Buon giorno!!

After 6 months of planning, ONE week from today, I will be boarding a plane with my fella for ITALY!!

M has never been out of the country, which is one of the most exciting aspects of this trip, in my opinion. I haven't been to Europe since my first trip abroad to Greece in 2003.

Here are a few of the things we plan to see while there:

Cinque Terre...the 5 Villages on the Western coast, accessible by train only, connected by a hiking trail that I will be attempting...in my fashionable boot

 The bottom of an EMPTY wine glass.

 The Roman Coliseum

 Pompeii and Mt. Vesuvius

 Cooking class in Tuscany

The Mountains of Turin. M really wants to ski so he's hoping there will be some snow by mid October.

announcement...Announcement...ANNOUNCEMENT!

It's time to announce the Spring 2011

Real Chicks Adventure Getaway Weekend!

We're in the middle of our Fall trip as you're reading this but it was unanimously decided (by the 2 people I asked at the anniversary) that plenty of lead time was needed to make plans.

So, here it is...for your consideration...

March 4-7, 2011

Winter Park, CO

More details to follow but start getting excited! For those who came out last year, there will be some changes to keep it fun and fresh while still hanging on to the favorites..ahem hot springs! And in case you're worried, this trip is designed to me accessible to both the novice outdoors-woman as well as the expert, with optional add-ons that can ramp up the intensity.

Here are some photos from last year's event to whet your appetite and stay tuned to the blog for more details!

 (learning winter survival skills)

 (keeping warm in our snow trench)

 (snowshoeing in Rocky Mountain National Park)

 (In front of Mt. Baldy)

 (Dinner in Winter Park)

 (Sunrise Yoga)

(Cross-country skiing)

A Chick in Alaska!

 The last weekend in July, I flew to Anchorage, Alaska for my friend Katie’s wedding. I had two other girlfriends who were going, and I met several other amazing women once I got there. We traveled in a pack of about 12 women (Chicks!) the majority of the time I was there. The wedding festivities were great fun and the ceremony was beautiful, but what thrilled me the most was that I was in Alaska. Every once in a while, a member of our group would remind the others, “we’re in ALASKA!”, just in case the rest of us had forgotten. In true Real Chick fashion, I couldn’t wait to see as much as possible of the beauty and adventure that Alaska has to offer.

The first night I arrived in Anchorage, I was on my own. I landed at 10:45 p.m. and the sun was still out! It was almost 2 a.m. “my time” so I hit the sack, looking forward to a run the next morning. After I woke, I was so pleased that it was about 55 degrees with no humidity—in Nebraska, we were suffering through a heat and humidity wave. I enjoyed my first and only (so far) Alaskan run, and was happy that I didn’t see any wildlife. Don’t get me wrong, I looked for a moose the whole time we were there; I just wanted to see it from afar. We were lucky enough to see one on our last day there. Yikes!

Katie knew that most of us had not visited Alaska before, and she was happy to lead us on a hike up Flattop Mountain. According to the all-knowing Wikipedia, Flattop is a 3,510-foot mountain located in Chugach State Park just east of urban Anchorage, and is the most climbed mountain in the state. We had the option of choosing one of two trails, and we went with the shorter one which would be easy for our entire group. We did off-road it a bit, though, so we could climb the hill to touch the snow. In July! It was great to spend a morning with a group of hikers who were excited as I was to explore. Alaska is gorgeous—it seems as if the mountains rise straight out of the water. We were surrounded by trees and lush green grass, water and mountains, and cool, crisp air. Alaska is unlike any other place I’ve visited, and I know I can’t come up with words to do it justice—suffice it to say that I left there thinking Alaska is a very special place.

While I was still in the planning stages of this Alaska trip, I asked my friend Dan Randle for advice. Dan and his wife, Susan, run Nebraska Kayak Polo, and Dan used to be a river guide in Alaska. His eyes lit up when he heard I was going, and he asked me, “do you want to go on a whitewater trip that will scare the s$!# out of you?!” Well, duh. So, the morning of the wedding, again in true Real Chick fashion, I drove about 90 miles to Hope, AK to raft Six Mile Creek. Six Mile is a river that is approximately 10 miles long and has, so I was told, some of the most exciting white water rafting in Alaska. I was also told by the bride’s aunt, before I left to go rafting, that she’s never rafted Six Mile because “people die on Six Mile!”—but I chose to ignore that last part.

