Summer 2010 Women's Adventure Magazine by Women's Adventure Magazine

Moving

SUMMER 2010

Mountains

Empowerment

in afghanistan Paddling Out

3 women’s stories The Skinny on Cleansing Anxiety vs. Arousal

Summer Product Picks

THRIVE IN THE WILD™ $4.99 US $6.99 CAN V8N2

SUMMER 2010 Display Until September 15 womensadventuremagazine.com

Thai ladies in the ring, escape Seattle, Big City Mountaineers, kids and bugs, glamping, meet a cycling coach, PLUS: Machu Picchu, Camel trekking, and more!

OSUMMER’2010”

Features Summer 45 Editor’s Choice Awards

Tony Di Zinno; cover photo: woods wheatcroft

What’s the common link between mountain biking, kayaking, hiking, doing a triathlon, and going to a summer concert? That no matter what trail, what ocean, or what park you’re headed to, you’ll have a better time if you’re well-equipped. We took feedback from dozens of testers about hundreds of products and hand-picked 91 of the highest-performance, most fashionable, and most functional pieces you’ll need for a summer of fun.

Moving Mountains

Paddling Out

The Taliban, landmines, and human rights violations are just another day on the job for Mountain 2 Mountain’s founder and director, Shannon Galpin. Her inspiration for changing the world? A mountain bike. Follow her through the goat paths of Afghanistan as she fights for the social and economic change that results from empowering girls and women. By Jayme Otto

Water is moving in more ways than one. Laugh, cry, and rejoice in its power. This collection of essays captures the spirit of the water and will inspire you to find peace in your own little stretch of river. By Pam Houston, Becca Katz and Paula Matarrese

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OSUMMER’2010” Departments 08.

[ THE DIRT ]

People, Places, and Things from Our Outdoor World

Travel: Glamp in the great outdoors, escape Seattle, Moroccan camel treks, National Park lodges, and what to do in Whitefish, Montana Planet Earth: Thailand’s national sport and climbing mountains for (and with) kids Fun Stuff: Three summer reads, rock out to an ultrarunner’s top-10 training songs, test your survival savvy, trail jargon, and we  bugs Inspiration and Information: Meet a world-class cycling coach, a 10-minute camp kitchen makeover, water-bottle world, why you can drink a guilt-free cup of joe, the motivation behind mountaineering, and wheeling well: Tricia Downing’s story

30.

[ LOVE ON THE ROCKS ]

Loving Local

Can having a seasonal job cut into your year-round romance? Of course. Our new columnist explores local loving—and the downside of chasing your adventures across state lines.

32.

[ PSYCHOBABBLE ]

Idiosyncrasies of Arousal

Whether your belly is full of butterflies before a race, or your head is in the clouds before a tip off, everyone has a performance-enhancing level of pre-competition stress. Find yours.

34.

Ancient Lessons of Nature

36.

Stand Up Paddling

[ SENSE OF PLACE ]

Peru’s Machu Picchu tempts even novice trekkers, like Marie Elena Martinez who’s provided this short preview of her upcoming travel narrative. [ TRY THIS ]

Lucky for bipeds everywhere, paddling is just as fun when you’re on two feet. See why this growing sport is catching on so quickly. Plus: First-timer tips from a veteran paddling instructor.

38.

[ WHOLE HEALTH ]

The Skinny on Cleanses

Don’t be lured into a cayenne-pepper-fueled fad. Revamp your relationship with food by heeding the expert advice in this guide to cleansing the healthy, whole-foods way.

40.

p. 56

[ FULL ]

Mountains

EMPOWERMENT

Everybody Must Get Stoned

IN AFGHANISTAN Paddling Out

3 WOMEN’S STORIES

The Wave Not Taken

ANXIETY VS. AROUSAL

SUMMER PRODUCT PICKS

PADDLE, TRI, HIKE, BIKE & JAM

THRIVE IN THE WILD™ $4.99 US $6.99 CAN V8N2

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THE SKINNY ON CLEANSING

SUMMER 2010

Editor’s Choice:

p. 32

[ IT’S PERSONAL ]

Aging isn’t an excuse to stick to the beach, it’s a reason to catch a wave.

p. 45 Moving

Summer’s bounty includes a juicy crop of fruits that are as delicious as they are nutritious. Add color, flavor, and healthy fun to meal-times this season.

42.

SUMMER 2010 Display Until September 15 .

64. Playground

THAI LADIES IN THE RING, ESCAPE SEATTLE, BIG CITY MOUNTAINEERS, KIDS AND BUGS, GLAMPING, MEET A CYCLING COACH, PLUS: MACHU PICCHU, CAMEL TREKKING, AND MORE!

p. 17

66. Musings

womensadventuremagazine.com

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OSUMMER’2010” Editor’s Letter

In the Bangladeshi town where I lived, I was the only girl on a bike. I wore a head scarf and a conservative tunic to ride between the chicken farm that doubled as my house, the vocational training center where I taught English, and the desolate beach where I unwound by walking alongside the Bay of Bengal. My flowing scarf got caught in my chain ring once, but more often than not, the only excitement on my daily rides was… the daily ride itself. It wasn’t until after I’d read this issue’s feature “Moving Mountains” (page 56) about Shannon Galpin’s non-profit in Afghanistan did I even remember the giggles and stares I attracted. Like Shannon’s spectators in Afghanistan, for most of the people in the small Muslim town I called home, the spectacle of a woman on a bicycle never grew old. Every day shopkeepers and schoolboys would emerge on schedule—my schedule—to watch me wind past puddles and around potholes. The heavy Chinese bike I rode was intended for a boy half my age, but I had to purchase it for more than twice what it was worth.

I didn’t identify as a cyclist. I didn’t wear a helmet, I didn’t know how to fix a flat, and you wouldn’t have caught me dead in a chamois. I didn’t realize it then, but the act of defying their expectations—and my own—was empowering beyond belief. More than just getting from point A to point B, by riding my bike through my Bangladeshi town I was pushing the boundaries of everyone involved. But who doesn’t love a good boundary-pushing these days? I still do and I hope you do, too. In this issue we feature stories about women who are doing just that. This summer we’re also launching an online Cycling Toolbox where, when it comes to cycling at least, you’ll find how-to advice about everything from fixing a flat to joining a local racing team. My hope is that the combination of advice and inspiration leads you into a good-natured shoving match against the boundaries you face everyday… a shoving match that you win. Cheers,

Kristy Holland

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Contributors

Tara Dugan Kusumoto It was Rita Golden Gelman’s book, Tales of a

Female Nomad, that nudged Tara Dugan Kusumoto from a corporate job in San Francisco toward new adventures in Colorado. Tara’s been contributing book reviews to Women’s Adventure since 2008, and in this issue’s “Media Room” (page 18), she reviews three books, including Gelman’s newest anthology of food and travel essays, Female Nomad & Friends. Dimity McDowell and Sarah Bowen Shea’s Run Like a Mother also offered motivation to this new mom. “A runner’s high may be just what I need for the adventures of motherhood,” she says. When she’s not reading, Tara loves traveling: She’s covered the Paralympics in Greece, China, and, most recently, Whistler, British Columbia. A Connecticut native who grew up on the fault line of Yankees and Red Sox loyalty, Tara now lives in Summit County, Colorado, with her photographer husband, Joe.

Marie Elena Martinez

In the fall of 2005, Marie Elena Martinez decided to put her windowless office space, pressrelease writing, and 10-year job as a literary publicist behind her. Leaving a successful PR gig at HarperCollins Publishers, she booked a ticket to Quito, Ecuador, and followed her heart… out of the country. Over the last five years, she’s visited more than 30 countries, from Argentina to India to New Zealand. Currently, she is living in New York City, where she’s finishing One Girl, Many Maps, a memoir about searching for the meaning of life, love, and everything else that came her way in South America and Southeast Asia. She also writes freelance travel stories for publications such as Newsday and The Miami Herald. When not nursing lattes while working on her laptop in Manhattan cafés, Marie Elena is busy running marathons, scouring the city for good live music, and researching her next big adventure. This summer, as follow-up to this month’s “Sense of Place” about Machu Picchu (page 34), she’s tackling Africa—her sixth continent—to climb Mount Kilimanjaro for charity. Check out her website and travel blog at www.marieelenamartinez.com.

Abigail Sussman

A native of the East Coast, Abigail Sussman moved westward while working for the National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service, and she’ll be sharing some of her adventures as the new columnist for “Love on the Rocks” (page 30). In addition to documenting her encounters with mountain men, she’s studied small mammals in Alaska, excavated 30-million–year-old fossils in South Dakota, and patrolled the flanks of Mount Rainier. When she’s not in the backcountry, Abigail likes to bake bread, garden, ride her bike around town (in a skirt), and read to her nieces and nephew over the phone. These days she spends summers in a North Cascades fire lookout station and winters in Colorado’s West Elk Mountains, writing about the intersection of natural and cultural topographies. In addition to Women’s Adventure, her writing appears on the pages of Backpacker, Backcountry, Powder, The Ski Journal, Mountain Gazette, and AdventuresNW. womensadventuremagazine.com

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OSUMMER’2010”

Web, Contests, Etc.

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Match performance and style with this stay-cool outfit. Marmot’s Sabrina Tank offers full range of motion with flat-locked seams, a built-in shelf bra, and fully adjustable straps. It’s a perfect match for the performance-oriented, quick-drying, recycled (UpCycle) Emerald Skort.

- Kendra Ryan; photo by Tom Keefer

Hot Summer Separates

Your Adventure My broad grin tells the story: happiness, discovery, and enthusiasm during my first climb, near Pizzo D’Ucello above Vinca, Italy.

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6 WAM OSUMMER’2010”

womensadventuremagazine.com

What do you look forward to about summer?

EDITORIAL Editor in Chief Art Director Cycling Editor/Web Director Contributing Editor Century rides, BBQs, and fireflies

Being warm, red-headed woodpeckers, and flying on a bike

KRISTY HOLLAND Krisan Christensen Susan Hayse Jayme Otto , Michelle Theall

Assistant Editors

Heather Hansman, Molly Rettig

Copy Editors

Melaina Juntti, Stephanie Dolan

Contributing Web Editor Contributing Writers

Going boating-and the permaPFD/Chaco tan that comes with Gear Intern Contributing Photographers Endless summer days and BBQs on the beach

Tara Kusumoto

Open windows, camp chairs, bare feet, and baseball season

Nancy Averett, Lauren Becker, Berne Broudy, Katy Dannenberg, Kristi Eaton, Karina Evertsen, Melissa Gaskill, Sarah Gold, Anita K. Henry, Courtney Holden, Pam Houston, Marie Elena Martinez, Becca Katz, Caroline Mosey, Abigail Sussman, Liz Yokubison, Paula Matarrese Georgia Stewart Ben Fullerton, Hillary Harding, Andy Mann, Donnie Sexton, Tia Troy, Markus Zimmerman, Tony Di Zinno

SUBMISSIONS

S’mores at a campfire in the middle of nowhere

For contributor’s guidelines, visit www.womensadventuremagazine.com/contributors-guidelines. Editorial queries or submissions should be sent to edit@staff.womensadventuremagazine.com Photo queries should be sent to photos@womensadventuremagazine.com Women’s Adventure is always looking for new and innovative products for women. For consideration, please send non-returnable samples to 1637 Pearl Street, Suite 201, Boulder, CO 80302-5447

PUBLISHING

Long days, running without a shirt, and pure play with my kids

publisher

suE sheerin

Key Accounts

Sue Sheerin sue@womensadventuremagazine.com 303 931 6057

Sales Director

Theresa Ellbogen theresa@womensadventuremagazine.com 303 641 5525

Marketplace/Active Travel Sales Rep Director of Events

Lisa Sinclair lisa@womensadventuremagazine.com Joanna Laubscher joanna@womensadventuremagazine.com Camping, 14ers, cycling, flip flops, and cold beer

If you would like to carry Women’s Adventure or explore a distribution partnership, please e-mail us at sue@womensadventuremagazine.com Copyright © 2010 by Big Earth Publishing. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without written permission is expressly prohibited. Outdoor activities are inherently risky and participation can cause injury or loss of life. Please consult your doctor prior to beginning any workout program or sports activity, and seek out a qualified instructor. Big Earth Publishing will not be held responsible for your decision to thrive in the wild. Have fun!

TRAVEL

Markus zimmerman

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womensadventuremagazine.com

[ FAR FLUNG ]

Interlaken, Switzerland After navigating the strong, early-summer thermal updrafts swirling below Switzerland’s most famous peaks—Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau—World Cup paragliding pilot Susanne Wyss touches down in a field of flowers in Interlaken. The valley’s lush meadows, wandering ibex, and network of hiking trails serve up some of the Swiss Alps’ most breathtaking alpine scenery and draw hordes of tourists each summer. One surefire way to escape the crowds: Hire a pilot who combines finesse, technical skill, and sheer power for as much as an hour of airtime above the valley and a bird’s-eye view of it all.

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TRAVEL

[ BUDGET TRAVEL ]

Low-Cost National Park Lodges Although each of America’s 58 national parks—and many of its national monuments—serve up cheap backcountry adventures and camping, sometimes you crave easier access. Thanks to budget-minded lodges planted inside a handful of national parks, options do exist. If you’re passing through without a tent and can’t help but stay another day, check out these cool, historical, and cushier-than-backcountry sites, where you’ll still be close to the action. –Melissa Gaskill

Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona Bright Angel Lodge and Cabins sits just a few feet from the Grand Canyon’s South Rim. Designed in 1935 by noted architect Mary E. J. Colter, this rustic lodge—a National Historic Landmark—has a familystyle restaurant and, during summer, an ice-cream fountain. Temperatures can soar outside, but you’ll stay comfy in a lodge room with a shared bath for $79. www.nps.gov/grca

Things to do: 1

Take a three-hour mule ride to Abyss Overlook. The lodge serves as check-in for the twice-daily rides. Hike the Kaibab Trail to Oohaah Point (1.8 miles roundtrip with a 600-foot drop) or to Cedar Ridge (3 miles round-trip with a 1,140-foot drop). Bring water! Gaze at the stars. Regular ranger-guided full-moon and star walks run all summer and the annual Star Party (June 5–12) brings slide shows and telescope viewings to Yavapai Point. See ancestral Pueblo villages at Tusayan Museum, art exhibits at Kolb Studio, and canyon views at the Mary Colter Watchtower. Sign up for a photography class with the Grand Canyon Field Institute.

Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming The bunks in Colter Bay Cabins are mounted on log walls and surrounded by canvas ones. Potbellied stoves keep you warm at night—summer temps regularly drop into the 40s—and there are outdoor grills, covered picnic tables, and central group restrooms. $50 per night; sleeps four. www.nps.gov/grte

Things to do:

Carry a copy of A Climber’s Guide to the Teton Range (Mountaineers Books, 1996), to one of hundreds of traditional or sport routes in this climbers’ haven. Check in at the Jenny Lake Ranger Station for beta. Spy antelope along the aptly-named Antelope Flats Road and on Timbered Island southeast of Jenny Lake. Float 10 miles of the Snake River, keeping a sharp eye out for nesting bald eagles, as well as beaver, moose, and elk. Windsurf or kayak on Jackson Lake and hike the nearby Hermitage Point Trail which climbs 980 feet over 4.4 miles from the marina to the point.

Charit Creek Lodge is accessible only by foot (or via horseback or mountain bike) on trails ranging from one to 11 miles in length. Rustic rooms are equipped with kerosene lamps, beds, and linens and sleep 12, so multiple parties sometimes share a space. The $68 nightly rate includes meals. If you stay longer than one night, the kitchen will even pack your lunch for the trail. www.nps.gov/biso 10 WAM OSUMMER’2010”

Things to do: 1

Hike 0.4 miles to Gentleman’s Swimming Hole on the Clear Fork River for a refreshing dip. Continue on the 2.1-mile Meeting of the Waters Loop. Paddle the Cumberland River or one of its tributaries, which offer up to class IV rapids. Explore the heavens. Throw a blanket down in a field near the lodge. Lack of light pollution means you’ll see some 2,000 stars with your naked eye—even more with binoculars. Mountain bike 7.7 miles on Collier Ridge Loop; expect log crossings, steep climbs, and drops. Drop a line in the Big South Fork for largemouth and smallmouth bass. A Tennessee fishing license is required. womensadventuremagazine.com

courtesy of national park Service

Big South Fork National River and Rec Area, Tennessee

[ OUT THERE ]

[ URBAN ESCAPE ]

Night in the Sahara Grab your camel and go. If you love sticking your toes in the sand, get your fix on a dunebound Moroccan retreat. Departing from Merzouga, about 16 miles west of the Algerian border, you’ll don a turban (a must for when the wind kicks up sand), mount a snorting camel, and follow experienced guides into the Chebbi desert. Though there’s plenty of padding, no combination of cushions will disguise the fact that your rolling perch is an ungulate’s hump. However, as the town gives way to massive dunes spanning endlessly in every direction, you’ll soon forget about your bumpy ride. A colorful goathair-tented campsite marks the end of the two-hour trip, and after settling into rustic-but-cozy digs (a mattress and blanket are provided), join fellow trekkers for a traditional Moroccan meal served community style and storytelling around the campfire. Following dinner, pose for pictures with ornery camels, hike to the top of a dune to drink in the vast Sahara, and watch un-challenged constellations light up the night sky. Prices start at $66 per person.

Anita K. Henry

—Anita K. Henry

Seattle, Washington Summertime is when Seattle, with its miles of coastline and plethora of city parks, really shines. You’ll need a slathering of sunscreen to block as many as 16 hours of daylight in June and July. The city hugs Puget Sound, is surrounded by mountains, and offers everything from rock climbing to windsurfing within its sprawling limits. The biggest perk: Even if it rains, buying a shell at REI’s climbing wall–equipped flagship store is an adventure in itself.

Stretching 18.8 miles from the northside Ballard neighborhood to suburban Kenmore, the Burke-Gilman Trail’s easy access and proximity to the University of Washington make it a popular multi-use path. The paved trail—born as part of the Seattle, Lake Shore, and Eastern Railway—winds through some of Seattle’s coolest neighborhoods. Jump on the trail at Matthews Beach Park, the largest swimming beach in the city, and ride about seven miles south and west for a break at Gas Works Park, where you’ll also catch great views of downtown across Lake Union. Ride six miles farther west to Golden Gardens Park where the trail ends. It’s the perfect spot for a summer bonfire. www.cityofseattle.net The best way to see the city is by water. The Lakes to Locks Water Trail has over 100 boat launches in the metro area. Rent a boat in Portage Bay, then head west through the Montlake Cut to the Washington Park Arboretum. Paddle two miles through the arboretum, which is habitat for Chinook salmon and nesting bald eagles. It’s free and open to the public from dawn to dusk. On windy days look out for big waves off of the northern point. www.wwta.org Seattle’s biodiversity stems from a wide range of ecosystems: tide pool–covered beaches, flower-filled meadows, and towering evergreen forests. See them all at the city’s largest public open space, Discovery Park, which takes up 543 acres of the Magnolia neighborhood. The park has nearly 12 miles of trails winding up and down Magnolia Bluffs between the marine-reserve beach and remnants of Fort Lawton. Check out the Kiwanis Ravine, where the largest colony of blue herons in Seattle nests from February to August. –Heather Hansman

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TRAVEL Canada

o ah

Montana

Whitefish, MT Population: 8,281 Elevation: 3,033 feet Town Motto: Recreation Capital of Montana Access: 20 minutes north of Glacier Park International Airport in Kalispell; Amtrak’s Empire Builder stops at the downtown station daily.

Whitefish Lake

Montana Wisconsin Ave

Wyoming

Edgewood Pl

4 Lion Mountain Rd

Central Ave

2nd St

3 Spokane Ave

2 . Adrenaline rush: Whitefish Mountain Resort When the snow’s away, the kids can still play. There’s almost more to do on Big Mountain’s 2,353-foot rise come summertime: an alpine slide, six screamingfast ziplines, a canopy-height boardwalk through the trees, and 94 marked downhill mountain bike runs.

