It all started the year before when I went on a nine day Primitive Survival trip with Cody Lundin of Dual Survival.  During that nine days I learned  to Flint-Knapp, make a gourd canteen, hunt for food and make friction fire and I loved the whole  experience and now I wanted more. I wanted to find an experience where I pushed the limits of my own limitations to see how I would react.

Cody had another survival course called the Desert Drifter where we would go into the wilderness with the clothes on our back, a map and a water bottle. It was what I was looking for, a raw in your face experience so that I could face unknown fears and find what blocks me in life. The Desert Drifter was the hardest of Cody’s survival courses where  we would go out into the Arizona desert for six nights and seven days.

I arrived at Cody’s school in Prescott, Arizona and straight away I knew this was going to be different. We were told to go through our gear and were told that for the first night that we were allowed to bring a trash bag, two quart water bottles, another layer for the top, a hat, and two bandana’s. There were eight  of us our tribe and I was the only woman mad another for such an adventure and so high up in the Arizona mountains we started our journey together. Like any journey in the beginning everyone is happy, smiling and trying to get to know each other as we descended off our mountain top to where we had no idea.

We had been hiking to three hours or more when Cody stopped us and talked to us about making camp, how to look for a site for the night. Now I thought Cody was going to start a fire to keep us cozy and I thought how are we going to eat as it said in the brochure we would be provided with two meals a day. By now it was about an hour away from darkness and we started to collect dry grass for insulation in our trash bags as well as an insulator from the cold ground. Darkness came and Cody went to  his camp for the night and so of course the guys wanted to sleep next to the only woman, I thought this for a change works in a woman’s favor. We piled together like sausages in a frying pan to keep each other warm.

I am not sure how long I slept if any before I woke shivering and feeling wet in my trash bag. I looked out of my trash bag and saw the moon shining in the cold night and thought this is going to be a long cold night. It seemed like the moon took her time gliding across the midnight sky for sunrise. When the sun finally came out we all got up quickly to get moving to our unknown destination.

Our first priority each morning would be water. We had two quarts each and three MSR Dromedary bags for the group. We came across a spring in the canyon we were in and Cody had liquid Iodine to disinfect the water.

Then we made our way into the day and the hot Arizona sun that was starting to make herself known. We Had hiked four about five hours and I was beginning to feel the hot sun affect me, I was starting to get a headache and my body was dragging. One of the guys in the group began to get the affects of heat stroke and so we  found a place out of the sun to rest. I quickly snuggled on my side and fell asleep and was woken with  the guys looking at me. Cody found some salt and passed it around for each of us to take a pinch to replace the salts we had lost. Bad news we were only half way to where we were supposed to be heading. This is when I began  to doubt myself and thought what the hell was I thinking, I mean I could be in Hawaii relaxing at some top notch spa not in the middle of the desert with seven men who have not showered and have had no food. I paid for this, really!

I was no longer aware of the time but  knew it had to be late afternoon with the shadows on the ground. Cody said we were getting close but that last mile to our stop seemed the hardest and longest. The guys started talking about food already and were hoping there was a food stash  somewhere. It’s amazing when your body go’s without food for just even a day that you can feel it physically but mostly your mind starts to play tricks on you and I can see how people become obsessed with food and get into real trouble fast. I see this section of our journey is about overcoming the mind.

However, when we finally made it to our last water source for the evening it was a brown cow paddy and thought there is no way I am drinking that crap, literally!

But Cody told us to drink up and refill our water bottles. I have to say that there was a texture to the water, a kind of pasty brown  feel and look to it. After filling up we as a tribe found a campsite for the evening and then Cody said he was going for a walk. It was now starting to get dark and we began to wonder where Cody was and also that again tonight we will have to sleep in our trash bags again. Oh well this is what I signed up for!

Finally Cody showed up with a smile on his face and handed us fresh apples and said the rest of our gear was up in a tree. It was a moment of joy and happiness for the rest of the gear would include a blanket, pants, one quart bag of trail mix and socks and I thought that was luxury compared to what we had the night before. Oh yeah there was no underwear it’s what we had on that was counted as contraband.

In the morning everyone was energized but before we could head out into the day I had developed blisters on my heels and now were bleeding and needed Cody to cut some of the blister away and patch it up.

We had also decided to have Indian names for each of us from Muffin top, Blisters, Buddha, Humphrey, IT and more that I can no longer remember. When we came to a short stop my blisters were now painful again and this time instead of crazy gluing my blisters I needed them to be padded as it was now making limp.

 We had hiked for about five hours this day and came to our camp for the night and yeas Cody made a fire for us while showing us how to make a bowdrill fire,  but we had fire! it felt amazing to feel that heat for the first time in days and we all crowded and laughed and joked despite having no food.

That night however the temperature dropped down to the mid-thirties and it was raining. With one blanket we all hugged tight together to keep each warm but we were all shivering and I know I was beginning to shake. We must have dropped off to sleep when in the middle of the night Cody woke us up and said to take a right on  the Jeep trail and follow it until we find Cody, then he disappeared into the cold, damp night. We all slowly got up and packed our gear and started walking in the dead of night but I was glad to have my body moving to stop the shivering on this full moon night.

