Simple Life

I strive to live a more simplistic, outdoor, adventurous lifestyle. I recently went 49 days in a row of not sleeping in a bed or inside of a building. I re-wore every single pair of socks that I own about five times each because it had been that long since I had done laundry. I take, on average, about one shower a week. There was one time where I ate pb&j’s for seven meals in a row.

And life is incredible right now. There is not a day where I wake up and I am not beyond grateful with where I am in life. I feel like I am the luckiest person in the entire world because of all the opportunities that I have. I spend most nights in some of the most beautiful places in this entire country, I wake up to breathtaking sunrises, and I get to go on adventures every single day of my life. And I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world.

But this way of life is absolutely a love-hate relationship. Living an outdoor lifestyle is hard. It’s uncomfortable and frustrating and just flat out hard at times. But at the same time, it’s one of the most rewarding ways to live. It is an amazing lifestyle and it is completely worth the difficult times. You might have an incredible view from the top of a mountain, but the hike to get up there was not a walk in the park. You might be terrified to climb more than ten feet off the ground, but the feeling of accomplishment at the peak is indescribable. Great things in life don’t come easy. The best things in life come from facing struggles and hardships because those hard times make the end result that much more rewarding. I lived in Colorado this past summer, then I traveled throughout California for the fall and my life is now constantly filled with cowboy camping, backpacking, climbing, mountain biking, hiking, and so much more. These are all amazing adventures, but I can promise you, they don’t always come easy.

Backpacking is hard. Packs are heavy, sleeping pads are uncomfortable, hikes are long, nights are cold, bugs are annoying, animals are scary, the sun is hot… These and so many other things can be so frustrating and overwhelming in the backcountry. There are many times when I’m hiking, or laying in my tent thinking in my mind how hard it is and how much I don’t want to be there, I just want to be done and I just want to be back in the comforts of a nice cozy bed after a nice hot shower. But then I wake up to a breathtaking sunrise over the snowcapped mountains, or I fall asleep gazing up at an incredibly vast, star-filled sky, or I fill up on backcountry brownies while sitting by the fire, having a ukulele/guitar/mandolin jam session with some of the most amazing people in the world. And in those moments, my heart is completely full. I feel 100% fulfilled. Those are the moments that make all the difficult ones worth it. I would go through a thousand tough times just to experience one of those life-fulfilling moments. It’s in those times when I realize that life is so beautiful and so worth living and life can be so much more than just monotonous day-to-day routines. Life is full of adventure and joy and exploration. There are also many times after a difficult trip when I realize how much I learned from overcoming those obstacles. I have gained so much knowledge and life experience from facing a challenge in the backcountry and just having to brainstorm and figure out how to accomplish it. As hard as it is in the moment, I so much appreciate those times after the fact when I reflect on my adventure.

Climbing is one of my favorite things in the entire world. There are very few things on this planet that can give me the joy and fulfilment and rush that climbing gives me. Sometimes I honestly don’t know why though. Sometimes, I will be in the middle of a climb, 300 feet off the ground, hanging on to a 1cm wide hand hold, with only a 10mm wide rope to catch me if I fall, and I am literally scared out of my mind. I will be climbing, thinking to myself, why the hell am I doing this, why do I enjoy this, this is stupid, I literally should not be doing this, this is absolutely terrifying and insane… And then, I clip the last quick draw, and I take a few seconds to take in the view around me, just breathe in the fresh air, embrace the peace and silence at the top, and I take a second to realize what I just accomplished. I just climbed a rock face that so much of the world would be terrified to do, that I was almost too terrified to do. And I just take a second to myself to realize how accomplished and empowered I feel. Some of the routes that I have climbed have absolutely scared the daylights out of me, but I still did them. I punched that fear in the face and I rocked it (pun intended!). Facing your fear is an incredible thing to do in life and help your growth as a person. If I would let the fear of climbing hold me back from pursuing my love of climbing, I would never be able to see those views from the top or experience the indescribable feeling that I get when I get to the top of a tough climb. Those empowering moments when I’m finally clipping the last draw of a climb make every second of crippling fear worth it. I would never experience the irreplaceable joy and fulfilment that climbing brings me if I allowed my fears to keep me within my comfort zone of climbing. The best moments on the rocks are when I am doing something that stretches my comforts and fears. I love climbing more than almost anything in the world and I love that it completely terrifies me, but also makes me feel more proud and accomplished than almost anything else.

