The CragBaby

Last of the three questions Lydia sent in was concerning safety.

Did you ever feel unsafe? (I’m getting a lot of “You’re a woman? Traveling alone?! That far? Are you crazy?!” from various people, especially my family.)

I personally feel that traveling in the States is completely safe. I have gone on solo adventures to China, Europe and Ireland. China especially was a little interesting, but completely safe as well.

If in real rural areas, I would often sleep in parking lots rather than alone in the woods. I am a scaredy-cat by nature and so not gutsy enough just to pull over in the woods. One real good tip, that I used A LOT, was actually Wal-mart parking lots. I absolutely attest Wal-Mart; however, all car campers are welcome to sleep in the lot and security usually patrols the area.

I was traveling in a Honda Civic. On occasion I did wish it had tinted windows as I truly had zero personal space (anyone could look in at any time). I slept in the backseat of my car and would often sleep with my boulder pad jammed between the top of the front seats and the back window to kind-of provide an extra covering. (Ha ha! Writing this now sounds a little crazy, but life on the road truly is a different experience.)

I noticed I also felt safer because I was traveling with a dog. There was no way my little dog was really going to protect me, yet she would bark at anything that came near our car.

I was often asked how I planned on protecting myself. I didn’t carry anything in terms of protection (guns, knives, mace, etc). Perhaps I should have, but I just tried to be smart of where I went and where I slept. I have used this tactic in all of my travels and have been just fine.

Picture from my solo adventure to China.  Within hours of landing in Hong Kong, I met two British guys who became dear friends, traveling with them for 3 out of 4 weeks of my trip.  This day we rode camels through the Gobi desert and might be my all time favorite travel memory yet.

I get asked these safety questions a lot when I travel  and I will admit that my mother got emotional when I told her I booked my solo flight to China.  But I guess I have the viewpoint that I would rather risk it and see what happens than stay at home living in fear that something could have happened.

Lydia, just be smart about where you go and you should be just fine.

Continuing on with the nomadic life series is my ‘What to Pack’ post.

1. Just Leave
2. The Best Car for the Road (and its addendum)
3. What to Pack
4. Where to Visit
5. Tips and Tidbits

I took completely different things on the USA portion of my trip versus the international portion, so I will create two appropriate posts. The USA portion, which this post will cover, allowed me to bring more belongings since I was traveling by car and my car was essentially my “home”.  When brainstorming the necessary items, I created 7 categories to ensure I wasn’t leaving any necessities behind, while also not over packing.  Over packing, in my mind, is actually worse than not bringing a necessary item as it just creates clutter you must deal with the entire trip whereas if you forget something you can easily buy it along the way.

This pile consisted of  all of my belongings except boulder pad that I used for my 8 month USA portion of my trip. This handful of items was perfectly adequate.

Climbing Gear

Prior to my trip I was mainly a sport climber, did a little trad climbing and had bouldered a handful of times. I decided to leave my trad gear (a mere 1/2 a rack) at home thinking I would mostly sport climb. I threw in my boulder pad just in case I didn’t find any partners. But within two months of being on the road, I found it difficult to consistently find sport climbers I could trust and transitioned to a full time boulderer.  Depending on what type of climbing you do, this category will be different for you. Yet, this is what I packed:

• 70 meter rope – I purposely took a 70 meter rope so that I wouldn’t ever have to worry about the length of a climb.
• Rope bag – I use one of the black diamond packs that is large enough to carry all my belongings
• Backpack – I also had a crag backpack that I usually carried my belongings in.  Looking back I would probably only take the rope bag but then again it never hurts to have a spare backpack.
• Draws – I believe I took all my draws, equaling approximately 20+ at the time.
• Harness
• Locking biners – I believe I had 3
• Two ATCs – I took two just in case one was lost or dropped
• Grigri – I prefer to belay with a grigri so this was a must have.
• Daisychain
• Shoes – I took 3 pairs, but think most people take more. I had two pairs of anasazis (my current favorite shoe) and a pair of Mythos for trad climbs.  There were times on the trip when I wished I had a more aggressive shoe, especially when in Hueco.
• Plastic bin – in the South I was rained on quite a bit and I quickly learned that moisture could seep into my vehicle. This scenarios is horrible, especially for a rope. I found a thin, long bin that fit perfectly into the alloted trunk space that ensured my climbing materials stayed dry.
• Bouldering pad

