Cruising some canyon on the Navajo Reservation.

Hi, my name is Kayla!  I need to admit that sometimes it is hard to get outside, especially when your mom is excited for some long slog.  Some other reasons it is difficult might be that you are just tired; there might be bad weather or you feel as if you don’t enough of the right gear to be outside.  I want share a few ways to help you get outside.

GET PREPARED!

What I have learned over the many hikes I have been on, it is good to be prepared.  Having a good night’s sleep the night before will make the early morning less painful.  A good meal before the hike is also important, because getting hungry on the trail is absolutely the worst.  Snacks are good to have as a power up on the trail, bring your favorites.  Important gear to have would be a backpack to carry any thing you might need like water, snacks, a map, a first aide kit or more importantly, an extra change of clothes, and speaking from personal experience I know it is always a good idea to keep a change of underwear and pants.  I’ve lost some of my favorite tights in the outdoors when bushwhacking (goodbye hand dyed, tie-dye yoga pants) and from the comfort of my couch (seriously, how can a spoon inflict so much damage!?!?).  Bring a camera or a phone to take pictures to remember what you did, its often really cool.

Last time the pants really lived, somewhere in Cedar Mesa.

Goodbye comfy greys.

Serious head protection heading to Mt. Sneffels.

One question to ask yourself is, “Are you physically ready for the hike?”  If you’re not in shape and you are going on a long hike it is going to be difficult.  Try to find a way to sneak in walking or stairs at school or after school to build up your endurance, some trails can be long AND steep!

Canyons typically mean a steep downhill and eventually a steep climb up.

EXPECT FAILURE!

Failure can always happen and it has happened to me in various ways.  Gear failure, I am familiar with, I have lost two pairs of amazing tights on hikes, I have forgot my hiking shoes, even had a stint where my underwear was worn more than I would like to admit.  Weather is a force and can spell failure if you are not prepared, but if brought your rain jacket, your ready for when it suddenly starts pouring rain, so you are able to keep going.  Another problem you can run into is not knowing the land around you and not having enough supplies to make it through the hike or even the night, this is failure in your general planning, lucky, my mom takes care of the big stuff.  Yet, it is still important to look at the map and know if your going to be in the desert or the mountains, because that means different planning.  Trail failure can be very bad because, this may ruin your whole plan for the day, due to mud or bad conditions.  Food failure happens when you pack too much food (you are your own mule) or you don’t pack enough (the worst situation, ever).  These are just more good reasons to be prepared.

Post-paddle board exhaustion. Domingo rafted hard all day too.

BE PROUD OF YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS!

Lastly, congratulate yourself on all the hard things you just did and the amazing places and spaces you just experienced. Just think of all the hikes that are yet to come and how much more you will see!

Moab Daily River trip, paddle boarded most of it, raft following for support and snacks!

Fish Point hike.