Her Name Was Betty

Her name was Betty, or so I was told as a child. She was an old lady but to a kid everyone over the age of 25 is old. She lived in our neighborhood and seemed to be everywhere that we were. She wore a long pink puffy coat. I remember that coat so vividly, faded from the elements of the environment in which she lived in. Betty seemed to be known throughout the community. Betty’s story was always intriguing to me. It was told that Betty had a home, a loving family that cared for her and no need to live on the streets, but Betty chose to be homeless. People that talked about Betty seemed confused by her decision to live like a homeless person, but I always found it so interesting. Maybe I found a sense of empowerment (if that’s even possible to understand as a child) in the fact that she didn’t need what was so readily available to her… a roof over her head, a hot shower, a fridge full of whatever she might desire and all the other amenities that come along with not living on the streets. Betty didn’t look like she had a drug problem and never appeared to be falling over drunk, she just always appeared to be so content with the life she was choosing to live.

I’ve been given a lot of crap (mostly in fun) for “living like a homeless person” and I even had an old friend give me a wooden sign for Christmas one year that said “Camping, where you spend a small fortune to live like the homeless.” It’s true, I have spent a small fortune on all my camping and backpacking gear, but I must admit that living like a homeless person out in the woods is the freest I’ve ever felt. There really is something truly empowering about making the decision to pack the things you think you’ll need and take of on a journey. Something about not really knowing what the day has in store for you while not having the protection of walls and roof over your head. Without having the creature comforts of our day to day life that just makes everything easier. That almost uneasy feeling is what drives me out of my comfort zone and into a place that forces me to grow into something calmer, more understanding and more grounded.

For me it’s getting outside, for others it’s something completely different but I encourage everyone that comes across this to shake yourself up and pull yourself out of your comfort zone occasionally. Do the things that feed your soul and help you grow as a human, whatever they may be. And whatever happened to that long, pink, fluffy coat wearing lady named Betty, I hope she knew how inspiring she was to me!

The Venegas Death March

Picture when you were little, and you’d hear your parents say or in my case, grandparents say “when I was your age, I had to walk everywhere, in the snow, uphill, both ways!” Well… welcome to the Venegas Death March as Cue referred to it… the entire trip! Up and up and up is the direction we went on the Tahoe Rim Trail… the whole way!

We started at Incline Village in North Lake Tahoe with the intention of backpacking all the way into Heavenly Village in South Lake Tahoe via the Tahoe Rim Trail. Our intentions were good… I promise! Now I’ve never pretended to be a master map reader, but I figured I knew enough to get by and plan a trip without anyone else’s input. I bought the maps, read the Rim Trail web page, kept up on the current trail conditions leading up to the trip and assured my partners that all was as well as I thought it could be. I knew there would be some elevation gain but I had no idea it would be four days of uphill. And I’m not talking a little bit up uphill here and there, I'm talking Everest kind of uphill! If you’re ever going to do the Rim Trail I highly recommend seriously evaluating your direction of travel.

So, let’s talk a little about my partners for this trip. Cue, the guy that’s been on every one of my backpacking trips to date so far. This was the first time that he had complete confidence in my abilities to plan a five-day backpacking trip and I couldn’t have been more excited to take on the challenge! Then there’s Matthew. Matthew is the son of one of my very best but ridiculously protective parent friends. He was 14 at the time and this was going to be his very first backpacking trip. Let’s do the math real quick… Cue, an Eagle Scout who has complete trust in someone that has never fully planned a multiple day backpacking trip and a teenager with a mother that will undoubtedly kill anyone that allows anything to harm her baby boy, also joining us was a spastic black lab and the alien/goat dog best known as LF… yup, we’re off to a good start!

So off we go, five butts in the truck (two with fur) and our fully loaded packs in the back. We were ready to see Tahoe like we’ve never seen it before and boy did we! We got into Tahoe around 9am and were on the trail within about 30 minutes. Up we went, around a bend and then back around completing about a mile loop… in the wrong direction! Ok, maybe we were slightly distracted because of the views, which were amazing by the way, or maybe we just didn’t look very close at the map. Either way, we were back on track in no time… back uphill we went. We made it to our first night’s camp site that was only supposed to be a few miles in. I say a few because after walking that far, I don’t actually remember what it was supposed to be. I do remember however, Cue thinking we doubled our original millage plan. Who’s counting anyway when you end up in a beautiful place like we did? We also had cell service that night which helped ease the worry back at home. We set up camp, did the usual camp chores of filtering water, charging up phones and battery packs and looking at the map for tomorrows journey. That night we inhaled dinner and went to bed before the cold really set in.