My friend Sarah was brave enough to join me, and quickly after we arrived in Hope, we donned the proper attire. For me, this included a long-sleeve technical shirt, two zip-up fleeces, two pairs of running tights, and a pair of wool socks, all under a full drysuit, shoes, pfd, and helmet. After our group of about thirty rafters was dressed, we hopped on the bus for the short drive to the river. We listened to a safety lecture, fastened our pfds and helmets, and took turns jumping into the river for the required swim test. The cold temperature and the strong current amazed me; I couldn’t believe that we were still in Class 0 water. I successfully completed the swim down the river and through the eddy, but not everyone was so lucky, and the guides were forced to go after a few who missed the turn and floated by. Some people opted out at that point, and the rest of us divided into small groups and filled 5 rafts. We were in oar-boats, in which the guides have more control over the boat through the use of oars, as opposed to paddle-boats, in which everyone paddles. We paddled as well, but because the river was so high, the oar-boats were used. If the river had been two inches higher, our trip would have been cancelled altogether. Safety first!

Six Mile consists of three canyons, each one progressively more challenging, with narrow routes, steep drops, and crazy rapids. Sarah and I chose to do the whole three-canyon run, which included predominantly Class 4 and Class 5 rapids. The rapids themselves had names such as Suck Hole, Predator, Merry Go Round, and Jaws. We learned what it meant when our guide said “High Side!”, and my favorite piece of advice was when, while we were running the river, he’d say, “Stay in. Stay in. Stay in….” The guides were amazing and their love for that river and for whitewater in general was evident. Rafting Six Mile is probably both the most dangerous and the most exhilarating thing I’ve ever done. I was surprised at how much it affected me, and although the awe has faded a bit as time has passed, I told my friends afterwards that the experience was life-changing. The river was beautiful and strong and relentless, and I feel so lucky to have rafted Six Mile and to have gotten a taste of Alaska—and I can’t wait to go back.

Getting kids outside

(My brother, Ben and I, in Glacier NP as kids)

I'm no expert on raising children...I have none of my own. I have a dog. I have spent quite a few years working directly with children on a day to day basis, including a 2+ years stint as a full-time nanny in Chicago.

It should be of no surprise that we live in a nature-deficient culture, particularly apparent when identifying the the gap between the outdoors and children. It can be overwhelming to think of packing for a backpacking trip with a child and I don't know many who are keen on packing up and taking off on a solo trip with the kids (if you are- more power to you!) As many of the you outdoors-women are also mothers, I thought I would share a few items that helped me to instill a love of the outdoors in kids over the years. I'm sure you all have different methods for discussing nature and environment with your families...I would LOVE to hear them!

(these are random kids...let's name them Maggie and Tess...just for kicks)

1. Start small. Ask the child(ren) what they are interested in seeing outside. It's easy to impose the things we are passionate about as adults and while those things will sometimes catch on, you'd only have to ask my dad about how difficult it is for him to get my brother or I to play chess these days to see that sometimes our best intentions...can be off-putting.

2. Let your child be the guide. This can be as simple as walking around the neighborhood and having them choose which direction to turn at an intersection. It's fun for ALL of us to explore and in my experience, allowing kids to take the lead makes the adventure that much more fun!

3. Pick a project. Go outside with an objective. In the past, I've used:

- Take us somewhere we've never been before

- Insect collecting

- Nature Bag (pick up pinecones, helicopters, interesting rocks or leaves etc)

*bringing these objects home for an art/garden project adds to the fun*

4. Encourage questions and find the answers! I will never forget walking with my 2 year old charge and, while observing an ant hill, being asked, "what do ants eat?" Seemingly obvious to me now, I had NO idea at the time and the research into getting the answer was a learning experience for the both of us. It was also fun to speculate before finding the answer...lots of giggles thinking about ants eating...tires...cats...socks.

5. Use what's relevant and Google can be your best friend. I remember reading in the paper about the tsunami and blasted on the front page were pictures that provoked a lot of questions from the kids. We spent 2 hours looking up the things that made a tsunami different from a hurricane different from a tornado etc. Looking through pictures online was a lot of fun too!

