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Experimenting with Adventure

I bought Squirrel Girl specifically so I could take off practically on a whim and start to really experience God’s country up close while still working. I wanted to get at least 3 nights on this trip to keep testing gear and logistics in the winter (boy did I learn tons of stuff… the curtains have got to go and the GPS has got to come). I was targeting the desert, but it’s prime time out there, so we headed up to Idyllwild instead. The Idyllwild Campground was perfect… just down the road from Deer Spring trailhead and it had a few hook-up sites. Having electricity let me get in some laptop work without having to deal with the solar investment yet. It also enabled the use of a little heater because yes, it got a tad bit chilly at night.

The plan started as just day hiking and working at night, but quickly expanded to a summit attempt of San Jacinto Peak. It meant a 20mile day with 5,000 ft gain and a snow base for the last 3 miles. Maybe a bit overly ambitious, but I’ve been seriously wanting to go “bag a peak” after watching more than one friend make some really stupendous summits the last few weeks. Okay fine, I was just flat out jealous and wanted to go play hard too! Granted my friends had all trained for many months in preparation and had strong support for their journeys but I wasn’t attempting anything near as radical so I figured it wasn’t an unreasonable goal.

I’d been watching the peak weather all week and knew there was a good window on Friday. So I grabbed it and was on trail a half hour before dawn. On a 20 mile day, every minute counted toward more time on trail, possibly at night, so there was no lolly gagging. By 7:15, I’d made the first checkpoint at 2.3 miles. The ground was clear easy traveling and altitude wasn’t much of an issue.

By the Strawberry Junction 4.1 mile mark, I’d climbed about 2400′ and the snow patches were showing up, but the trail was clear and still easy to follow. This was the last location for clear cell phone signal, so my gps tracking and coach check-ins started getting dodgy.

The next 3 mile leg took me along the PCT and “only” gained about 900′. That little extra elevation made all the difference and within a mile I was in the snow.

The micro spikes quickly became essential. (Best investment ever!) The weather was clear, warm and the snow was already starting to get soft and it was only 10am.

The wheels started to fall off after I passed the Fuller Ridge fork about 11am (mile 8). I was running a little behind, having wanted to have lunch on the summit by 1pm latest.

There were only 2.3 miles left to go, but the snow was getting deeper, slipperier, and now there were buried boulders along much of the path. Plus the winds from the last few days has wiped away whole lengths of the trail my predecessors had taken making it much harder to “stay found”.

By 12:30, I’d still not found Little Round Valley Campground, my next check point only a mile from Fuller Ridge, but another 900′ gain. I kept pushing and then slipped and slid about 5-6′ down onto a boulder. It was a benign fall, but a solid warning of what might have happened had the boulder not been there to arrest my slide. Still it took one more warning before I conceded defeat… postholing (something I’d been doing for the last 90 minutes) my right leg all the way up to my HIP. Almost scared the pee right out of me!

I’m a hard headed woman but I’m not stupid, so the summit could wait for another day. Since I was done climbing, I focused on finding a nice spot to take a break, rest, recharge and finally just sit down, eat lunch and enjoy the view…

The trip down was delicious cake the whole way. Along one of the steepest areas (a section that had given me serious fits to climb) I even had an opportunity to play with glissading… another little trick taught by the Sierra Club. Essentially, it’s butt sledding with your poles to control your speed. What a blast!!!!

And the most glorious view with the sun slowing descending to the horizon…

Nothing but beauty, joy, peace along with an amazing memory to add to a growing list. Thank you God for being by my side on the most miraculous of weekends spent surrounded by your majesty.

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Squirrel Bait and the 3 Strikes

She was the perfect bait to catch this squirrelly woman, so of course I’ve named her Squirrel Bait!

I bought her specifically for adventure and what better one that spending the New Year transition breaking her in camping. What could possibly go wrong?

Strike 1: I had a rough idea of heading to Joshua Tree, but between a late start (4pm) , traffic, and not knowing where I was going, I shifted gears at the last minute and headed for familiar territory… Chilao Campground up in Angeles Forest. My first time ever driving up to snow country (of course, without chains on hand), and while the roads were perfectly clear and safe, all the runoff water warned me that they would be icy and slippery after dark. When I reached Chilao the sun was setting aaaaand… the campground was closed thanks to what looked (to my inexperienced eyes) like 2 ft snow base. Doh! (Note to self, check campground status ahead of time.)

