process before and what the weather window alsleep thanks to a massive case of heading into the wild. “A thru-hike lows will often dictate this, but take the jitters. You revel in your final is a calling—an irresistible one that into account that the direction you shower, don the same clothes you’ll won’t be denied. If you feel that call choose to hike the trail will give you deep in your being, the hike will be a very different social experience. If be wearing every day for the next a physical, emotional, psychologiyou want solitude on popular trails, few months, and put the finishing cal, and spiritual deconstruction of you’ll get more if you hike against the self,” says Gail Storey, author the grain. touches on your loaded pack. of I Promise Not to Suffer: A Fool Shortly after stepping out into the for Love Hikes the Pacific Crest 2. Choose partners wisely. “Be warm, Mexican spring air, a soonTrail, winner of the 2013 National cautious about committing to a big trip with someone whom you have to-be-friend pulls over and offers a Outdoor Book Award.

Answering the call can require not spent a lot of time hiking with,” ride. When you reach the trailhead, you to push uncertainty aside and says Kristin. “Thru-hiking is a lot you say thanks, grab your pack, and take the plunge. “Long distance hik- of fun, and, with the right person, slam the door on your old life. Over ing is something that you either love you can be laughing and having a so much that it will change your ball the entire time. With the wrong the course of the next five months, entire life or it’s not for you. If you person, it can be a pretty miserable feel inspired to do it, go for it,” says experience. It can also be stressful you wander the Mexican desert, Kristin Gates, the first woman to and you can find yourself in perilous traverse Sierran ridges, and cruise complete a solo traverse of Alaska’s situations where you want to be with through the Cascades to complete Brooks Range. someone who has a good head on his or her shoulders and is going to a challenging and transformational make good decisions.”

2,650-mile journey. Sounds incredible, right? If this idea speaks 3. Train ahead of time.

Set Realistic Expectations to you, don’t wait any longer. Start Spending months in the woods will be spiri- “Start training one to two years in advance, tual and life changing, but it will also be full scheming now and, this time next so you’re in excellent of challenging and difficult moments. “A lot year, your dream will be reality. shape to hike for several of people either romanticize thru-hiking or hours a day over varying think that hikers are completely miserable and terrain in all kinds of being eaten by bears. You’ll have some perfect weather,” advises Gail. days of great weather and nights sitting around campfires by still lakes and other days will be hell, but most of the time the experience falls somewhere in between,” says Kristin.

Keys To Thru-Hike Preparation

Practice: Anyone can become a thru-hiker; some need practice while others can just jump right in. “On my first thru-hike on Vermont’s Long Trail, I had never been camping before and figured everything out by making mistakes and learning from them,” says Kristin, who suggests that most people start out on easier trails where civilization is never too far off. “Other trails are less forgiving and you’ll want to have your act together because mistakes can be a big deal.” Going on shorter hikes can help you learn skills, test your gear, and establish your emotional and physical fitness.

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PORTER STOREY

Plan: Levels of planning vary based on the trail you’ve chosen and your personality but, at a minimum, you’ve got to get the right gear and maps, familiarize yourself with the route, plan resupplies, and settle things in your off-trail life so you can remain in the moment. Planning for the costs is also crucial to success: “The big costs of thru-hiking are gear, food, and hotel stays, and they can add up if you are eating at a restaurant and staying in a hotel at every town you pass through,” Kristin says. “Other than that, it’s not a terribly expensive way to spend half a year.”

PORTER STOREY

Thru-Hiking

DURING Pitfalls to Avoid:

m

AFTER Cope with Letdown

• Carrying too much or too little: too much of the wrong things, and not enough of what you really need • Lacking the fitness, time, and money to successfully complete the hike • Getting injured, dehydrated, mentally and emotionally exhausted • Losing too much weight and muscle mass • Spending too much time in towns, except for resupply and needed rest

“Seeing the world on foot is a great way to travel and really see places and meet people as you are passing through. As a thru-hiker you get to see all the places in between that most people will never get to see.”—KG

It’s normal to feel a bit of a letdown after any great achievement, especially one like a thru-hike where you’ve spent a couple years getting ready and half a year enjoying an adventure.

Gail suggests doing three things: “Pause to let the mystery of nature soak into your being. Give in to immense gratitude. Knock back some killer champagne.”

After the high has worn off, Kristin has another great way to deal—one which many of us can attest to as fool-proof for combating any post-adventure blues: “Start planning your next adventure!”

Be Kind to Yourself

“Reaching the end of a trail can be a really difficult thing,” says Kristin.

“You have to say goodbye to friends whom you have traveled with and bonded with through crazy situations and to a lifestyle that you have learned to love.”

You may experience great internal changes, so it’s important to take your time and ease back into the world gently if you can. “Be soft with yourself and other people while your body, mind, and spirit find their new way in the world,” says Gail. “You’ll walk lighter on the Earth.”

Maximize Your Thru-Hiking Experience

Be Flexible: How far you’ll hike each day depends on your ability, the terrain, the distance to water or your next resupply, and the weather window for the entire thru-hike. You may have to pull longer days in the desert just to reach water, while you may cover less ground in the mountains if you are kicking steps into icy, steep hillsides for miles and miles.