The next morning, we woke up, packed up camp scarfed down a granola bar or some hot chocolate and off we went. The wind was crazy the whole day. It felt like the higher the trail took us, the windier it got. Other than the wind beating the crap out of us all day, the hike to our next camp site wasn’t as demanding as the previous day. As soon as we hit camp, we dropped our bags, the dogs fell over where they stood, and we parked it on the bench just trying to regain some of the energy that the tornado like winds had knocked out of us throughout the day. But the show must go on… water, we needed to resupply our water. I threw on my camp shoes (Crocs, don't judge me) and found a creek about 50 yards from our camp. I took the filter bags and purifier down to get water for dinner and tomorrow’s hike to our next camp. As I was standing by the creek filling up the bags, I felt something on my big toe. I stomped my foot down against the ground in an attempt to knock whatever it was off and apparently that just pissed the culprit off. I felt an even stronger chomp on my toe, so I kicked off my Croc and saw the biggest black ant I’ve ever seen chewing on my toe like it was a chicken leg fresh off the grill! I reached down, smacked my foot and ended up falling halfway into the creek… luckily nobody was around to see my circus act of an attempt to simply gather water.

Morning came as we knew it would and we packed up camp. We hit the trail and set out for our next destination. Now I’m not sure if you’ve ever been in a full-on fight with a mosquito gang but I can assure you that it is not as glamorous as it sounds. We had to walk directly through about two miles of what I would consider to be the mosquito ghetto. These bastards were armed and dangerous and gave zero you know what’s about personal space. We ended up putting on our extra layers from our bags just to try and defend ourselves. We must have looked like a pack of masked burglars walking through the woods that morning.

About midday we made it to the Highway 50 crossing. Going from the secluded woods for two and a half days to darting traffic on a major highway was something that had I been alone would have been exciting… I wasn’t alone and immediately realized the danger of trying to get five butts (two with fir) across safely. We waited and waited, it felt like we waited forever for that road to be clear from both sides. I was determined to hold our position and not cross until I couldn’t see a car in either direction… so we waited! Once we made it across, we were rewarded with restrooms (vault toilets) that didn’t require us to dig a hole for our business or find a tree to pee on. One last amenity to find… water!

We took a break before hitting the trail again. We looked for water but didn’t find any. We had previously walked past Spooner lake that we could’ve filtered water from but the leach warnings that were posted all around the lake deterred us. I almost got taken out by an ant the day before, a gang of mosquitos today and now we have to deal with blood sucking leaches... no thank you! We figured we’d filter water at one of the creek crossings that were ahead on the trail. The only problem, the creeks were dry… all of them.

We knew we needed water and we needed it soon. We ended up bushwhacking through about a mile of brush. Cue puled out his phone and saw that there was a creek down off of the trail that we might be able to filter water from. We talked it out and all decided that it would be our best bet. And through the woods we went! We found the creek and filled up every container we had. We loaded our packs down with about 8-10 pounds of extra weight just in case we didn’t come across more water. The next five miles (literally uphill in the snow) were about the roughest of the entire trip… so far!

We picked a camp that night that seemed as though it was at the top of the world. I will never forget that view of Lake Tahoe and I don’t think the boys will either, it was incredible! We watched the sun dip down behind the Sierras and it was one of the most peaceful feelings I’d had in as long as I could remember. We went to bed that night in one of the most beautiful environments one could ever imagine, knowing that tomorrow would come, and we’d do it all over again.

Morning came just has it had the previous days and we set off on what was supposed to be our shortest day yet, just 5 miles to go! Five miles came and went, and we were running out of water with no resupply in sight. Every creek bed we came across was dry. Every creek we found on the map was dry, everything was dry. All I remember thinking was, there was no mention of the lack of water on any of the Rim Trail info pages I read, nobody mentioned it in the Rim Trail reviews and after getting 70 feet of snow over the winter, how in the hell could there be no water?

