Outdoor Bunnies

I left the Eastern Sierra for Alaska the 3^rd week of April arriving in Juneau on the 23^rd. Corey and I spent two weeks playing non-stop. We had beautiful weather – warm and sunny, which is quite unusual for Southeast Alaska. Being a Southern California native, I had a hard time understanding why everyone was so eager to get outside. One minute could not be wasted on frivolous tasks.

As soon as we got to Juneau, Corey and I hiked out to the Mendenhall Glacier via the West Glacier/Spur Trails. Both were still fairly snow covered and the trails needed some maintenance work making the trek slightly longer than usual. The glacier itself was bare and we scoped out potential routes as well as cool features to bring clients out to later in the season. In preparation for our upcoming mountaineering courses we spent some time practicing crevasse rescue skills in addition to setting up various pulley systems. Several days later we took a friend of mine, Taylor, out to the glacier. He is from Venice, CA as well and had never been on a glacier before. So, just as anyone else would do we dropped him into a crevasse and made him climb his way out using ice tools. His mother was very pleased.

Other activities included ski touring and sea kayaking. Corey and I spent a couple days ski touring on Douglas Island. We skinned up to the top of Mt. Troy and spent the night on the summit gazing out over the water. We had a fantastic view from our tent. The ski down was a bit precarious and somewhat amusing looking back to that morning. I don’t ski well in mountaineering boots. In fact I did a better job at glissading on my face! I was not laughing much at the time, but when I think back to that moment I can’t stop giggling. Continuing on with hilarious moments…Corey and I also spent a couple days sea kayaking out to Berners Bay. We saw lots of wildlife including hundreds of eagles, humpback whales, and stellar sea lions. I even caught a fish with my bare hands. We also made friends with some random horses at our campsite. One horse in particular started nibbling on my hair while I was eating breakfast. Another horse tried to snatch my dry bag and wouldn’t give it back. We played tug-of-war for a few minutes before I was able to pry it from his teeth. All the commotion got the horse excited. Walking away I noticed a large organ under the belly moving up and down out of the corner of my eye. When I turned to look at him I saw a huge erect penis! Needless to say this sent me into a fit of laughter.

After our excursions in Juneau, Corey and I flew up to Anchorage to instruct mountaineering courses for National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). Before our contracts started we spent a few days visiting with his sister Heidi. In doing so we drove out to Seward and camped for a couple days. We explored a bit on the Exit glacier not making it very far up glacier. Firn line was real low and we didn’t have the necessary equipment to travel on snow covered glacier.

Corey and I spent the next month instructing mountaineering courses. We both had NOLS Pro contracts teaching mountaineering courses tailored for Naval Academy students. We taught different student groups, but traveled on the same route in opposite directions. My course did a North-South traverse of the Chugach range starting out off the Glenn Highway near the radio towers/Nelchina Valley. We headed up the Nelchina Valley and onto the Nelchina Glacier. From the Nel we headed to the Science Glacier via the middle fork where we traveled to the top of the Science and hung out for a few days. While skiing down the Science we ran into Corey’s course and spent the night in their perimeter camp. Imagine 33 people in the middle of nowhere on some glacier camping in a perimeter no bigger than 1,000 square feet. From the Science we headed down the Tazlina and crossed over onto the Valdez Glacier via Cashman’s Pass. From there we skiied/hiked on bare ice to the toe of the Valdez where we were picked up and driven back to the Farm.

The course was a huge learning experience. Cashman’s pass was the crux of the route taking approximately 8 hours to ascend as a group. We had to set up one large fixed line using three ropes and negotiate getting up and over the burgschrund. We didn’t face precarious weather conditions. We were shut down on days we were setup to do some peak ascents by fog. My most memorable experience from the course was teaching ski school 50 yards from a large crevasse on a downhill slope. I set three deadman and attached each student to a single rope in order to effectively teach a gliding wedge/wedge stop. I was quite proud of the ingenuity behind my classroom setup.

