Bear Spray and Bad Toes

About an hour and a half into my hike today my left toes started to hurt.

At first it was just a ping of pain, but before long I was limping badly and had to make the strategic decision to find my way down the mountain to the highway and try hobbling my way up the highway back to the trailhead where my car was parked several miles up the road. That way, if I got to the point where I could not walk at all, at least I could flag down a car and hitch a ride.

As I hobbled along the famous scenic byway (Hwy 101), looking like a vagabond, I took in the endless expanse of blue and white. The sun was shining so bright in the azure sky, and it felt so good on my face.

The roar of the waves beside me was almost deafening. I imagined I was Bill Bryson on the Appalachian Trail – or Reese Witherspoon in the movie Wild – walking alone from Mexico to Canada. I always find these sorts of stories inspiring, and I have often contemplated walking the Camino del Santiago.

But it is days like this that hold me back.

I worry I will get halfway between two villages in remote Portugal only to have my chronic tendonitis flare up and leave me stranded alone in the wilderness. But the truth is, the Camino is full of people just like me, and you are never alone.

It is kind of like my life: I am by myself most of the time, but not really alone. All around me are people, friends, customers, children, and even strangers. I am not lonely. Alone does not need to be a negative. Alone is not a disability. 

Alone is liberating. 

I am strong and smart and can figure out whatever it is I need to figure out. I may not always be able to run, but I can hobble.

I belong to a Facebook group called SOLO Women Travellers Over 50. There are over 12,000 members. Some are seasoned travellers like me, others are there just reading others’ stories, trying to get the courage to see the world on their own.

I wonder why so many women are afraid to travel alone? Men travel alone all the time. Why are women willing to believe that they are somehow less capable than men? Why do women relinquish their autonomy, deny their strength, and doubt their capacity? 

Who convinced them they couldn’t do it?

Oh yeah, I remember, society convinced them. Despite it being 2023, our society continues to treat women like they are less than men. In relationships it is a fact that women do most of the housework and most of the childcare, despite women working the same number of hours outside of the home as their husbands. And in the workplace, women are paid less than men for the same job. 

Frankly, it makes me sick. As Beale said in the iconic 1976 film, Network, "I am mad as hell, and I am not going to take this anymore!" 

If we women don't believe we are equal, how will we ever convince men we are equal (and yeah, yeah, I get that my upper body strength is less than a man's and I don't have a penis).

So, if you are afraid to travel alone – believe me when I say travelling alone is AMAZING!

When I travel alone, I can wake up when I want to, eat when I want to, and go where I want to. I stay somewhere as long as I want to, leave after 2 minutes if I want to, or never leave the hotel if I want to. I can go to bed at 6pm if I want to, wake up at 3 am if I want to, snore, bathe, and poop when I want to. I don’t have to wait for anyone, don’t have to share the bathroom, and don’t have to negotiate the day’s agenda. And best of all I don’t have to let other people’s fears limit what I do.

Someone recently asked me, aren’t you afraid to hike alone? And the answer is yes. I think about bears a lot. I carry a bear horn, and bear spray and I sing a lot on the trails. But I do not let my fear stop me – because the truth is, human-bear incidents are rare in Oregon. Black bear populations number between 25,000 to 30,000 statewide but there have only been five reported incidents in the state since 1988, none of them fatal, so, it is kind of dumb to worry about bears. I have a better chance of dying on the highway driving to the trailhead.

That’s the thing about fear: it is not always rational. And you can choose to let your irrational brain keep you from enjoying life to the fullest, or you can set aside your fear, and live!

That is not to say I am careless. I do research, I plan, and I am prepared. I always text someone back home where I am going each morning. I carry a pack with water and food in case I get lost. I take a photo of the trail map with me in case I lose internet service (which is all the time on the Oregon coast), and I know where the tsunami evacuation routes are. And when I am travelling alone, I do not go out at night. 

Lots of people do go out at night, and that is their choice of course, but I generally prefer to stay home, cook a nice meal, enjoy a glass of wine, and binge watch Grey’s Anatomy.