As I am writing this, I am currently car camping on a pull-off in Clear Creek Canyon near Denver and I am by myself. Not gonna lie, it’s kind of scary. This wasn’t the plan for the night. I was supposed to go to an actual campground with some friends, but they had to bail, unfortunately. However, I was already planning on spending the night in Denver and doing stuff around town tomorrow, so I decided to find a free camp spot for the night to crash in my car. I’ve never really been scared camping with other people, but as soon as I’m by myself, it’s just a different ball game. I just feel so much more vulnerable and exposed. Over the past month, I have been camping by myself more and more and I still get freaked out at night trying to fall asleep because I get scared being alone. I’ve had many sleepless nights just tossing and turning because I can’t calm my mind down from my fears. As exhausting and frustrating as it is and how much I want a good night of sleep in a nice warm bed, when I look back on all of the places I’ve camped out at, I realize that I have stayed in some amazingly beautiful places, and I have gone on some crazy adventurous dirt roads that have led to beautiful hidden natural paradises. If I would have let my fears keep me from going solo camping and just chickened out and got a hotel room instead, I would have never experienced those places. Those sleepless nights filled with tossing and turning are completely worth the incredible places I’ve been able to experience. I’m also hoping that the more and more I do it, the more comfortable I will get with solo camping and I’ll be able to explore so much more of the world!

Life on the road is so simple and so beautiful. My bed is either the back of my car, my hammock, or my sleeping pad wherever there’s open ground. And life could not be better. The beauty and peace and silence of sleeping outside is incomparable. Living on the road gives me an insane amount of free time where I can work on things that help me grow as a person. I have more time to practice guitar and ukulele. I have so many more opportunities to write. I actually have time to read books, and learn how to embroider, and journal, and work out… And so many other things that I’ve always wanted to learn how to do, but never had the time.

When you don’t have a house to go home to, it makes you realize how much time you’ve wasted just sitting in the comfort of that home, not really doing anything. When you’re surrounded by comfort, it’s so easy to just give into it. It’s so easy to just sit on the couch and watch Netflix for half the day, or take a two-hour-long bubble bath, or scroll through Instagram and Facebook for hours on end while it’s a beautiful, sunny day outside. When your home is your car, you don’t really have the option of those luxuries and you’re able to fill that time with so many more productive things. Now don’t get me wrong, self-care is so incredibly important and you need to have some “you-time” of rest and relaxation every now and then, but not too often to where there are just full days being wasted away.

Looking back, I realize how comfort has caused me to miss out on so many things without even realizing it. So many nights when living at home, I would just spend the entirety of the night inside doing random things and not even stepping outside for a second to see the stars. With this new lifestyle, I get to fall asleep under the stars every single night! How did I not do this more often before?! It has made me so much more aware and in touch with the natural world around me. I always know what phase of the moon is out and what time it rises and sets each night. I’ve been able to watch the transition of stars from the summer constellations to the winter constellations. And I’ve been able to watch the sunrise almost every morning. I never set an alarm because the bright, orange glow of the sun is enough to get me out of bed each morning. I have never felt so connected to this beautiful world that we have the privilege of living in.

Basically, what I’m trying to say is that life can be full of so many incredible and amazing experiences if you don’t let comforts or fears control your decisions. Some of my favorite memories of my entire life so far have come from completely stepping out of my comfort zone or facing some of my fears completely head on. I know so many people who want to do so many things in life, but they let their fears hold them back and it honestly breaks my heart. I want everyone to live a completely joy-filled and fulfilling life and it makes me so sad when I know someone has the opportunity to experience that and they just don’t take it.

Guys. Stop giving into fears. Stop settling for comfort. Stop letting these things control your life. Life is meant to be lived, not hidden from! If you really want to do something, then freaking do it! Life is so short, and you might never get that opportunity again. Don’t live with regret. Go for it! And if you fail, at least you did it, and experienced it, and faced that fear. No matter the outcome of following something your heart desires, you will always learn something. Whether you see it now, or not until five years down the road, you will learn something and gain something from it by at least giving it a try. I would absolutely not be where I am at today if I never took that step. Just take it. You have nothing to lose!

Do you enjoy reading about all my travels and adventures? Would you like to help my adventures continue by supporting me financially? If you do, then please know, that would mean the world to me! To do this, you can go to my Patreon page to choose which level you would like to support me at! Thanks for your love and support and remember to make every day an adventure!