The students were a good group of boys. Although my co-instructors had a hard time relating to them, I think my background of playing on an all-boys water polo team for 4 years and having worked in a male dominant lifeguarding service for 13 years made it much easier for me to connect with this group. Along with the students I learned a great deal. I have more skills to add to my bag of tricks and made some revelations about myself as an outdoor instructor in this type of environment where you are forced to camp in small spaces with individuals you would rather not spend time with (i.e. bear camping, glacier camping). To make a long story short, I found that I should have communicated more with my co-instructors, who were more senior than I, making them aware of how their actions affected both the students and me. Instead I kept my mouth shut and tried my best to go along with my coworkers visions even when I disagreed. Upon reflection, I realized that I could have possibly changed the negative energy that built up throughout the course on the I-team. If faced with the same type of negative learning environment I will definitely speak up. Overall, I enjoyed my students and am thankful for the challenges presented on this course. I have already taken what I learned and applied it in situations that have come up recently in my lifeguarding job.

After finishing up our courses for NOLS, Corey and I flew back to Juneau. Upon our arrival Corey started working right away for Above and Beyond Alaska (ABAK). I, too, started guiding trips out to the Mendenhall as there were several tourists signing up for glacier treks. I spent ten more days in Juneau, AK; not enough in my book. J On my last day, I spent several hours solo climbing on the Mendenhall while Corey was working. I pushed my climbing skills beyond what I thought I was capable of in the beginning. The more stuff I ascended and descended the more comfortable I became. I can’t wait to go back and play some more.

I am currently residing in Marina Del Rey, CA and lifeguard at Venice Beach. I’ve been here since June 23^rd and am gearing up for the end of summer as I am feeling the fatigue setting in. I have spent the last several weeks lifeguarding 40-50 hours/week and teaching a science enrichment camp on my days off. During that time southern California was pounded by the biggest summer swell it has seen in 10 years! The waves were so large we had to shut down the Venice Pier due to the waves shoaling up under the pier and potentially causing structural damage. The last time the waves were that big (winter 2005 – may have been slightly bigger) the concrete bathrooms were swept into the ocean. Since the swell hit a couple weeks ago the surf has been much better. Inshore holes have made it more dangerous for ignorant beachgoers, but have made for some decent wave shape.

Today is the first of three days off in a row. I have spent the day being somewhat lazy. The most active thing I have done thus far is wash/wax my truck and go to the grocery store. I think tomorrow will be a surf, sand bag, and yoga day!

My love for the outside world has been imbedded into my psyche ever since I can remember.  In fact, I was born two weeks early and could possibly attribute that to my desire to simply just get out!  My childhood consisted of playing in the dirt, running across rocks along the water, and running amuck on the beaches of southern California.  I was that tomboy competing and playing along with the neighborhood boys.  In a sense, they were my motivation to do most things girls typically did not.  My greatest motivator as well as greatest challenge was someone telling me I couldn’t do something; especially if it included the reason “because you are a girl”.  My stubborn and competitive character responded to such atrocities with “oh yeah? We’ll see about that!”.  My friends quickly realized that I wasn’t going to hold back and could do anything they did.  Eventually, others (i.e. my parents) succumbed to my nature as well and are more accepting of my adventurous escapades.

 

My connection with nature has always served as a source of rejuvenation, play, and healing.  Growing up I had a double sided childhood.  Home was not a place I desired to spend time at whereas outside became a means of escape.  My home situation was not ideal to the say the least.  However, the opportunities for play and exploration made up for it.  I could go on to describe several experiences that offered me comfort and joy.  Though, I think a poem I wrote as a senior in high school depicting one area of solace would suit best.

 

Free From An Insane World

 

I sit on the rocks below a broken home gazing out, over the water.

The rocks serve as my only friend.

They comfort me,

For I know they’ll always be there.

They accompany me while I try to sort out the impossible.

They hide me when in need of getting away,

Getting away from the horrors life can bring.

The rocks are my freedom.

My freedom from a world of insanity.

 

Today, I sit on the rocks below a cloud-filled sky.

The wind brushes up against my body

Giving a warm, chilling sensation.

The water slaps the rocks below me,

But in a playful manner.

My body bursts out with a chuckle.

The Seagulls gawk at each other,

Offering amusement to my sore visage.

The pelicans soar high into the air,

Only to be able to crash through the water’s surface.

Their graceful dives bring amazement to my eyes.

At a distance, waves caress the sand,

My ears falling in love with this sound.

The rocks are my freedom.

My freedom from a world of insanity.

 

I sit on the rocks below the broken home attempting to escape reality.

I am now one with the rocks, the water, Nature.

I am a creature of the sea.

Perhaps I am a porpoise,

A dolphin gliding  through the water;

The cold sea water trickling down my back.

Perhaps I am a bird,

A Seagull soaring through the air;

The wind beating against my face.