6. Let them be the teachers. After exploring a new area, invite a friend along and allow your child or charge to do the teaching. It will solidify what they've learned and help them build confidence and passion in the outdoors. Regardless of age, we all need opportunities to lead and be led.

7. Don't underestimate a child. They are VERY physically capable. I once went on a 4 mile hike with a 3 years old. Sure, we walked slowly but they walked themselves the whole time and we had a blast! They are also sponges, soaking up and observing everything around them and genuinely want to learn (particularly young kids). Challenge them and support their successes.

So, what else? What am I missing?

The Battle of Two Wolves

A note from Omaha Carla...

So, I ran across this and was pretty inspired. I've been struggling with my kayak polo game-trying to improve, getting frustrated with myself, wallowing in self-pity and inferiority on occasion, dabbling in anger/envy/sorrow etc. Anyway, this is a great reminder to be gentle with ourselves and our goals, to feed the positive, practice compassion, whether that is with our diets, our exercise, our relationships, our abilities...

Enjoy.

A Cherokee elder was teaching his children about life. "A fight is going on inside me," he said to them.

"It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil-he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego." He continued, "The other is good-he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith. The same fight is going on inside you-and inside every other person, too."

The grandchildren thought about it and after a minute one of them asked, "Which wolf will win?"

The elder simply replied, "The one you feed."

Step by Step: Mt. Hood 2010

(Mt. Hood)

In the first week of May, my husband, Matt, and I were on a relaxing vacation somewhat contemplating the possibility of attempting Mt. Hood again this year. Halfway into our vacation, Matt quietly pulled me aside from our friends and said, "Carla, we have a window to climb Mt. Hood-but we have to leave in an hour and make it to the beach to drop off our daughter, Ava, and in the morning, head up the mountain!" I was in a little shock. I thought I had more time to mentally prepare! (Last May, Matt and I made two attempts, which were two whole other stories in and of themselves. The first trip we mainly scouted so we could take a team up later in the month, and it was so cold that our water froze and we turned back. The second trip with our team of friends was great weather but we missed the window to make the summit when the ice chunks started melting and tumbling past us.)

I was brought back to the present when Matt said, "So, do you think you can do it?" I admit I hadn't been working out for a good week. But when he put it like that, my first response was, "if we go, I will do it." He just laughed and told our friends we were leaving early.

This year I was torn about doing it again. On one hand, I had wanted to get on top of Hood, I wanted to conquer that last section I had turned around at twice. But another part of me also didn't ever want to go up there again! Even the possibility that Matt and I would get a window to climb (meaning, best possible weather and child care for a two day venture) had me going over WCS's (Worst Case Scenarios) in my head for a whole week. My husband would jokingly ask, "So, Carla, how many ways have we died today in your head on Mt. Hood?" And I would kind of laugh, but respond with something like..."at least 10." I was facing my fears once again, not only the ultimate fears, but also of the physical challenge of 10 hours of hard climbing and the process of making wise decisions along the way.

(Our tent set up...too close to the lift!)

But Matt and I were craving a mountain adventure! Our daughter, Ava, was was 2 1/2 at the time, is a joy. My heart beats with hers ever since I first heard her heart beating in my belly. But I wanted some time with my companion-lover! Even though I knew we'd be climbing hard, camping in 20 degree weather and bundled up in at least 3 layers most of the time!

(Looking North. I did not want to get oo close to the edge of that cornice!)

So, Thursday May 6th, we took off from Bend, OR after Ava's nap and drove 5 hours to Lincoln City to leave Ava with Matt's parents. We got up Friday morning, both a little giddy. We picked up our gear at REI and planned to hike halfway up Mt. Hood and camp until about 2:30am before starting our ascent to the summit. On our drive up the mountain, all we could see was white. By the time we packed up our gear, the sun was out and the peak was white ice against a blue sky. I was down to my under layer by the time we got to our camping spot. It is really just a hike in the snow the first trek past the last lift until reaching the cliffs. We discovered the hard way about pitching a tent too close to the lift when the plow lights lit up our tent at 1:38am and we were scrambling with our headlamps to make sure he didn't plow us over! I hadn't actually slept, but the 5 hours resting my body did help. We were ready to start climbing at 2:30am and the sky was clear and the stars as bright as diamonds!