Strike 2: I’d also seen a bunch of private campsites on Hipcamp out of Palmdale, so instead of heading back down the mountain I headed for the other side. I was sure I’d find someplace on my way over… nope. When I finally reached reception, I googled campgrounds and headed for the closest. That led me on 7 miles of fabulous single track dirt roads (Squirrel performed perfectly, btw) into the back country… only to find the place was long closed. There was no boondocking out there either, thanks to all the private properties. So, I doubled back to the next two campgrounds along yet another dirt road. (Google maps are awesome, but nothing warned of the dirt roads, so I’m sure glad I wasn’t driving the Prius.) Both wanted $40-$45 to just park overnight… Seriously. Who would pay that?? Certainly not me!

Strike 3: Knowing I couldn’t drive around all night, I pointed my car in the general direction of home, somewhere along Soledad Canyon Road, keeping an eye out for dirt side roads where I could stay without being harassed or rousted. About 8pm I passed one that got my attention, so I doubled back and WOW! Purely by God’s Grace I’d stumbled into the perfect location. A closed and empty day-camp site with room for only 2-3 cars. I settled in, set up camp in mere minutes just like I’d planned and got ready to make food. Only to find that NONE of my fire starter material was packed in its usual place. I’d gone camping without fire… one of the 10 Essentials! 😱 I was appalled and dismayed. No way I could stay without hot food and drink; it was 8:30 and already down to the high 30’s. Instead of panicking, I prayed, got quiet and thought. DOH! My jetboil has an automatic spark starter (that I never used because I was scared of it.) So I said another quick prayer and tried it, aaaand… it worked perfectly and continued to all evening and morning. The adventure was saved, purely thanks to God’s Grace!

So what lesson do I take in to 2020… First, that I’m really not as brave as I like to think. I was scared of the possibility of driving on ice, I was scared of encountering bad people, I was scared that the strewn trash in the campground was from bears, heck, I was even scared of my own jetboil. But I didn’t let any of these fears stop me, because I do know that God is always with me and come what may, He’s in charge. I trust that, so I keep going forward, through the fear… into the next adventure.

They say that women come in to their own in their 60’s because they let go of all the baggage of their youth, all the regrets, have to’s, opinions, and naysayers. That sure feels right in my case so, bring on the Roaring 20’s, they are going to be epic!

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Despair, Hope and Purpose

Despair….

This holiday season has been by far the hardest I’ve had to walk through since I first became a single, sober woman 17+ years ago. Is it the crushing weight of the outside world? There’s no denying that we live in very dark times. Or, maybe it’s my inside world… This is my last holiday season as a “fifty-something” and I’m closing in on my sixth decade alone, without a spouse to grow old and senile together. Or maybe it’s because I’ve finally stopped aggressively trying to date and even discontinued the hormone therapy that did nothing but forestall the inevitable course of my aging.

I’ve always been an “up by the bootstraps” kind of gal, optimistic to a fault and never held down long by setbacks or defeat. That is until recently, when the perfect storm of all these realities hit me upside the head and left me reeling.

There are many worthwhile things that keep me occupied… from attending church activities and bible studies, to coaching my clients and slowly building a successful business, planning my 60th birthday challenge, executing effective fitness training, and simply spending time with close friends. These are all wonderful ways to pass my time, but when I am trapped by despair even the best of days feel futile.

I’ve been doing everything I know to shift my perspective… visiting my favorite therapist, giving myself permission to eat almost unlimited comfort foods (like my mom’s stuffed pork chops and tuna casserole of all things), even knowing I’ll pay a scale price when I get to the other side of whatever this is. I’ve also been fully celebrating the holidays with friends and not hiding from them like I’d have preferred. That has at least given me many moments of joy to help temper the darkness that descends when the world gets too quiet again.

Hope…

Thankfully God heard my heart. I went to church this morning and I heard THE very sermon that I didn’t even know I desperately needed to hear! I’m still quite new to Christianity and haven’t spent much time thinking about what comes after this life. Today I learned that if I’m feeling despair in this world (Shocker… I’m not the only one), it’s because there is NO real hope to be found here. Our hope can only come from what awaits us after this life… resurrection and eternity with God. Resurrection. That’s our Jesus’ cornerstone. He lived. He died. He resurrected. That means that we will too. I’ve read enough proof that my critical mind is satisfied with my conclusion and my heart already knows this to be fact, so belief has become the easy part. Now it’s time to build my faith in having received the grace to get to spend forever with Jesus.

Our Pastor says we need to stay centered on this hope so that we are able to fulfill our purpose for being here. I’m sure I’ve heard that many times before, but apparently not absorbed it because today it brought me to tears. Why? Because today was the first time I’d really caught a glimpse of what we can anticipate in Heaven and why it’s so important that we stay here as long as he requires.

Purpose…

So just what’s our purpose? To bring the light of our loving God to those around us who also want out of the despair of hopelessness. I personally think God’s light manifests differently for each Christian. For me today, it simply means that even the smallest acts of connection, kindness and love matter, including finding the courage to open my mouth or use my keyboard, when the Holy Spirit moves me to share.