Yesterday I watched 10 episodes. Yup, ten! From 3 pm when I got home from hiking, until midnight… and that is something that would NEVER HAPPEN if I were not travelling alone!

Hmmm, it is possible my irrational brain was in control yesterday…

Going Down Under

 

Koalas here I come! 

When I started this blog in 2017 it was to chronicle how I could retire at 50 and travel the world, without having millions of dollars. I have written on many subjects and have told hundreds of travel tales. Readers have come around the world with me and have shared in my experiences - both good and bad.

When I share personal stories - I am writing for me. Writing is a form of therapy. But when I write about travel, and how I manage luxury travel for less (sounds like a brand), I am writing for you. I genuinly want people to be learn how to travel - even if they do not have a lot of money. It can be done - I am living proof.

For more than a decade I have been travelling the world - close to 50 countries now. I have learned about myself and my world, and have truly been transformed by my experiences. Seeing how most of the world lives is humbling.

Travel however, takes time to research, plan, and organize, and yes, it costs money, but over time I have learned better ways of travelling, and  for less money, and it is this learning that I like to share with others.

In the past, I have always flown in economy. Yuck. I had no choice. Spending thousands on tickets was just not an option I cared to take. Thanks to my brother, the Biz Class Bum, I am learning how to travel business class without paying business class prices. I mentioned this in my blog in January when I booked my ticket to Bali, but it is worth mentioning again as following the steps in my brothers blog has not only saved me thousands of dollars, but I am now, for the first time in my life, flying business class.

Although I have not yet gone to Bali, I just booked a ticket to Brisbaine, Australia for next November! I am excited to head down under for four months to hang out with koalas, kangaroos, and to do some snorkling at the great barrier reef. You should think abut joining me. Seriously. My total cost for the ticket there was just over a hundred bucks plus 100K Aeroplan points. (I have not yet booked my ticket home.) I will be flying on the new 787 Dreamliner - the most energy efficient aircraft in existance. Flying has a sizable carbon footprint (something that does not elude me and which I struggle with internally quite a bit), so being able to fly on the Boeing 787 helps eleviate my guilt.

Collecting travel points is a game you only win by getting certain sign-up bonuses available on particular cards, at particular times. It is NOT about spending a lot of money. I retired early and without a pension...so I don't have a lot of money. The 3 biz class tickets I have bought since starting this game less than a year ago, cost a total of about $300 and 260K aeropplan points - and I certainly did not spend $260K dollars to get those points. Not even close. 

 If you want to learn how to do the points thing, just check out my brother's blog and if you have any questions, I will be happy to help you. I have two friends who I have helped so far, and one of them has managed to purchase two biz class tickets since starting in May without spending a dime more than he would have otherwise.

In just over a month, I will leave on my very first business class trip. I am flying to Bali on Eva Air - considered one of the swankiest airlines for biz class. Swanky means I get pajamas for sleeping in that are designed by New York luxury fashion designer Jason Wu, and Dom Perignon champagne, and a three course dinner complete with aged wines from around the world. 

At 61 years of age, and after a year of super hard work building my permacuture demonstration garden,  where I personally moved by wheel barrel 5 cubic yards of mulch, 8 cubic yards of compost, 5 cubic yards of gravel and 3 cubic yards of crush, I am going to really enjoy this trip.

Best of all though, I get to lay flat and get a decent night's sleep on the 20+ hour flight which stops in Taipei. My three bulging discs are going to thank me for taking the time to learn to play the points game. In fact, my damaged back is the reason I started collecting points. It was that - or give up long haul travel.

Until I leave for Bali, I am enjoying driving down the west coast of the U.S. by myself, foraging for mushrooms in the amazing forests of Washington state and walking the  breathtaking beaches on the coast of Oregon. 