 We finally came to Cody five hours later and daylight and all of were happy to see him.

We were now dropping in elevation and away from the mountains and now we dropped into a canyon where we were to stay until the end of our journey. Also for the first time in a couple of days the sun came out to welcome us into the canyon. My feet were now hurting and starting to swell becasue of the blisters that were now open wounds but I was not going to whine about it. However Cody noticed my limping and once again put crazy glue on the wound to try and seal them. We were now heading into the canyon where we would finally come to a river so putting a blister kit would be a waste of material as we walked the river.

For the next two days we stayed by the Green river and it was warmer and we found crayfish and catails to eat, the most we had eaten all week and I fell into a deep slumber.

Our last night we made a sweat lodge and it was an  awesome experience of being in nature and sweating out our burdens not only of our past week but also of our lives. I then jumped in the cold river and felt reborn from this amazing journey over the past week and felt emboldened to go forward in my life and have nothing hold me back anymore.

By Sharon Page all@rights reserved

I live in Bend, Oregon which is located in the central part of the state. I have been in Bend around four years and will always remember my interview with kindness that my former boss said these words “The skiing is just as good as Utah”, you see I was living in Park City, Utah at the time and moved yes for the job but also that the skiing was good.

My first run that winter was a storm filled one which I guess is typical of Northwest skiing. The local ski area nearest to Bend is called Mt. Bachelor that funny enough is owned by Park City ski resort and so with that in mind I thought skiing must be good. At the top of the mountain I noticed the lack of trees compared to like Park City, The Canyons or Deer Valley but I thought I must be open minded. Well that open mind started closing by the time I reached the bottom of the mountain. I asked the people I was skiing with where the steep was, their reply was not what I wanted to hear, “that was the steepest run”, Noooooooooo, it cannot be.

Before coming to Oregon I lived in Park City, Utah for several years and did  not realize I spoiled I was with three world class ski resorts just on the front side of the Wasatch Mountains. The Salt Lake side of the Wasatch as another three world class ski resorts. You may ask snow is snow right! I hear you but alas the snow in the Wasatch is fluffy light snow that when the snow does fall it falls sometimes for hours or days so that you get feet’s on new fluffy white powder that when you plough your skis through the powder you just float on the top of the snow, it feels like Nirvana when everything in your body is connecting to your boots, bindings and skis and that you are not separate from this moment.

So how do I try and love Mt. Bachelor, hum, well  maybe they can lower the prices as the same price in Park City but my guess they won’t. I have come to terms that my winters in Oregon are different and I am okay with that. Before the slopes open here and the snow is coming down thick and fast I pack my Yo, yo pack, grab my Tuo skis and boots and skin up the mountain and I find satisfaction just heading up the mountain under my own steam and see the steam rising from my body as my skis part the snow in front of me.

So do I love Oregon skiing, not quite butI have found my peace.

By Sharon Page@ All Right Reserved.

Recently I was invited to go out climbing with a friend  and his buddies at Smith Rock in Oregon. Now normally I would have blown him off as I  had done on many occasions and usually out of my fear of meeting people in new situations. But this time I choose to take the plunge and not only address this fear of meeting new people but also look at my fear of looking stupid which I can guarantee that me climbing will be a humbling experience.

Back in the days of dare I say it the early 80′s, now I have given up my age and in my early twenty’s I was an avid climber climbing all over England, Europe and parts of the US. I was climbing back in the day when the Wild Country Friends were all the rage (Wild Country Friends were the first camming devices). I lived in North Wales and the heart and soul of climbing. I know Americans will say Yosemite was the heart of climbing but alas this is where I differ. Climbing originally started as a way to exercise before Himalayan climbers headed to the lofty peaks of Everest and K2 each year and so in the early fifity’s and sixties these Himalayan climbers set up climbing routes that I am still in awe of today. They had no modern equipment just big heavy hiking boots, pitons as protection and hemp ropes. So in my younger days I would head out after work and climb one of the great climbs in Llanberis Pass and often would climb to see the sun setting over the pass.

I loved those days of adventure and some where along the way I gave up those things that I cherished until recently where I have again now in my early forties began to live an adventurous life. I started Yoga, picked up my paint brush, starting a business and have opened up to build friendships again. This to say I am loving this period of my life.

So the  chance to go climbing again for the first time in ten years excited me and un-nerved me. The night before the climb I bought out my old now dusty climbing boots and my chalk bag and neatly put them out and felt the old rush of climbing come through my veins again.