Eat Well: “Our motto could be: ‘I eat, therefore I am,’” says Gail, who believes a variety of tasty food is extremely important for keeping energy and morale high.

“My husband, Porter, got out his spice kit at the end of each day and cooked us a gourmet dinner in a three-ounce pot.

We dined on pan-Asian fusion, ratatouille au rehydrated tofu, and cheese-bread with raisins. I cook at home and he cooks in the wilderness—fair enough!”

Keys to Success

Kristin’s best thru-hiking tips can help you through tough times: • Have fun and enjoy every second (even the rainy, buggy, cold ones). Attitude is everything.

• Be mindful of what you wanted to get out of the hike and make it happen.

Gail says these tried and true methods will keep you hiking happily: • Perseverance, resilience, flexibility, a can-do attitude, and chocolate.

• Preparation, training, and taking good care of yourself while on your hike.

Develop Mental Coping Strategies: “Most thru-hikers are out there because they LOVE thru-hiking and it’s all that they want to be doing,” says Kristin.

But, even though she’s usually happy to be out there, sometimes she does get lonely or burned out. Kristin gets through by listening to a comedy podcast while Gail suggests “developing inner resources—before and on the trail—to manage your thoughts and feelings. Mindfulness meditation is a useful practice.”

Check Out, But Stay in Touch: “You’ll get infinitely more out of the wilderness experience if you take a break from your regular life, the Internet, and social media,” says Gail. “A long distance hike is a rare opportunity to delve into your own being without work, social, and cultural pressures.”

However, recognizing that family members will worry, it’s probably a good idea to follow Gail’s example and stay in touch with family by calling one family member from each resupply town just to reassure them.

BEYOND MAP AND COMPASS

The Surprising Skill You Need

Mastering how not to look like a criminal when you hitchhike into town so that people will pick you up Step 1: Carry a little extra water from the most recent water source so that you can wash your face and your hands when you reach the road.

Step 2: Put a hat on so that the people driving by won’t catch a glimpse of your crazy hiker hair.

Step 3: Wear your cleanest looking clothing. For me, this was my bright blue down jacket and black rain pants. Don’t wear sunglasses.

Step 4: Make sure your backpack is in view so it is more obvious that you are a hiker.

Step 5: Smile and wave no matter how many cars pass you by. Sometimes a car that passes you will turn around to give you a ride.

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By Anna Brones

Dutch Oven Cooking

m Dutch Oven Cooking

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What is a Dutch Oven?

In a way, the Dutch oven is really one of the world’s first ovens, giving people an ability to bake with not much more than a fire. Originating in Holland, as the name indicates, Dutch ovens have been used to cook for centuries and were particularly popular in the U.S. from the late 1700s to the early 1900s; even Lewis and Clark had one along on their expedition.

The Dutch oven cooking concept is simple: a heavy, high-sided pot, with a tight-fitting lid, usually made of cast metal. Put the ingredients in, put over heat, and wait until the meal is ready.

In the modern world, there are two versions, one for outdoor use and one for indoor use, but the cooking concept remains the same, and it’s perfect for foods that need an even, slow cook, ideal for tough cuts of meat, breads, soups, and stews.

Perhaps for its versatility, or perhaps because it is reminiscent of a simpler time—after all, cooking in a Dutch oven these days truly is the definition of “slow food”—Dutch oven cooking is having a comeback, both at home and on the campfire.

The Basics of Dutch Oven Cooking Dutch ovens are used for foods that require even, slow cooking. Think stews, soups, and casseroles. But, how exactly do you go about

cooking with a Dutch oven? Let’s cover the basics.

While the term “Dutch oven” can be used to describe a variety of cookware, most often people think of cast iron, and Dutch oven cooking is more of a reference to the method of cooking the food than the actual vessel in which you do it.

For outdoor use, a Dutch oven cooking pot will often have three legs that allow it to sit just above the coals, as well as a lid with raised edges that allow you to place coals on the top. Indoor cooks will use the enameled versions—you’ve most likely seen a beautiful Le Creuset Dutch oven sitting in the window of a kitchen store. But despite their physical differences, the cooking concept is essentially the same.

One of the most important things is to not try to speed up the cooking time; you have to let the Dutch oven do its thing. “Don’t use a lot of coals on the bottom if you are baking or roasting. Just like turning up the heat on your stove, using a lot of heat will get you burnt bacon in a hurry!” says Lesley Tennessen, Region Representative for International Dutch Oven Society for the Midwest and commonly known as Dutch Oven Diva.

For cooking outside, there are obviously two ways to get heat under the cooking pot; build a fire and wait for it to burn down to a coal bed, or use charcoal briquettes. There’s an art, and almost a science to cooking with coals, but the basic rule of thumb is that one charcoal briquette equals about 12°F of temperature. Common Dutch oven practice is to keep it at around 350°F, which, for a 12-inch cooking pot, would be about eight coals on the top and 16 on the bottom.