4 . Fresh fruit: Farmers’ Market Look for local specialties— huckleberries and honey—at this festive affair that closes the north end of Central Avenue. on Tuesday afternoons through September. Go early: the live music wraps up by 7:30 p.m.

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3 . Local brew: Great Northern Brewing Company This 20-barrel brew house’s glass facade is a town centerpiece. Try the citrusy Going to the Sun IPA after an all-day drive on the same name road that cruises Glacier National Park.

5 . On the water: Whitefish Lake Under the rippling surface of this 7-mile-long body of water, pike and even prehistoric-looking sturgeon swim freely. Rent a boat for a day on the water, or admire anglers, and hop in for a swim, from the sandy shores of City Beach or Whitefish Lake State Park.

womensadventuremagazine.com

TIA TROY; DONNIE SEXTON

The cache of Rocky Mountain peaks in Glacier National Park— celebrating its centennial with special events all summer—is one of the big draws to this valley town. A growing (and quirky) culture spurred by avant-garde artists, big-money Montana transplants, and backcountry addicts means that Whitefish has much more to offer than big-sky views.

1. Ride: A Trail Runs Through It The official grand opening of the first 8-mile stretch of this planned 80-mile trail system is July 17, but the trail is already accessible. Start near the golf course, less than 2 miles north of town, and ride the natural-surface trail north to Beaver Lake.

North Dakota

Montana

[ TOWN SPOTLIGHT ]

[ TRAVEL TREND ]

Glamping Blending the terms glamour and camping, this trend puts a cushy twist on overnight adventures.

eah, yeah, we know you can rough it with the best of ’em. That’s precisely why we’re suggesting that next time—you don’t. “Glamping” adds a new dimension to camping by introducing gourmet food, wine, and five-star-hotel-quality slumber to your wilderness experience. Accommodations range from ordinary camping tents outfitted with mattresses and luxury linens to canvas cottages decked out like condos. Featherbeds, dressers, couches, Oriental rugs, tables, chairs, and even heating and cooling elements are all fair game. Guides typically prepare “campfire cuisine,” or chefs do the cooking in a gourmet mobile kitchen.

bruce janssen

Prices vary by location and level of decadence. Expect to pay between $150 and $350 a night, which is a big premium over pitching a tent in the woods for free. But glampers say it’s worth it. “You can pay way more than that for fewer facilities at a hotel,” says Kim Cowan of the Misabi Adventure Company, which hosts glampers in Ontario’s rugged wilds, 275 miles north of Toronto. The big draw is location. “Glamping gives you another option for experiencing spectacular, remote places that don’t allow permanent structures,” Cowan says. And don’t forget the fringe benefits, such as campfire storytellers sharing native folklore and three meals a day based on each client’s tastes. “We’ll make anything,” Cowan laughs, “from moose stew to lobster.”

Ontario’s Obabika Lake

This pristine 22-mile lake sits in a region of northeastern Ontario known as Temagami, a vast wilderness of almost 4 million acres that’s home to one of our planet’s last remaining stands of old-growth forests. Glamp lakeside in a 10x10 tent outfitted with a four-poster bed and air mattress, end tables, and solar-powered lamps. Bring your own bedding. www.misabiadventurecompany.ca 2

Colorado’s C Lazy U Ranch

Located in the heart of Colorado ranch country, C Lazy U has offered horseback riding, fly fishing, hiking, and family fun for over 90 years. In 2008, the ranch established three separate glamping sites within its 8,000 acres. Each site features spectacular mountain views, a fire pit, and two luxury tents equipped with king-size beds, lavish bedding, hardwood floors, and solar-powered electricity. www.clazyu.com 3

Montana’s Ranch at Rock Creek

Combining true comfort with the Wild West, the Ranch at Rock Creek sports upscale amenities set among 6,000 acres of prairie, forest, and ponds two hours south of Missoula. Glamp in the elaborate canvas cabins located a stone’s throw from the creek. Complete with private baths, each cabin contains a wood-burning stove, ceiling fans, area rugs, nightstands, and beds stacked with pillows and quilts. www.theranchatrockcreek.com For more information on glamping around the world, visit www.goglamping.net.

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PLANET EARTH

[ ACTION ]

Better Than Peak-Bagging

Big City Mountaineers teaches teens to summit the metaphorical mountains of their lives.

Big City Mountaineers (BCM) works with under-resourced urban teens like Veronica. The nonprofit, founded in 1999, aims to enhance children’s lives through transformative outdoor adventures like its core offerings in Colorado and California: seven-day backcountry expeditions that include summiting a mountain. On her first day out with BCM, Veronica suffered from acute headaches, withdrawal from her at-home routine of drinking a 2-liter bottle of Coke every day. In the wilderness, the only option was water, and she had no choice but to let her body work out its caffeine addiction. Veronica’s trip leader also remembers the teen’s fear on her first night—she’d never slept outside before— and Veronica’s realization and appreciation of wilderness offerings she’d never experienced. On a 20-minute hike to filter water at a stream, Veronica chatted about school and boys the entire way. But as she knelt to purify the water, the teen stopped talking, looked up at the trees, and smiled. “I’ve never heard quiet like this before,” she said. Big City Mountaineers is based on the idea that taking concrete-jungle-adapted kids outside of their comfort zones allows them to interact with one another in new ways. Ideally, they’ll come out of a wilderness experience able to see themselves and their relationships with others in a new light. In

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Stopping to smell the flowers on a BCM trip in Yosemite

addition to providing the outdoor experience, BCM sets up a 1-to-1 ratio of teens to mentors and keeps the groups small, with just five teens per trip. This gives participants the opportunity to talk to adults in ways they maybe haven’t before. With 45 to 50 trips each summer, BCM reaches up to 250 youth per year. Transformation for the teens comes not only through the mentors and the setting, but also the duration of the trip, according to Hillary Harding, BCM’s marketing and event manager. “A week is too long for them to just shut down,” she says. “Their cell phones don’t work out there; they have to hike and be around the same people every day. They end up having to take the journey, whatever that means for them.” For most, the highlight of each trip is the mountain—it might be an unnamed 12,000foot peak, or one of Colorado’s 54 peaks over 14,000 feet. Near the end of the week, the group sets up a base camp for a true alpine summit attempt. Harding says the climb tops off a true progression for each camper. “The trip allows them to be out there, have hardships, work through them, and then get up high on the summit,” she says. More learning and growth happen at the celebration dinner after the climb. The teens

are challenged to relate their high-country trek to their everyday lives. “We talk about things like making good choices,” Harding says. “What would have happened had they not been prepared or hadn’t brought water with them for the summit climb, for example? Or if they had just quit and given up when it got hard.” Even though the wilderness setting is unfamiliar to them, the lessons these kids learn translate readily to “real life.” In that sense, they’re not any different than backcountry enthusiasts of any background: everyone takes something away from a mountain climb and these lessons stay with them long after their descent. The magic of peak-bagging is part of BCM’s effort with the kids, and it’s also part of the business model that makes these efforts possible. BCM’s biggest fundraiser, Summit for Someone, brings in 50-percent of the organization’s operating budget by recruiting climbers to raise between $2,900 and $7,500 for guided trips to North America’s most renowned peaks. There are 14 destinations this year including Grand Teton, Devil’s Tower, and women’s-only trips up Mount Shasta or Mount Rainier. The fundraising and summit push for those climbers to provide teens like Veronica with a chance for a summit of their own. Now that’s a reason to climb high.

–Jayme Otto

womensadventuremagazine.com

Hillary Harding

eronica shares a bedroom with four siblings in her family’s two-bedroom apartment, and although she’s lived within sight of the Rockies her whole life, the 16-year-old has never set foot in the mountains. With a combined income that barely supports the family, her parents have neither the time nor the money for life-changing vacations. That’s where Big City Mountaineers steps in.

It’s About Thai(m) Women are gaining ground in Thailand’s national sport.

tep aside, Billy Blanks. Thai women are taking on something tougher than Americanized Tae Bo and reclaiming the national sport of Thai boxing, Muay Thai.

Sometimes referred to as the “Art of Eight Limbs,” Muay Thai involves fast-paced sparring in which participants can strike with knees, elbows, fists, and feet. “It also teaches body awareness,” says Michele Thompson, owner of the East Coast Academy of Martial Arts in Bordentown, New Jersey. Despite having fought alongside men in ancient Thailand, and despite women’s raw talent when it comes to multitasking—one of the key skills required for this fastpaced sport—women in Thailand have, until recently, been barred from the ring. And not just because the sport is brutal. “Most people don’t like to see women getting hit,” says Master Vu Tran, owner of Tran’s Martial Arts and Fitness Center in Boulder, Colorado. Buddhist tradition has also long barred women from the sport because of “bad luck.” Monks aren’t allowed to touch women, so female fighters can’t be blessed before a fight and their presence in the ring is seen as an affront on the spirits, which ups the potential for injuries during a match. Even though Thai tradition excluded anyone with two X chromosomes, as women gained equal footing throughout the world, Muay Thai- and Tae Bolike variations began catching on in other countries. Western women began to try their hands (and elbows, knees, and feet) at the sport, and soon Britain and Australia boasted the world’s top women Thai boxers. Thailand’s injured ego— not its interest in equality—may be a big part of why the government and the sport’s organizers finally opened the ring to women in 1998. Though Muay Thai’s appeal among Thai women has grown only incrementally in the past 12 years, small increases in female participation continue. Thai boxing schools have opened their doors, and as women-friendly venues and higherprofile fights continue to increase in number, the prestige, travel opportunities, and prize money are drawing in more and more girls. The strong mental and physical condition necessary to excel in Muay Thai will likely attract more women who aren’t interested in the fighting, per se, but who are interested in the fitness benefits of the fast-moving sport. If you ask us, it’s about Thai, er, time. –Courtney Holden

Enjoy the hike!

[ AROUND THE WORLD ]

www.bigearthpublishing.com

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FUN STUFF

[ QUIZ ]

Survival Skills

You wandered off the trail and haven’t found it again—but it’s getting dark. What’s the best plan?

Running, you notice a bear in the brush up ahead. What do you do?

a) Begin building a shelter and start a fire. b) Yell and wander in erratic circles. Someone might hear you, or you might find the trail. c) Stay calm, inventory your supplies and prioritize to meet your immediate needs.

a) Stop running and back up slowly until you’re out of sight. b) Stand in the trail and talk loudly to yourself until he moves out of your way. c) Keep running—you’ll pass quickly, and he looks pretty distracted by those berries.

You’ve been lost for a week and hunger hurts. Fill up on:

Hear that thunder? You’re above tree line but nearing the summit. What’s a girl to do? a) Pull out your umbrella and hurry to bag that peak before you get wet. b) Wait it out under a nearby tree. c) Turn downhill fast. If you see lightning, drop your gear and spread out the group.

3 The rule of threes states that

you can die in as little as:

a) Three days without food. b) Three weeks without food. c) Three months without food.

It’s not home sweet home, but your survival shelter will keep you alive, because: a) You built it facing away from the wind and it stays pretty warm at night. b) It’s near water so you don’t have to expend much energy to get a drink. c) The wreath will welcome the search party.

_____ cause(s) most outdoor deaths. Avoid an untimely end by ______. a) Falls; watching where you’re going and staying within your comfort zone. b) Hypothermia; dressing in layers and staying dry. c) Animals; bringing a gun and shooting on sight.

The difference between a fun-filled day in the great outdoors and a life-threatening disaster is less than you think. If you landed in a sticky situation, would you make it out alive? Test your survival savvy with this quiz.

a) Mammals and six-legged insects—almost all are safe. b) Red berries—just like pie without the crust. c) Roots and any bug you can catch. Yum.

1 By the time you heard the rattle,

it was too late. That snake left fang holes in your calf. You should: a) Suck the venom out and then catch the snake to help the doctors identify it. b) Keep the bite below heart level and get to the nearest hospital calmly and quickly. c) Move away from the snake and wash the bite with soapy water.

9 You’re ready for anything.

Your survival kit includes:

a) A knife, matches, and a note pad. b) A sandwich, ibuprofen, and a bandana. c) A cell phone, lighter, and compass.

Dehydration kills. If you’re lost without water, your best bet for finding it is to: a) Set up a collection system and wait for rain. b) Walk downhill; water usually pools in low spots. c) Find a forked stick and use it to guide you to a well.

If you scored: 10-17:

It’s a miracle you’ve lasted this long. The keys to wilderness survival are avoiding (and being prepared for) danger, as well as thinking clearly when your safety or survival is in doubt. While we hope you’ll never need it: hitting the trail without basic supplies and walking head-on into dangerous situations could end up killing you. Rushing right out for your Wilderness First Responder certification may be overkill, but signing up for a few basic courses in preparedness and first aid could prevent your next outing from turning into your last.

18-24:

You’re not totally unprepared, but luck is on your side. Just because you’ve read enough Swiss Family Robinson and Into the Wild to avoid a few fatal flaws doesn’t mean your good luck will last forever. Take your training to the next level and reevaluate your skills for avoiding and handling emergency situations in the wild. Knowing just what to do during a lightning storm and having a well-stocked first-aid kit—and the know-how to use it—could help you save a life. It might even be your own.

25-30: The apocalypse? You can handle it. A wilderness

emergency? No prob. Part of why you’ll hold your own during a crisis is because you try to avoid these situations in the first place. Recognizing danger, avoiding it, and being prepared to handle it will help you have a lifetime of great adventures. Don’t get cocky and start taking unnecessary risks. Just because you can build a lean-to faster than you can make a bed, and you know how to splint a broken leg doesn’t mean you should push your limits. Take care and be careful.

Add up your points: 1) a. 2, b. 1, c. 3; 2) a. 1, b. 2, c. 3; 3) a. 1, b. 3, c. 2; 4) a. 2, b. 3, c. 1; 5) a. 3, b. 2, c. 1; 6) a. 3, b. 2, c. 1; 7) a. 3, b. 1, c. 2; 8) a. 1, b. 3, c. 2; 9) a. 2, b. 1, c. 3; 10) a. 2, b. 3, c. 1.

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REDEFINING

Insects Are Everywhere (Thank Goodness!)

Ironman Champion and Nathan athlete, Kate Major

HUMANLY POSSIBLE

[ KIDS CORNER ]

aternal instinct sometimes trumps science and reason—protection is likely your top priority when it comes to your children’s encounters with creepy crawlies. When a toddler exclaims, “Look, Mommy, a spider!” and reaches into a dank corner of the garage, your “Don’t touch!” reaction could squash her curiosity and instill unnecessary fear. Insects aren’t as dangerous as you might think, and the short list of real (i.e., poisonous) culprits is, well, short. The truth is that most insects are harmless and many play a major role in pollination, pest control, and the food chain. Next time your kid reaches for a bug, instead of squashing her natural curiosity and instilling a sense of fear, help her understand insects’ important role in a healthy ecosystem. These activities will jump-start her appreciation for bugs, and you’ll enjoy her bug-eyed excitement, too.

• Go hunting Insects are all around, but in our macro world, we sometimes overlook their micro existence. Grab a small mesh net, an insect guide, and an opaque plastic container (with a lid), and go on an “insect hunt.” Examine creepy crawlies up close and note characteristics such as color, body shape, number of legs, and habitat. Use your bug guide (Caterpillars, Bugs, and Butterflies Take-Along Guide by Mel Boring) to identify them. The result? Your kids’ confidence and connection to nature will increase. Plus, knowledge is power: They’ll be safer knowing which bugs to avoid—and which to attract. • “Pick” a flower Don’t actually pick it, but seek out an intact, petaled perch and watch it for several minutes. You’ll likely see several species of insects come and go, collecting nectar and pollen—after all, without insects as pollinators, things like cotton clothing, berries, nuts, honey, and chocolate wouldn’t exist. Check on “your” flower at different times throughout the day and night, and help your kids notice patterns in the activity of different buggy drop-ins.

• Pollination relay Game on! Pollination is serious (and important) stuff, but understanding it is easy (and fun). Even youngsters can play this simple game. Begin by setting up two brightly colored bowls to represent flowers. Fill one bowl with cotton balls or other small tokens and leave the other one empty. Start the game with a butterfly metamorphosis role-play: “Hatch” from (stand-still) eggs into caterpillars, then crawl through a makeshift obstacle course to transition into full-fledged butterflies. With new make-believe wings, “fly” between “flowers,” transferring the cotton balls (nectar and pollen) between bowls, one at a time. The game ends when the first flower is empty and the second one is pollinated—full of the token “pollen.” • Go see ’em Natural history museums and zoos often have much wider ranges of insect examples than you’ll find in your backyard. Bright colors and dramatic features—have you ever seen a male rhinoceros beetle?!— can inspire the wide-eyed entomologist in your child.

Nathan products help you achieve your goals, no matter how impossible they may seem. Ironman champion and Nathan athlete Kate Major trains in the the Nathan Speed 2R Auto-Cant — the first custom-fitting hydration pack. The patent-pending Auto-Cant Disk™ instantly adjusts the position of the Flasks while a canted, limited-stretch belt solidly holds the pack in place. Flasks angle depending on body shape and the pack’s position on the body so they are always easy to remove — and never in the way of your arm swing. Because it adapts perfectly to your body, the Speed 2 Auto-Cant ensures that carrying fluids is easy and comfortable for every athlete. Nathan Performance Gear is available at specialty running and triathlete shops as well as sporting goods stores or at www.NathanSports.com.

— Christina Allen, an environmental educator and mother, teaches kid-friendly outdoor activities at the Thorne Ecological Institute, which operates year-round environmental-education programs for kids between the ages of 3 and 15. For more information on Thorne’s programming, visit www.thorne-eco.org.

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FUN STUFF

[ MEDIA ROOM ]

Run Like a Mother:

How to Get Moving—and Not Lose Your Family, Job, or Sanity By Dimity McDowell and Sarah Bowen Shea No matter what your running style, Run Like a Mother will motivate any infant-, toddler-, or 10-year-old-toting athlete. In 26 chapters—almost a marathon—these mother-authors offer a balanced combination of easy-reading running instruction and memoir. Short interludes— think of the “.2” chapters as a tribute to the marathon’s final stretch—add diversions such as iPod playlists. Not only is running the perfect outlet to find alone time away from careers, family obligations, and, yes, even kids, it also creates a bond between women, especially mothers. With tips on everything from the best bras to cross-training to rules for running during pregnancy, the authors keep you going with the rhythm, camaraderie, and changing scenery that characterizes any good run. Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2010; $15

Female Nomad and Friends: Tales of

Half the Sky: Turning

Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide

Breaking Free and Breaking Bread Around the World

By Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn

By Rita Golden Gelman This collection of essays and recipes from the author of the best-selling Tales of a Female Nomad will stir both your travel bug and your taste buds. From a remote South Pacific island to an American Trader Joe’s, Female Nomad and Friends circles the globe with firstperson accounts of taking risks and connecting with cultures. The conversational writing is unpretentious and reveals the beauty of unfamiliar situations. It also captures the interactions and sensory experiences that characterize true travel. And lucky for the reader, the travel-inspired recipes—like Thai fish-coconut custard, ho mok, and mousse au chocolat— are the perfect souvenirs. Another perk: All of this anthology’s royalties will benefit kids from slums in New Delhi, India. Three Rivers Press, 2010; $15

[ HAHA, LOL, ROTFL ]

According to a Chinese proverb, women hold up half the sky. This weighty but readable bestseller by the Pulitzer Prizewinning husband-and-wife team of Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, perfectly blends reporting, research, and intimate storytelling to reinforce this poignant image. The tome also gives a loud and powerful voice to girls and women all over the world. In Half the Sky, the authors expose the realities of sex trafficking, honor killings, genital mutilation, and sexual assault. But just as importantly, they share how education, aid organizations, and economic opportunities are transforming individual lives and elevating girls from the “bottom of the power pyramid.” This is not a discourse on victimization but a call to action that is sure to inspire. Knopf, 2009; $28

Watch an interview with author Dimity McDowell online at: womensadventuremagazine .com

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[ WORDSWORTH ]

Trail Jargon Apron │ Wash

Apron (′ā-pr n, -pr n) 1. noun. a garment of cloth, plastic, or leather tied around the waist to protect clothing. 2. noun. the transition area on a switchback (also called the landing). 3. noun. one of the three main elements of a water bar, meant to catch and divert water from the trail and prevent erosion. e

Blaze (′blāz) 1. noun. intense, direct light often accompanied by heat. 2. verb. to burn brightly. 3. noun. a trail marker often represented by a square-shaped scraping of tree bark, or by plastic or metal triangles or diamonds nailed to trees or posts. Draw (′dro) 1. verb. to cause to go in a certain direction (as by leading). 2. verb. to produce a likeness or representation by making lines on a surface. 3. noun. a small valley or gap shallower than a ravine. .

