It something about the space out here. I can never quite explain how I feel or why but I know it when it happens. That overwhelming surge of freedom. The shift in perspective where suddenly, you are small and the land, whether it is open and flat for miles or large and towering above you, swallows you up. There is a part of me, a very large part, that finally feels like it is where it is supposed to be.
I want to keep that part happy and I want to keep it here longer. A month longer. So this trip was going to challenge a new part of me. The clean part. The I-sleep-in-beds-and-wash-in-showers part. The clean clothes, comfortable consumer, poop in toilets part. The I-pay-for-camping-and-sleep-in-the-fake-woods part. And I was PUMPed to see if this new part of me would rise to the dirt-bag challenge.
We arrived in Ten Sleep Canyon and set up camp there. I felt immediately comfortable, happy and then...a little ecstatic. That "part" of me came alive. A red-squirel alarm clock, crawling out of a tent to a vast view of the canyon, brushing my teeth in the trees. I became aware that I was quickly embracing the dirty. It was happening surprisingly fast. An anti-routine routine was forming. Then I realized... this "part" of me is really just the 9 year old kid I used to be. On the road, in cars and tents and in the canyon, she has been truly set free from where she has been caged up and forced in to a strict timeline of playtime only on the weekends. She came out JUMPING for JOY in her dirty feet, tangled hair and banged-up-bruised knees.
Learning that it is still completely within my power to allow the 9-year-old Lauren to live in unity with the adult (we will refrain from plastering my old-ass-age all over the net, thank you) Lauren, has been the most thrilling part. (I mean, that and a couple game-changing sends in my climbing world.) During this time, I have come across a few essentials that allow me to bridge the age gap and live successfully out in the dirty, wild, freedom of Ten Sleep Canyon...
Allow me to share my findings:
1. Wipes. ALL kinds of wipes. They are miracle workers in my opinion. Shower? Nah. Just a wipe, wipe, WIPE.
2. Hand Sanitizer. Just sometimes - its the key to one layer less grime before you eat. It's simple.
3. Headbands. Dirty hair? No problem. Just tuck it under some colorful cloth and you forget you even have hair. What hair? I don't need to wash any hair...
4. A spade, toilet paper and bug spray. They're essential - together - I'll leave it at that...
5. Dr. Bronners and rivers. Cold, fresh, flowing rivers. I could quite possibly never need a "real" shower again.
*6. Bag Balm. Derek (my boyfriend) would die without it.
The asterisk is there because the seriousness and necessity of the Bag Balm is all relative to your situation. In our case - it is a life-saving necessity. Without it, Derek would die. (see above)
(Also, it is of course helpful when your New England skin is too fragile and pampered to handle the dry, thin, air of the elevated west.)
I had missed the 9-year-old. She was a pretty cool chick in her day. She would play outside, barefoot and running like a maniac until her parents literally dragged her in, locked the slider door, and forced dinner upon her. I remember when she would stage rebellions against baths and bedtimes. She was a ringleader, confident and comfortable in her ways. (She was a touch bossy and little bit spiteful but...someone had to hold it down in the neighborhood.)
Turns out...She LIVES! And apparently - she loves to climb. I don't know where she has been for the past "few" (shut-up) years, but it is damn good to have her back. She is far more confident and up for the challenge. She is positive, light-hearted and playful. She has overthrown the tired, doubtful and apprehensive older Lauren - (MAN she was starting to get annoying). She seems to come alive out here. I guess she needs the space...and I can't say I blame her.
OPEN SPACE. a.k.a. Ten Sleep Canyon, WY.
I want to keep that part happy and I want to keep it here longer. A month longer. So this trip was going to challenge a new part of me. The clean part. The I-sleep-in-beds-and-wash-in-showers part. The clean clothes, comfortable consumer, poop in toilets part. The I-pay-for-camping-and-sleep-in-the-fake-woods part. And I was PUMPed to see if this new part of me would rise to the dirt-bag challenge.
We arrived in Ten Sleep Canyon and set up camp there. I felt immediately comfortable, happy and then...a little ecstatic. That "part" of me came alive. A red-squirel alarm clock, crawling out of a tent to a vast view of the canyon, brushing my teeth in the trees. I became aware that I was quickly embracing the dirty. It was happening surprisingly fast. An anti-routine routine was forming. Then I realized... this "part" of me is really just the 9 year old kid I used to be. On the road, in cars and tents and in the canyon, she has been truly set free from where she has been caged up and forced in to a strict timeline of playtime only on the weekends. She came out JUMPING for JOY in her dirty feet, tangled hair and banged-up-bruised knees.
Ok, she's in a bath here. And she's much younger.
STILL...she was pretty badass...
(Hi Linz!)
Learning that it is still completely within my power to allow the 9-year-old Lauren to live in unity with the adult (we will refrain from plastering my old-ass-age all over the net, thank you) Lauren, has been the most thrilling part. (I mean, that and a couple game-changing sends in my climbing world.) During this time, I have come across a few essentials that allow me to bridge the age gap and live successfully out in the dirty, wild, freedom of Ten Sleep Canyon...
Allow me to share my findings:
1. Wipes. ALL kinds of wipes. They are miracle workers in my opinion. Shower? Nah. Just a wipe, wipe, WIPE.
2. Hand Sanitizer. Just sometimes - its the key to one layer less grime before you eat. It's simple.
3. Headbands. Dirty hair? No problem. Just tuck it under some colorful cloth and you forget you even have hair. What hair? I don't need to wash any hair...
4. A spade, toilet paper and bug spray. They're essential - together - I'll leave it at that...
5. Dr. Bronners and rivers. Cold, fresh, flowing rivers. I could quite possibly never need a "real" shower again.
*6. Bag Balm. Derek (my boyfriend) would die without it.
The asterisk is there because the seriousness and necessity of the Bag Balm is all relative to your situation. In our case - it is a life-saving necessity. Without it, Derek would die. (see above)
(Also, it is of course helpful when your New England skin is too fragile and pampered to handle the dry, thin, air of the elevated west.)
I had missed the 9-year-old. She was a pretty cool chick in her day. She would play outside, barefoot and running like a maniac until her parents literally dragged her in, locked the slider door, and forced dinner upon her. I remember when she would stage rebellions against baths and bedtimes. She was a ringleader, confident and comfortable in her ways. (She was a touch bossy and little bit spiteful but...someone had to hold it down in the neighborhood.)
Turns out...She LIVES! And apparently - she loves to climb. I don't know where she has been for the past "few" (shut-up) years, but it is damn good to have her back. She is far more confident and up for the challenge. She is positive, light-hearted and playful. She has overthrown the tired, doubtful and apprehensive older Lauren - (MAN she was starting to get annoying). She seems to come alive out here. I guess she needs the space...and I can't say I blame her.
Ten Sleep Canyon, WY.