This may sound a little technical, but “temperature control is the biggest hurdle one needs to consider when cooking with the Dutch oven,” says Colorado Outward Bound School instructor Bob Wojtalik, who has been cooking with a Dutch oven for about 15 years. He likes to bring his on multi-day river trips. “If you want to fry or boil, the heat needs to come from the bottom, and to bake, the heat needs to be split with a little heat under the Dutch oven and the majority on the top.”

This is why many Dutch oven cooking enthusiasts swear by charcoal briquettes. But while charcoal briquettes certainly provide the most reliable heat source, they are not the only one, and anyone that’s looking to do outdoor cooking should get ready to experiment a little. “Charcoal briquettes are a standard heat source, but any wood coal (hardwoods, juniper) will do with twig fires on top of your Dutchie as a backup when you want a hot top,” says Paul Duba, Outward Bound Course Director and Program Manager, who got hooked on Dutch oven cooking back in the 1970s.

The other key for Dutch oven cooking? Being equipped. Beyond the cooking pot and lid, you need a thick pair of gloves that will let you comfortably handle the hot metal, but also a pair of pliers or a lid lifter.

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Dutch Oven Cooking

9 Tips for Dutch Oven Beginners 1. Don’t be intimidated.

“Baking with a Dutch oven is easy, especially if you have some skills in your kitchen at home. Think of a portable oven with the difference being you are heating with coals and not gas or electric.”—Bob Wojtalik 2. Don’t take your kitchen Dutch oven camping!

The Dutch oven you use indoors is not designed for use outdoors.

“Camp Dutch ovens are not enameled, so they will withstand the high heat of a campfire well. They usually have feet to stand over coals, as well as a lip on the lid to place coals on top.”—Emily Trudeau 3. Prep your coals.

If you’re cooking on a campfire, you don’t want to cook over open, dancing flames, because you won’t get that nice, slow cook that the Dutch oven is known for producing. Spend some time with the fire so you get a good bed of coals, where the Dutch oven can sit on top.

4. Cooking will go faster than at home.

Keep an eye on your meal, checking every 10 minutes or so. Also keep in mind that you are going for an even cook, so if one side seems to be cooking faster or slower than the other, reposition the Dutch oven.

5. Remember that heat goes up.

This means you want less heat below the Dutch oven and more heat on top. Paul recommends starting with about a quarter of the heat under it, which is good when you are trying to achieve a baking recipe.

If you are roasting or simmering, then you want more heat from the bottom, so adjust accordingly. “Start the briquettes all together somewhere nearby and move them into place under and above your Dutchie when they start to turn grey.”

6. Keep Your Dutch oven clean.

Just because you’re cooking outdoors doesn’t mean you get to skip doing the dishes. “Clean your Dutch oven by adding water to it and heating it over the campfire again. This will loosen burnt bits, since it is not recommended to use any soap in your oven. Dry it fully and coat it with a little oil to keep it seasoned for the next use.”—Emily Trudeau 7. Start easy.

You don’t need to make a three-course dinner your first time. “Try something easy like a casserole, meatloaf, or some biscuits until you are used to or have mastered ‘heat management.’ ”—Lesley Tennessen 8. Don’t be afraid to experiment.

Mastering the art of Dutch oven cooking isn’t going to come overnight, but, if you use your cooking savvy, you’ll do just fine. “A garden trowel or similar big spoon is handy for moving coals around and tinkering with the heat. Dutch oven cooking is an art form, and there is no substitute for trial and error,” says Paul.

9. Invest in a good quality Dutch oven.

Buying a Dutch oven can certainly be an investment, but remember that it’s a long-term one. These things are sturdy and meant to last. “Buy something of quality that’s heavy and will cook food the most evenly,” says Emma Christensen, “The Kitchn” Recipe Editor. We recommend the GSI Outdoors Hard Anodized Aluminum Dutch Oven ($69.95–139.95; gsioutdoors.com). Heavy duty, efficient, even, and nonreactive, this cast aluminum Dutch oven with a lid lip comes in 10-, 12-, or 14-inch sizes and, while sturdy, weighs 66 percent less than cast iron.

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Hack a Dutch Oven in the Backcountry

When you’re on a weeklong backcountry trip, lugging a heavy cast-iron pot with you certainly isn’t an option. But hacking a Dutch oven is.

Essentially, to come up with a makeshift Dutch oven, you use two lighter items of cookware to create the same “oven” effect as you would have with a traditional heavier cooking pot. Once you’ve figured out your pot system, you just need to make sure that you’re in a zone where fires are permitted, so that you can create your heat source.

Emily Trudeau, one of the three founders of Dirty Gourmet, a website dedicated to gourmet outdoor cooking, recommends using two nesting ultra-light pots. “Line the bigger one with hot coals, then nest the smaller one into that. Fill the smaller one with your recipe. Cover with two lids if possible, and place coals on top. You could also bury the whole thing in a bed of coals. Check often for doneness. It will probably cook more quickly than a traditional Dutch oven.”

Paul points out that a hacked Dutch oven is great for “pizza, cornbread, biscuits, and the like” and says that you can get away with using a pair of large skillets with one flipped over as a lid.