Grade (′grād) 1. noun. a mark indicating a degree of accomplishment in school. 2. noun. a standard of food quality. 3. noun. the vertical distance of ascent or descent of a trail, expressed as a percentage of the horizontal distance (a trail that rises 15 vertical feet in 100 horizontal feet has a 15 percent grade). Snag (′snag) 1. noun. an irregularity that results from tearing (especially a pulled thread in fabric). 2. verb. to hew, trim, or cut roughly or jaggedly. 3. noun. any standing dead, partially dead, or defective tree at least 10 inches in diameter at breast height, and at least 6 feet tall. Wash (′wosh) 1. verb. to remove dirt by rubbing or drenching with liquid. 2. noun. a sweep or splash, especially of color, made by or as if by a long stroke of a brush. 3. noun. the dry bed of a stream, particularly a watercourse associated with arid environments and characterized by large, high-energy discharges with high bed-material load transport. .

pat/ā

pay/âr

care/ä

father/b

bib/

church/d

deed/ĕ

pet/ē

be/f

fife/g

gag/

hat/

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FUN STUFF

[ PLAYLIST ]

Rock ’n’ Run There’s nothing predictable about an ultrarun, not even the music. “I used to think I couldn’t race without it,” says 28-year-old Devon Crosby-Helms. “But now I go back and forth about running with music. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t.” When she does tune in, the San Francisco-based ultrarunner’s wide-ranging taste helps motivate her during middle miles, and she rewards herself with a musical interlude in the tough, final stages of a race—like the last 10 miles of the 100-mile Western States Endurance Run she’ll tackle June 26. Devon culled her library of over 7,000 songs to pick these favorites: a preview of what she’ll be listening to this summer and a motivating mix you can take to the trail.

((

94 bpm

((( hip hop )))

((

104 bpm

((( electronic )))

Yves-Marie Quemener

((

106 bpm

((( alternative )))

((

84 bpm

((( folk )))

((

95 bpm

((( electronic )))

Come Close Electric Circus, Common “This favorite always makes me smile and nod to the beat.” Heaven The Best of Lamb 1996-2004, Lamb “The beat is great for fast running and reminds me how much bliss running brings.” Fake Empire Boxer, The National “Love the singer’s voice, and the beat makes me want move!” Wash Away Julie Blue, Joe Purdy “A reminder that whatever you are feeling will pass—just give it a few miles.” Porcelain Play & Play: B Sides, Moby “It’s like running in a dream.” Download these songs and five more of Devon’s playlist favorites at: womensadventuremagazine.com

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INSPIRATION AND INFORMATION

[ DREAM JOB ]

Meet Carol Austin Age: 40 Stomping ground: New York City and Johannesburg, South Africa Job: Elite cycling coach

Carol celebrates with one of her winning teams

Carol Austin, MD, found a way to integrate two things she loves: endurance sports and science. She stepped away from a career as a medical doctor in 2004 to open and operate Activeworx, a professional coaching service that uses science-based methodology and state-of-the-art training technology to give elite-level athletes a performance-enhancing boost. She’s the head coach for South Africa’s largest professional racing team, Team MTN Energade, and she worked with six cyclists and triathletes who competed in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. While Carol still rides, she claims that it’s just for fun. “I put my time and energy into the real talent,” she laughs. Carol took a break from a visit with her family in New York City to tell us why she loves her job.

What’s a typical day on the job for you? It’s quite difficult to describe because it’s so varied, which is one of the things I love about the work I do. Aside from the daily operations of Activeworx, much of my time is spent on my work with Team MTN Energade. We run a lean team-management structure, so my roles are multifaceted and cover strategic planning, through operations management 22 WAM OSUMMER’2010”

and coaching. All athletes train and race with SRM Powermeters and upload their training daily through the Internet. This allows me to accurately review their progress and refine their training programs. With 23 elite cyclists located all over the world, the coaching responsibilities are 24/7/365. What about your work inspires you? What inspires me the most is the lasting difference one can make to an individual’s life—as both an athlete and as a person. My work in South Africa extends beyond scientific training to life skills—health care, education, computer literacy, financial- and career-management. About one third of the athletes I coach are truly driven to perform at a world-class level; these athletes have exceptional talent, deep commitment, and dedication. For me, the most exciting part is facilitating their development and watching them realize their dreams.

and equipment improvements is astounding. Put all these little pieces together, and it’s surprising to realize what a big impact they can have. It’s how we can take national champions and help them become world champions.

“The most exciting part is helping people realize their dreams.” carol austin; Tristan McLaren

What sparked your interest in coaching? I’ve always loved physiology—the integrated, functional design of the human body is truly amazing. When I was getting my medical degree, I got top marks in anything having to do with it. During my med school years I also got into endurance sports—running and biking— to keep fit, and I absolutely loved it. I had just completed my first New York City Marathon when an injury prohibited me from running. So I focused exclusively on the bike. I went to a presentation on cycling training around that time and I realized how scientific the sport was becoming. When I moved with my husband to South Africa in 2003, I decided to reinvent my career into something I was really passionate about. So I got my USA Cycling coaching certifications and interned at Carmichael Training Systems, which further fueled my interest in coaching.

What is the most surprising thing for you about your career? I’d have to say the room for improvement that athletes have, even at the elite level. The transformation that’s possible through athlete education, skills development, physical conditioning, professional team support, womensadventuremagazine.com

[ BY THE NUMBERS ]

[ YOUR HEALTH ]

Java

H20

The Blue Planet

54.68

Billion Gallons of water, per person, in Earth’s water supply.

1 4.05 USA’s ranking for per-capita Water Footprint—direct and indirect water consumption.

Years the average American would take to use their per-person supply.

132

Gallons of water required to produce one 2-liter bottle of soda.

702

Average per-capita American’s expenditure on soda (in dollars).

523

Amount (in dollars) the average American spends annually on water and wastewater disposal.

Quantity of carbonated beverages and soda recommended for daily consuption by the USDA (in cups).

Recommended daily quantity of water consumption for women (in cups)

Average percentage of an adult woman that is made up of water

pounds of water weight the average woman could loose through dehydration before suffering longterm ill effects

0.003

Percentage of Earth’s freshwater tied up in living plants and animals (including you)

Jolt Go ahead and have that shot of espresso—it may be good for you. While too much caffeine can contribute to ulcers, sleeplessness, and anxiety, research shows that moderate amounts can actually be helpful. Women who drank two to three cups of caffeinated coffee per day had 25 percent less risk of dying from heart disease than non-coffee drinkers, according to a report published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. That’s big news considering that 80 percent of Americans consume caffeine daily. But, that’s not the only noteworthy discovery. When used as an ingredient in lotions and creams, caffeine reduces facial flushing due to the stimulant’s ability to restrict blood vessels in the skin. “For that reason, caffeine applied topically can be a tremendous boon to those who suffer from rosacea, which is caused by blood vessels which have lost their ability to contract,” says Leslie Baumann, MD, a former professor at the University of Miami’s Cosmetic Center. Studies have also shown that a pregnant woman can consume coffee in moderate amounts without harming her developing fetus. Now there’s no reason why everyone can’t indulge in a morning cup of joe. —Kristi Eaton

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INSPIRATION AND INFORMATION

[ BY DESIGN ]

All Bottled Up

ince when did carrying water get so complicated? Scan your grocery-, outdoor-, even toystore shelves—and you’ll see throngs of colored canteens and bulbous bottles—and the gimmicks keep coming. New materials, mouth pieces, and design features are on the horizon across the waterbottle world. Carrying your own bottle is a great way to stay healthy and hydrated, but it also “allows you to do your part, in a small way, every day by reducing your carbon footprint,” says Tiffany Teaford, new-product developer for Nalgene. Americans buy an estimated 30-plus billion plastic, disposable water bottles annually and more than 80 percent of them end up in landfills. With all the options available these days, what things should you consider when dropping dough on a bottle? “The most important feature to consider is durability and

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By Georgia Stewart

leak-proof performance,” says Teaford. “Who wants their water spilling?” A dripping leak can dampen your day, no question. But in addition to lightweight, rock-solid construction—and a graphic or color that suits your personal style—a few other factors should impact your final choice: The bottle’s inside surface, an ergonomic and functional design, and your personal preference for mouthpieces and flow regulators are key. “The cap is always the deal breaker for me,” says Jacqueline Wachholz, who uses a screw-top bottle to hydrate while running in Durham, North Carolina, with her 18-month-old daughter. “They either make the water too hard to drink, or they leak everywhere.” At the end of the day, it’s up to you to select the bottle that fits your lifestyle and can balance form, function, and price point well enough that you’ll never want to leave home without it.

womensadventuremagazine.com

Material

Durability, weight, temperature range, and recyclability are all linked to a water bottle’s material. Most of the clear plastic versions out there are made from copolyester, a nearly indestructible, freezer-friendly plastic that doesn’t retain tastes or odors. Lightweight polypropylene is a popular choice for day-tripping bottles, when weight is a big concern and durability comes second— on a bike, for example. Aluminum and food-grade stainless steel are also growing in popularity because they’re long lasting, lightweight, and 100 percent recyclable. Aluminum is lighter than stainless, but there’s a trade-off with durability—aluminum is more likely to corrode, split, and puncture, and both metals are less insulating than copolyester.

2 Lining the inside No matter how the outside of the bottle is constructed, the inner lining—the material in direct contact with your beverage—has caused much controversy as of late. In 2008, Canada became the first country to ban Bisphenol A—a hormone-mimicking chemical that’s used to harden plastic and has been linked to cancer and reproductive-health problems—from use in baby bottles. Since then, the plastics industry has followed suit, and almost every water bottle you can buy today is BPA-free. Perhaps the biggest controversy in terms of safety surrounds the lack of transparency between manufacturers and consumers, most notably in the case of Swiss manufacturer Sigg, which introduced a new BPA-free liner for its aluminum bottles after consumers challenged the BPA content of Sigg’s proprietary liner formula. Stainless is generally considered the safest material from a no-BPA perspective, although most experts agree that any bottle made by a reputable company that’s in good condition and less than 3 years old is likely BPA-free.

3 Design With water bottles fighting for real estate on store shelves, design is geared toward functionality as much as aesthetic appeal. Whether it’s with shape, color, ergonomic or textured grips, insulation—even liquid capacity—manufacturers are aiming to stand out. “Everything we design is simple and meant to be user friendly,” explains Danielle Cresswell, sustainability officer for Klean Kanteen. “We focus on form and function and how the bottle performs on a day-to-day basis.” Of course they do, but so does every other bottle company. And in an effort to differentiate, companies tweak every imaginable design element. Easy-cleaning round corners are a Klean Kanteen trademark, while Sigg has dynamic graphic designs. Nalgene’s bold color scheme and standard wide mouth make its bottles a go-to for many, and the company has expanded its line, even offering “bottle clothing” for insulation and added transport value. Platypus’ collapsible bottles are gaining ground, GSI’s Dukjug holds two meters of duct tape in a form-molded inset, CamelBak’s sporty bite valves are a stand-out feature, and Nathan—known for ergonomic hydration packs—is narrow enough to grasp comfortably and has gripping ridges, too. Whatever style you favor, size is an important design factor to consider. Standard capacities range from 10 ounces to 48 ounces, and your activity and hydration habits will likely guide your decision on that front. One-liter bottles may be too large for running but ideal for camping and backcountry excursions, while 12-ounce bottles fit into tight purses and are perfect for kids.

4 Access and flow Mouthpiece style is all about personal preference. Most brands sell interchangeable tops and lids: any bottle can work for sports, widemouthed styles can be reined in, and flow can be controlled via spill-proof tops. They also offer different styles to accommodate both the brand loyalty and differing personal tastes. Sip-it lids, pop-up straws, and sport tops prevent spill and allow on-the-go access but require more cleaning to stay germ- and mold-free. Widemouthed models are easier to clean and can accommodate ice, but they require more control to prevent spillage while drinking. Think about where and how you’ll be using your bottle: For car rides you might want a spill-proof system, but if you’re pumping water from a creek, a wide mouth can make filtration much easier.

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[ RED CARPET ]

10-minute Sports Makeover She’s the only female in her family of five, but 48-year-old science educator Kristi Dahl doesn’t mind playing camp cook for her husband, 16-year-old son, and 12-year-old twins. Especially when her kitchen overlooks the Rocky Mountains, Utah’s Canyonlands National Park, or the Crystal River in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula—just a few of the places she and her family will be base-camping this summer. “Eighty percent of our overnights will be out of the car this year,” she says. “But the boys are becoming real outdoorsmen, so we’ll fit in some backpacking this summer, too.” Most of the time, there’s no limit to the amount of kit they can carry, so Kristi’s setup includes everything but the kitchen sink. We took her to REI, where product expert Alison Lasure helped us update Kristi’s equipment to bring comfort and versatility to her car-based kitchen and add a few key pieces that will transfer easily to the trail. Double burners do double duty for big base-camp groups, but this stand-by stove limits you to using heavy pots and pans. One-by-one cups of coffee? You’ll need help to keep up with the kids and this lightweight filter is better suited to the trail. Kristi stole from her home kitchen for this trip. Her can opener is full-size (i.e., easy to find), but borrowing from home is a tried-and-true way to lose cooking tools for good. Adding flavor is important, but this cardboard pepper shaker isn’t air tight and will absorb rain and humidity if left out overnight or a surprise storm hits. Cast iron conducts heat and is hard to beat for fried eggs, but this 20-pound pot nearly doubles the weight of Kristi’s kitchen, and she’ll need a hot pad to handle it. Don’t drag your favorite mug to camp—ceramic doesn’t stand up well to outdoor abuse. Ditch the dish soap, which is a big pollutant if you accidentally spill it and requires more water to rinse off hands and dishes.

Keep options open with a burner and grill built into one. Century’s Matchless Grill and Stove boils water but works for burgers, too. Brew big, bold flavor. REI’s insulated Campware Stainless-Steel Java Press brews 33 ounces and is double walled to keep your caffeine hot for hours. Light and bright, Black Diamond’s Apollo Lantern shines brighter and has a hanging loop, which means you can take it inside the tent, too. GSI Outdoor’s Gourmet Backpack Kitchen Kit’s accessories are camp-ready cooking tools in backpack-ready proportions. Add funky fun to family meals and ease cleanup. Try Fozzils’ fold-up bowls, Guyot Designs’ squishy bowl set, and sporks from Light My Fire. Two full-size pots, a frying pan, liquid-straining lids, and even a cutting board all stuff into one sack. GSI’s Bugaboo Base Camper Cookset fits enough to feed Kristi’s clan in camp, but it’s light enough to take on the trail.

ben fullerton

Hard plastic tubs are handy but hard to stow.

A table, cold-cube storage, pockets, and even a portable wash pit: REI’s Mini Camp Kitchen folds everything up into a luggage-size cube.

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telluridemagazine

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[ LESSONS FROM THE FIELD ]

MAGAZINE

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Discover why so many adventurers call Telluride

Join Publishing The mostTelluride beautiful place you’ll ever play

Promoting the Telluride Experience

Going Slowly to the Summit

YEARS WITH TELLURIDE MAGAZINE

YEARS WITH TELLURIDE AND MOUNTAIN MAGAZINE MAGAZINE VILLAGE VISITOR GUIDE A N D M O U N TA I N V I L L A G E

MAGGIE AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN 2009 F

It’s more than a destination J/ 1, < www.TellurideMagazine.com Çä°ÇÓn°{Ó{xÊUÊ 6 ,/ - ° " VISITOR GUIDE

One step in front of the other By Lauren Becker

summit push is full of challenges, both mental and physical. Sometimes it’s the brutal cold, other times the biting wind, altitude sickness, or alpine-start darkness that calls into question the challenge and the journey ahead.

Before beginning, the summit seems unfathomable. Setting out on the trail by moonlight adds a sense of the surreal, and wonder takes root: Are you sleepwalking through some alternate reality, merely marching through a dark chapter of life, or beginning a grand adventure? From this new vantage there are millions of stars, normally outshone by city lights, serving as distant reminders of your relative stature among life’s great mysteries. Easing into a steady rhythm brings you back to reality. Placing one foot in front of the other helps ground you in the present moment. Although progress is slow, it’s steady. False summits don’t tease without meaning, they hint at your impending achievement and serve as shortterm goals on the up-and-down climb. The mountain doesn’t tolerate impatience. On it, and in life, not everything needs to happen right now, or quickly. Huge summits are conquered in small increments, and slow, purposeful steps reveal a natural path and order. Peace and tranquility are unearthed on the trek and those moments are sometimes more rewarding than the summit itself. Go slowly, look left and right, appreciate the views, breathe the thin air, and fully experience the path and the horizon.

D IRT

INSPIRATION AND INFORMATION

[ ROAR ] Trish pedaling her handcycle toward victory

This is the kind of praise Trish hears often, and it usually leaves her feeling conflicted. While part of her takes pride in her ability to inspire—this fall she’s leading the second-ever Camp Discovery program to help women in wheelchairs increase their self-esteem—another part longs to blend into the crowd. “Sometimes, I want to be seen as just another athlete,” she says. “Someone who competes and trains as hard as anyone else. I understand there’s this whole inspirational piece, but I want to be seen as an athlete first.” Back in 2000, Trish was, in fact, just another athlete training to advance to elite-level criterium, or short-course, cycling. On September 17 of that year, she was on a 40-mile training ride when a car turned in front of her, striking her head-on. Trish catapulted onto the windshield before bouncing to the ground. Almost immediately, she knew she was paralyzed. “I couldn’t feel my legs,” she recalls.

Wheelchair-bound triathlete Trish Downing doesn’t want to stand out in a crowd.

rish Downing was hoping for a personal record at the 2009 Duathlon World Championship. If all three legs of the race went well, she thought, with her racing wheelchair and handcycle she could cross the finish line after a 10-km roll, 40-km bike, and 5-km finishing leg in 2.5 hours or less. But from the start, everything went wrong.

Near the beginning of the first wheelchair section, when Trish was surrounded by runners, a tire on her racing chair sprang a leak and the torrential rain made the push rims on her custom-made wheelchair almost too slippery to grip. On the bike leg, she struggled to steer her handcycle as puddles splashed her face. By the time Trish sat back in her wheelchair

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to start the race’s final leg, the sun had set, the other competitors were packing up, and race officials wanted to pull her from the course. Since then, Trish has been the first female paraplegic to complete an Ironman-distance triathlon and during this one, she wasn’t about to give up. “The entire time I kept telling myself that I had to finish, no matter what,” she says. And she did, crossing the line in 4 hours and 10 minutes, a time nearly double that of what she expected. As Trish headed back to her car to go home, a man approached her. “You inspired us tonight,” he said. “All the EMTs and security staff enjoyed watching your determination. You are amazing.”

