8/27/15

I'm Single. I'm Female. & I'm Backpacking.



I love the state of Colorado. So much. The people here are always so inspiring and motivating. The fact that I am a young female solo backpacker is not anything new here. There are so many badass women in this state that I get heart-eyes for whenever I see them in action.

Even though this is nothing new for many women, it is incredibly new for me! So, here I am, writing about it.

Now, when I say I'm "all alone", I am including the company of my pup, Trevor. A two-year old German Shepherd with a bark as big as his bite (which luckily, the bite part has never been needed)... and even though he certainly thinks he's a human (and I treat him like he is one), I will not consider him a human when telling this story. Haha.

   Now, I generally despise the fact that our society is separated by something as silly as gender. I also generally try not to let my gender or the gender roles placed on both males and females affect me.
                 However, it is inevitable. 
Until the rest of the world doesn't treat women different from men, I will continuously have to take into account the fact that I am, indeed, a woman. And that fact instantly puts me in a greater risk of encountering dangerous situations. Many of my male friends never even realized the added dangers in women's day-to-day lives until I pointed it out to them... It's so unfortunate that this is the case for half of the population, but it is true.

Okay! Now that my little feminist rant is out of the way... let's get back to the story at hand...

Being a woman in the wild is an absolute rush.
                               A rush of adrenaline, fear, and empowerment! 
(Yes, I admit it, it can be really quite scary at times. But nowhere near as scary as being a solo woman in a big city.)

It all started with me constantly finding different ways to empower myself... I have been on several extended solo road trips (again, when I say "solo" I am usually with my pup). I have hiked countless trails solo. I have gone to concerts and bars and parties solo (not including Trevor).
The gist of this paragraph is...
            I thoroughly enjoy being alone.

But backpacking in a high-alpine environment... well that's the most isolated solo adventure that I have ever been on (so far...).

I packed up the morning of...

38lbs of clothing, bedding, shelter, water, food, camp stove, contacts, first aid, hats, maps, and knives. Oh and socks, I put a very large emphasis on extra socks when packing. It's just one of those things I do.

I packed up about 10lbs in Trevor's pack. Yes, he has a pack, and it's the cutest thing ever. Dog food, poop bags, water.

Trevor is ready! I'm ready! Directions are printed... Let's do this.

We went to the Missouri Pass & Fancy Pass Loop in the Holy Cross Wilderness (near Red Cliff, CO). A loop that is only roughly 9 miles total, I was feeling confident in may ability to absolutely OWN this little trek. Just one night, so roughly 4.5 miles each day. After all, I had done day-hikes and backpacking trips that were significantlyyyy longer than that.
About 1.5hrs of highway driving and nearly an hour of dirt road driving, we were finally at the trailhead and the stoke was so high I was nearly bouncing around the van getting us prepped for takeoff.

It was a busy trailhead and I was asked several times if I'm packing in all alone, and that's where my solo female instincts kick in. I was very vague in my answers on my situation and my plan. But anyway! We're off! The trail was pretty much uphill the entire time, seeing as we started at the bottom of a mountain and were trying to make it to the lakes in the upper basins for camping that evening.

Ah the first day was a breeze! Only faintly sore legs by the time we reached out perfect camp spot, nestled in a low-lying grassy knoll between groves of trees in hopes to avoid some of the wind that can blow real hard in these high altitudes.

Time to make me some hot cocoa and dinner! I find the perfect flat spot right near the lake and set up my campstove and go for my lighter/matches... only to find out that they are both nonexistent.

SHIT SHIT SHIT.

(I learned the triple-shit from my grandma, the only time she ever swears, she always says shit and she always says it three times real fast.)

So there I am, with 2 out of my 4 meals requiring boiling water in order to be eaten.
"Okay. Okay. Dontcha worry there, Dailyn. It's only 5 miles back to the car tomorrow. So just eat one of your clif bars and a bit of mango jerky" (dried mango, it just reminds me of jerky).

Trevor cuddles me to sleep and all is well.

Until about midnight, when the winds pick up to an unavoidable level and I cannot keep warm for the life of me and trevor decides he simply does not want to cuddle with me anymore. Teeth-chattering, leg-shivering, tent blowing around violently... It was incredibly cold and I got very minimal amounts of sleep. I woke up in the morning and sat in the rising sun, watching it illuminate the towering, rocky mountain on the other side of the lake. Despite my rough night of sleep, it was by far, one of the most glorious feelings I've ever had. Solitude, sunrise, mountains, my dog... the only way it would have been better is if I had a campstove with the ability to warm me up some coffee and oatmeal. Oh well! Water and another clif bar for breakfast! (I was thanking myself for packing a couple of extra clif bars...).