Today I am in Cannon Beach, Oregon and after a quick forest foray am headed to Newport where I will spend the next five weeks. Once settled there I hope to get my Global Village Permaculture website built, start my taxes, record and publish my book as an audio book, play some pickleball, and of course, take a daily forage into the forest for both edible and medicinal mushrooms.

Last summer I began living my dharma - teaching courses on edible and medicinal flowers, permaculture basics, and on how to build a food forest. Next fall I hope to add a mushroom foraging class - taking participants into the forest with me.

Teaching these skills is something I am passionate about, and as the world wakes up to the truth of how indespensible fungi are, and the important role their mycelium network plays in keeping our planet alive, I hope to small part in facilitating that knowledge - not just for the sake of food security, something else I am passionate about, but for the sake of our planet's very survival.

Seeing the Treasures in the Rain

This is my second trip through the Pacific Northwest hiking and foraging for edible mushrooms. The last time I did this was during covid. I crossed at the very same U.S. Canada border crossing and began my trip not too far away from where I am now at the base of Mount Baker.

I left for that trip in the middle of October, two weeks earlier than this time. Last time, my timing was perfect. The leaves in the forest were a vibrant yellow that made the forest look aglow. This time however, I left two weeks later, and the large yellow maple leaves are all on the ground forming a wet, slimy, golden carpet several inches thick that effectively blankets the ground and, yup, you guessed it, covers the mushrooms.

Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of fungi around growing on mossy logs, up the sides of trees, and pushing through the thickness of decaying leaves, but it makes mushroom hunting much more difficult.

I love the forest.

Being in the forest awakens my senses. I love the smell of decaying wood and soggy leaves. I love the moss that covers all the trees turning every surface into a moist, lime green carpet.

I love the way the ground springs when I walk on the spongy floor of pine needles, and how the sunlight filters through the treetops making everything glitter.

Being in the forest grounds me. Connects me with something much bigger than myself. When I walk in the forest, I feel like I am part of it – connected through the mycelial network beneath my feet. Although I am alone, I feel a part of something special. Something enduring.

Being in the forest slows me down. As I wrote in my book Around the World: A JourneyInward “Busy is not better; it just creates noise that keeps me from being in the moment. Busy lies. Busy blinds.” 

As I tread gently and slowly through the forest looking for mushrooms, I carefully analyze the space around each step I take, searching for those little treasures, and if I walk slow enough, I always find some. I see fungi with caps the size of pin heads. Others that are as large as a soccer ball. I see mushrooms that are red, yellow, green, white, and brown. Some have minuscule hair on them while others are full of jelly. Some are the shape of pigs’ ears and some look like coral. It is too bad that most mushrooms spring forth in the spring and fall when the sky must unleash its unrelenting - but needed - torrent of water.

I hate rain.

Walking in the rain annoys me. The moisture wicks up my pant legs until I am wet from the knees down. I have learned the hard way that bell bottom jeans are not conducive to walking in the rain, and good rain gear is essential to survive the inevitable deluge of nature’s nourishment.

Walking in the rain also fogs my glasses, making it impossible to see the treasures – the very reason I choose to commune with the forest.

 But, despite my indifference to the pitter patter of raindrops on the roof, and my disdain for these dramatic torrents, the joy of the forest wins out every time. The good outweighs the bad.

A great walk in the forest reminds me of relationships. We have to take the good with the bad.

Or do we?

It is true that relationships are never perfect. There will always be storms. But I believe I get to decide how much “rain” I am willing to live with. I get to set healthy boundaries and walk away when the good no longer outweighs the bad. When being cold and soaking wet risks my own health or sense of self.

Healthy relationships, like the forest, should awaken our senses as we look for each hidden treasure in our partner, sibling, or friend. A healthy relationship should lift our spirits and make the world sparkle. And when the rain comes, good gear is essential: that is, self-awareness and self-love. Without it you will drown in the atmospheric rivers that inevitably come. With it, getting wet is hardly noticeable.

I choose to only be in relationships where both people thrive, where you can both find treasures and where each person is appropriately geared up to weather the storm.

Only then will I be able to see the sunshine through the treetops.