(Coming down the Old Chute Route. Matt broke trail all the way from palmer (where our tent was) to the peak. Well, except for a brief phase where I broke trail on Hogsback)

This is one of the most amazing things about climbing such a long mountain, and especially Mt. Hood, because you are so far above everything else and it is like being in a different world. The snow was fairly think and Matt broke trail pretty much the whole way in snow sometimes up to our knees. We saw a few headlamps below us but we were in the lead. We had been climbing for about 3 hours when I hit a wall. I was getting really tired and as we moved toward the cliffs, the sun started shining through the valley and a little wispy cloud moved itself right on top of our summit. I am a praying kind of person and about that time I started praying that God would lift that cloud! It would open up and sock back in, and I knew that when we reached the Hogsback (the final ascent to the summit) we would have to make the decision to turn back if it didn't clear. I started to get a little discouraged.

(Me on Hogsback. This is on our way down. It was pretty touch and go on the way up so we didn't get too many pictures.)

Matt was getting a little further and further ahead of me and all of a sudden I heard my friend Leah's voice in my head: "I just think it is so awesome that you can praise God by climbing mountains like that!" It was her comment to me last year when we had attempted Hood before. That memory coming back to me was like an electric jolt of energy and perspective. I didn't realize how much mental and emotional weight I'd been carrying, feeling guilty about leaving my daughter for another trip and potentially risking so much to do the climb again. Suddenly my steps felt lighter; I remember smiling and laughing a bit, recalling all of the reasons why I love to hike and climb and especially be outside....and that God loves it when I do. Worshipping God is a way of life and sometimes we get the privilege of singing together with others, serving one another together. At other times, worshipping happens when we climb a mountain , pushing ourselves to the very edge of our limits, our fears, our hopes and our dreams.

Step by step Matt and I moved up the mountain, and it seemed as if the cloud lifted inch by inch as we moved. When we reached Hogsback, a kind of snow ridge that leads to the last steep ascent to the summit, it was socked in. We waited 20 minutes, hoping to see the path to the top but I couldn't take the cold anymore and I started trudging through thigh-high snow, hoping that when we reached the end of the ridge, the cloud would life that much more- it did! Step by step, literally, we kept moving and suddenly there was blue sky. We could see the whole valley below us and the way above us to the top. We were the first to make the summit that day. It was very cold and we didn't stay too long at the top. I peaked over the cornice just a bit for a quick picture and after about 10 minutes, we headed back down. We discovered a whole pack of people waiting to climb and as we passed at least 50 people, Matt pointed out that I was the only woman on the mountain that day! I felt a little bit like a trailblazer, which was quite literal for the two of us, since we broke trail to the top.

(Yea! We did it! I'm pretty proud of myself)

The rest of the day was beautiful, the climb down was gorgeous and our reunion with our daughter, sweet!

Inspired....Inspire

We all have those who over the years have made us into better women.

When I was attending college in Chicago, I was introduced to a woman who played this role in my life. She was probably the first outdoors woman I had meet who walked the walk. Being from Montana, she and her husband would hike, camp and were generally and genuinely invested in pursuing an outdoor lifestyle.

My friend, Carla was a wonderfully supportive person. She was a great listener and I still to this day have an incredible amount of respect for the way in which she and her husband, Matt, live out their marriage.

Since the days when I saw Carla on a consistent basis, she and her husband have been through seminary, photography school, moved to the west coast, had a daughter and have taken up MOUNTAINEERING! Since those days, I have moved to Omaha, then to Winter Park, gotten a dog, been through a few relationships, begain pursuing an outdoors lifestyle and taken up MOUNTAINEERING!

I haven't seen her in years but in hearing about her adventures on mountains via facebook (thank goodness for facebook) I have found myself feeling reconnected with her in a more spiritual sense. I'm calling it "the bond of the outdoors woman."

I emailed Carla a few months ago and asked her to write something about her mountaineering experiences. She has submitted her story and some photos of Mt Hood and I will be posting it in the next day or so but I wanted to introduce her and her role in my life.

I would love to know if you have had a female outdoors role model in your life. If you'd like to write something up about her and how you were encouraged, I would love to post it.