Alrighty! Pack up camp and head on out while it's still chilly out...

I have two mountain passes ahead of me today! Missouri Pass first, then Fancy Pass...
Missouri Pass was certainly a bit of a bitch. Gaining about 500ft in about half a mile, it certainly got my ass in gear (haha). I reached the top and was welcomed with the most breathtaking sight. A lake-filled basin that I had just camped in on one side of me and a mountain range for a far as the eye could see on the other side of me with a wildflower-filled valley at the base of it.
Missouri Pass - Looking down on the valley we camped in.
I take off my pack, change into some cooler clothes and continue down the pass, which was steep enough to get my bad knee feeling all achy and enflamed. I walk about halfway between Missouri Pass and Fancy Pass when I decide I need another meal bar, cause that breakfast just didn't quite cut it. I start to go through my pack to find my phone and take a photo and it's NOWHERE TO BE FOUND.

SHIT SHIT SHIT.

I knew exactly where it was... at the TOP of Missouri Pass, where I had changed my clothes.
Again...

SHIT SHIT SHIT.

"Not at the tooooopppppp!!" I literally shout out loud.

Well, there's no way I'm leaving my iPhone up there for someone else to find... "Alright Trev, let's do this... again..."

1. Smack forehead
2. Hike back up the mountain
3. Find phone
4. Do happy dance
5. Hike back down the mountain

I reach the next mountain pass, Fancy Pass and I see the trail going up the mountainside and say out loud, "You've got to be shitting me." Straight up the side of the gray rocky mountain. And if you've ever had a tweaked knee or exercise-induced bronchospasms, then you know that switchbacks can be your best friend. No switchbacks... I almost considered turning around... again. But I continued on, mostly because I had to see what was on the other side of that mountain... So here I go, cussing under my breath, squealing back at the Marmots who are getting protective of their rocks, and asking Trevor to "waaaaiiiit for meeeeee."

I finally get to the top and the angry winds nearly took my new Patagonia hat from me, "Oh no you don't, you son of a biiiihh!"
Fancy Pass
I start hiking down the other side and lose the trail cause it's nothing but loose, jagged rock and old mining ruins. I find the trail again and have to walk on wet, slick snow and tweak my knee about two more times. Finally! I get to a grassy, forested, lake area and throw off my pack and lay on a giant log and try not to think about my knee or ankle or aching feet or sunburned shoulders... "How the hell could the past 3 miles take that much out of me?! Oh wait... I hiked an extra mountain pass with the whole phone fiasco... I guess I feel a little less weak, now... Time to power up! Food!" Oh, I don't have much food left. A light bar, a bit of dried fruit, and a coupl'a short slim jims.
"Okay, no worries! If I calculated correctly, you only have a little over a mile left..."

Bullshit, I say. That felt like 3 miles. I finally get going again and each foot breaks out into blisters. I'm so hungry. My knee hurts.

Oh and in my exhaustion, I got caught by an old couple with my pants down cause I didn't feel like hiking far enough off trail.

I finally get back to the van and thank myself for always keeping some cans of food and crackers under the bed. I stuff my face, despite the odd looks and start my drive home... only to pull out in a spot near the river and sleep in the back, cuddling with trevor with all the van doors open until a caravan of Jeeps blew unreal amounts of dust on the van, waking me up in a coughing fit.

Now this story may sound unpleasant, and don't get me wrong, it kind of was...
But! At the same time, it was, by far, one of the best trips of my life. It was short and tough and I've never felt so empowered or at peace with myself.

I can't wait to embark on more adventures like this in the near future and make them longer and better and hopefully have some matches...

Happy trekking!

                                 - Dai


2 comments:

  1. I just found your blog via Instagram via we are wildness and this post made me smile. I was thinking the whole time, oh god this sucks so much but we love it and go back for more anyway! Your photos make me miss the Rockies and wish my GSD was still young and spry. Sadly his hiking days have come to an end :( Anyway, keep it up, girl!

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    Replies
    1. Hey Staci,
      Your comment made me smile, because it's so true! Sometimes I'll say to myself, "I do this for fun? Voluntarily?" Hahah And yet, like you said, I keep coming back for more! Oh that is so sad to hear, a German Shepherd is a special best friend, and it pains me to think about Trevor getting old.
      Thanks so much for your comment! And if you ever make it back out to the Rockies, be sure to connect. (:
      Happy trails,
      Dai

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