I am free from the world in which we live.

Reality no longer burdens my shoulders with its weight.

The rocks are my freedom.

My freedom from a world of insanity.

 

The rocks along the Pacific Ocean in Marina Del Rey, CA described in the above poem are just one of the many places I love being.  In this poem, I’m at rest observing my surroundings.  I am capable of doing so to an extent, but in reality I cannot sit still for the life of me.  When asked what my favorite things to do in life are, I usually cannot come up with a one word answer or a small list.  I like participating in any activity that serves as a challenge and that stimulates my brain.  The challenge is what makes it fun for me.  Thus, one can find me both on land and in water.  Growing up along the coast has leant a playground for surfing, body surfing, free/SCUBA diving, sea kayaking, and sand bagging.  I was a competitive swimmer in high school and played water polo at the NCAA Division Level.  In fact, my water polo career was spearheaded by an 8^th grade school counselor who told me I could not play water polo because it was just for boys.  I proved her wrong by jumping in the pool anyway and played on the high school “boys” water polo team for four years.

 

My outdoor pursuits were spawned by an injury ending my water polo career.  A heartbreaking incident at the time later proved to be a blessing in disguise.  The first two thirds of my life I ate, breathed, and dreamt about nothing, but water.  In my latter years in high school and throughout college I was not allowed to do much other than swim and play water polo.  Even summer lifeguarding at the beach was looked down upon by my coaches for they feared any activity that could cause injury preventing me from playing.  After tearing my trapezoid muscle in a water polo game against Stanford University and playing the rest of the season on heavy pain meds causing further injury, I had to weigh out my choices.  I chose to pursue other endeavors in life.  I continued to explore the marine environment, but my curious nature led me to terrestrial lands.

 

Before explaining what I do today, I must diverge and explain my wanderings in the professional world and how it led me here.  I graduated from the University of Southern California with a bachelor of science degree in Biological Sciences.  At the time I was volunteering as an assistant researcher on a project studying marine mammals in the Santa Monica Basin.  The winter after I graduated I was looking into doctoral programs in the marine sciences and also needed a job to pay the bills.  I applied to be a substitute teacher for Santa Monica-Malibu USD.  Little did I know that this application would change my life forever.  In August 2000 I received a phone call from John Adams Middle School (JAMS) asking me if I would like to interview for a science teaching position.  Although I had no teaching experience I went in anyway and was hired on the spot.  I didn’t even know what a teaching credential was.  That year I found my calling as an educator.  I spent seven years teaching in the classroom meanwhile earning my teaching credential from California State University, Northridge. 

 

During my seven years at JAMS I was an integral part of the science magnet program, which included taking students on outdoor adventures: Catalina Island, Yosemite, Astrocamp, Joshua Tree, Morrow Bay, and nature hikes in the local mountains.  It was on these trips I realized my true passion.  Not only did I love educating those around me, I also found passing on my excitement for the outdoors even more satisfying.  The kids were able to apply what they learned in the field to the standards covered in the classroom.  More importantly they developed a self awareness not present beforehand.  Those who had attention issues were able to focus better.  Those with low self-esteem found courage and were able to lead their peers.  Those with dismal home lives found a sense of calmness and peace.

 

In 2006, I yearned to explore more of the natural world.  However, some places were currently inaccessible to me.  Of course, I do not like not being able to do something!  J  Thus, I took a mountaineering course for outdoor educators with National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) in order to acquire technical mountaineering skills needed to explore more challenging terrain.  One can now find me rock/ice climbing, traveling on glaciers, and trekking in areas I wouldn’t have perceived of setting foot on before.

 

In 2007, I left the classroom so that I could pursue outdoor education more full time than what was allowed as a public school teacher.  As such, I have continued my career in the outdoor field.  Though a previous student of NOLS I am now a mountaineering instructor at the Alaska branch and will be instructing my first course in merely a couple weeks.  It is a mountaineering course for Naval Academy students.  Very few women participate in the mountaineering program for reasons including lack of support and self-confidence; something I wish to change.  Although the women’s movement has changed many things, the attitude that women cannot participate in the same activities as men still exists.  Though not all, there are many men and women who believe this to be true.  The outdoor world is open to all; male and female.  As an “Outdoor Bunny” I hope to pass along my passion for outdoor exploration and encourage other females to venture out into this realm creating more role models for all genders.