Just one year later, Trish’s race schedule was in full swing. Though criterium cycling had been her greatest passion as an able-bodied athlete, the emotional trauma of returning to it was overwhelming. She focused on combining her cycling experience with another strength—she’d been a swimmer her whole life—and doing triathlons instead. Within four years of her injury, she’d worked her way up from sprint- to half-Ironman-distance to a full-Ironman-distance race. When she completed the 2004 Redman Triathlon in Oklahoma City with a time of 18 hours, 3 minutes, she became the first-ever (and the only to date) female

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Mark Woolcott

An Athlete First

Trish had broken her neck, scapula, and two ribs. Her spinal cord was so badly damaged she’d never walk again. Her competitive fire, however, still smoldered. Even as she labored to relearn simple, everyday tasks, she made plans to return to her life as an athlete. While still in the hospital, Trish applied for grants that helped her purchase a handcycle and a race-ready wheelchair. Six months later she rolled across the finish line at the Kona Half Marathon.

paraplegic to finish an Ironmandistance triathlon—a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, and 26.2-mile run. Trish has since competed in four other Ironman-distance races, including the Ironman World Championship in Kona. Even though the inspirational element of her new life comes second to her competitive spirit, she’s also become a hot ticket on the motivational-lecture circuit. In 2008, she left her job as a high school teacher to become a fulltime speaker and write her first book, Cycle of Hope: My Journey From Paralysis to Possibility (Authority Publishing, 2010; $20), which was released in May. Trish’s audiences range from women’s groups to college students, but she usually begins her talks the same way: by describing her first triathlon as a physically challenged athlete. “I’m rolling around the deck of the swimming pool looking at all these tanned, fit bodies, and I knew what they were thinking,” she says. “They were thinking, What is that gimp in a wheelchair doing in a swimsuit? Can she even swim?” She managed to backstroke the entire distance, but negative thoughts plagued her at the beginning of the race. It wasn’t until she was struggling to sweep the course, in last place, that she remembered advice she’d received as a criterium racer: You can’t let just one race define who you are as an athlete. You can only do what your body can do on a given day. Ride your own race. Crossing that finish line, Trish felt like an athlete again. But her recounting of the tale isn’t meant to hold her up as someone special, she insists, but rather to remind people that ultimately everyone controls his or her own destiny. Making positive choices is what has set Trish apart, and she’s trying to help other women in similar situations do the same by helping them learn from each other. For years, she longed to meet other wheelchair-confined women to share notes, especially on personal issues. “You think about things like: Will I ever get married? Will anyone ever love me? Will I ever have sex?” she says.

Trish wanted to empower these women to take risks by exposing them to new ideas and helping them understand that their limitations, or their wheelchairs, didn’t define them.

September 12, 2010

Boulder, CO

With support from the AVON Hello Tomorrow Fund, the Challenged Athlete Foundation, and Craig Hospital, where she recovered after her injury and which specializes in spinal cord injury rehabilitation, Trish organized Camp Discovery. The three-day program was meant to challenge wheelchair-bound women physically and mentally. They’d participate in a wide variety of sports— from golf to scuba diving to cycling— and meet with life coaches while mixing with other campers. On October 1, 2009, 20 women gathered to spend three days trying new things. Their medical conditions ranged from spinal-cord injuries to multiple sclerosis to spina bifida, but for all of them, the camp was lifetransforming. Trish recalls one woman crying during a group handcycle ride who said, “My parents never told me I could do things like this. I didn’t realize it was possible.” Trish’s driving had inspired another camper to get behind the wheel for the first time. This year Trish will repeat Camp Discovery and also offer a second camp with a triathlon-training focus. As arguably the most experienced female wheelchair triathlete in the world, she will share everything from nutrition to equipment maintenance in preparation for the program’s activity: competing in the Rattlesnake Triathlon in Aurora, Colorado. In seven years, Trish has only competed alongside another wheelchairbound woman once. This year’s Camp Discovery and Trish’s mentoring will bring a handful of new paraplegic racers to the course. This time, sitting in her racing wheelchair near the start line she’ll be just another athlete in the crowd, but one with a whole category of racers looking up to her.

Try A Little...

...Sport

Demo new activities and sit in on skills clinics.

...Gear

Test packs, shoes, sunglasses, bikes, and active wear.

...Pampering

Rejuvinate with a facial or mini-massage.

...Nosh

Natural snacks to fuel your adventures.

...Friendship Bring pals and make new ones.

...Reward

Win prizes and head home with a bag of goodies.

...Great Outdoors

—Nancy Averett

LOVE ON THE ROCKS 0

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is hard when you haven’t showered in four days, but it’s nearly impossible when you haven’t seen another person in three. I find comfort in the fact that distance does not preclude closeness—technology and loyalty help bridge the gap. Many significant relationships are conducted almost entirely over the phone. But romantic love requires an intimacy that isn’t reconcilable with distant zip codes, different time zones, or diverse mountain ranges. To commit to someone, must I first commit to somewhere? To live—and to love— locally, must I become a local? One of my past relationships ended with an ultimatum aimed at bridging our seasonal distances. When forced to choose between his Cape Cod writer’s cottage and Washington’s Cascades—where I was discovering glaciers, old-growth forests, and a rugged wilderness—I could not move east.

Loving Local?

When a seasonal lifestyle gets in the way of a good meal and a solid snuggling buddy. By Abigail Sussman

y latest crush is a committed locavore. He eats eggs laid by happy chickens that range freely on a nearby farm. Any produce he doesn’t grow in his own garden he purchases at the farmers’ market. He buys beer from the microbrewery less than five miles from his home, and he bikes everywhere. Not surprisingly, he likes his women like he likes his carrots: local. Eating from one’s backyard is a seasonal experience. Greens pile high in the spring, tomatoes hang heavy in the

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summer, and squash run rampant in the fall. While the time of year decides what my crush eats from his garden, it also determines who (if anyone) sleeps in my bed. I adore my crush’s home-centric habits, but I am a backcountry ranger. My local dating status is also a seasonal affair. In the summer I sleep in tents and remote log cabins and patrol the wilderness. Local food is limited to wild blueberries that I share with neighboring bears, and conversation is restricted to occasional backpackers. Finding a date

My longest relationship was with a fellow seasonal bum. He wore Carhartts stained with chainsaw grease, slept in a homemade bed in the back of his truck, and wielded an ax as a trail builder. Our fieldwork schedules were exact opposites, so we rendezvoused in each other’s backcountry camps—each was the other’s clean-smelling weekend tent mate who delivered chocolates, fresh fruit, and new conversation. But neither of us could commit to a single place, so we ended up parting ways after a couple of growing seasons. He moved to the city; I retreated farther into the mountains. As a single 30-something, I make my own choices. I decide whether to take a new job, move to a different town, tangle with a predictably short-term lover, or withdraw into the welcoming embrace of the mountains—snowcovered peaks don’t resent my desire to scale new heights, seek out different horizons, or head west to lie on the rocky beaches of Puget Sound. This freedom is both liberating and lonely. My current locavorian, locaphilian crush adheres to principles that both

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attract and exclude me. I understand the appeal of his doctrine: Eating locally develops a relationship between farmer and consumer. Similarly, loving locally develops a partnership which requires more than a recurring one-night stand. But, just as some locavores relent for exotic treats like chocolate and coffee, would a locaphile give in romantically for someone as tempting as a mango? Most of the time, I’m content with the friends and family who’ve become my life partners, ardent allies, and staunch supporters. When I want to feel close to someone, I wrap myself in my sleeping bag and write a letter that I mail whenever I hike out of the wilderness. I relish time alone in the backcountry, where I can shed clothes to wash off the stickiness of elevation gain, embrace the palpable feeling of being the only human for miles, be silent, or sing loudly off key. But there are times when the fiery sunset, the horizon of jagged peaks, and the moonlight reflected on a still lake are not enough. Yes, I can chop my own wood, carry a heavy pack, and find my way when there’s no trail. But there are things I cannot provide for myself— the security of strong arms around my waist, the rhythmic comfort of a heartbeat other than my own. It is during cold and rainy patrols, when the days are measured not by my watch but by my map, my aching thighs, and the dwindling weight in my pack and I am lost in a veil of low clouds, that I envision a phantom future—the homegrown greens, the not-too-close neighbors, the easy bike ride to town. And there, just out of sight, in the corner of the garden, admiring the first ripe tomato of the season, is a sketch of the man with whom I will share these moments. This boot-soaked, muscle-weary, highmileage daydream includes a locaphile, but he is loyal not only to place but to person, in love with community and individual. Local to me. ■

PSYCHOBABBLE

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The physical symptoms—accelerated heart rate, sweaty palms, or shaky limbs—start in your brain: You respond to stimuli in the environment, like a mass start at a race, and feel excitement or tension. The excitement ripples through your autonomic nervous system (your body’s control center) and triggers the release of adrenaline into your bloodstream, which manifests in those physical symptoms psychologists also call your “emotional temperature,” a name meant to reflect the powerful impact of individual emotion on performance. How does arousal help? It causes “attentional narrowing,” which means you can avoid distractions like close competitors, a cold storm, or a crowd of obnoxious fans and focus on the task at hand. Because arousal narrows your scope, lower levels are favorable for sports that require a big-picture focus, such as golf or long-distance running. Likewise, sports with a narrower focus require more arousal. How else could you hit that on-the-buzzer basket from half-court?

Idiosyncrasies of Arousal Why being fired up before competition isn’t always a surefire way to be your best. By Molly Rettig

e were 30 minutes away from the big championship game, and the girls on my college soccer team were pounding the locker-room walls, bouncing off the floor, and shattering the air with pump-up lyrics. In the midst of a lackluster calf stretch, I stifled a yawn. What was wrong with me? Sports psychologists would diagnose me with low “arousal levels.” Don’t blush: It’s not as erotic as it sounds. In sports science, arousal is a measure of how activated your organs and your nervous system are. Your own arousal rolls along a continuum from sleep (the low end) to an unhealthy hypersensitivity (the high end). When you get nervous or stoked before a race, game, or presentation, that’s arousal. And everyone’s levels are different

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“When I’m on the wall, I don’t really hear anything,” says Paige Claassen, a 19-year-old sport climber who competes internationally. Under the right level of arousal, she converts the excitement of climbing competitions into focus. But she also knows that overarousal (which you experience as anxiety) hurts her performance, like the first 18 times she tried to climb Zulu, a high-ranking (5.14a) climbing route outside Rifle, Colorado. “I would get near the top and forget my sequence, because I’d be so nervous,” Paige says. “Even though I had done the moves many times and had them memorized, I would forget, mess it up, and then fall.” By last June she finally figured out how to reign in her arousal, and now she counts the route up Zulu as her hardest one yet. If overarousal and underarousal both impair performance, what is the perfect amount? There is no magic level for everyone, says Ben Conmy, a Las Vegas-based performance consultant. Conmy, an English soccer player turned sports psychologist, works with athletes, executives, and performers to help them reach their IZOF, short for individual zone of optimal functioning. “Some people need to be ready to run through a brick wall. Other people are brilliant when they are incredibly relaxed,” Conmy says—easing my guilt about yawning. “We have a misconception that everyone should be so fired up, but that’s just not the case.” Instead of trying to force an unnatural high, Conmy says you should learn what level of arousal works best for you. “Try to isolate your past performance history. Where did you hit that euphoric moment where you felt all-powerful?” After a great training session, write down what you enjoyed about it. Were your muscles relaxed from resting the day before? Was your breathing in sync with your stride or pedal stroke? Did you pop an energy snack every 30 minutes? Try to replicate these conditions to calibrate the right level for you and your sport of the moment, and you might end up yawning at the start of a championship game, too. ■ womensadventuremagazine.com

Nature vs. Nurture

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So you figured out what helps induce your individual zone of optimal functioning, or your IZOF. But how do you ensure that you’ll reach it on the big day? “You wake up one morning and you feel sluggish, but you know you’re running a marathon—clearly that’s not ideal,” says sports psychologist Ben Conmy. One way to control your arousal is with a pre-competition routine. “When I do individual sports, my arousal will be higher,” says Christine Sanchez, a former Division I college swimmer and current triathlete who is finishing her PhD in sports psychology at Florida State University. Too much anxiety in the pool means a rushed stroke and less distance per stroke. “You’re spinning your wheels and going nowhere,” she says. So at swim meets Christine tries to tone down her arousal: “Before swimming, I chill out, lay down on my towel, and listen to my iPod. I almost block out what’s happening.” But optimal arousal varies by sport as well as by person. Team sports make Christine less nervous, so her routine is different. “With rowing I have to get to a higher level. I need to be hanging out with my girls on my boat, pepping each other up, and feeding off each other’s energy.” If you follow the same routine every time, you won’t be as easily distracted by an anomaly, like a side ache or storm clouds. It’s one thing to be motivated at the beginning of a competition, but how do you maintain good levels throughout, say, a half-Ironman? “You need to have some strategies in your backpack,” Christine says. One such strategy is self-talk. Make a list of motivational statements or quotes that inspire you. No matter how cliché it seems, this quote will be comforting and uplifting if you hit the wall. Words that are task relevant can also be clutch. “I think spin when I’m biking. You’re cueing your body to do the movement you need to execute instead of focusing on the fact that somebody just passed you or you have a huge blister on your foot,” says Christine. Lastly, repeating affirmations can boost your arousal. “Remind yourself how hard you’ve worked to get here,” she says, “and remind yourself about your strengths, like I always do better in Mile X!” When all else fails, and you’re cursing experts of arousal control, just try to distract yourself. Christine describes an 18-mile out-and-back race when people started passing her on the return stretch. She began cheering on and high-fiving her competitors. “I was amazed at how much better I was running. It became a game. I’d get to an empty space and think, What am I gonna say next?” Different triggers motivate—or intimidate. Why does Christine zone out? Why do some people listen to heavy-metal music and drink Red Bull? Because we learn to regulate our anxiety and excitement in a productive way for the task at hand. And while being able to control your arousal is positive, you should also enjoy the feeling: Your neurons are warning you that something fun is about to happen.

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by outdoor DIVAS

SENSE OF PLACE

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fined a hike as walking from the Upper East Side to Midtown or crossing Central Park. Hikes were for people who owned net-covered hats and majored in entomology. Me? Not so much. My interactions with nature included first kisses in the underbrush behind the arts-andcrafts shack at sleepaway camp, Girl Scout overnights in the community park, and art projects that consisted of tracing leaves and painting pinecones. Being exposed to the elements without an umbrella was my definition of an experiment. Besides, who really hiked the Andes?

Ancient Lessons of Nature

A first-time hiker tackles Machu Picchu’s Inca Trail. By Marie Elena Martinez

s soon as I stepped off the plane, my head and chest tightened, and I felt my lungs working overtime, pushing through each inhalation and exhalation with the determination of a marathon runner. Soroche, “altitude sickness,” was quick to set in. At 11,500 feet above sea level, the old Incan capital of Cusco took some adjusting to. Located in southern Peru, the town offers a panorama of rolling chocolate brown mountains that stretch endlessly in every direction. At their apexes, there’s snow. Down below, in their valleys, are tiny towns. Automatically worried, I wondered how I would manage a trek across Machu Picchu’s famous Inca Trail, the reason I’d come to Cusco in the first place.

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The Inca Trail is the 50-kilometer path from Cusco to Peru’s ancient city of Machu Picchu. Since the trail is wildly popular among tourists and historically important to the city, getting a chance to hike isn’t as easy as lacing up your boots, grabbing a walking stick, and setting out. Tour operators have to be licensed, and hikers are limited to 500 per day in groups of 16. Although hiking fatalities aren’t readily reported, stories of such tragedies are plentiful. The latest casualties involving both a hiker and guide occurred on January 26 of this year, when Andean mudslides ravaged the trail. I had absolutely no idea what to expect. For me, hikes were the folly of other people. As a lifelong New Yorker, I de-

It didn’t take me long to realize the answer: people just like me. It was the perfect hiking weather—clear blue sky, bright white clouds, low humidity, shining sun. I positioned myself in the front of the pack and found the one-two click of my walking stick oddly calming as we began our trek over a rickety suspension bridge. One hour in and I’d already shed the initial three layers of clothing I’d piled on. I was down to the bottom layer. This trek was going to be hard, very hard. We would hike uphill, then down. Uphill, then down. Hike for two hours, rest for 15 minutes. Seven or eight hours later, we would approach the Sun Gate of Machu Picchu. The Inca Trail was at turns exhilarating, and downright frightening. There were periods of tranquility and calm, stages of awe, and instances when my body just felt too physically taxed to continue. A constant battle with altitude added to the challenge, but—even as an antidrug advocate—I found that chewing coca leaves helped, offering enormous bursts of energy at the most demanding sections. I enjoyed walking by myself, ahead of the group, the ticks of my staff keeping me on track and marking a syncopated rhythm in my head. For the first time in my life, “one with nature” wasn’t just a catchy phrase used by hippies and ecologists—it was a feeling that echoed off mountains in every direction, an invisible hand that reached deep inside of me and grabbed on. The greenery ahead and behind was visual ecstasy;

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the trail displayed more than 400 species of plants—orchids, begonias, heaven-reaching palm trees, and low-lying shrubs like the indigenous Muña. The rustling of animals, like pumas, bobcats, and the endangered Andean, or spectacled, bear offset the chirps of Peru’s national bird, the Cock-of-the-rock, and the buzz of insects—apt accompaniment to a symphony. The earthy, dense smell of the jungle was intoxicating; the trail was a sensory hallucination and provided a consciousness like no other.

humid forests of ferns and other vegetation, over ravines, and past waterfalls. Although I consider myself coordinated, I still struggled to take in the view and walk at the same time. The dizzying height, coupled with the narrowness of the trail, didn’t allow for multitasking. I had to shift focus from one to the

fortress a sacred retreat, or a city inhabited by thousands of Incans? Characteristic dwellings, temples, altars, and terraces are abundant, pulley systems and irrigation channels work even today. Bright, grassy knolls roll in every direction, while carefully arranged rock formations divide the abandoned hilltop into clearly defined agricultural and urban sectors.

“My interactions with nature included first kisses in the underbrush and painting pinecones.”

Every twist and turn of the Inca Trail offered a new variation of mountain, jungle, valley, and sky—similar but different, unfailingly beautiful. The hushed flutter of our cameras’ shutters was a sad reminder that we’d never fully capture the beauty of the place. Just two hours in, I’d snapped 228 photos. At intervals I stopped and peered off to my right. My gaze reached out over the 2-foot-wide trail, and I marveled at both the outrageous outlook and the perilous drop-off, the valleys beckoning from below. Each status check of the terrain I’d already covered helped build my confidence—especially at an elevation of 12,000 feet. I could see the trail ahead of me cutting into the mountains, and the blips of colors that were other hikers—red shirts, white hats, yellow shorts—stood out against miles of vast green canvas. I could see the trail I had already tackled behind me. When we reached Wiñay Wayna, Forever Young, we celebrated with hoots and hollers. It was a halfway marker that ascended one of the most exquisite parts of the trail, a place of ritual baths and elegantly curved terraces that functioned to support ancient agriculture. We trekked farther, across steep mountainsides, up fragile stairways, through

other, sometimes literally talking myself through the tougher patches under my breath. Another perk of leading the pack was not exposing myself as a crazy novice who ranted to herself—although I imagined others might be doing the same thing. And thank God for my walking stick. Not just a trendy Inca Trail accessory, after all, it guided each and every movement, securing a foothold before making a commitment to any particular step. It dumbfounded me each time a porter or group of porters raced by carrying massive overnight bundles on their backs and wearing flip-flops, immune to soroche, with stopwatches running so they could compare trail times amongst themselves. Now you see them, now you don’t. Porters in a game of tag. Good for them. I felt lucky just to get by. I was the first of my group to reach Intipunku, the Sun Gate. An eerie quiet filtered through the park. Llamas, sheep, and wild goats roamed freely, some even posed warily for pictures. Discovered in 1911, Machu Picchu is still revealing itself and excavations are still underway. Was this mountain-top

Each boulder was placed by hand. I looked down at my own hands; I could barely bench-press a brick—how could people have built Machu Picchu?