We pushed and pushed ourselves that day. I’m not sure that I’ve ever pushed myself harder while keeping my composure. We all did, we had no choice. We were dangerously close to running out of water and still had a few miles to go. To make matters worse, we could see the casinos that line the shore of South Lake Tahoe in the distance with what felt like miles and miles of land between us. We kept on, didn’t give up, mentally lost our shit a little and then regained it. We made it… finally! A day earlier than planned and thirsty... but we made it! We walked right out of the woods into a neighborhood. "Hello civilization" had to be the thought of all five (two with fir) of us. I called for an uber so that I could go pick up the truck while Matthew’s sweet soul approached a gentleman standing outside of one of the houses to ask for water for the dogs. We were tired, dirty and thirsty but we were done! 

We didn’t break Rule #1 (don’t get dead) we almost broke Rule #2 (hydrate or die) but we survived the Venegas Death March nonetheless! Plan, research and get input from everyone in your group regardless of your amount of pride… it just might save your butt the next time you get outside!  

Boots with the fur

They say you should prepare your dog for hiking in the mountains. You should get them used to carrying a pack with some weight in it (no more than 20% of their body weight), work on their trail etiquette, and acclimate them to the terrain they'll be walking on. In my dog's case, it was her feet that I was most concerned with. Granted she's small and I could carry her if something happened, but she was going on her first major backpacking trip with miles between where we'd be and the nearest vet. I was determined to make sure LF not only had a great time hiking the trail with me, but that she wouldn't get injuries either while we were out there in the mountains. 

Meet LF (Little Effer) who received her name because of her unruly behavior as a young pup; I swear she was a terrorist that came straight from Al-Qaeda when I first got her. Picture an alien and a goat having an 18-pound love child with black fir, legs that are ridiculously long compared to her body size and a pair of ears that still to this day seem to have a mind of their own. I'm fairly certain I would've returned her for a refund had she not been as cute as she was. 

We were backpacking from North Lake Tahoe to South Lake Tahoe over 5 days. This would be LF's first backpacking trip ever and boy was she excited about it... ok so I was the excited one but there was excitement in the air over this trip, LF probably didn't have a clue as to what was going on. 

LF had worn a dog pack before on day hikes, so I wasn't too worried about that, but her feet concerned me. Dog shoes I thought... great idea! Have you ever seen a cat that got something stuck to its foot? The cat does an erratic dance mixed with a ferocious leg shake in an attempt to release whatever unwanted foreign object from their foot. Now picture that behavior on the alien/goat dog times 4. Sure, her feet would've been protected from the elements of the trail, but she would have been completely exhausted within the first mile because of all the jumping around and shaking she was doing to try and escape the doggy foot torture traps. Back to the drawing board I went. 

Thank god for the Internet, you can literally find anything you're looking for and a ton of stuff you're not! I happened to come across an article about different products that people used to keep their dog's paws from getting thrashed on the trail. This one lady swore by a product called Musher's Secret. It is a type of wax that you apply to your dog's paws in-between the pads of their feet to keep tree sap and debris from sticking to them. It turns out that most paw injuries come from something sticking to their paw and the continued rubbing while they walk causes abrasions on their feet. Next to the female funnel I bought so I could stand up to pee, this was probably the next best purchase! 

Needless to say, our trip was a success. We made it more than 40 miles without any injury whatsoever. I highly recommend the paw wax if you have a pup that turns into a Mexican jumping bean when you put dog shoes on them. 

Here is a link to the Musher's Secret
Musher's Secret paw protection

Hiking like frogger

When you think of getting outside and hiking, you probably have pictures of beautiful scenery in mind. Walking through breathtaking landscapes filled with pine trees, cool mountain breezes and the sweet sounds of nature, but sometimes what started out as a quick trip to the airport to drop of your beloved mother can turn into an impromptu day hike. A hike filled with congested parking lots and the not so refreshing smell of smog.

Airports can be confusing as hell but if you can remember to do one simple thing to alleviate some of this stress, just one simple thing, remember where you parked your car! There is no vortex that put your car in a different location than the one you parked it in. Your car is exactly where you left it! But what do you do when you can't find it?

