A continuation of why I love road trips, living in vehicle, and how it all began!
Chelsea and I met during my first year of college. Chelsea was a third year and she was one of the leaders on the Joshua Tree climbing trip I signed up for with some encouragement (and cash) from my mom. My mom thought it would be good for me to meet some other climbers, I thought it would be good to have a ride to Joshua Tree. After the trip we were acquaintances and I would say hello when I passed her working at the school climbing wall. Towards the end of the year I asked her what plans she had for summer. She informed me that she would be participating in the Cal Poly study abroad program in Peru. "You should come," she suggested casually. I cocked my head to the side, thought for a second, then replied, "ok." By the end of the week my deposit was paid and I was getting ready to head to Peru for the summer. I think Chelsea was a bit shocked by my quick decision, and maybe a little unsure when I asked her at one of the pre-trip meetings if she would like to be my roommate at a homestay with a Peruvian family in Cusco. I was a shy freshmen and didn't know anyone else in the room, Chelsea knew a few others going but she politely agreed. It was in Peru that we became fast friends and realized our unique compatibility as travel partners. There are those you can spend 24/7 with in small spaces, stressful situations, and after extended periods without showers, and there are those that, although you may like them equally well, can only be tolerated in small doses. Chelsea is one of the former.
When we returned from Peru we signed up for Fall classes, although we may as well have not. I had class on Tuesdays and Thursdays which left Thursday evening through Monday evening for climbing trips. I don't even know what Chelsea's schedule was, but the car was always packed Thursday night and we were halfway up a route in Yosemite by the time people were headed to class on Friday. We operated on a rotation- Yosemite, Joshua Tree, Bishop, Tahoe, repeat. We didn't skip a beat. Each weekend we were racking up the miles, caking on the dust, and climbing til our fingers bled. It was that fall that I began trad climbing in earnest, thanks to Chelsea's influence. Winter and Spring quarter passed in a similar fashion, and by the end of Spring quarter we knew we should stop bothering with pretending to care about school, and take a quarter off to climb. We spent the summer in Tahoe, climbing nearly every day and when Fall rolled around and people packed their cars with books and linens to move back to school, we packed ours with cams, tents, ropes, and crashpads.
The Fall of 2010 was one to be remembered. We climbed in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah and Colorado. We summited the Grand Teton on Chelsea's birthday, we met other inspiring road trippers, we placed cams, stacked pads, and clipped draws. We baked in the sun, froze in the snow, were pummeled by the wind, sought shelter and dry rock in caves on rainy days. We cooked Thanksgiving dinner on our tailgate by the Mammoth hot springs, and soaked our sore bodies after filling our bellies. We realized that we could go where we wanted when we wanted. We got used to the hum of our tires rolling down the road, the excitement and uncertainty of arriving in a new place., the satisfaction of cracking open a new guidebook, putting creases in the spine, wrinkling the pages and putting stars and checks next to routes that we loved. 'What could be better?' we thought. Nothing came to mind.
After that, the conversions began. I needed to update my car to become a real road tripping dirtbag mobile. First, I had my brother help me build a platform that rested on the back seats when they were folded down. That way, I could take the platform out and still have a normal car with five seats. When the platform was in, I could sleep comfortably on top of it while my gear was stowed underneath. That was great for a while, until I decided I needed more space. The section of two seats came out of the back. That left one seat in the back that could be accessed when the platform was removed. Just in case. Eventually, all the back seats came out. That was my final commitment to the road trip-mobile. No back seats. One passenger. Lots of gear. Comfortable sleeping. From there, it was little improvements. A cooking platform that folded out of the back and allowed for cooking under the tailgate. Dinosaur print curtains to cover all the windows and keep it dark for sleeping. A mesh screen that magneted to the roof of the car over the sunroof. This allowed us to have air flow without bugs coming in. The screen was one of my prouder ideas, and it worked out great until we forgot to remove it one morning and it blew off the top of the car while we were driving and was promptly run over and destroyed by a semi-truck.
The CRV took us on many a wonderful road trip. We amassed 140,000 miles on it in 5 years. On one impressive trip last summer, we visited 29 states and 5 Canadian provinces in a 10 week, 12,000 mile whirlwind adventure. We went to Kentucky for climbing, Tennessee for barbecue, Maine for lobster, New York to see the big city, New Brunswick for canoeing, Nova Scotia because why the hell not? "Have you been to such and such a place?" some stranger would ask. The answer was never 'no,' it was simply 'not yet,' and in most cases it became our next stop. There were trips with others, Eric to Squamish, Ben to Joshua Tree, Alex to Bishop, a solo excursion for me to Minneapolis for a summer, but for the most part it was me, Chelsea, Titan and Star. At night the four of us would crowd into the back of the car or into a tent and fall asleep thinking 'life is good.' Recently the van was acquired (hence the Silas the Sprinter blog), and the road tripping has reached a whole new level of style. It rocks.
Most people enjoy road trips that come to an end. They have a great time, but when it's all said and done they relish the thought of a warm shower, of sleeping in a real bed, sitting on their couch. Sure, I've had moments, usually while epicing on a climb, or during a miserable stint of unending rain, where I've thought, "gee, I really wish I were just sitting on a couch watching a movie right now." or doing something similarly comfortable sounding, but the truth is, life on the road has become a way of life for me and I'm not sure there will ever be a time when I won't want to hop in the car and go looking for an adventure. When I'm in one place for too long I get antsy, restless, my thoughts drifting to pavement beneath my tires, the expansive vista that unfolds through my windshield, and the endless possibilities of where to go next.
If road tripping were a career, I'd like to think I could be CEO, or at least somewhere in management. In my travels, though, I always meet someone who has it more figured out, or who is doing it just a bit better. There is no wrong way to get out there and do what you love, but there are ways to make it more financially feasible. I haven't figured those ways out yet. For now, it's work a seasonal or temporary job, stack some cash, hit the road til the cash runs out. Repeat. Sometimes the trips last for a while, sometimes they end much too quickly. People like to say, "do it while you're young" or "now is the time to do it" as if there will be a time when I'll suddenly grow out of my desire to be a bum living in a van and traveling to beautiful places and climbing awesome rocks, and I'll be ready to sit in a cubicle or do whatever it is that most people think you should do. In reality, the present is always the time to do what you're passionate about. Always.
Life on the road opens you to so many possibilities. You can truly go anywhere and do anything. You get to witness so many amazing moments- gorgeous sunsets and sunrises, beautiful interactions between human beings, the unwavering happiness of a dirty and tired dog, stunning scenery, and the simplicity of happiness. I love it. And I think I"ll always love it. What do you love?
Adventure On. LP