Camping

I slept the majority of the time in my vehicle as it became surprisingly comfortable and was definitely warmer. Pictured you can see my actual bed with the right side floor holding the spare stove (aka “night stand”) with my books and night time down booties.  The left side of the floor held a basket full of my morning items (brush, face wash, etc) with spare books.

• Tent – I did have a tent and would pack one again as on occasion it was useful.
• Sleeping bag – I had a 10+ bag. It was sufficient.
• Spare blanket – I had a spare blanket that was real nice for the extremely chilly nights.
• Sleeping pad
• Pillow

Cooking

I packed too many cooking supplies considering I HATE TO COOK.  Trust me, if you hate to cook at home, you will especially hate to cook on the road.  I ended up sending many of my belongings home and found I needed a small bag to keep me happy.  The few items below are seriously all I needed.

Cooking in a parking lot while doing laundry and keeping the dog in place by tying her to the cooler.  Yes, this IS life on the road. =)

• Cooler – I did carry a cooler, which is not a necessity. I found that I really liked being able to buy things that needed to be chilled.  I purposely carried a big cooler because it was nice to be able to buy blocks of ice, which melt slower than bags.  Yet, in the south I could rarely find blocks of ice making my big cooler inconvenience not worth it. I would take a small cooler next time.
• Stove / Propane – A friend suggested I carry a two burner stove and a small camping stove.  The two burner stove was useless since I didn’t want to cook a big meal and seriously ended up being a “night stand” in the back of my Honda. For the next trip I would take only a small camping stove.  The propane for these small stoves can be more expensive, but the small space taken up and the convenience make it worth it (in my opinion).
• Small set of pots with lids
• 2 or 3 sporks
• 2 sharp knives
• Can Opener
• Matches and Lighters
• Bottle / wine opener – needed of course only if you drink
• Food Bin – I had a food bin that contained mostly pastas, peanut butter, soups, bread, etc.
• Coffee cone and filters – I actually sent this home as well as I became a tea drinker on the road, mostly due to the convenience.

Clothing

I had two small drawers that I took for clothing and misc. items. Only clothing that could fit in these bins was taken. Essentially one of them was full of clothing and the other had misc. items and held perhaps a hoodie or two.  The clothing I had transitioned a bit due to losing items, wearing out items or buying new things to combat the cold. In the end, this was what I had.

You can see one of the two clothing drawers in this picture.

• 3 pairs of comfortable pants – I picked up 3 pairs of cheap cargo pants at Old Navy for $15 a pair that became my favorite bottoms.  They were comfortable, were good for climbing, but also didn’t look too scroungy if I needed to wear them around town.
• 1 pair of jeans
• Around 10 shirts – mostly tank tops or layering items.  If going on a road trip during prime season, it will be cold.
• Hoodies – I wear a lot of hoodies, especially when climbing because the hood can be helpful when hanging out in 30 degree temps.  I packed four.
• Pair of capilene long underwear (top and bottom)
• Down jacket – I carried one down jacket with me. I almost wished I had taken another because at one point (in Arkansas) the main zipper had broken, while another perfectly good down was back home in Utah.
• Down booties – I have a pair of down booties and to be honest, these were awesome during the chilly nights around the campfire.
• Running shoes / Approach shoes
• Pair of Chacos
• Pair of Flipflops – these were perfect when I was in Hueco.
• Gloves / Beanie – I was traveling during the winter as this is often prime season for climbing.  But prime season also means that it can get cold.
• Belt
• Hat
• Scarf – I actually bought a scarf along the way because it helped me feel “dressed up” on my rest days.
• Laundry detergent – though this can easily be picked up along the way.