Dutch Oven Facts The Dutch oven was declared the official Utah State Cooking Pot in 1997, as the Official State Cooking Vessel of Arkansas in 2001, and the Official Cooking Implement of Texas in 2005.

There is an International Dutch Oven Society—every year the nonprofit organization hosts a World Championship Cook-Off. The fourth episode of the second season of Miami Vice was titled “Dutch Oven.”

Dutch ovens are popular with the emergency preparedness and survival crowd, as they allow you to cook without electricity.

Easy Dutch Oven Recipe: Posole Pie A favorite of the Outward Bound crew, recommended by both Paul and Bob Prepare a mix of onions, garlic, tomatoes, beans, and hominy. Add spices (cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper) and cook to a stew-like consistency.

Layer this with corn tortillas, shredded cheese, Hatch green chile, and black olives, as if you were making lasagna.

Fill your Dutch oven half way to the top with these layers and then cover your “pie” with a half inch of batter from a cornbread mix.

You get bonus points for mixing grated cheese and more green chile into this batter. Cook until the pie bubbles and the cornbread is brown.

Find more recipes, like Dutch oven stuffed peppers or strawberry rhubard cobbler, at dirtygourmet.com.

10 Recipe Ideas Berry Cobbler Bread Oatmeal Baked apples Stew Stuffed Peppers Chili Apple Crisp Cornbread Tortilla Soup

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By Jennifer C. Olson

Bike Safety

m Bike Safety

Top 5 Things to Know and Do Before Riding on Roads Practice makes perfect. When Kate Powlison first started out on a road bike, it took her a while to figure out how to get off the bike intersections and maneuver it while pedaling so she was comfortable riding in a straight line. She spent time simply getting used to her bike and understanding how long it takes to come to a full stop.

Make sure you can reach the brake levers. “I have small hands so being able to comfortably reach those is important,” Kate says. “I also had a mechanic look at my brakes and make sure they were working.”

Be comfortable hitting a section of dirt if you’re a recreational road rider. “I was riding behind another woman the other day and there was some roadwork

Advances in Urban Riding

Martha’s recent focus at work has been centered on one question: How do we get more people on bikes? “We’ve been studying what it’s going to take to get people riding,” she says.

Though there’s a huge potential for people to make trips by bike, many just don’t do it very often. “If you dive deep into why people aren’t biking more,” Martha says, “you find the reason is that they’re scared. They don’t feel safe in this system that we’ve been using and building. If we don’t feel safe, marketing is not going to change that. You might commute once on Bike to Work Day, but you won’t do it again if the street system isn’t inviting.”

Paths, rail trails, neighborhood streets are great for biking. But, on the streets, the speed and volume of cars is really uncomfortable, Martha says. “It’s scary to ride on a big street, even if there’s a conventional bike lane.”

Women are generally more risk-averse than men, Martha says, so our system particularly doesn’t work so well for women. “In some European cities, more than 50 percent of the riders 64

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So you think you’re a safe cyclist. Test your knowledge and ensure your wellbeing on the roads with these tips from our friends at the nation’s leading bicycling advocacy organization, PeopleForBikes (peopleforbikes.org).

Martha Roskowski is the director of the PeopleForBikes Green Lane Project. She leads the group’s urban efforts for transportation riding, commuting, and more, describing for Women’s Adventure the relationship between the infrastructure she’s creating and getting more women to ride.

Kate Powlison, a communications manager at PeopleForBikes began with the organization as a researcher almost six years ago now. “It’s been fun to see not only how the organization is growing but also how bike lanes are expanding,” she says. “It’s a fun time to be part of the movement.” happening ahead of us, and she braked really hard,” Kate says. “I almost crashed because of that. You wouldn’t do that in your car, so be prepared to ride through rough patches in the road surface.”

Know how to ride with other people. Learning to ride in a group can be intimidating especially if you have to ride close to other people. “I had to learn to ride steadily and not brake,” Kate says. “You can learn a lot from more experienced riders about how to handle rough sections or intersections with cars, even places without a protected bike lane.”

are women” she says. “In the U.S., it’s about 20 percent.”

So, she and PeopleForBikes advocate for solutions.

PeopleForBikes launched the Green Lane Project in 2012, providing resources like leaders and technical assistance to a group of cities that had the right mix of support to get these lanes in place: Portland, San Francisco, Memphis, Chicago, and Washington D.C. “They’ve all been building protected lanes and seeing really strong results,” Martha says. For 2014 and 2015, six more cities are on board to build models.

The Green Lane Project is a very focused effort to build ideal urban models and ultimately inspire copycat projects around the country. On a broader level, PeopleForBikes works to raise awareness about protected bike lanes, Martha says, explaining that a bike path with “some kind of separation between the bikes and cars” is considered a protected lane.

“If people see them, people will want them,” Martha says. “It’ll help build the political support

to get them on the group. We’re talking about rearranging how streets work, and that’s not easy because that space is already being used for cars in most cities. So, elected officials need to have courage, and that courage really comes from people asking for [protected bike lanes].”

As more and more communities realize that getting people on bikes is good for various reasons, cities across the country are building protected bike lanes. In fact, some are racing to be the first in their respective to build them.