So you tell your mother goodbye, wish her safe travels and head out of the airport. You jump on the first shuttle bus you see and request the parking lot for Terminal B. Just then, you remember that you did not take a shuttle from the parking lot into the airport. So maybe you should get off the shuttle you think to yourself. Nevermind the fact that the shuttle is taking off in the opposite direction of where your car actually is.

That being said, there is a certain level of self preservation in not asking for help and embarrassment is a real thing. Get off the shuttle, that'll be the solution... right? One shuttle stop, coming up! You hop off the shuttle and start walking to your car, right on past the exit booths because you are a strong, independent woman and you don't need help finding your car. Just one problem, where in the hell is the car? It has to be here somewhere.

Throughout this endeavor you successfully manage to scale several fences, introduce yourself to a number of different parking lots, none of which contain your car, and run across traffic filled roads that cut through the airport's labyrinth-like lots. No supplies, no snacks, just the flops on your feet and a glimmer of hope in your eyes to find the car before you have to ask for help, or die! But at last, there it is... the car! You've found it and it only took you the better part of an afternoon and several near death experiences.

If there is one thing to be grateful for, other than your ability to live to see another day, is that your mother's plane had not taken off before you reached the car. Imagine what she would've thought if she had seen you as you're sure the airport parking lot staff saw you, scaling fences, traversing through fields and darting across traffic. But you made it all on your own and you didn't even have to use the "where's my car parked at" feature on your phone that you may or may not have known that existed until your friends enlightened you to it!

Sometimes you have to "hike for it" when you least expect it. Get outside!

Standing up to pee

As a female, squatting to pee in the woods isn't for every woman! My inability to master the "squat" never kept me from the trail but it usually ended in the heels of my shoes getting a little wet. Don't judge, I'm sure you've all peed on your shoes a time or two... right?

It started as a joke from my trail partner in crime, Cue. You see, Cue had spent many miles on the trails with me and understood my frustrations when it came to finding a location to bare my butt among the bears. One of my first campsite necessities after finding a place to hang the bear bag was to build a toilet for my sprinkler like pee needs. Cue posted what he thought would be a hilarious joke on my Facebook page that had a picture of a female standing up while peeing and funny it was but, a joke it was not.

Standing up to pee in the woods, and some other places too... seriously... take my money! I hopped in my truck and drove to the closest REI. I bought the Freshette for around $26 and to date, it has been the most valuable purchase I've ever made. No more blinding unlucky fellow hikers with my whiter than white cheeks and no more looking for that perfect rock to hide behind. I get to pee on trees just like the boys do now! I love this damn thing so much that it has been my go to gift for my female friends. Sure it's awkward at first but let me tell you, when you have to go and are in a place that simply offers no protection from the world around you, you'll be grateful you had your trusty funnel!   

The Freshette

Where it all started

I have had a passion for backpacking for about 10 years now. It all started when I was car camping with some friends at Lake Alpine. As we were making dinner and drinking beer around the campfire, I watched two strangers walk out of the woods next to our campsite with nothing but the packs on their backs and an aura around them that just filled me with a sense of joy. I was intrigued by their every move as I watched them set up two tiny tents and make camp for the night.

We invited them to have dinner with us because frankly, they looked hungry. One of the guys took us up on our offer and almost ran to our campsite. As we sat at the table, us eating and him inhaling his food, my mind raced with questions. I wanted to know where they came from, where they were going to and how in the hell did they fit everything in that little bag on their back? It took everything I had to hold my tongue until he had taken the last bite of his food. I'm not even quite sure he had swallowed his last bite before my interrogation began. That poor guy had no idea what he had gotten himself into when he accepted our dinner invitation!

For the first time in my life, I couldn't wait to come from our camping trip. I raced home the next day and jumped on the computer. I studied everything I could get my hands on. I bought a backpacking for beginners book and read it cover to cover. I read gear reviews, took notes on the lightest, most durable gear and what was gonna be the best bang for my buck... I was hooked!

Fast forward a year later... all this gear and nobody to adventure with. Sitting on a bar stool one night with a friend of mine, I mentioned not getting to use all of the backpacking gear that I had worked so hard to buy. I told him I had no intention on making my first backpacking trip a solo one due to the fact that I honestly felt I might dumb ass myself to death due to my lack of experience. His immediate response was "pick a weekend," and the rest was history. I had no idea that my life would be forever changed the way it has been. Sometimes all we need is a little help to get outside!