The next morning we took the short drive to Smith Rock. It was sunny out with only blue Sky’s on this September day as we headed to the crags. If you have never been to Smith Rock, it is a world class climbing area with rocks that cascade towards the sky waiting for you to discover her secrets. Far below is the river that flows through the area slowly meandering it ways to an unknown destination. We arrive at the crag we are going to climb. The guys said it was a 5.9, panic sets in for a moment, i was like are you kidding, my first climb in ten years and it’s a 5.9. I allowed the panic to pass and said it would be okay that I would not be leading so my focus would be to simply climb. After the guys set up the climb I get my boots on and set up my harness and tie into the rope with a bowline knot and I touch the rock for the first time. Feeling the rock against my fingers I slowly place my hands on the rock gathering into my first holds. I push myself up onto the rock and start to climb. Just above the first bolt I came to a grand stop. The rock pettard out of holds and the guys before me were taller and stronger than me and were easily able to climb over this section that I now found so difficult to maneuver. Fear started to rise and I felt I know longer wanted to climb and so wanted to give in. Ha, this is my fear in life, my Yoga practice as enabled me to look at myself these couple of years and expose my fears and this is sure one of them. So as I do in Yoga when the heat and the practice gets intense I breath. I feel Pranayama, the life force within me and the panic stops and I can see things more clearly by simply being aware of my breath in this moment. I look up and around me for holds that I can place my hands and feet and find one off to the right. I grab for it and make it to the hold that it enables me to life my left foot up to another small hold and soon I am past the difficult part and slowly I ease into a rhythm with my body and mind that I no longer feel separate from the rock, it feels a part of me as I make my way to the top. When I get to the top I take a look around me and what a beautiful sight I see before me with blue Sky’s, the river the color of jade and the rock an intense brown and just silence. This is why I used to climb, not for the ego or some self serving purpose, no it was so that my soul could reconnect with nature.

By Sharon Page@ 2011 All Rights Reserved

If you like deserted white sandy beaches with small cafes and bistros then Spain should be a place to visit. Most people going to Europe often forget or think it is to far out of the way to visit. Spain is a mixture of the old and the new that blend well into each other, like stepping into an Ernest Hemmingway novel.

A place to start is on the East Coast of Spain on the Costa Blanca. You can fly into the old Roman town of Alicante, which is fortified by the Castillo De Santa Barbara (castle) and looks over the Mediterranean Sea. In the eighth century the Arabs called Alicante “Al Lucent” meaning “light”, which if you find yourself wandering the side streets during the mid afternoon siesta the sun is at its brightest. A place to go to get some shade will be the Expanada De Espana, which is a boulevard along the harbor front with interesting mosaic walkways. Other walks in the late afternoon is to walk up to the Castillo De Santa Barbara and watch the sunset settling over the Mediterranean or you can hike into the down town area of Alicante, where the local farmers come and set up there fresh produce for the day. Alicante also has a small but good art museum not far from the Castillo De Santa Barbara. Some art works include Miro, Dali, Frances Bacon and works from local artists.  

 If you want something a little more adventurous, then day tours to the surrounding countryside are ideal to visit. Traveling along deserted roads with no clouds in the sky and the smell of lemon trees certainly is refreshing from the fresh sea breeze. Along these old roads you come across small rural villages that are great to stop and have a cold drink at the local cafe and take in the Mediterranean Sea. A lot of people are unaware that Alicante is known for its vineyards and are great to visit and taste the local wines and food.

 Other place of interest is to drive up the coast towards Calpe, along the way there is a small town called Villa Joyosa. This town is not on any tourist map but it is an old traditional Spanish town with small side streets that steepen and narrow has you make your way towards the beach. As you get to the beach unlike Benidorm there are no fancy hotels or sunseekers, just a small cafe to spend the afternoon away with the only sound of the swishing of the sea hitting the beach.

 Spain is a place of wonder and beauty, a place to explore.

 Bend, Oregon offers an avid outdoors person an amazing amount of wilderness to explore, weather by bike, foot, snowmoble or 4 wheeling. In my case it’s either of foot or bike.

 This particular adventure was on foot to the Swampy Lakes area of Bend. To get there you take Cascade Hwy towards Mt. Bachalor. It’s about a 20 min drive to the Swampy Lake Sno – Park. Pull into the car park and head to the trail head.

 In the Winter Swampy Lakes is used for Cross country skiing and summer works great for a long hike or bike. Swampy Lakes does not get the foot traffic as some of the other popular trails and so going a short distance you will feel a sense of being in the wilderness. At the start of the trail head there are a few trails you can head to from Swampy Lake, Tangent and the Swede Ridge Loop.

 I took the Swede Ridge Loop that started with a slow uphill climb that came to a small ridge and meets with another trail loop. Today is May 27^th and there is still a fair amount of snow on the ground, but I love snow in the spring when the sun is out the sky is blue and the snow is corn soft. Where the trail meets  other trails I take a right over the ridge and still continuing on the Swede Ridge Loop trail.

 Swede Ridge starts to slop down into a drainage and opens up to switchbacks great for biking. From here it’s about 2 miles as the post says to the Swede shelter. Cordinates are 44.015N and 121.548W. I think it is further than 2 miles but it is a pleasant hike with lots of shade and not many ups and downs.

 If you are looking to beat the crowds then this might be a hike to get away, enjoy and spend some quality time outdoors.