Personal Hygiene

I carried more than I needed to in this area as it was harder than expected to go from a office job, where I needed to be dressed up all the time, to the life of a dirt bag.  In the future I would pack the following.

• Shampoo / Condition – I didn’t carry any body soap, instead using a tiche of my shampoo instead.
• Towel – I packed a quick dry towel that I got from REI.  This was perfect.
• 2 brushes – trust me, you will lose one at some point
• Hair ties / Bobbie Pins – this items are a necessity for me.
• Package of Razors – I like freshly shaven legs. Odd for a dirt bag, I know.
• Face cleansers (if you use them)
• Sunblock
• Detergent
• Medications / Over the Counter Drugs – if bouldering I would suggest carrying a bottle of good old Vitamin I (ibuprofen) as your body will start to ache from 5+ days of climbing per week.  Bandaids and neosporin are helpful as well.

Dog Items

I loved traveling with my dog as she gave me some companionship on my trip plus was a great guard dog, warning me of anything that came near my vehicle (even friends). =) I took the following for CB.

CB’s “place” soon become the back window. Oh the joys of owning a small dog. =)

• CB’s Bed – Even though CB doesn’t use her bed much at home, we had used it for training purposes and I noticed that she would use it especially when we drove.
• Toys
• 2 leashes
• Food
• Treats
• Sweaters – um, I own a chihuahua. Sweaters are a necessity.
• Tick / flea medicine – I picked this up along the way because CB did get fleas while we were in the south.  Next trip, I would take some preemptive care to protect her prior to actually getting the pests.

Miscellaneous

• Guidebooks – I don’t like to own many belongings, but I do love owning guidebooks.  I bought the guide for every place I visited.
• Books – Take books that you can either mail back to a library or discard of when finished.  This way you aren’t lugging around spare items.
• Laptop -  I was working from the road, so carried my laptop.  Even if I wasn’t working I would carry my laptop because wi-fi in the states is ubiquitous. I did carry a laptop lock.
• Software / Operating Disks – I did NOT carry this with me and got into a bind when my harddrive decided to crash in North Carolina.  I ended up buying a new operating system disk (as mine was who knows where in storage so couldn’t have a friend find it) and then used all open source software (perhaps will write up a further post on this).
• Blackberry – I found my blackberry, with google maps installed to be invaluable! I can’t tell you how much Google Maps helped me!
• Ipod – an iPod is far superior to cds because of space.
• Baby Wipes – these things become your best friend.  Carry them.
• Camera
• A couple items that remind you of home – I packed a boomerang my friend had sent me from Australia, a postcard my British friends had just mailed me, and a little climbing comic a friend had recently left on my door. =)

But out of all these things … the best thing to take with you is a good attitude.  Traveling is fun, but there are going to be some hard times. At some point you will definitely get lonely (especially if traveling solo), your car will need repairs, you will get tired of sleeping in your tent and not having access to a shower, you might simply get sick of climbing (trust me it happens) or will long for a good friend.  Remember how lucky you are to be bumming around in your car, how few people actually get long extended periods of travel, and try to remain cheerful even during the rocky patches.

If you have any additional beta, I would of course love to hear it.  Please feel free to comment, email or IM me.

A couple days prior to Thanksgiving, I moved locations from Rumbling Bald, North Carolina to polar opposite Rock Town, Georgia.  Good bye granite crimps, hello sandstone roofs.  Goodbye sending, hello ass-whoopin’. =)

Issa on The Scoop.

Tommy crushing an extension to Crock Bloc. Awesome.

One of the Ohio boys climbing Turkish Resin.

Eric working The Vagina. He is so close to sending this one.

Joe on a crimpy warm-up near the Hueco Simulator.

Issa on Double Trouble.

Me working Police Brutality.