Machu Picchu lacks battle scars, and age hasn’t eroded its center. The configuration of spaces and the city’s grid are logical. But logic aside, the place is magical. As I climbed ruinous piles, strolled grassy knolls, and ventured to the edges of a suspended oasis, I was humbled by the ancient world, by Peru, by South America. I inhaled deeply, the altitude momentarily unsteadying before my body slouched with exhaustion. My muscles began to burn, my contact lenses started to sting, and my stomach cried for attention. Mission accomplished, it said. Now, let me rest. Every blister, every death-defying downward glance, each height-tested inhalation had led to this moment. The sight of Machu Picchu was unforgettable. There, in the clutches of an ancient world, atop a vast labyrinth that defined the Andes, I embraced total complacency, a calm that only I could tap. It was a first-time embodiment, a validation that came from within; there was no loneliness, no desire for accolades or acknowledgment. I was in the best company imaginable— that of the natural world. ■

This essay is adapted from a draft of Marie Elena’s travel memoir One Girl, Many Maps. She’s still writing, still traveling, and still looking for an agent and publisher.

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TRY THIS

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Get Up, Stand Up

Stand up paddling is exhilarating on still water and on waves. This newly popular alternative to surfing offers a peaceful way to connect with nature. By Sarah Gold

hythmically dipping a paddle into the swirling green of Kauai’s Hanalei River, I tuned in to the stillness surrounding me. A breeze whispered through low-lying mangroves, as small brown fish darted through their gnarled, underwater roots. The only sounds, apart from the gentle swishing of my board along the surface, were birds flying overhead and the occasional plop of a frog sliding into the water. My first, peaceful attempt at stand up paddling (SUP) felt primal, elemental. Gliding silently through the jungle, I scanned the water to avoid rocks and logs and hopefully spot wildlife. Would I see the green sea turtles rumored to swim there? The route I was plying was the same one paddled by ancient Polynesians, who first brought SUP to Hawaii.

Getting Started: Start out on your knees, near the middle of your board. Stay in this “safety position” until you feel comfortable trying to stand. Return to this position to regroup and stabilize if you feel wobbly or spot obstacles ahead (swells, logs, rocks).

However, there’s nothing primitive about modern-day stand up paddling. Beneath my feet was an 11-foot foamcore board—wider than a traditional surfboard, coated with ding-resistant epoxy, and topped with traction-adding rubber grips—that had been engineered to provide buoyancy and track smoothly through the water. My superlight paddle had equally sophisticated structure: lightweight carbon fiber with a canted, slender blade. Thanks to SUP’s surging popularity in the past few years, comfortable, easy-to-balance, and hightech equipment is now de rigueur. And the relative ease of mastering paddling technique makes the sport appealing for beginners like me. Traditional surfing celebrities, namely Laird Hamilton, Dave Kalama, Brian Keaulana, and Rick Thomas, spurred

SUP’s recent rebirth. In training during low-wave season, they discovered that SUP engages the legs, core, back, and shoulders, and it’s wicked fun. With practice and improved technique, you can adapt the sport to any kind of water—from placid lakes to whitewater rapids to big ocean waves. Today, tour outfitters and instructional camps offer SUP training all over the world. Resorts and surf shops rent gear, and SUP competitions take place in locales as varied as Australia, the Grand Canyon, and for the first time this summer, at the 2010 Teva Mountain Games. Someday I might try something as daring, but for now I’ll keep my money on the still-water beginner cruise. After all, there are lots of adrenaline sports out there—but few that amp you up by slowing you down. ■

Consider an introductory lesson before hitting the surf—the basics of mounting your board and steering can be tricky. Veteran water-sport instructor Mike Rodger teaches SUP at Kauai Island Experience (www. kauaiexperience.com), where he shares these tips and techniques with first-time paddlers.

Get momentum going, and brace yourself with the paddle when you’re ready to try standing. Like a bicycle, a moving board is easier to balance on than a still one.

Bend your knees slightly to absorb surface turbulence. If you need to look behind you (say, for a paddling partner), do it by turning just your head rather than your torso.

Press up onto all fours and stand up in one fluid motion. Don’t forget to bring your paddle.

Dig in with your paddle as soon as you’re upright. Make small foot adjustments, but stay more or less in the middle of the board, balancing to keep the board’s nose slightly higher than its tail.

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WAM OSUMMER’2010”

WHOLE HEALTH

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According to my nutritionist, Becca Brenner, PhD, nutritionist and owner of Park City Holistic Health in Park City, Utah, my cleanse was intended to balance my goals with a realistic plan. I wanted to feel better, jump-start a more wholesome diet, and make long-lasting changes to my lifestyle. I wasn’t trying to ditch my hard-earned health for the sake of fitting into a high-school reunion outfit. But with a growing migraine, my resolve and my motivations needed reinforcing. Would I really lose weight and end up with the glowing skin promised by Gwenyth and a chorus of fad-cleanse pushers?

The Skinny on Cleanses Revamping your relationship with food is worth it—but it ain’t easy. By Liz Yokubison

hree days without wine, sugar, or caffeine, and what did I have to show for it? A pounding headache. Despite (usually) hitting my five-a-day goal for fruits and veggies and only occasionally giving in to the temptation of chocolate chip cookies, I had decided to try a cleanse. The 14-day program would, supposedly, be a good way to clean up my diet, but with 11 caffeine-free and cookieless days still looming, I seriously questioned this strategy— and my sanity. Our bodies are built to cleanse: urinating, sweating, and even breathing are processes that scrub toxins from our cells and balance our chemical makeup. But a dietary cleanse is more purposeful, and it helps the process along. The program I’d chosen boiled down to a two-week elimination diet. I was cutting out processed and inflammation-inducing foods (dairy, sugar, gluten, alcohol, caffeine, and a long list of crave-inducing flavors) with a twofold agenda: to reduce my intake of toxins and to speed up the process of eliminating them. My nutritionist insisted that, if I adhered to the Spartan menu, my liver would more efficiently break down the poisons that had built up in my system and my colon would more effectively excrete them. The result: I’d have more energy, better circulation, and more regular bowels than Gwenyth Paltrow could hope for after a month on her tabloid-touted cabbage-soup diet.

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That’s what happened for Brooke McLay, a Colorado-based mother of four who’d lost 15 pounds in 10 days while on the Master Cleanse. Brooke says the lemon-juice-, cayenne-pepper-, and maple-syrup-fueled liquid fast she tried, one of the most widely known, “is definitely not for the faint of heart.” But she’d been tempted by a desire to shed a few pounds, commit to a plan, and break free of her self-professed sugar and carbohydrate addictions. Brooke’s cleanse helped her to make a few changes—she spent the next year as a vegan—but she eventually reverted to her old eating habits and gained back her unwanted weight. From what I’d learned from Brenner, Brooke’s experience is typical of extreme, unsustainable, and unhealthy cleanses. Her weight loss was a result of dehydration and water loss, and her results were short lived. Brenner cautions against extremely low-calorie and fasting cleanses as a weight-loss strategy. “There is a difference between fasting and cleansing,” she says. “Fasting is just a crazy, quick fix.” Instead, Brenner advocates whole-foods cleanses, like the program I chose, as the most effective for flushing body toxins, revamping metabolic efficiency, and jump-starting long-term lifestyle changes. A whole-foods cleanse eliminates packaged and processed foods along with wheat, dairy, red meat, sugar, alcohol, and caffeine; foods that “cause chronic, low levels of inflammation, which are linked to every major illness from cardiovascular disease to cancer,” Brenner says. Audrey Sanders is a poster child for cleansing’s toxin-elimination potential. A breast cancer survivor from Lombard, Illinois, Audrey attributes her 21-year remission to the healthy diet she adopted after undergoing an alternative treatment— an aggressive 90-day cleanse—with the guidance of a naturopathic doctor. The lump on her breast disappeared, says the 53-year-old, whose diet consists only of raw, animal-productfree foods. “I felt 100 percent better and thought to myself, Whoa! Now this is something,” she says. While Audrey’s case is anecdotal and her commitment extreme, her long-term lifestyle change is proof that my cleanse could be the tipping point to a new lifestyle. Right? Yes, confirmed Adam Kelinson, nutritional consultant and author of The Athlete’s Plate (VeloPress, 2009), because I also had support. “So often, I get clients who come to me after

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trying a fad program or their first cleanse, and they are at a loss for what to do,” he explains. “They don’t know how to assimilate anything from the experience. Kelinson, who works primarily with athletes, believes cleansing is a way to detoxify but also to re-create and reestablish relationships with food. “It’s an educative process,” he says. “Creating a supportive environment is so important. We talk about where you come from, where you want to go, and how to get you there. We make changes for a sustainable lifestyle.” Kelinson’s go-to cleansing method is more extreme than the whole-foods plan Brenner put me on, because, he theorizes, the body can’t go into cleansing mode while it’s processing whole foods. “The digestive system is still too active to allow the innate healing of the body to take over,” he says. A liquid menu that includes juices, along with herbal teas, broths, and even miso soup, provides sufficient caloric and nutritional value to maintain a normal level of activity, yet it frees up the digestive system to flush toxins and weans the body off processed foods.

Win a

LEARN 2 SURF TRIP to Puerto Rico for YOU and 3 FRIENDS!

Even though other professionals confirm his hypothesis, my lifestyle, goals, and role as a mom made me better suited to a whole-foods option than a raw-food or juice-fueled 14 days. But the bottom line that both Brenner and Kelinson hold is that all three options replace processed foods with nutrientand fiber-dense alternatives. And all three are safer, healthier, easier to maintain, and easier to transition to and from than fad-type cleanses touted by dewy-skinned celebrities. Despite my withdrawal-induced headache, I had a realistic program to follow, the guidance of an expert, and a shopping cart full of brown rice and leafy greens. What else could I expect in the days to come? Brenner calls them “die-off symptoms.” My Day 3 headache, dry mouth, and nausea were the result of sugar withdrawal and the starving yeasts and bacteria that I’d been unknowingly feeding with the processed sugars and additives that were part of my regular diet. “It’s not a happy time—let me be honest,” admits Audrey, who still cleanses with the changing seasons, four times a year. “You may feel a little bloated if you are not used to eating greens, or you may notice skin irritation because the toxins in your body are escaping through your pores,” she says. “But to go through that and feel better on the other side—that is worth it.” I could have made it easier on myself by avoiding the pre-cleanse caffeine and sugar splurge I’d done in the days leading up to my first day. “The cleaner you eat going into a cleanse, the more prepared your body will be,” Kelinson says, confirming what I’d already realized. I felt the brighter side of my cleanse by Day 5, and after my fortnight of whole foods, I had a spring in my step and a new outlook on eating that has stuck with me for more than a year. “Cleansing is really a simple thing. Enjoying the process will help you be successful,” says Kelinson. “Even if you tried one just once in your life, you’d be doing yourself a lot of good.” ■

For complete details and entry information go to www.waterwaystravel.com/win Prize Includes: 4 nights accommodations at our beautiful villa in Rincon, Puerto Rico. 3 days of surf lessons. Breakfast daily.

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Everybody Must Get Stoned Check your local farmers’ market for summer’s bounty of stone fruits. By Caroline Mosey

ummer marks the return of many things we love: weekends at the park, leisurely dinners on the patio, early-morning jogs, and frosty drinks. It also marks a complete makeover for farmers’ markets, as the season ushers in a colorful burst of flavors and textures that beg for spots in our kitchens: Peaches, nectarines, plums, apricots, and cherries—all considered stone fruits because of the stone-like pits in their centers—hit their flavor peaks during the summer months.

Apricots

Typically grown in warmer climates, stone fruits are imported from Central and South America during our winters. But nothing beats the flavor of fresh, tree-ripened fruit that summer brings to your own neighborhood. And when it comes to healthy perks, these sweet snacks are nutrient gold mines, delivering essential minerals, antioxidants, and fiber to keep you healthy. Delicious and chock-full of vitamins, stone fruits offer up yet another reason to celebrate the season’s bounty. ■

Peaches

This small, velvety fruit is a harbinger of summer and is often available in stores and markets before other stone fruits. Apricots are champs when it comes to vitamin A, and the fruit’s offering of this vitamin increases as it ripens. Apricots also boast vitamin E and lycopene, an antioxidant that may protect against heart disease and certain types of cancers. While dried apricots are higher in calories, they’re easy to find and easy to carry, making them a great trailside snack. Select apricots with deep orange color—a sign of high vitamin content— and don’t be afraid to conduct a quick sniff check in the store. A sweet, rich aroma indicates ripeness.

Peaches hit market shelves in May, but July and August are when this fuzzy fruit really shines. The orange hue hints at high levels of beta-carotene, which your body converts to vitamin A, a fat-soluble antioxidant that’s essential to a healthy immune system and protects eyes, bones, and reproductive health. Peaches also score low on the glycemic index—great news for diabetics—and have high levels of potassium and fiber to keep your digestive system running smoothly. For the sweetest, juiciest peaches, look for unblemished fruit that’s firm yet gives slightly to the touch.

Try apricots: On the run

Top pancakes or waffles with fresh slices, add peaches to smoothies, or mix chunks into Greek yogurt for a morning fiber boost. They’re also great sliced, frozen, made into a natural sorbet or added to smoothies.

Dry apricots at home and toss them into cereal, or add them to your favorite trail mix for a heart-healthy boost.

40 WAM OSUMMER’2010”

Try peaches: For breakfast

Cherries

Cherries have earned superfruit status because they’re packed with powerful antioxidants that counter diseasecausing free radicals and repair cell damage. Studies have shown that tart cherries, specifically, help to reduce pain and inflammation due to their anthocyanins (powerful phytonutrients responsible for the fruit’s deep red color) and that incorporating cherries into your regular diet can decrease belly fat and may lower cholesterol. Cherries are also a great source of melatonin, which promotes healthy sleep patterns. When buying fresh cherries, check for glossy-looking skin and fresh stems. And do your best to buy organic when possible, because their thin skins make them more susceptible to pesticide contamination. Try cherries: After a long workout Munch fresh cherries as a stand-alone snack, or add them to greens or wild rice for subtle, unexpected sweetness. Stir chopped cherries and walnuts into muffin batter.

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Find It

Fresh

Plums

Most famous for their fiber content, plums—and their dried counterparts, prunes—are also a great source of vitamin C. They’re a boon to your immune system and, when paired with iron-rich foods, the vitamin C promotes iron absorption. Iron intake is critical for women, because menstruation and menopause deplete our bodies’ supplies. Another plus, plums are one of the most diverse fruits on the market: You can find as many as 30 varieties even in big chain grocery stores. Choose plump plums with smooth skin that feel moderately firm. Prunes add another level of variety. In addition to being high in fiber, these chewy treats are antioxidant powerhouses, and a half-cup serving delivers one-third of your daily vitamin A requirement in an easy-to-carry snack. Try plums: In an iron-packed lunch salad Enjoy plums au naturel, bake them into pastries, or whip up a tangy sauce for poultry dishes. Sliced plums add great flavor to iced tea and sangria.

Nectarines

This smooth-skinned cousin of the peach is often confused with its bigger, burlier relative due to an almost-identical appearance. In fact, nectarines and peaches are the same species and often grow on the same trees. The difference lies in the skin: Nectarines lack fuzz. They contain more potassium than peaches, making them a great choice for fending off muscle cramps and soreness during exercise. However, nectarines have half the calcium and twice the calories of peaches due to higher acid and sugar contents. When shopping for nectarines, despite the temptation to zero in on redder fruits, look for depth of color in the background yellow—if there’s even a hint of green, the fruit’s flesh won’t sweeten. Nectarines are more delicate than their peachy cousins, so transport them carefully and use any bruised fruit the day of purchase.

While California’s Central Valley and Colorado’s Western Slope are hot spots for stone fruits, these juicy orbs thrive in summer climates all over the U.S.—and the world. Poorly timed refrigeration (being chilled before fully ripe) can turn their flesh mealy and prevent proper sweetening, so tree-ripened local varieties are often more juicy and delicious than those you find in stores. Looking for locally grown? Check these online resources for orchards and farmers’ markets in your neighborhood. The freshest fruit is just a click away. PickYourOwn.org lists local farms where hand-picking is part of the fun. The site breaks down farm locations by state and county and lists contact information so you can get in touch with one close to home. Grab a basket and a friend and make an afternoon trip that’s sure to yield tasty results. LocalHarvest.org is an online trove of data about farmers’ markets and local growing. Type in your zip code for a geotagged map of farms, grocers, restaurants, and farmers’ markets in your area. Prefer mobile info? Download the Locavore iPhone app for fingertip access to local farmers’ markets and a list of in-season foods specific to you geographically.

Try nectarines: Before a workout Pair with cottage cheese and chopped nuts for a quick, fuel-packed morning meal; or top your favorite whole-grain cereal or oatmeal with nectarines for a bright twist on your usual routine.

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IT’S PERSONAL

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late to remedy. What if, after all this time, I could still learn to surf? My childhood offered me innumerable occasions to try. I am the progeny of two ocean lovers: an Australian mother whose greatest pleasure was to stroke gracefully past the breakers of our hometown beaches in Sydney, and an American father who’d spent his youth as a lifeguard and swimming instructor. They had me bobbing in the waves at Bondi and Manly before I could speak or walk. By 8 years old, I was bodysurfing and swimming competitively (and watching local boys catch rollers on their boards). Even after we moved to Connecticut when I was 13, I palled around with kids who wrangled whatever they could out of the meager surf of Long Island Sound. Male kids, that is. See, in the 1970s and ’80s, girls—at least the ones I knew—didn’t surf. And so, very simply, neither did I. It wasn’t as if I’d given it a shot and was rebuked, or even that I’d asked to try and was made fun of. The distressing truth is that attempting it never even crossed my mind.

The Wave Not Taken Paddling out amid the crashing waves of midlife—and lost opportunity. By Sarah Gold

he hardest part about middle age is the regret. When you suddenly, alarmingly recognize that your life is half over, you realize that, not only will you no longer have the chance to do everything you’d planned, but you’ve missed opportunities. The choices you might have made but didn’t—those are what really keep you up at night. I speak from experience. At 41, I have an enviable life: a job most people would trade a limb for; a warm, intelligent husband whose company I never tire of; a lively menagerie of family and friends; and a galumphy dog that makes me laugh

42 WAM OSUMMER’2010”

several times a day. But even my charmed existence can’t keep me from, at times, succumbing to the demons of “what if.” Most of the regrets that haunt me in these moments are lost possibilities that I’ll never recover. There’s the phone message from the literary agent that I never returned, the dear friend I never properly cherished before his suicide, and the years—decades—of easy fertility, when I could have conceived a child if only I’d made it a priority. But there has always been one “what if.” A small but surprisingly persistent one—that I’ve imagined may not be too

But what if it had? This question continued to plague me as I grew older and watched women’s surfing become a sport in its own right. I couldn’t stop thinking that, with all my water skills, my attitude may have been all that kept me from becoming another world champion… another Layne Beachley. Instead, though, here I was, paddling through midlife, feeling like I’d missed the wave. Although it did occur to me, often, that that’s the thing about waves: There are always more of them. It was this rationale that landed me on a crescent-shaped beach in northern Kauai on a recent early morning, as the sun (and my 42nd birthday) edged up on the horizon. The mixed reactions of my loved ones ran the gamut from “You go, girl!” to “Please don’t brain yourself on a coral reef.” But despite the mixed bag, I signed up for a small women’s surf camp fittingly called Surf n Sol.

