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!