“They’re seeing it as a type of economic development,” Martha says. “Companies wanting to hire talented young people will increasingly look for bike lanes to attract those young people who want to walk and bike places.”

Martha says U.S. cities are definitely progressing but still have work to do. “Europe has been building them for forty years but we’ve only started building them in the past three to four years,” she says. “They’re showing up all across the country. We feel safer. In particular, women feel safer.” womensadventuremagazine.com

Bike Safety

m

Join the Movement and Ride Urban Roads “My advice would be to give it a try,” Martha says. “Cities and towns have really been doing a lot to make biking better and if you haven’t been riding a bike, you might not know it.” So, pump up your tires, get out your comfortable clothes, and do a short ride around the neighborhood.

Talk to your friends who ride bikes. “A lot of people who don’t ride bikes are afraid or embarrassed, maybe even intimidated by their friends who ride bikes,” Martha says. “But what they don’t know is that their friends will be incredibly patient and supportive, and it’ll be a lot of fun.”

Always come to a complete stop at red lights and stop signs. The laws apply to you as well as to drivers. The reality is that not everyone is paying as much attention as they should be, and some drivers may not understand the laws or know how to behave when sharing the road with cyclists. So, it pays to exercise caution and play by the rules.

Find a group to ride with and participate in a skills clinic to advance your handling skills and up your confidence on a bike. “One thing that’s helped me a lot has been doing things other than road riding, like cyclocross or mountain bike clinics,” Kate says.

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Join PeopleForBikes in the efforts to get more people riding and safer systems in place. When you sign up, you’ll also get more tips and advocacy news via e-mail. peopleforbikes.org

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Invite others. If you already bike, ask yourself: “Who are my friends and coworkers who might want to ride?” Then, take them out. They might have fun.

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gear

Sleeping Bags and Pads NIGHTTIME NESTS SO COZY YOU’LL HARDLY EVEN MISS HOME

By Chris Kassar

Best Down

Mountain Hardwear Heratio 32

Best Synthetic

The North Face Women’s Cat’s Meow What: Classic, female-specific sleep sack built for adventures down to 200F Claim to Fame: Light and highly compressible compared to other synthetics; durable and resilient yet with a silky soft lining that means you won’t miss your bed Best for: Three-season backpacking, Pacific Northwest or Eastern exploits, kayaking and pack-rafting voyages Why you want it: The bag is designed to match the contours of the female form, which means less bulk but added insulation where you need it.

Special features: Lightweight, windand water-resistant top shell plus a glow-in-the-dark zipper pull How much it’ll cost ya: $189.00– $209.00; thenorthface.com

What: Lightweight sleeping sack showcasing an innovative baffle construction that delivers consistent warmth all night long Claim to Fame: Water-repellent Q.Shield Down means this down bag retains maximum loft in damp conditions and repels moisture.

Best for: Desert rats, thru-hikers, summer backpacking, shoulder season journeys Why you want it: It’s made of high tech materials and performs extremely well but the price tag won’t make you cry or push you to take out a second mortgage.

Special features: Tired of battling with a snagged zipper?

The insulated draft tube prevents air from getting in and has a panel to prevent snags so you can sleep in peace.

How much it’ll cost ya: $230; mountainhardwear.com

Best Inflatable Pad Big Agnes Insulated Q-Core SL

What: Light, compact, three-season air pad that features synthetic insulation with anti-bacterial and anti-odor properties Claim to Fame: Unique-to-Big-Agnes “I-beam” construction increases comfort, reduces cold spots, and allows for efficient inflation and deflation Best for: Three-season backpacking and camping, river adventures, hut trips

Best Foam Pad Therm-a-Rest Z Lite Sol

What: Versatile, full-length, closed-cell sleeping pad Claim to Fame: Lightweight pad with an aluminized surface that reflects heat back to your body making this version 20 percent warmer than the previous model Best for: Just about anyone anywhere

Why you want it: This pad provides quilted comfort and the right amount of insulation to make sure you get some Zzz’s even when sleeping on cold, hard ground.

Why you want it: It is more compact and durable than most foam pads, will never pop, and works well on its own or in conjunction with a foam pad when ounces don’t matter.

Special features: A unique design—with bigger air chambers on the outside—keeps you nestled comfortably in the middle of the pad; comes in rectangular or mummy shape and various sizes.

How much it’ll cost ya: $34.95–$44.95; cascadedesigns.com

Special features: Egg-carton pattern traps warm air under your bag and adds softness to the design

How much it’ll cost ya: $139.95–$219.95; bigagnes.com 66

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Sleeping Bags & Pads

Best Couples Option

Marmot Plasma 0

Therm-a-Rest Vela Double Blanket

What: Bomber rip-resistant, 0-degree down bag that weighs just over two pounds

What: Down blanket that will keep you cozy on any frontcountry adventure down to 400F Claim to Fame: Saves relationships because you don’t have to curl up in separate sleeping bags anymore Best for: Newlyweds, romantic hut getaways, warm-weather car camping and road tripping Why you want it: This sweet blanket provides maximum comfort, freedom of movement, temperature regulation, and closeness in a soft, decadent package.