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Nervous as I felt, I should’ve been listening carefully to the instructions that our teacher, Mike, was giving to the three of us in the camp. But my eyes kept darting away from his pop-up demonstrations and over to my fellow students, both of whom were significantly younger and fresher looking than me. And as I gazed out to the gentle swells of the bay, I could see small figures nimbly balancing on surfboards—children, some of whom couldn’t have been more than 5 or 6 years old. It was only the first day, but already a new “what if” had taken root in my mind: What if this was a huge mistake? Or a spectacularly effective way to embarrass myself? When the moment of reckoning came, Mike helped me paddle out to a spot where the waves were cresting. Although I’d trained at the gym for weeks, my heart rattled unevenly in my chest as I pawed my way through the surf. I wanted this so badly. And yet I could so easily see myself failing. My anxiety escaped Mike, who paddled alongside me and said, “You seem pretty at home in the water.” Close to tears, I twisted on the board to look at him. “Listen, I know I’m old, and I don’t have high expectations,” I said. “All I want is to stand up once. Just once. I don’t care if it takes me the entire week.” Mike laughed. “All week? You’re going to be standing in five minutes. Now here comes a good wave. Go for it, paddle! Paddle!” An hour later, when I finally dragged my board out of the sea, I felt like I’d been born all over again. It happened just as Mike had predicted: I got up and actually surfed on my very first try. I had salt in my eyes, sand in my hair, terrifically sore shoulders, and bruises on the tops of my feet and in my armpits—places where they don’t come easy. But I had no regrets. Nor did I have an easy answer to the new question starting to nag at me: What if our doubts are the only things holding us back? ■

What if every bike rack looked like this? At Planet Bike, we dream about the day when all cities and towns are safer and more convenient places for cyclists. Because we believe in the potential of the bicycle to improve the health of individuals, communities and the planet, we donate 25% of our profits to organizations that promote bicycle use.

better bicycle products for a better world.™

44 WAM OSUMMER’2010”

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hat does it take to have the best ride of your life? To enjoy a day on flat water? Or to cross the finish line at your personal best? More than just confidence in yourself, it takes confidence in your gear.

Dozens of women—from hard-core mountain bikers to college-age concertgoers—tested 10 categories of equipment for five of the summer adventures you have planned. Whether you’ll be kayaking, hiking, mountain biking, relaxing at a festival, or tackling your first triathlon, we’ve got you covered. In the following pages, you’ll find the advice you need to outfit your adventure and exceed your expectations for comfort and performance. Learn what sets our top choices apart from the kit that’s already crowding your closet. Women’s-specific technology, design, and detailing have changed everything, and if the pluses we provide aren’t enough to convince you, check our website for more. When it comes to confidence, if you trust us, you can trust your gear. Edited by Kristy Holland Photography by Ben Fullerton

Testers: Courtney Bartels, Berne Broudy, Sandy Budde, Jeff Chow, Erik Dutilly, Katie Ellenwood, Karina Evertsen, Ashley Eyre, Sperry Goode, Heather Hansman, Christine Hoar, Kristy Holland, Carol Jordan, Mike Koshmrl, Josh Kunz, Sarah Leone, Emma Lynch, Katie Lynch, Jenn Mawn, Jane Melrose, Tanja Reid, Molly Rettig, Emily Seagrave, Kate SilverHeilman, Lisa Sinclair, Andrea Sutherland, Jordan Wirfs-Brock, and more.

WAM OSUMMER’2010”

g n i k aya

...Float Into Bliss

Kira is paddling with: Outdoor Research’s Oasis Sombrero Hat ($32; www.outdoorresearch.com); Mysterioso’s Nyloprene long-sleeve top ($63; www.mysterioso.com); Werner’s Little Dipper Paddle ($265; www.wernerpaddles.com); Emotion Comet ($279; emotionkayaks.com) 46 WAM OSUMMER’2010”

womensadventuremagazine.com

The Essentia

Exped Drypack Pro 25 ($55; www.exped.com) Cushy straps turn this roll-top dry bag into a hike-ready pack that comes in two sizes for half- or all-day exploring. Carve Designs Leilani Reversible Skirt ($58; www.carvedesigns.com) Cover up in style. This quick-drying, 100 percent recycled polyester wrap skirt snaps twice showing either an all-over solid or a flirty print. Keen Roatan ($40; www.keenfootwear.com) Wet exit? No problem. These rubber-soled neoprene slip-ons protect, drain, add a splash of color, and are comfortable enough for all-day wear. Bollé Recoil ($80-30; www.bolle.com) Stop squinting and enjoy the view. Gray polarized lenses deliver true color and stop glare. Wraparound coverage adds protection for all day on the water. Dermatone Skin Protection Créme SPF 33 ($5, 1 oz.; www.dermatone.com)

Have a niche need? Read more about our editor’s picks online at: womensadventuremagazine.com

★★★★★

for expeditions

★★★★★

for hot weather

★★★★★

for weekends

★★★★★ for families

P&H Cetus LV ($3,599; www.phseakayaks.com) Storage sufficient for three weeks on the water with a profile that ensures secondary stability and slices through the water. Delta Catfish 12.5 ($1,450; www.deltakayaks.com) An extremely stable daytripper with a catamaran-style dual-pontoon hull offers stability and a slim silhouette. Lincoln Quoddy Light ($1,999; www.canoesandkayaks.com) Straight-tracking, agile, and light enough to maneuver in and out of the water on your own. Jackson Day Tripper 12 ($799; www.jacksonkayak.com)

Enough room for all the kid’s gear—and even a cooler—and a wide, flat hull for flatwater lakes, inlets, or ponds.

Sunscreen

Buying a flatwater kayak that your entire family can enjoy shouldn’t require a second mortgage. The solution: Emotion’s Comet. Though it’s short (just over 8 feet) and doesn’t have hatches, this 38-pound daytripper tracks straight, accelerates evenly, maintains speed, and turns on a dime. It’s made from polyethylene, so the hull held up even after one tester spent a summer dragging it over rocky shorelines. On the water, all of our testers—even first-timers—appreciated its initial stability. The Comet’s easy-reach foot pegs adjust with a finger pinch; its broad, ergonomically contoured plastic seat folds against the hull for easy transport; front- and back-deck bungies hold gear within arm’s reach; and the right-side paddle keeper is easy to access. Usually, these bells and whistles are exclusive to more expensive boats. While it’s not designed for big water, an inflatable air bladder in the stern means that if you do flip, your boat won’t go down.

Dermatone Skin Protection Créme, Fragrance Free, SPF 33 4.6 ($5, 1 oz.; www.dermatone.com)

tested:

Kayaks

Comet 4.9 Emotion ($279; www.emotionkayaks.com)

Finding heavy-duty protection that is easy to apply and doesn’t smell like a medicine cabinet (or a perfumery) can be trickier than avoiding a sunburn. But Dermatone’s SPF 33 fragrance-free créme was a favorite among testers for its smooth consistency and the barely-there skin feel that didn’t compromise protection. This SPF 33 sunscreen worked well on rough-and-tough skin as well as on delicate and sensitive skin like the chest and face and it outlasted others when it came to maintaining performance and protection when we swam and sweated on the water and during tough trail workouts. Comes in a pack-perfect 1-ounce tube so there’s no excuse not to have some on hand.

★★★★★

nurturing nature

★★★★★ a dry touch

★★★★★ herbal help

★★★★

for girly girls

Beyond Coastal Natural Sunscreen, SPF 30 ($6, 1 oz.;

www.beyondcoastal.com) Broad-spectrum protection from 16-percent Zinc Oxide formula that rubs in and lasts long.

All Terrain Aqua Sport, SPF 30 ($5, 1 oz.; www.allterrainco. com) Feels dry from the start for easy on-the-water application and no-slip performance. Elemental Herbs Sunscreen Sport, SPF 20 ($9, 1 oz.; www.elementalherbs.com) All natural ingredients that sooth, smooth, nourish and protect. 25 percent non-nanoparticle zinc. MyChelle Sunshield, SPF 28 ($19, 2.3 oz.; www.mychelle. com) Non-stinging formula that includes organic aloe and a fresh coconut scent. WAM OSUMMER’2010”

g n i ik

H y a

ails ...Happy Tr

Katie is hiking in: Buff’s UV Insect Shield ($27; www.buffwear.com); CamelBak’s 2010 Helena hydration pack ($85; www.camelbak.com); SmartWool’s Microweight Tee ($60; www.smartwool.com); Athleta’s Breeze short ($44; www.athleta.com); Lorpen’s Multisport Tri-Layer Shorty sock ($15; www.lorpen.com); Columbia’s Ashlane Mid Omni-Tech hiker ($95; www.columbia.com). 48 WAM OSUMMER’2010”

womensadventuremagazine.com

The Essentia

First Ascent Rainier Stormshell Jacket ($349; www.eddiebauer.com) Extremely waterproof yet lightweight, this three-layer shell is durable in any kind of weather and should be an essential in any outdoor wardrobe. Buff UV Insect Shield ($27; www.buffwear.com) Protecting 95 percent of UV rays, the Buff shield has just gotten an upgrade. Now with an odorless insect repellent and odor-control mechanism, the shield is more effective than ever for backcountry trips. Luna Protein Bar in Chocolate Peanut Butter ($19, 12 bars; www.lunabar.com) With 12 grams of protein and less than 200 calories, the new protein-packed Luna bar will boost energy and keep you fuller longer. Also available in Cookie Dough and Chocolate Cherry Almond. Brooks-Range All-in-One Map Tool Package ($26; www.brooks-range.com) Including an extensive map tool, emergency latitude-longitude ruler, and a cheatsheet of SOS-helicopter rescue signals, it’s difficult to get lost in the woods with this small collection of lifesaving information.

Have a niche need? Read more about our editor’s picks online at: womensadventuremagazine.com

CamelBak Helena

★★★★★

Osprey Manta 20 ($129; www.ospreypacks.com)

★★★★★

GoLite Slipstream ($45; www.golite.com)

for quality control

go ultralight

★★★★★

for all-around

high-intensity hiking

A fully-equipped day pack with added value extras such as a helmet loop, rain cover, magnetized bite-valve keeper, and triple cinches.

Weighing in at just 10 ounces, this streamlined utilitarian pack holds a 70-ounce reservoir and just enough kit to carry you on the trail. Mountain Hardwear Fluid 26 ($100; www.mountainhardwear. com) Comfortable, high capacity, and with function-meets-fashion versatility that transitions from high country to uptown in no time.

Nathan X-Treme ($80, www.nathansports.com) An X-style harness disperses load weight while mesh structure keeps the pack itself feeling airy. Secure when you’re hiking hard.

light hikers

CamelBak has earned its ubiquity in the market, and the originator of hands-free hydration is still making some of the most comfortable, versatile, and affordable hydration packs. This 21-liter option is just right for short- or all-day hikes. Testers loved the large main compartment’s capacity for bulky gear, even when the reservoir-specific back panel was packed with 100 ounces of water (Bonus: the included Omega reservoir is guaranteed for life). The women’s-specific fit boils down to a shorter torso and a deeper-than-normal shoulder-strap curve, which lifted the sternum strap well above the breast but narrowed the straps enough that some broad-shouldered testers complained about chaffing at the neck. The air-director panel won high marks for ventilation, and the broad back added sideto-side stability. Added perks: easy-to-reach and off-the-shoulder strap adjusters, equipment straps, and built-in hose leaders that keep the bite-valve handy.

★★★★★

Ashlane Mid Omni-Tech 4.8 Columbia ($95; www.columbia.com)

($85; www.camelbak.com)

tested:

PACKS

t e s t e d : HYDRATION

An all-day adventure on the trail doesn’t have to end with tired feet, and it doesn’t have to begin with an empty wallet. The minute testers donned these mesh and leather hikers—the least expensive and lightest weight in our testing lineup—they felt at home. After a 15-mile day, one tenderfoot happily reported that the soft, form-fitting upper hadn’t chaffed at all and hers were the only blister-free feet in her group. For fair- and warm-weather hikes, the breathability of the Omni-Tech treatment won high marks from testers. It also kept dampness at bay on dewy mornings, but wasn’t impervious to wetness in rainy or puddle-jumping mud where water did penetrate (though one tester reported that the shoe did drain quickly). The shock absorbing Techlite midsole cut ounces but didn’t compromise on protection from sharp rocks underfoot and support on angled terrain.

★★★★★

for tight trails

★★★★★

for tech appeal

★★★★★

for long hauls

★★★★★

for traditional treks

Montrail Jawbone ($125; www.montrail.com)

Protection enough for rugged terrain but a flexible footbed, tight profile, and lightweight upper feel light and fast.

Asolo Amazon GV ($ 165; www.asolo.com) Asolo scaled down its hard-core shoes and the Amazon combined comfort and performance on technical trails. Tecnica DragonFly Mid Ws ($ 120; www.tecnicausa.com) Tecnica’s rolling footbed (TRS) lets you hike stronger and longer in sneaker-like shoes that efficiently transfer power. Vasque Opportunist W/P Mid ($ 110; www.vasque.com)

Classic styling and heavy-duty construction hide arch-support and springy soles suited for exploring off-trail. Available in wide sizes.

WAM OSUMMER’2010”

n u F al

stiv

tyle ...Inspire in S

Rebecca is lounging in: Native’s Lodo sunglasses ($89; www.nativeyewear.com); Patagonia’s Elsa Top ($65; www.patagonia.com); Eddie Bauer’s Lightweight Convertible Denim Short ($40; www.eddiebauer.com); Teva’s Illūm Leather flip-flops ($60; www.teva.com); Alite’s Monarch Camp Chair ($60; www.alitedesigns.com); GSI Outdoors’ Glacier Stainless Steel Stemless Wine Glass ($10; www.gsioutdoors.com) 50 WAM OSUMMER’2010”

womensadventuremagazine.com

The Essentia

Eagles Nest Outftters Launch Pad ($65; www.eaglesnestoutfittersinc.com) A barrier against wet ground and an inviting fleecy surface join forces in this 28-squarefoot blanket that upgrades on-the-ground entertainment. Teva’s Illūm Leather flip-flops ($60; www.teva.com) Find your way through the crowds with these LED-enhanced leather flops. The barely-there function doesn’t override fashion. PrAna Satori Wrap ($70; www.prana.com) Coffee-colored go-anywhere elegance that serves as a sun-blocking cover-up or to take the chill out of summer nights. GSI Outdoors Glacier Stainless Steel Stemless Wine Glass ($10; www.gsioutdoors.com) Easy sipping but tough to spill. A bottomheavy profile keeps this nearly 12-ounce cup from tipping, even if your heavy-handed pour tops it all the way up. Mountainsmith Deluxe Cooler Cube ($40; www.mountainsmith.com) Squeeze in that extra six-pack. Up to 12 cans and two bottles of wine can stay cool inside this waterproof 15-inch carry-along cooler. Olympus Roamer 8x21 DPC I ($75; www.olympusamerica.com) Compact with an easy-adjusting center focal knob so you can see every detail of the show (and the crowd).

Have a niche need? Read more about our editor’s picks online at: womensadventuremagazine.com

Native Lodo

★★★★★

for speed demons

★★★★★

for pack leaders

★★★★★

for fashionistas

for green eyes

Tifosi Lust ($60; www.tifosioptics.com) A lust-worthy workhorse? Yes. These full-coverage, polarized lenses wrap around to protect eyes from big-city lights (and MTB downhills). Zeal Zing ($100; www.zealoptics.com) Small size and big style are supersnug and sport Zeal’s proprietary polarized ZB-13, perfect for both cloudy and bright days. Ryders Duchess ($40; www.ryderseyewear.com) A high-fashion, lightweight frame with stays put the sweatier you get. This super-affordable style is best suited for bigger faces. Smith Pavilion Evolve ($119; www.smithoptics.com) More than just a pretty face, with plant-based resin frames, highquality optics, and around-town wearability.

Take-along Chairs

Native’s first women’s-specific model manages to perfectly balance good looks and performance. The Lodo packs everything we look for in a technical sport shade—grippy frame, light weight, fog-free lenses—into a superstylish package. Like all Native glasses, the Lodo has an easy-to-use interchangeable lens system, so you can dial in your shades for the day. Testers loved how the sticky nose and temple pads kept the frame glued to their faces. Best of all, the featherlight Lodo weighs in at under an ounce. We took it on marathon-training runs and multiday hikes and barely noticed it—in a good way. This is our pick for one pair of shades to take you from pre-breakfast bike rides to sunset barbecues and everywhere in between.

★★★★★

Monarch Camp Chair 4.6 Alite ($60; www.alitedesign.com)

($89; www.nativeyewear.com)

tested:

Sunglasses

If it’s too clunky to carry, what’s the likelihood you’ll have a chair on hand when you need it? Packability and versatility rocketed this 21-ounce two-legger to the top of our testing lineup. The chair is a snap-and-sit two-piece that combines a lightweight, collapsible aluminum-pole structure with a durable rip-stop nylon seat, complete with mesh ventilation panels. The whole thing sets up in seconds—though it’s tricky the first few times—and packs readily into a stuff sack the size of a large soda. It’s even tiny enough to sneak into venues that don’t allow chairs (Shhh!). The seat itself is supportive and comfortable, but mastering the sit-and-tilt technique required to settle into this two-legged design does take some practice. Because two of the chair’s legs are actually your legs, it’s not relaxing enough for a nap, and it’s probably not a good choice for a postmarathon sit-down.

★★★★★

fit for a queen

★★★★★

for pack leaders

★★★★★

for getting down

★★★★

for backcountry balance

Kelty Delux Lounge Chair ($70; www.kelty.com)

Splurge on comfort but maintain compact portability. Kelty’s deluxe camp-chair adds stand-out details to standard camp-chair style.

REI Comfort LTG Chair ($35; www.rei.com)

Simple style and strap-equipped for toting, this affordable chair includes an adjustable lumbar pillow and stash pocket. Crazy Creek HexaLite Original ($39; www.crazycreek.com) Updated for 2010, this version of Crazy Creek’s much-imitated design packs flat, sets up in seconds, and is more durable than before.

GCI Outdoor Quik-E-Seat ($30; www.gcioutdoor.com) Wide-backed, three-legged design belies this seat’s sturdiness and comfort. Bonuses: a built-in strap and below-butt beverage holder. WAM OSUMMER’2010”

n o l h t Tria

...Prove You C an

Emily is wearing: Blueseventy’s Reaction Femme Fit wetsuit ($330; www.blueseventy.com); Blueseventy’s Women’s Endurance Singlet and Endurance Shorts ($95; $85; www.blueseventy.com); TYR’s Velocity Metallized goggles ($17; www.tyr.com); and Tech4o’s Women’s Heartbeat ($90; www.tech4o.com). 52 WAM OSUMMER’2010”

womensadventuremagazine.com

The Essentia

Skirt Sports Race Belt Skirt and Tri Bottoms 5-inch ($42; $55; www.skirtsports.com) Make a quick transition—and ditch your race belt. This lightweight chamois-lined tri short and skirt combo matches performance, comfort, and coverage. Bodyglide Anti-chafe For Her ($7; www.bodyglide.com) Make easing into your wetsuit easy. This antichafe formula is as powerful as the original at preventing skin sores, and it’s available in a single-season 0.8-ounce size. TYR Velocity Metallized goggles ($17; www.tyr.com) Swim strong with these UV-protected, lowprofile goggles. An adjustable nosepiece system, patented silicone gaskets, and a double strap combine for a stay-put fit that will stay fog-free. Headsweats Supervisor ($19; www.headsweats.com) Bring your own shade. This Coolmax visor’s terry-lined brow and elastic band wick wetness to keep your eyes sweat- and squint-free. Honey Stinger Organic Energy Chews ($23, 12 pack; www.honeystinger.com)

Have a niche need? Read more about our editor’s picks online at: womensadventuremagazine.com

★★★★★

for data overload

★★★★★

for trackstars

★★★★★ complete comfort

★★★★

for the minimalist

Garmin Forerunner 110 ($250; www.garmin.com) Don’t just monitor your heart rate, monitor its location, too. A highquality GPS sensor is an exciting update to a streamlined fave. Polar RS300X ($170; www.polarusa.com)

Easy-to-enlarge numbers are a snap to see while tempo training. Overflowing with data modes, accessories, and stand-out styling. Suunto t3c Sporty Red ($169; www.suunto.com) Forget about it: the barely-there chest strap and wrist band transition everywhere you do. Bonus: Suunto’s Training Effect feature.