CB’s first encounter with Balsam.  Um… yeah.

Amy and Trip, from Sheffield, UK. Such a cool couple who I hung out with for quite a few nights, including Thanksgiving.  Our Thanksgiving feast included good pasta, sushi, chips and salsa, wine and Lindt chocolate.  Quite the eclectic culinary mix but it was all so delicious. =)

And, of course, the obligatory picture of the CragBaby.  Here she is soaking up some sun while I worked in La Fayette.

After the Red River Gorge I hit the road again with my friend Pierre (from Quebec), with the destination being Boone, North Carolina and its abundant gneiss boulders.

My whole vacation, which started on August 1st, has been a little “off” with lots going on at home and on the road for me to worry about.  Problems ranging from moving, car wreck, dealing with insurance companies (and in this case it was particularly long taking about 2 months to solve), looking for a new house and new car, breakups, job interview, car problems while on the road, the climbing accident and one of my dear friends at home being extremely sick (I actually considered calling the trip for the last two reasons.)

I usually climb to forget about my worries, but even climbing became stressful as being a sole traveler means that I am climbing with new climbing partners daily who I don’t know and who I am unsure know the technique of the soft catch. Add to that the fact that the bolt placements are more sparse in Rifle and the Red in comparison to home, and I catch myself really NOT wanting to fall.  Falling is always scary (my head still being messed up from the broken ankle) but knowing there is a potential for a big fall on a belayer I don’t know is even more stressful   On top of all that, there are so many strong climbers on the road and especially in the Red that my projects are often everyone’s warm-ups, resulting in me really starting to wonder if I truly am a “climber” since I am unable to climb 5.13.

But the past two days have started to turn around with me being truly happy each morning and excited to be on the road. I think it is because a lot of these worries have started to clear up:  my car is working, the girl in the accident is doing real well and I am starting to mentally recover, my good friend at home is home from the hospital and it is just real nice not to be stressing about rope climbing. Though I’ve never considered myself a “boulder-er” since my focus has always been more towards sport climbing, I have loved my time here in Boone and perhaps the end result of all my worries will be me also loving this form of climbing. =)

Camping in Rifle.

I am having such a good time in the Red, but today am a little bit bummed.  I thought I would take a minute to write up a gratitude list as usually my discouragement is silly and can be discarded by simply remembering all the good that abounds.  I am bummed for a small handful of reasons.

1. I am getting my ass-kicked here in the Red and am just super tired from climbing at my top level every single day.  I think I just need to find some other climbing partners, those who climb more in my range.  Right now I am working on 5.12’s EVERYDAY and am just tired… simply tired…. and am getting burnt out rather than climbing for fun.
2. At home I was dating this fab guy for the past year and a half.  Well, due to different stages of life and me needing to travel, we are both single again and just real good friends.  I think I am slowly but surely remembering how tricky the single life is.  Ha ha.  Geez, there are a lot of people out here with baggage over ex-girlfriends and ex-wives.  It is already getting a little old… Ha!
3. I wish I could volunteer somewhere.  I really miss volunteering on a weekly basis as it seemed to keep my life in check.  Now that I live on the road, my whole life is completely selfish as I just honestly do what I want every single day.  I looked to see where the nearest blood center was located, but it is a couple hours away.  I need to brainstorm another volunteer activity…. perhaps there is something I can do online?

Enough complaining. =)  Here is the list of ten things I am grateful for today.