Special features: Shaped footbox prevents drafts; loop kit allows you to pair it with any mattress; the double size comfortably fits two large NeoAir camper mattresses.

How much it’ll cost ya: $279.95; cascadedesigns.com

Best Old School Mummy

Claim to Fame: One of the lightest coldweather bags in the game

What: Traditional mummy bag built specifically for adventurous women who enjoy cold weather escapades

Best for: Ounce counters, long distance backpackers, winter and spring mountaineering/ camping

Big Agnes W’s Lithia Spring SL 15

Claim to Fame: Made of water resistant, antimicrobial, and antibacterial DownTek™

Best Sleep System

Best for: Alpinists, backpackers, winter overnights, backcountry ski trips

What: An integrated system that links one of the warmest, lightest women-specific bags with a durable, lightweight pad for a super comfortable night’s sleep.

Why you want it: It offers all-around warmth and insulation in a light, fast, water-repellent package.

Therm-a-Rest Adara™ 0F (-18C) Down and NeoAir Trekker

Claim to Fame: Both components boast a unique reflective lining called ThermaCapture™ that holds onto your radiant heat to boost warmth.

Best for: Fitful sleepers, ounce counters, mountaineering/high altitude trips Why you want it: This four-season system—complete with handy elastic “Synergy-Link Connectors” that keep the bag firmly attached to the mattress and prevent cold spots—delivers increased comfort in even the gnarliest conditions.

Special features: Toe-asis™, which is a tiny down pocket nestled in the footbox that warms feet up fast!

Sheer brilliance, if you ask us.

How much it’ll cost ya: Adara size regular $499.95, NeoAir Trekker $129.95; cascadedesigns.com

Special features: Zippers are built so you can mate bags; hood locks out drafts better than most mummy bags.

How much it’ll cost ya: $379.95; bigagnes.com

gear

Best Warmth for Weight

Why you want it: Extremely soft, comfortable, and breathable fabric keeps you cozy when the temp drops.

Special features: Vertical baffles maximize thermal efficiency and distribute heat more evenly than horizontal or square baffles from head to toe; unique design includes a face muff that lets you breathe even with the hood cinched.

How much it’ll cost ya: $649; marmot.com

Best Half Bag Brooks Range Elephant Foot What: Three-quarter length down bag with an elastic suspension system meant to lock you into the bag and decrease drafts Claim to Fame: Works with a big puffy jacket to help you sleep in comfort despite subfreezing temperatures.

Best for: Thru-hikers, mountaineers, ultralight expeditions, portaledge/bivy situations Why you want it: It works with any hooded parka—which you’ll be carrying anyway—to create an incredibly light, compact, and adaptable combo.

Special features: Weighs only 16 ounces; waist draw cord creates a seal with your parka to prevent drafts How much it’ll cost ya: $299.95; brooks-range.com

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gear

Backpacks

By Chris Kassar

A DOZEN SPECIALIZED PACKS FOR EVERY TYPE OF ADVENTURESS If you’re anything like us, you’ve got a quiver of sport-specific packs stashed somewhere in your house. But in the last year or two, innovative advances in technology and design have brought packs a long way. Here are a few of the best new products and some Crush It On Climbs redesigned classics. We’re sure they’ll Gregory Alpinisto 50 blow your socks off and inspire you to A two-for-one climbing pack that easily handles gnarly add a couple more to your stash.

Patagonia Black Hole Bag

alpine conditions; removable components mean you can quickly transform this from a beefy load hauler to a featherweight (two pounds!) summit bag.

Burly, extremely durable, waterproof duffel that converts to a backpack and is ideal for hauling and protecting important gear from wet weather and rough handling.

Who It’s For: Alpinists, rock and ice climbers, ouncecounting guides, and mountaineers

Who It’s For: Expeditionists, international adventurers, climbing gurus

Bonus Features: New Fusion Flex™ suspension, which uses an aluminum stay and specialized shoulder and waistbelt padding plus a heat-formed back panel to allow maximum movement while providing peak support and load transfer; crampon pocket designed to offer protection from sharp points; integrated sled-pull attachments that offer greater stability; uniquely designed ice tool attachment system.

Durable Duffel

Bonus Features: Padded shoulder straps allow for backpack carry; water resistant zippers and seams; u-shaped lid for quick access; internal mesh pockets for organization Details: Available in 45- through 120-liter sizes, $99–159; patagonia.com

Run Free

Salomon S-Lab Advanced Skin Hydro 12 Set Light, form-fitting running pack that minimizes bounce and has multiple pockets and enough space to carry what you need to go the distance.

Details: Available in 35- and 50-liter sizes; $199-229; gregorypacks.com

Who It’s For: Ultra-runners, long distance racers, triathletes Bonus Features: Two 500-milliliter soft flasks that “shrink as you drink” sit snugly in easily accessible front pockets; twin-link adjustment system eliminates pressure points on your chest and keeps you breathing easy; elastic mesh wicks moisture and conforms to your shape; emergency blanket included.

Details: $185; salomon.com/us

Work in Style: Overland Equipment Cambridge This stylish portable workstation carries well as a tote, briefcase, or backpack and expands to fit everything needed for a productive day on the job.