New Balance N4 ($70; www.nbwebexpress.com)

Basic features meet entry-level price point in this sporty, stylish, and simple model that’s best suited for fitness first-timers.

Nutrition

As painless to operate as it is to wear—before, during, or after your workout—the Heartbeat ranked highest in our top-rate testing lineup and is a great choice for general fitness and training. The Heartbeat earned high marks for ease of use, functionality, and its crossover styling that worked as well on the track as it did for getting to work on time. Setting up the major functions was intuitive and quick, and while the device estimates maximum heart rate based on a generic formula of 220 minus your age, you can also input the numbers manually if your fitness level demands and program an automatic audio alert to beep when you’re exceeding your training targets. While post-workout reviews show standard workout quantifiers (maximum and average heart rates and duration, lap times, and estimated fat and calorie burns), more competitive testers noted the lack of a stopwatch display mode with enlarged countdown numbers for easy on-the-run timing.

tested:

Heart Rate Monitors

Women’s Heartbeat 4.8 Tech4o ($90; www.tech4o.com)

Honey Stinger Organic Energy Chews ($23, 12 pack; www.honeystinger.com)

Chewy without being sticky, and flavorful without a hint of power-pumping chemicals, Honey Stinger’s soft, sweet orbs lured our testers into putting in more miles. Both the Pomegranate and Cherry Blossom flavors delivered an antioxidanttinted tang from a short list of 95 percent organic ingredients that includes a couple of unusual energy-chew additions: honey, which is the company’s trademark twist, and tapioca, which adds a gram of fiber and protein per 10-chew serving—a fiber content matched only by one other chew in our testing lineup. While several chews matched Honey Stinger’s low calorie count of 16 per piece, these domed drops have, by far, the best mouth feel and flavor, which encouraged testers to keep eating them well into a 20-mile training run.

★★★★★

fit big flavor

★★★★★

for easy access

★★★★★

for antioxidants

★★★★★

for slow snacking

Gu Chomps ($35, 16 pack; www.guenergy.com)

Mouth-watering flavors packed with amino acids and a 100 percent DV of vitamins C and E. Delicious and nutritious.

Cliff Shot Bloks Electrolyte Chews ($36, 18 pack; www.clif-

bar.com) Added electrolytes and streamlined packaging are perks for endurance activities and flavor junkies—there are nine choices. FRS Healthy Energy ($20; 30 pack; www.frs.com) Individually wrapped for easy packing and loaded with quercetin—an antioxidant that acts as an anti-inflammatory—and essential vitamins.

Sharkies Energy Sport Chews ($18, 12 pack; www.sharkiesinc.com) Small bites are easy to stomach during appetite-zapping final miles when you need a boost. All-natural and certified organic. WAM OSUMMER’2010”

g n i k i ain B

Moun

...Give In to G ravity

Marian is biking in: Specialized’s S-Works MT Helmet ($200; www.specialized.com); Shebeest’s Silver-X Performance T ($55; www.veltecsportsusa.com); Fox’s Reflex Gel Glove ($28; www.foxmtb.com); Luna’s Moon Buggy Short ($90; www.lunasportgear.com); Bridgedale’s X-Hale Speed Diva sock ($15; www.bridgedale.com); Specialized’s BG Motodiva MTB Shoe ($140; www.specialized.com); GT’s GTw Sensor 2.0 ($2,500; www.gtbicycles.com)

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The Essentia

Ergon GR2 Grips ($50; www.ergon-bike.com) Updated with an extra 10 mm of bar, the GR2’s larger surface grip increases blood flow—and comfort—on allday rides. CrankBrothers Power Pump Pro ($33; www.crankbrothers.com) Pump it up. This high-volume, high-pressure aluminum hand pump is one of the smallest with a gauge, and it fits Schrader and presta valves, so all flats are fair game. Adventure Medical Kits Ultralight/Watertight .5 ($17; www.adventuremedicalkits.com) Lightweight, waterproof, and with enough first-aid equipment to get you back on your bike—or at least limping to the trailhead. Seca Light & Motion 900 Ultra LED Bike Light ($650; www.bikelights.com) With the best weight-to-output ratio on the market, this easy-mount lithium-ion-powered light can flood (or spotlight) the trail ahead for 2.5 hours on high power. Deuter Compact EXP 8 ($99; www.deuterusa.com) Close fitting and super breathable, this hydration pack holds 3 liters of water and enough kit for an afternoon full of singletrack. The North Face Gidja jacket ($129; www.thenorthface.com) Representing TNF’s first (and successful) attempt at mountain-bike-specific gear, this technical, hooded hardshell is built for the trail but has go-anywhere styling and a feminine graphic detail. Specialized S-works MT Helmet ($200; www.specialized.com) High-impact, lightweight and low-profile, a helmet you can rock on the trail.

BG Motodiva MTB Shoe 4.8 Specialized’s ($140; www.specialized.com)

Surprise, surprise. This mid-level-price-point bike exceeded testers’ expectations and delivered a smooth, comfortable ride that proved its worth on flowing Colorado singletrack, slick and wet technical climbs, and slickrock swoops in Utah. Cool cosmetics—feminine without being over the top—added appeal, but it was the bike’s nimbleness combined with comfort that really won points with testers. The Sensor’s geometry shifted the riding position and allowed for an upright, but still aggressive ride. Testers loved the lightweight aluminum frame; the cushy suspension anchored by a new easy-to-maintain pivot system GT introduced this year; and all 120 mm of rear-wheel travel, which more than one tester appreciated on tough trails. A Shimano drivetrain, Avid breaks, and one of our favorite saddles (WTB’s Deva) round out the high-quality specs.

Specialized’s effort to elevate women’s-specific gear shows across its entire line, and these shoes are a good example of how high-performance technology is incorporated into a product that’s accessible to average riders. The Motodiva tied across our testing lineup for weight (our scales read 1 pound, 7 ounces for the pair) but earned high marks from testers because of the low-profile lug, which was wider and offered more stability than other, similarly race-profiled styles. One tester also praised the molded toe cap, which, she claims, prevented at least one painful stubbing on Moab’s Porcupine Rim Trail. The reinforced upper ventilated well, kept out debris, and provided close-fitting comfort due to the combination of Velcro straps and ratcheting buckle closure. But before you buy, try the shoes on. The Motodiva seemed to run long and fit best on testers with narrow feet.

★★★★★

pro performance

★★★★★

left in the dust

★★★★★

earn your turns

★★★★

for beginners

Giant Anthem X1W ($2,850; www.giant-bicycles.com)

Balanced and stiff, Giant’s Anthem delivers race-ready handling and performance to everyday riders.

Cannondale RZ One Twenty Féminine 2 ($3,199; www.

cannondale.com) Cannondale’s left-side shock reduces weight and handles technical trails without compromising on style. Trek Fuel EX 8 WSD ($2,300; www.trekbikes.com) A burly, stable ride requiring muscle and finesse on tough terrain. Bontrager components complement a full 120 mm of rear travel.

Kona Lisa 120 ($2,199; www.konaworld.com)

Upright geometry and a solid, stable ride. Any added weight from tubeless tires (standard) is cancelled by the light load on your wallet.

Shoes

GTw Sensor 2.0 4.8 GT ($2,500; www.gtbicycles.com)

tested:

BIKES

Have a niche need? Read more about our editor’s picks online at: womensadventuremagazine.com

★★★★★

for budget racers

★★★★★

for hike-a-bikers

★★★★★

for getting serious

★★★★★

for stiff power

Pearl Izumi W’s Select MTB ($95; www.pearlizumi.com)

Race-ready technology is lightweight (and light on the wallet). Solid arch support is built into out- and insoles for comfort and efficiency.

Lake MX165-W ($110; www.lakecycling.com)

Double tongue and three-strap closure offer good fit, and wide-base Vibram lug adds security for navigating technical trails on foot. Bontrager RL Mountain WSD ($140; www.bontrager.com) Lightweight nylon-carbon soled Bontragers compete with pricier shoes, and the buckle-and-strap fit system is great for wider feet.

Louis Garneau Monte Rosa ($100; www.louisgarneau.com) The stiffest sole we tried, the Monte Rosa’s power transfer was tangible, and the soft suede upper added instant comfort.

WAM OSUMMER’2010”

Moving Mountains Shannon Galpin fights for women’s rights in Afghanistan, becomes the first woman to ride a mountain bike there, and finds her own strength in the process. By Jayme Otto Photography By Tony Di Zinno

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or her first-time visit to a prison, Shannon Galpin thought it couldn’t have gone better. She’d just pulled away from a soviet-era women’s compound in a remote village in northern Afghanistan. The 35-year-old was planning to start a program there to educate the inmates, most of them victims, imprisoned because, when an Afghan woman is raped, the crime is her fault. She’d brought a photographer to document the prison so that she would be able to tell the world about her plans. As Shannon relaxed into the backseat of the car, she smiled at their success. The photographer didn’t smile back. He jerked his head up, staring intently ahead through the windshield as the driver began to slow down. “Don’t stop!” he yelled. Shannon sat up and saw four men in the middle of the road waving their arms. The driver stopped. The men rushed the car, forced the driver out, and began beating him in the street. Over the thuds of kicks and punches, Shannon could hear him crying and begging for his life—and hers. Frozen, all she could do was stare at him, huddled on the ground. Shannon fought to control her emotions because she knew what it felt like to be a victim. Nearly 20 years ago, she’d been attacked at knifepoint while walking home through a park in Minneapolis. Now a world away, the noise of human struggle and the sound of the driver’s begging brought back unwelcome memories. The photographer had crept into the front seat, ready to accelerate away from the struggle, but as quickly as they’d yanked the driver from the car, the bearded assailants threw him back in. Bloodied and bruised, he stepped on the gas pedal and they fled the scene. Not far away, they reached a police checkpoint where officers warned them there was Taliban activity in the area. The warning came too late. The officers warned that the Taliban were targeting drivers who transported foreigners as a scare tactic to get aid workers and missionaries out of Afghanistan. The violent assault was

meant to clear the country of people like Shannon, people trying to help. The Taliban wanted the world to think Afghanistan was a hopeless cause, paving the way for their conservative militia to take over. Fortunately, it wasn’t working.

hannon has been to Afghanistan five times in the past three years. But witnessing this attack last spring was the closest she’d come to the type of danger she'd seen on television or in the newspapers at home—kidnappings, gang rape, torture. “I know these things incidents are survivable,” she says. “My main fear is if something more serious happened. I fear not coming back home at all. Not being alive for my five-year-old daughter." It’s a bold statement coming from a former ballerina who grew up in North Dakota. Behind her lithe frame and long blonde hair, Shannon’s experience with survival might seem slight. Her pretty, polished façade hides a secret that she’s only started speaking about very recently. Shannon doesn’t want the brutal rape she endured at the age of 17 to be the focal point of her work in Afghanistan, but she knows they’re connected. “I can’t justify raising my daughter in a world where a practice like rape is still socially acceptable in some places,” she says. “I have to do something about it.” She knows that she can’t stop rape from ever happening again, but Shannon feels compelled to challenge cultures that tolerate it, that criminalize the female victim instead of her perpetrator, or that openly use rape as a weapon of war. It’s not a coincidence that many of the cultures are the same ones that violate human rights on a daily basis: forcing women to marry against their will, or marry as children; denying girls access to education; permitting husbands to rape and beat their wives, or allowing honor killings—family murders of young women who have “dishonored” themselves or their families, sometimes with deeds as trivial as making eye contact or speaking with a stranger on the street. Inspired by author Greg Mortenson and his best-selling book, Three Cups of Tea, which documented his own efforts to help Afghan girls, Shannon stepped away from

a career as a personal trainer in 2006 and sank everything she had into creating her own non-profit, Mountain 2 Mountain. The name plays on the fact that Shannon lives in Breckenridge, Colorado, a mountain town, and that she is reaching out to women in Afghan mountain towns half a world away. After applying for her 501c3 and awaiting non-profit designation, Shannon got her feet wet by fundraising for Central Asia Institute, Mortenson’s organization. The experience taught her how to connect with donors and solidified her desire to improve the lives of women in Afghanistan. It also helped her realize that she wasn’t satisfied with just fundraising. Shannon wanted more direct involvement with the challenges on the ground in Afghanistan. She set up M2M to provide women’s education and training, believing it could bring positive change to entire communities. She hopes students in her programs become teachers in a country where only 14 percent of women have completed a formal education, or that they become midwives in a country with the highest maternal death rate in the world—where a pregnant woman dies every 30 minutes. She hopes they’ll start money-making co-ops and bring much-needed cash to the countryside where two-thirds of the population lives on fewer than two U.S. dollars a day. By educating children, saving lives, and increasing family and community income, these women will slowly break down their culture’s built-in gender inequality. As perceptions change, women’s rights will evolve within their own villages, literally transforming Afghanistan from the inside out. Besides tipping the balance toward equality, women’s education has far-reaching and positive effects on the economy. Data from the Nike Foundation’s “The Girl Effect,” an initiative started last year to recognize the positive impact of investing in female adolescents in developing countries, is staggering. It suggests that a girl with seven years of education marries four years later than a girl who

Bikes aren’t the only thing Shannon has ridden in Afghanistan, she’s pictured here atop a horse outside of Kabul’s Ghazi Stadium.

WAM OSUMMER’2010”

never goes to school, and that she’ll have 2.2 fewer children. Education also translates to a better understanding of health and nutrition, lowering the spread of communicable diseases such as HIV, and reducing malnutrition by up to 43 percent. If 10 percent more girls enter secondary school, a country’s economy grows three percent. “You can’t deny the powerful social and economic change that comes about when girls have the opportunity to participate in their society,” Shannon says. “Education and training are the first step.” Shannon thinks Afghanistan is ripe for women-driven change. Thanks to a heavy American presence for the last decade, and Buddhism’s foothold in Afghanistan before the Taliban takeover in 1996, there is more temperance with regard to religious extremism than you see in traditionally Islamic fundamentalist countries like Saudi Arabia or Yemen. Case in point: two women in Afghanistan ran for president in the last election. Two parliament seats in each province are reserved for women, so 64 of the 249 lawmakers are female. Not everyone accepts or condones this, but it’s undeniable that the seeds of women’s progress are there. “Those seeds inspire me,” says Shannon. “You have women not only willing to take on great personal risk, but who are demanding to further women’s rights in their country. When you have women like that already pushing those boundaries, you want to do everything you can to support and encourage them, to be a catalyst so that they can create change in their own society.” Mountain 2 Mountain’s projects this year are based on that concept— being a catalyst—and several of the projects focus on sparking women’s empowerment. The first program educates women in prisons so that girls like Maymameh—an 18-year-old who

was convicted of adultery after being raped by her brother-in-law—have skills to fall back on after serving their sentence. Education and training are particularly critical for women in prison, since most have been disowned by their families or, as in Maymameh’s case, fear for their lives once they’re released from jail. Maymameh’s husband has sworn to kill her to restore his “honor.” M2M has programs in the works or up and running at a half-dozen women’s prisons. Another project teaches midwifery skills to rural women. Though most villages have a doctor, the demand for medical skills is greater than the supply, and Afghan women who live far from towns often can’t afford to travel or seek out pre- and postnatal care. Along with Afghanistan’s abysmal maternal death rate, it also has the highest newborn fatality rate in the world. M2M starts girls as young as ten years old in a four-week intensive training program that focuses on basic sanitation and prenatal care. The girls learn skills for delivering and caring for newborns and mothers; skills that have cut birthrelated fatalities in rural communities by 70 percent. M2M follows up with annual continuing education programs that culminate after five years with each candidate earning a certificate. Shannon’s found that M2M’s other goal, providing general education to women, is strongly tied to the midwifery training program. When she tried to establish a girl’s school in the province of Panjshir, 90 miles north of Kabul, community elders dragged their feet about building it. Although land was available and Shannon’s team was standing by for construction, the school’s progress stalled. When Shannon switched the discussion to midwifery, everyone’s eyes lit up—the village doctor needed help. As it turned out, midwifery was a skill they valued much more than reading and writing. Up to that point, every

woman in the village was illiterate and Shannon explained how this would impede them from learning the skills to save the lives of women and babies. How could they read a prescription label or pass along medical records? Within days the men of the village agreed on the adamant need for a girl’s school and Shannon will spend part of this summer in Panjshir working out the details. “All they needed was a practical reason to understand why girls’ education was important to their community,” she says. These are ambitious projects for a young non-profit. But Shannon has an effective approach to fundraising, as evidenced by the $100,000 she brought in during M2M’s first year. She focuses on mountain-sports enthusiasts and art communities, organizing events like the annual fundraising trail run in Breckenridge called “Race to the Mountains.” M2M’s latest multimedia art exhibit, “The Streets of Afghanistan,” will premier in August in Denver, with exhibitions in Park City, Utah, and Washington D.C. planned before the end of the year. It’s already scheduled for venues in New York, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and a handful of other major (and mountain) cities in 2011. But Shannon’s crown-jewel fundraiser for 2010 is a cycling event. She took up mountain biking right before she launched M2M, and doesn’t think the timing was coincidence. She credits the sport for giving her the guts to carry out her quest for women’s empowerment in Afghanistan. It was, after all, a medium for her own empowerment. Taking on the hills of Colorado by bike gave her back a sense of control over her body. It was perhaps the final bit of reinforcement she needed that she was strong and resilient. “I really feel like learning to ride changed me,” she says. “Not to sound hippy drippy, but I didn’t feel like a rape victim any more. Instead I felt like a force to be reckoned with.” For M2M’s flagship fundraiser, Shannon is organizing community rides in Denver, Colorado Springs, Park City, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., New York, and Hawaii, with new locations still being added. Each city’s ride will be different, a reflection of the individuality of that community—a road race in Los Angles, for example, and a mountain-bike ride through the snow in Park City. The rides, dubbed The Panjshir Tour, will take place

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simultaneously on October 3rd. The date marks the one-year anniversary of Shannon’s first mountain bike ride in Afghanistan, and Shannon will be riding through Panjshir’s countryside on the same date this year, too. Her hope is to attract attention to M2M’s projects among Americans and among local people in Panjshir. “The intent is to connect our donor communities with our project communities through the power of the pedal,” she says as she outlines her long-term goal of holding bicycle events in several countries and raising money to empower women in Afghanistan, on the same day women there take to two wheels.