1. I have met some really great people on the road.  Seems like there are many fellow travelers who have unique stories to tell, who have worked interesting jobs and are also apprised of current events.
2. CB has really mellowed out!  I had put her in an agression class prior to hitting the road, but being surrounded by so many dogs and people has been a huge catalyst in helping her social skills.  She has actually even played with three dogs since we have been here, two big labs and one pug.  I am real happy with her progress!
3. I think if I keep pushing myself here in the Red, I am either destined to get stronger…. or…. get so pissed off that I will stop climbing.  Ha!  I am hoping for strength rather than retirement.
4. I am grateful that I am able to travel for a couple months, while still being able to work for my firm.  Rest days can be real boring usually, and I am extremely fortunate that I can work not only a job, but a job I love.
5. I think this time off can be a great opportunity for me to re-assess life.  I read this blog post the other day and it really hit home.  It was a bit more financial based, but I liked the theme of looking back on where you had dreamt to go and re-aligning so you really get there.
6. I really like who I am and I am grateful for that.  I think I am a good person, career focused, well traveled and diverse.
7. I am grateful for all the good climbing here in Kentucky.  I love the rock, the beautiful trees and the interesting culture that accompanies all of it.
8. Work is real busy lately, allowing me to work whenever I want and making my rest days cruise by.
9. I’m super appreciative of my friends back home.  Almost daily I have an email or instant message from someone at home, just checking in to see how the trip is going.  It is real nice of them and always makes me smile.
10. Lastly, I need to just remember that I am LIVING ON THE ROAD.  It isn’t everyday that one has this great opportunity.  =)

Whew… I already feel lots better.  It is amazing what a simple gratitude list can do. =)

After the week in Rifle, the next planned destination was the Red River Gorge.  Rifle was a 6 hour drive from Salt Lake City, and the Red River Gorge was a 21 hours (yes, you read that correctly) drive from Rifle.  Whew.

The drive seriously consisted of a day and a half spent driving the very straight  I-70.  I actually got pulled over in Kansas for speeding (oops!) but was lucky enough to get a warning.  I must admit that the warning did keep my speed in check for the whole rest of the drive.

The first couple hours outside of Rifle were probably the most beautiful and spent winding through these mountains.

I happened to pick the best Colorado rest stop to walk CB as up on the hill were these mountain sheep.

My travel mate.  He he he… check out that tongue!

The beautiful Kansas sunset after the most torrential storm.  The hail hitting my windshield made me really wonder if my windshield was going to break.  To be honest, I called Shaft to see if he had heard of any tornadoes sweeping through Kanas.  Um… there weren’t any… but the storm was amazingly intense. =D

After 1,000 miles on I-70, I saw this sign. I was so ecstatic that I would soon be exiting I-70,  that a quick picture was mandatory. Yet I was so tired of driving, I was very tempted to go to Chicago instead of Slade, Kentucky.

At around midnight on September 25 I finally saw this beloved sign!  I must admit that a new friend already camping at Miguel’s kept me motivated throughout the entire drive, telling me stories of the fantastic Red River Gorge climbing.  To him, I am very grateful as the drive through Kansas truly is LONG!

After my first six weeks of vacation in Utah, I officially hit the road heading to Rifle, Colorado.  I had been to Rifle a couple years back and completely gotten my ass kicked.  At the time I was working on 5.10’s and 5.11’s and Rifle was definitely NOT the place for someone working on such grades.  This year I am a bit stronger and so was excited to see if the climbing felt any better.

Beautiful Rifle canyon.

Screamer on one of the “do-able” 5.10 warmups, which were very few and far between.

Well….. unfortunately…. it was still ridiculously hard.  I am working on low 5.12’s in Salt Lake, which means in Rifle I am working on 5.11’s.  Also, the Rifle ‘word on the street’ is to stay off the polished 5.10’s and 5.11’s…… meaning I was once again scared to death.  Sigh.  I only climbed 4 days but honestly just wasn’t having any fun.  I couldn’t get into the grove of the Rifle climbing technique (basically nothing pulling downwards and the bolts being spread out), I was scared to lead anything, plus, there was some stuff going on at home that was affecting the experience.  I was so discouraged I almost drove home from the road trip and hung up the climbing shoes for good.  Thankfully, I decided to cut my losses short and left for the Red River Gorge, Kentucky.

Scott on the stunning Feline route.

Perhaps I need to go back to Rifle if I ever hit the 5.13 level.  Sigh.