Who It’s For: Travelers and commuters Bonus Features: Thoughtfully designed and placed pockets organize your life and keep everything in its place; padded neoprene sleeve fits a 15.4-inch laptop; stowable backpack straps.

Do-It-All

Boreas Bootlegger This choose-your-own-adventure, modular pack system is like no other out there; swap the “Super-Tramp Suspension” to create a bag that fits your needs for any given day.

Who It’s For: Active adventurers and international travelers looking for a do-it-all pack, minimalists, multi-sport athletes Bonus Features: Can be a fully submersible dry-bag, an urban commuter, a day hiker or cycling pack; both suspension strategies—highventilation trampoline and high-stability— provide incredible support and make carrying this pack a joy.

Details: $199; boreasgear.com

Details: $95; overlandequipment.com 68

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Backpacks

Backpack in Comfort This rough and tumble, women-specific pack is one of the most versatile out there; BD’s unique ergoACTIV XP suspension— which uses a pivoting hip belt and innovative Swingarm shoulder straps— adds stability to long days on the trail and years to your back.

Who It’s For: Adventurous women, backpackers, alpine climbers Bonus Features: Front zipper provides access to main compartment; numerous smartly placed pockets and straps provide organization.

Details: $289.95; blackdiamondequipment.com

Ski Safe

gear

Black Diamond Onyx 75

Black Diamond Alias AvaLung Technical, lightweight 33-liter winter pack sporting BD’s innovative “reACTIV suspension” that matches your movements for added performance, efficiency, and comfort.

Who It’s For: Ski mountaineers, backcountry touring skiers or boarders, sidecountry skiers Bonus Features: Avalung extends your air supply if you are buried in a slide; ice tool PickPockets™ and rope strap stash gear on the way up and down; comfortable A-frame ski carry.

Details: $279.95; blackdiamondequipment.com

Walk Softly Osprey Exos

Fast and light pack with a sleek design that utilizes Osprey’s Superlight AirSpeed™ suspension* and a lightly padded harness and hipbelt to boost this pack’s comfort— and your happiness factor—in a big way. *AirSpeed Suspension merges breathable material, an alloy frame, and cross struts to maximize ventilation and minimize hotspots.

Who It’s For: Ultralight enthusiasts, thruhikers, day hikers Bonus Features: Weighs less than 2.5 pounds; you can go “lidless” in style by removing the brain and deploying the FlapJacket™ lid, which allows more compression and provides protection from the elements when you want to lighten your load even further.

Details: Avail in 38-, 48-, 58-liter sizes, $160–220; ospreypacks.com

Haul with Confidence

Go Big and Beefy Arc’teryx Naos 85

This thoughtfully designed, waterproof pack saves your back and shoulders even if you’ve brought the kitchen sink. It’s the obvious choice for long trips in places known for rain, snow, and humidity.

Who It’s For: Trekkers, alpine climbers, Pacific Northwest mountaineers, long-distance kayakers or pack rafters Bonus features: Roll-top closure and exceptionally thoughtful construction using advanced materials and design make the bag impermeable to the elements; superb load bearing system; accessible stow pocket for keeping good pace; could double as a dry bag in a pinch.

Details: $700; arcteryx.com

Mountain Hardwear BMG 105 OutDry This tough but light bag comfortably and easily lugs large loads over rough terrain while keeping your stuff dry no matter what nature throws at you.

Who It’s For: mountaineers and guides hauling gear on big, dream climbs like Denali and Aconcagua

Travel in Peace Marmot Trans Hauler

Bonus Features: Mountain Hardwear’s OutDry technology bonds a waterproof breathable membrane directly to the fabric of the main compartment so your stuff stays dry; compression system allows you to change pack size to meet your needs; front panel made of beefy material resists abrasion and tearing; removable components mean greater versatility and reduced pack weight for lighter loads.

Sleekly designed, 28-liter, weatherproof pack takes the worry out of traveling by keeping important possessions in place and intact when you’re on the go.

Details: $360; mountainhardwear.com

Details: $129; marmot.com

Who It’s For: Adventure travelers, urban explorers Bonus Features: Computer pouch with water-resistant zipper secures a 17-inch laptop and fleece-lined pocket fits tablets or E-readers; sturdy build provides support for long days of running to catch connections.

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Partners W E E K E N D S 2014 C O M I N G

S O O N T O:

Boston, MA in March Boulder, CO in June Washington, DC in July Brooklyn, NY in August Salt Lake City, UT in September 2015 These rock climbing and hiking weekends support HERA’s mission to stop the loss of women from ovarian cancer. Turn your passion into action at a Climb4LifeSM near you!

For more information and to register: www.herafoundation.org

Prevention Starts Here.

The Breast Cancer Fund is working to protect you and the environment you play in from toxic chemicals linked to breast cancer. Together we can stop this disease before it starts. www.breastcancerfund.org /breastcancerfund |

@breastcancerfnd

We climb. We hike.

We fight ovarian cancer one step at a time.

CLIMB THE PEAK OF YOUR DREAMS

RAISE MONEY FOR A GREAT CAUSE.