s integral as biking has become to M2M’s mission, it wasn't apparent to Shannon at first that her love of the sport would carry into her work in Afghanistan. But in 2008, en route to visit a women’s prison in the city of Mazar-i-Sharif, she got to see the backside of 13,000-foot Salang Pass, a part of Afghanistan she’d never seen before. “I remember looking at the goat paths thinking this would be some of the most incredible mountain biking in the world,” she said. She talked to her translator, Hamid, about the feasibility of riding those trails. Women in Afghanistan don’t ride bikes, and if they did, they would meet a brutal punishment, or even death. “He said I was crazy, but that logistically it was doable,” Shannon said. “That’s all I needed to hear.” She decided to try her first ride in the province of Panjshir, not only because several M2M projects were already located there, but because it has been a stronghold of the Northern Alliance, a military-political coalition that took over from the Taliban in 2002. Panjshir

is one of the most unlikely places to encounter the Taliban and one of the least conservative areas in Afghanistan. Last fall, she dismantled the sturdy hard-tail bike she’d built five years ago to ride Colorado’s rocky trails, packed it up, and took it with her to Afghanistan. With it loaded into the back of a Toyota Corolla, Hamid drove her to a remote section of Panjshir and they followed a riverbed until they found a goat path—a good place to ride because of the low probability of landmines. Shannon set off and Hamid waited by the car. When she returned, a small group of men had gathered, but she could tell by Hamid’s smile that the crowd was curious, not angry. These were local goat herders, not the Taliban. Shannon took the opportunity to ask them their opinions. What do you think of women riding bikes, of women playing sports, of girls’ education? The response was so encouraging that she found herself talking about M2M and her mission. She decided to do it again. For several days, she and Hamid went out, following the same routine, staying remote, looking for a goat path. But each time, they moved slightly closer to populated areas. Each time that Shannon returned to the car, people had gathered and dialog ensued. Without fail, M2M would come up, and Shannon would be invited to someone’s village to help. Finally, Shannon got the courage to bike the main road Panjshir. She passed old Soviet tanks, police checkpoints, and dozens and dozens of people. “It absolutely blew their minds, seeing a woman riding through the hills on a bike,” she says. She dressed conservatively, covering her entire body, even wearing a headscarf under her helmet. Shannon’s fair skin and light eyes clearly set her apart as a foreigner, so men’s perceptions were different for her than they would have been if their wives or daughters did the same. Potential animosity changed to curiosity. “What I didn’t expect was how many barriers were broken by my bicycle,” she said. People wanted to engage with me because they had never seen anything like it before. It sparked conversation in a way I could never have imagined.” Her ride as part of the Panjshir Tour this year will be an expanded version of those successful day trips. She plans to do a multi-day ride along the province’s

primary road. The rolling course will cover paved highway as well as dirt, and if conditions allow, she’ll climb to 14,000-foot Anjuman Pass, which marks the provinces northern border. While she originally chose to ride in Panjshir because the province’s relative lack of Taliban, she acknowledges that this year’s ride presents a greater risk. Her outings will be more public, and word of her travels will spread more quickly than she rides. Spectators will be anticipating her arrival. One can’t help but wonder, is this ride worth the risk? On the upside, it exposes Shannon and her mission to local Afghans in a ground breaking new way. Her courage and vulnerability, paired with her status as a curiosity, create understanding and encourage collaboration on both sides. Her ride provides an opportunity for Afghans and Americans to interact, without the presence of guns, and it’s a baby step that is breaking down barriers for women in Afghanistan. Shannon is even design a modest tricycle to introduce women in her midwifery training programs to the joys of riding. The scale of the impact that Shannon’s ride will have is small compared to M2M’s other programs and projects, and the chances of the situation turning dangerous are high. The price of this ride could be her life, yet Shannon’s mind is made up. For her, it’s tied to the goals of M2M in an inseparable fashion: her own violent past, the struggle of women in Afghanistan, the mountains, the bike, her future. She admits it’s a connection she still doesn’t fully comprehend, but that it’s what she needs to do. Studies by “The Girl Effect” program have shown that empowering women in developing counties makes them agents for positive social and economic change. Women then become the solution instead of the victims. Biking in Afghanistan may be Shannon’s own personal empowerment. A rite of passage, if you will, that solidifies her as part of the solution. ■ www.mountain2mountain.org

Shannon’s work involves visiting schools, like this boy’s school in Kabul’s Murad Khane district (opposite), and making friends with local militia (above).

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Paddle Out Like water, memories pool. In our mind’s eye they surface occasionally in churning eddies of emotion. They swell almost imperceptibly, and crash like waves in a turbulent, violent thunder that dissipates as quickly as it rolled in from the horizon. Maybe that’s why time spent on the water, balancing and harnessing its power, means so much. Perhaps that’s why lazy floats and wild river rides stay with us long after our shorts have dried and our life jackets hang among cobwebs in the garage. Or why one undesired moment under a river’s swirling surface can stretch into a lung-burning eternity. In the following pages, we present the stories of three women who explore their own lives’ journeys through a lens of muddied water. With millions of paddle strokes, they’ve experienced it as a life-forming current, a strengthening force, and a longed-after love. We hope these stories will inspire you to grab a paddle, find life’s rapids, and run with them.

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Dancing With the River Gods Again By Pam Houston Each year, I swear, will be my last one on the river. Every September, as I roll up my boats for the last time and dry out my life jackets, as I count my bangs and bruises, and count my broken oar blades, and count my lucky stars, I think I’ve finally gotten it out of my system. I load my boats into my truck and take a long last look at the ribbon of water that has carried me more or less safely for the last five days, and the last 10 years. I say an elaborate and heartfelt thank you to the river gods, and I promise never to tempt them again.

are strictly cosmetic: there are a few little scratches where Martin held onto the side with his fingernails after he got knocked out of the boat in Powerhouse Rapid on the Middle Fork of the Salmon. There’s the scuff mark on the bottom from the time Donald and I came down the fish ladder by mistake at low water on the Rogue. I have pictures of us coming down that fish ladder, bumping and spinning, the oars useless in my hands and the biggest smiles imaginable on our faces. I have pictures of Martin too, hauled back in the boat, laughing and shaking off like a dog because Pistol Creek rapid was just around the corner and there was plenty of water to bail before we all had to get serious again. I have pictures of the night after we hit the Wall on the Dolores, of Oliver starting off five hours of spontaneous singing, our voices raised in unmistakably happy-to-be-alive tones.

I have a picture in my mind of getting Last fall I went so far as to put an ad in the pulled out of the water in Cataract, gasppaper: “One 16-foot inflatable raft for sale, ing for air and looking frantically around good condition.” for J.J., and then seeing her, safe and also gasping, and knowing in that moment we Well, pretty good condition. Except for would always, always, be friends. I have a the patch on the floor that covers the hole picture in my mind of the full moon over I punctured on the first day of a 14-day the Tatshenshini’s glaciers, and the sound Tatshenshini trip, overloaded as we were with rain gear and food. The glacial water was so swift and silvery I couldn’t see the rocks, and the air was so cold and damp we never did get the patch to stick right. Then there’s that little tear in the right rear tube where the oar handle caught the rubber last time the boat turned upside down. It happened in the hole they call Satan’s Gut, in Cataract Canyon of the Colorado at highwater. One minute I was rowing like mad, thinking I had read the water just right, and the next minute all I could see and breathe and taste was water. My friend J.J. and I were two tiny life-jacketed corks, gasping and tumbling, holding our breath and praying to whoever it is you pray to when there’s 70,000 cubic feet per second of water pushing you over rocks as big as aircraft carriers, down pour-offs as steep and high as a bungee jump platform, the upside-down boat useless and too far upriver to reach. Those are the only two patches, although the frame doesn’t sit on the boat quite straight since I crashed into “the Wall” at the end of the Snaggletooth series on the Dolores. Other than that, the problems

The Lesson

By Paula Matarrese

t started with a free kayak—or, rather, a kayak I earned with points from heavy-handed credit card use. As I paged through the rewards booklet, I considered luggage, cookware, and other shiny toys as prizes for the hard-earned, road-warrior points I’d accumulated during a year of business travel. Then, a bright blue, two-person kayak caught my eye on the last page. That’s cool, I remember thinking. I stopped for a second and envisioned kayaking with my husband on a northern Wisconsin lake. I lingered there for a minute, fingering the glossy photo, turning the possibility over in my mind. I had just enough points to make the purchase, but I had never kayaked before. I had no knowledge about this make and style of boat, and I hadn’t a clue how to actually get the thing to a lake in order to use it. Still, the prospect of owning a kayak intrigued me. The following day I picked up the phone and dialed the number. The kayak arrived one week later, special delivery due to its size. As I mo-

“The next minute all I could see and breathe and taste was water.”

of the ice calving as we slept, and didn’t sleep, in the long twilight hours of the Alaskan summer night. I remember our fear of the grizzly bears whose footprints surrounded our tents each morning—and also our wonder. I awake from the reverie and suddenly it’s April. The snow is melting and the trees are blossoming and I hear myself thinking, “It’s starting to feel like river time again.” Lucky for me no one wanted to buy a boat in what is actually only fair condition, a boat filled up with so many memories it hardly needs air. I drag it out of the shed and stick a little more glue under the patches. It’s time to dance with the river gods again. <<

tioned the delivery men into my backyard, I realized how big and heavy of a thing I had purchased. “What are you going to do with that?” my husband asked. Since I’d bought the boat on a whim and without him knowing, I had to admit: I didn’t know. I felt embarrassed by my impulsivity. But then, Big Blue, as she came to be known, started to grow on us. She was there during morning coffee and also at dinner, looming large on the outside patio next to the kitchen table. Our eagerness gained momentum. We started imagining leisurely summer days on the water and investigating car racks, PFDs, and the loot we’d need to turn our kayak trip into a reality. I started to believe that maybe this wasn’t such a foolish purchase after all.

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But then a phone conversation with my husband one evening while I was away on business curbed our enthusiasm. During a softball game, he’d had trouble with his right leg. I joked about getting older, but his voice was terse. “No, this is different,” he said. “Something is wrong.” From my hotel room, I could hear the fear in his voice. A momentary shiver hit my spine, but I pushed it aside to respond encouragingly, telling him we’d visit the family doctor. One referral led to another, and we finally got a diagnosis from a neurologist: ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease. This degenerative neuromuscular disease is fatal, and there is no cure. Disbelief alternated with fits of numbness, anger, and panic. We stored Big Blue, along with many other life plans, in the garage, and we shifted our focus to the much bigger challenge now ahead of us. On a late-summer morning a year and a half later, I sat, a new widow, surrounded by an early-morning crispness that hinted at fall. I had just endured yet another sleepless night roaming my house in search of a new life. Emptiness, rage, and sadness ebbed and flowed within. I rose to open the door to the garage, and I nearly suffocated from the visages of my old life: tools, a truck, and other items that belonged to a man who’d died. Nothing fit with my new life except perhaps one thing. Peeking out from a tarp was a pointy blue nose. “I’m here,” she said. Within days I’d found a kayak lesson for “all levels” just 15 minutes from my house. I bit my lip with anxiety and signed up. Soon after, on a fall day, I sat in a halfcircle of people. The instructor was predictably mid-30s and wiry, with a sandy beard and rugged good looks seasoned by sun and wind exposure. He turned the floor to the group, asking each of us to give an introduction. Almost every person was part of a couple or had plans for future travel. As the intros continued, murmurs arose, people squirmed and fidgeted, and the instructor’s face glazed over with a look that said, “I’ve heard it all before.” Then came my turn. My mouth opened, but I couldn’t think of a single reason why I was there. Suddenly, I blurted it out: “My husband died two weeks ago. I bought a tandem kayak for us, but we never got to use it.” The instructor squinted in disbelief, and the half-circle snapped back 62 WAM OSUMMER’2010”

to life. People looked at me, I felt my face turning red, and I resisted the urge to cry. “So I have no experience,” I croaked.

those years, I had no use for a two-person kayak. Finally, it became clear: Big Blue needed a home, and it wasn’t mine.

I immediately regretted what I’d said and my decision to sign up for the lesson. I had placed an unfair burden on a group of strangers. But words can’t be erased. I had changed the mood of the group, and now I was the spoiler of fun, the group outcast, as the one who’d dared to venture out a mere two weeks after my husband’s death.

Within 24 hours of placing an ad, a family with four excited boys came for her. It took six of us to hoist her onto their truck’s roof and strap her in place. I realized at that moment, as I watched the truck pull away, that although I never paddled her, she’d served me well. <<

Mercifully, we carried on with the lesson, going over PFDs, foot pedal adjustments, paddle techniques, and wet exits. When we broke for lunch, I still felt embarrassed by my earlier revelation, so I steered clear of the group. But then, as I ate, the only other single person from the crowd approached. I couldn’t remember his name or his story, but he was definitely heading my way. “That was mighty brave of you,” he said. I had no idea what he meant. “Coming here after you husband died,” he continued, “that takes a lot of courage.” I was too stunned to say anything. “I lost my Betty a while back,” he said. “Cancer. You have to get out and force yourself to do things even if it’s alone. Even if you don’t want to.” I stared, silent. My pain was too new to understand his words, but I was grateful for that moment, the water, the beautiful sunny day, and this man—a comrade in loss and sadness who had chosen to carry on. That first kayak lesson was seven years ago. I’ve since taken other lessons and purchased a sleek, sultry fiberglass single kayak. I’ve spent more money on equipment than I care to remember. I’ve moved to another city and changed careers twice. I’ve kayaked rivers and lakes and learned to Eskimo roll. Along the way, I’ve found kayaking buddies and even a new husband with a single kayak of his own. I’ve also learned that good can come from bad and that courage can be defined many different ways. For seven years Big Blue followed me through my new life—from one garage to another. She stayed in my wake, but she never touched water. For most of

Riverboy Knew By Becca Katz

iverboy understood canoes. He was in touch with their distinctive personalities, knowing precisely how they would respond to his silent paddle strokes, the tilt of his hips, the lean of his chest. On the water, he and his craft moved effortlessly. The canoe fused to his lower body. Together they were an aquatic centaur. Riverboy was like that with people, too. He knew just what to say to illicit the best from me. The first time I ever felt graceful was with him. When we met, I was an awkward 13-year-old girl, paddle in hand, with a big yellow life jacket half covering my swimsuit. Water dripped from my matted ponytail and landed next to my soggy tennis shoes. He looked at me, his scraggly ponytail bleached blond from the sun, his baggy, ripped canvas shorts hanging on his exposed hip bones and touching down just past his knees, his blue eyes sparkling against his tanned complexion. He smiled and looked right past my braces and baby fat to the paddler hiding inside—a strong, elegant, water-moving force. “Let’s get some canoes on the water. Can you grab that end?” he asked. The Grummans, as he called them, were 17 feet long, aluminum, and painted safety orange. On the bows’ starboard sides, he’d stenciled the names of past canoe leaders in John Deere green. They deserved and commanded respect. As did he. In the early-morning quiet, Riverboy would paddle. He’d playfully spin, dip, and glide, effortlessly tracing the sunrise’s reflection upon the lake’s smooth surface. I used to sit on the womensadventuremagazine.com

“I was grateful for that moment, the water, the beautiful sunny day, and this man —a comrade in loss and sadness.” waterfront steps and watch him perform his paddling dance. I remember looking at the rows of clunky aluminum hulls and hearing them, noisy in the water. There was a constant sloshing sound of waves hitting the chines or crashing against the bows. These boats dent easily. They creak when you portage them. They soak up water and hold it until they’re waterlogged. Their best quality is a pronounced keel that tracks straight and true, conducive for beginner paddlers. Being 13 made me feel like a Grumman. There were also wood and canvas canoes that occupied special racks in the boathouse, shielded from the sun’s damaging UV light. Sometimes Riverboy would open up the rickety garage doors to show us the delicate-skinned creatures. They looked so sleek, resting with their hulls toward the boathouse ceiling, their smooth, deep orange bellies exposed to the air. “Canoes should only touch three things,” said Riverboy, holding up three fingers and waiting for my trained response. He ran his hands along the side of one of the canoes, caressing it. “Air, water, and hands,” I replied obediently. To him, a canoe was something to respect unconditionally. Every day I would go down to the boathouse, with or without a paddling partner, secretly hoping that no one else would show up. Usually, I got my wish. “Really lean out over the gunwale,” he said. “Even farther. Now scull your paddle back and forth like you’re spreading peanut butter on bread.”

thwart, I’d try a sweep stroke on the right, spinning the canoe. Then I’d track straight, modifying a standard stroke with an extra draw at the beginning and a little J at the end. Sometimes I’d dig in to spin circles or to slip sideways like a puck on ice. We spent the summer fine-tuning my skills, turning me from unstable paddler into confident canoeist. We compared the cumbersome feel of the Grummans to the smoothness and grace of wood and canvas. When I first met the more responsive canoes, they possessed a composure I envied. Their simplicity, their balance, the grain of the wood on exposed ribs—everything about these canoes was perfect. They would glide along the water without any resistance, confident in their chosen path. As I learned the personality of the different canoes, I knew exactly how each would respond to a small twist of my wrist. Paddling the wood and canvas boats made me want to disown the Grummans, to turn my back on their clunkiness. I wanted to slip through the water on wood and canvas, listening to the loons, watching the smooth, ephemeral traces of my journey across the lake. But ignoring the Grummans wasn’t the answer. Like Riverboy, I learned how to talk to them, persuade them, and comfort them all. Riverboy taught me that a canoe is only as elegant as she who paddles it. <<

Riverboy had turned around to face me in the canoe and both of our bodies were stretched over the lake, weight pressing against our paddles, like human outriggers. He explained the physics: “A canoe is like a bowl. The curvier it is from bow to stern, the more easily it will spin.” Paddling solo, kneeling against the stern WAM OSUMMER’2010”

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OSUMMER’2010” Editorial leftovers from the fridge and trying to make something edible from them. Really, you’re just guessing, and no one’s ever too certain about the quality of the results. I’m reassured by my physician that I can’t die from IBS, nor lose part of my colon or become incontinent. I’ve been given a prescription for Bentyl, which works really well but also makes me high as a kite if I take the recommended dose. With one-quarter of the population suffering from IBS, you’d think that doctors would have more answers about the condition (what causes it, how you control it, what to eat when you have it) than some enthusiast chick named Heather whom I found on the Internet— but you’d be wrong.

Of Course I’m Irritable. I have IBS. By Michelle Theall I have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). There. I said it. It’s hard for me to admit because even the name sucks. I realize it’s tough to make cramping, diarrhea, nausea, gas, and bloating sexy, but maybe that’s because the ED (erectile dysfunction) folks hired all the superior marketing professionals. Every former NFL quarterback takes a little blue pill and brags about it on national television. Imagine what it might do for IBS if, say, Angelina Jolie appeared on a commercial during American Idol and said, “Please excuse my toots. I have IBS.” The idea isn’t so far-fetched. According to the International Foundation for Functional Gastric Disorders, over 25 percent of the world’s population suffers from IBS—and around 70 percent of those sufferers are women. Line up four movie starlets in a row, and at least one of them has IBS. She just isn’t talking about it.

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I didn’t want to have IBS. I tried to blame everything else for the rumble in the jungle that would wake me up at night and have me scrambling for facilities 20 minutes after every meal. I addressed my other health problems in an effort to eliminate the gastronomical events that were taking over my life. I had a uterine fibroid removed. Replaced all my mercury fillings. Became a vegetarian. Started taking fiber pills and probiotics. Got tested for gluten intolerance and parasites. Had an endoscopy and a colonoscopy to rule out Crohn’s disease, colon cancer, polyps, inflammatory bowel disease, ulcers, and GERD (Gastroesophageal reflux disease). As a result, I have more pictures of my intestines than I do of my dog. IBS is one of those diseases in which you find out what you have by what you don’t have. There are no definitive diagnostic criteria. It’s like taking the

Heather Van Vorous has written a couple of books about living with IBS, and I think she’s right on the money with her advice. I found out I’d been doing everything wrong. IBS is caused by the gastrointestinal tract’s overreaction to inflammation. Inflammation is caused by certain trigger foods, notably insoluble fiber and high-fat foods. Vegetables, meat, butter, oil, dairy, and whole grains irritate the gut. Soluble fiber, including fresh sourdough, French bread, corn cereals, most starches, and even refined sugars, do not. That’s good news. Now I’m a 43-year-old woman living on sugar-coated Corn Pops cereal and sweet potatoes. Of course, no one can live well on the nutritional value of a box of animal crackers—although I’m still trying to prove otherwise. I take a multivitamin, drink peppermint tea and Eater’s Digest Tea (fennel, a digestive aid, is a key ingredient), and try to begin any high-trigger-food meals by eating soluble fiber first. I’m learning to embrace my IBS and come out of the water closet about it, so to speak. If only some Hollywood A-listers or Olympic gold medalists would join me, my journey to acceptance would finally be complete. ■ For more about IBS, go to www. helpforibs.com or www.aboutibs.org.

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