Christmas is Cancelled!

End of December, 2012

I have spent every Christmas of my 33 years at my mom's home in Sacramento, California. When I moved to San Francisco after high school, the short drive was easy. Then I moved to New York City, and the trip became much more difficult: crazy weather at home, long lines at the airport, delayed flights, stressed out people everywhere... you know how it goes.

When I moved to Bend, Oregon it should have become easier, but in some ways it just isn't. The lack of direct flights from Bend to Sacramento means we choose to drive rather than fly. The weather is always the wild card: if it is nice out, we get to stop at Bunny Flat on Mt. Shasta for some fun backcountry skiing to stretch our legs. If the weather is bad, however, our drive becomes hours longer, we start tallying vehicles off the side of the road (we counted 14 on one trip), and we are miserable by the time we reach our festive destination.

This year the weather was unusually stormy. It had been snowing non-stop for about two weeks before Christmas, and the roads were covered in ice and packed snow with tire chain ruts. We read about multiple fatal accidents on the roads in central Oregon. We began researching alternate routes, all of which would have taken hours longer, and also had snow on the road and in the forecast. I-5 had been closed on and off in the days leading up to Christmas Eve, and the traffic looked horrendous.

Erik and I had to make a tough call, but we decided: it was going to be too snowy and crazy to drive down to Sacramento for Christmas this year. We were stuck, snowbound, in Bend.

How did we fill our free time over the Christmas holiday? In the snow, of course!

We rode our snowmobiles through deep pow in search of soft landings and face shots...

And found them!

We broke trail through thick blankets of snow:

We explored the forest looking for new places to ski:

We got cold in the sub-freezing temperatures...

And warmed ourselves by a wood stove in a warming shelter:

And did plenty of skiing!

I guess Christmas wasn't cancelled after all... we ended up receiving many gifts from Ullr this year.

I Can Ski Again!

Thanksgiving Weekend, 2012

A beautiful white vista near Mt. Bachelor

I had been anticipating this weekend for months. After a horribly painful and limpy few weeks after my last attempt to ski in June, I told myself that I wouldn’t put my skis back on until there was fresh snow on the ground and a groomed surface to ski. As it started snowing again in Oregon, I saw photos and heard stories of friends taking full advantage of our early-season snow! It was so difficult to control my instinct of skipping work, grabbing my skis, and heading for the hills! I really felt like waiting was the wise thing to do, however, so I practiced self control and waited for a few more weeks.

Opening day at Mt. Bachelor had 3 feet of fresh snow on the ground under a sunny sky. My decision to try a groomer first lasted about 4 or 5 turns before I launched off the trail, landed in a fluffy pillow of snow, and linked pow turns all the way to the bottom of the mountain.

It was on!

A few hours later, I met Erik for my first ski tour of the season. I have never been more prepared in my life! I had:

• Freshly cleaned and waxed skis
• Newly punched and molded boots
• Fresh batteries in my beacon and headlamp
• A super nice lunch I packed the night before
• All clean clothes, including my jacket, pants, and all baselayers
• Brand new socks!

This level of preparedness had never happened before! I guess I really was full of anticipation.

Fortunately, our snowy terrain was as beautiful as I left it, and Erik and I enjoyed a nice afternoon out on our skis.

After a rest day, Erik and I skinned up Tumalo to see how I’d do on a slightly longer, more involved ski tour. I had a few painful moments, but it all came together for me as soon as I dropped in. Does this look like a limpy, gimpy girl to you?




Cheers to the beginning of the 2012/2013 ski season, and many more to come!

A Picky Girl's Guide to Eating on the Trail Part One: Day Trips

Not a bad lunch spot! High up on a ridge on Broken Top

During some downtime caused by my almost year-long recovery from an injury, I took a good, hard look at my diet and overall health. Based on the recommendation of my acupuncturist, as well as encouragement from my own improving health during this journey, I cut lots of junk out of my diet including wheat, dairy, soy, and sugar. Caffeine and alcohol were cut back to rare occasions.

Then I started the anti-candida diet and even more junk came out: anything with mold or fungus (mushrooms, fruits like melon, decaf coffee, kombucha); all vinegar except organic apple cider vinegar; starchy vegetables including potatoes, carrots, and beets; processed meats; beans; commercial sauces and condiments... my grocery list became limited to certain veggies, greens, berries, eggs, meat, oils, and nuts.  

The greens in my garden going off in June!

A typical day's meals were eggs and greens or a smoothie for breakfast, a giant salad for lunch, and a salad with something else (roasted chicken, grilled peppers and squash, soup, etc) for dinner. Similar to the Paleo diet (from what I've been told), but with less bacon! After about six months of this new way of eating, I had multiple health issues (like eczema) spontaneously resolve, lost weight, gained endurance, and felt much healthier in general.

But how do you eat like this on the trail? My traditional standby trail food was all of the sudden off limits: chunks of salami and cheese, pita bread, Clif bars, and chocolate!

My first full day trip after all these changes was a climb and ski of South Sister. I packed a salad, a bag of raw almonds and cashews, a bag of strawberries, and some Oskri bars.

Kind of excited to chow down on some South Sister Salad!

South Sister Salad

Fill a gallon zippered bag with the following:

• Mixed greens like lettuce, mesclun, kale, chard, collards
• Tomatoes
• Cucumber
• Red bell peppers
• Avocado
• Roasted chicken
• Strawberries
• Pine nuts

Dress it with some olive oil, fresh squeezed lemon and lime, salt, and some dried herbs.

It was a big-ass, stick-to-your-ribs kind of salad. It filled me up without weighing me down, didn't take up a lot of room in my pack, was easy to digest, and allowed me to be on my way quickly!

I also packed a bag of strawberries and two Oskri bars. The strawberries satisfied my sweet tooth, but they get a little funky in your pack so make sure you eat them during your trip (they won't survive!)

As for the Oskri bars... well, the Oskri bars are simply outrageous. They have two ingredients: coconut and rice syrup. Eating an Oskri bar is sort of like strapping on a jet pack: all that fat and sugar gives you an incredible burst of energy, without feeling all gross or heavy in your belly.

Yes, I like these bars... just a little bit!

My food experiment was a success; I felt well-fueled all day.

Some other ideas for day trip trail food:

• Carrot and celery sticks
• Justin's Almond butter packs
• Spiced, mixed nuts and seeds (try curry powder or pumpkin pie spices -- just add the spices to the bag)
• Beef jerky (look out for the MSG!)
• GoRaw cookies or bars

What do you eat on the trail if you have allergies or other health concerns that keep you from eating typical trail food? Please add your ideas to the comments below!