303-271-9200

SUMMITFORSOMEONE.ORG TURN YOUR PASSION INTO YOUR PROFESSION Join the Outdoor Industries Women’s Coalition and invest in your future... today.

Join Ed Viesturs in giving back. Funds raised help to instill critical life skills in under-resourced youth through wilderness mentoring expeditions by Big City Mountaineers.

How it works: Choose one of 19 epic peaks, raise money to support Big City Mountaineers youth and climb the peak of your dreams on a professionally guided trip. Funds raised cover all trip expenses except travel to the peak location.

Participants receive a mountain of free gear too! Put together a team of friends or join a climb on your own and meet new ones.

Top climbs include:

Job Board (bit.ly/oiwcjobs) Regional Networking Events Interviews Mentoring

- Mt. Rainier

- Mt. Hood

- Everest Base Camp

- Kilimanjaro

- Mt. Whitney

- Aconcagua

- Grand Teton

- Mt. Shasta

- Design a Custom Climb

*photo courtesy of Eddie Bauer/Jake Norton

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Special Advertising Section

Marketplace

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It’s Personal

Bucket List Surprises

By Jennifer C. Olson

M

y first thought after being offered an all-expenses-paid, bucket list-type trip was “What’s the most exotic place we can visit?”

And a thought that followed not too long after that was the one that stuck. It was simply, “Oregon.”

Not exactly exotic, a Pacific Northwest roadtrip had been on my and my boyfriend’s to-do list for a while. We just hadn’t found the time or money to make it happen yet.

When we planned our bucket list trip, we actually didn’t know what we wanted to do in Oregon.

We hoped to visit friends in the area, ride bikes in Bend, hike during peak fall colors, drink local beer, and see the coast. To add an adventurous element and cover our sightseeing bases at the same time, we decided to go paragliding and kayaking. We sat on Skype one night and mapped out a route.

At the Eugene airport, we pick up our ride for the week—a brand new Buick Encore. You’re thinking

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it, and we thought it, too: “That car’s for old people.” Except, this one is equipped for adventure and has technology to please a couple of twenty-somethings for an entire week. It’s outfitted with roof racks for our bikes and roomy enough for us to slide our bags in the back.

We plug in directions to Deschutes Brewery and just drive.

Zipping along a scenic byway toward Bend, Brent and I gawk at the snow-topped volcanoes that appear in the distance every so often, and slow the car to read signs or gaze down into the river that flows between our destinations.

“You took like four million photos,” Brent later remembers. The leaves are starting to turn.

Then, we round a corner and get a closer glimpse of the nearest peaks, perpetually snowy above treeline, though some are only ten thousand feet above sea level at their highpoints. These volcanoes stand in every direction, and I can’t name a single one when we first begin spotting them. As we drive and stop

to read signs or take photos, we learn what to call each of them and can list them in order from north to south by the next day. Volcano number one is Mt. Washington, and we photograph it from a roadside vista point, where we also take kiss-y selfies and tease each other about looking like tourists. The peaks’ names mean nothing in the long run, but their significance in the backdrop of our vacation marks the difference between staying home and exploring together.

We are now almost to Bend but taking our time, for the most part. The river downtown appears unbelievably still tonight, and its glassy reflection mirrors my obvious contentment in this place, with this man, and in anticipation of the week ahead.

Our mountain biking dreams dissipated back at home, when we decided our time would be better spent actually riding than searching for and driving to trailheads; exploration is easier and quicker on road bikes, and we don’t regret our deci-

sion to bring skinny tires, especially once I see a herd of alpacas from the seat of my Trek in the plains above Bend.

With a hike at Tumalo Falls, a farm-road bike ride, an outdoor Steve Martin concert, and stops at various taprooms and breweries, our time in Bend flies! We don’t get to fly though. The morning we’re scheduled to paraglide, winds are blowing east—the one direction that’s too dangerous for paragliding here.

Kayaking in Oregon doesn’t work out either. But it isn’t really the kayaking we were stoked about anyway. It’s the sight seeing. There are big boats, huge waves, and lots of wind in Newport today, so we cruise the coastal bike paths and eat seafood instead.

In Corvallis, we go to the top of Marys Peak, which offers some pretty phenomenal views on the super clear day. We are getting some pretty intense sun for this region but notice how mossy the ground appears as we hike in the trees and hurdle over lushly vegetated creeks.

Llamas become my new favorite animal when Nester greets us on the goat farm, sticking his under-bite in my face before I even close the Encore’s door. “Don’t let him intimidate you,” our host says, when she emerges from the gated garden.

On the farm, we live off the land, feasting on mountain lion and arugula pizza, chanterelles, homegrown veggies, homemade berry cobbler, and fresh eggs, treating ourselves to lunch at the café run by members of the nearby commune.

Noon is when we start drinking on the last full day of our trip, since wineries are moving north and becoming prominent in this part of Oregon as California’s climate warms. Wine touring ends up being an expected but relaxing way to unwind after days of travel, and we don’t feel guilty at all for neglecting our bikes or missing out on a hike. If you get a chance, go—and sample some 2012 pinot noir.

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