Passion drives life.  Find yours and pursue it relentlessly.

Star and Titan's Hiking Essentials

Everyday Essentials
These are items we bring with us on all of our hikes, short or long.

1. Earth Rated Poop Bags.  My dogs poop a lot.  I've used a lot of poop bags over the years and these are definitely my favorite.  They're durable and super affordable. They make a vegetable based bag option, which is 100% plastic-free, and they also have lavender scented bags.

2. Night Ize Pack-A-Poo.  I thought this was kind of silly when I first saw it, but now I'm hooked.  Instead of leaving your poop bags on the side of the trail to search for on your way back down, or tying them on your backpack and having them swing around and stink up your trail time, you can place your dog poop into this lined bag, roll it closed, clip it to the outside of your pack, and keep the stink at bay until you reach a trash can.  Genius!

3. First Aid Kit.  Unexpected things can happen anytime you head outdoors with your dog and it's always good to be prepared.  A standard human first aid kit will cover a lot of situations that may occur with your pup.  A couple of items that I always make sure I am carrying are Benadryl (Star and Titan are allergic to some pollens, which make them break out in hives, and bee stings), and a roll of medical tape.

4. Ruffwear Roamer Leash.  Star is not super social, so she stays on a leash during most of our walks.  The Roamer allows me to keep my hands free while we hike, and it also gives Star a bit more freedom to roam and explore even though she is leashed.  The bungee feature of the leash keeps both of us from getting shorted while scrambling around on rocks.


5. Zuke's Mini Naturals.  Treats!  Because all good dogs deserve yummy snacks.  Zuke's are made with natural ingredients and Titan and Star love them.








Short Jaunts
These are items we like to use on shorter walks and quick hikes.

6. Ruffwear Front Range Harness (Star).  I love this harness for Star for hiking, running, and biking together.  It doesn't rub or chafe, it has two quick and easy clip in points, and it keeps Star's leash from getting caught under her paws because it keeps it on the center of her back.  Plus, it comes in awesome colors and I think the dogs look really cute in it.

7. Ruffwear Quick Draw Leash (Titan).  Titan gets to be off leash most of the time, and the Quick Draw is a great tool for parking lots or sections of trail where we need more control of Titan.  The Quick Draw clips to your dogs existing collar and then wraps around and velcros to itself during times when you don't need it.  Just pull the red tab and all of sudden you have yourself a leash.  

Day-Hikes
These items are great to have on longer hikes or during hot days when you want to have more water available.

8. Ruffwear Singletrak Pack.  This streamlined pack is wonderful for times when you just need your dog to carry water and not food.  Because it has such a low profile, it doesn't get as beat up as larger packs when your dog sideswipes trees and rocks.  You can easily fit 1 liter of water as well as a bowl and poop bags.  The handle on top is great for assisting your dog over obstacles as well!

9. Ruffwear Bivy Bowl.  This collapsable bowl is great because it packs down small, but expands to be large enough for you dog to easily drink from it.






Overnights
On longer trips, Star and Titan carry their own food, water, and sleeping gear.

10. Ruffwear Palisades Pack.  This pack has all the bells and whistles.  First, it is made on a harness frame, so you get two products in one.  Just unclip the saddlebags and you have a great durable harness underneath.  There are compression straps on the side of the saddlebags so you can cinch down your dog's load and make it more streamlined.  Despite being a high-volume bag, the Palisades pack is never too bulky so your dog can still maneuver easily.  This pack can easily fit food, water, bowls, treats, and even bedding!  Just make sure your dog is used to carrying a load, or work up it by slowly adding weight.

11. Ruffwear Highlands Bed.  The Highlands bed compresses down nice and small so that it fits into Titan and Star's pack.  It provides insulation and comfort at the end of a long day of hiking.






I'll be the first to admit that I have a little bit of a gear obsession when it comes to outfitting my dogs.  We own tons of dog gear for all types of adventures, and these are just a few of the many products that I love!  There is not much that I enjoy more than getting outside with Titan and Star and having new adventures together.

Washington's Highway 2

Prior to this trip, neither Chelsea or I had spent much/any time in Washington.  So far this year, we have spent about seven weeks in the state and have gotten to explore many parts of it.  One of our favorite areas in Washington is the Highway 2 corridor between Sultan and Leavenworth. We have spent a significant amount of time here and have developed some favorite places.  Here they are from West to East.

1. Sultan Bakery, Sultan.  Face-sized cinnamon rolls?  Check.  Baby-sized breakfast burritos?  Check.  The portions at this wonderful bakery could feed any normal human for a week.  This is a must stop location on your way down the highway.  Just make sure to get there early or else all the giant baked goodies will be sold out.

2. Clearcut, Sanctuary and Forest Boulders, Gold Bar.  Due to a change in land ownership, these boulders have seen a significant decrease in traffic over the last few years.  Yes, you have to hike.  Yes, you may have to clean moss off the rock.  And yes, you will have a stellar time at these immaculate granite boulders.  The setting can't be beat, there are lines from easy to very difficult, from highball to lowball, and the rock is top quality.  

3. Bridal Veil Falls, Gold Bar.  This is a very popular hike, so you are best off going during the week.  The hike is steep and includes several sets of stairs, but once you reach the falls you'll realize that your struggles were worth it.  Cool down under the brisk water cascading down, enjoy the view across the valley, and hang out and eat a sandwich in this lovely setting.  If you're feeling like a quad workout, continue a few more miles up the trail to Lake Serene.  

4. Town Wall, Index.  Granite.  Cracks.  Short approach.  Free camping.  Need I say more?

5. Blanca Lake, Skykomish.  This beautiful alpine lake lies at the end of a grueling 3.5 mile trek up countless steep switchbacks.  The turquoise water will instantly revitalize you after the tough trek.  This is another very popular hike, probably best saved for a weekday.

5. Beckler Peak Hike, Steven's Pass.  The day we did this hike will forever be held in our memories as one of our favorite days of this trip.  It was a perfect day, made up of lots of perfect little moments.  The view from the summit was incredible, we had amazing company, and we hiked from dry dirt to fresh powder as we gained elevation on our way up.  Truly stellar.

6. Leavenworth.  There are so many things that we like about Leavenworth.  The bouldering is absolutely incredible, for starters.  In addition, there are lots of opportunities for just about every other outdoor activity: paddling, SUPing, mountain biking, hiking, you name it.  

On Being Two Girls in a Van

The van community is alive and thriving.  Unless you're part of it, you may not realize just how many people have bought a van, built it out, and are living on the road in their traveling home.  The main rendezvous location for this community seems to be Instagram.  Most of us have a pretty extensive network of people whose journeys we're following, who we seek advice from, who help us diagnose repairs, and who inspire us through their adventures.  Over the past few years I've been fortunate to meet many of these people in real life and the connection is always immediate and long lasting.

Hangin' out in our jammies and lovin' life.

One thing I've noticed through my observations of this community is that the company we keep in Silas is quite an anomaly.  I think it's safe to say that the majority of people living and traveling in vans are either romantic couples or solos.  There are exceptions to this of course- I know of some families with kids, and some guy groups, but thus far, I have not encountered another pair of female friends living in a vehicle and traveling together.  I think a large part of the reason for this is that by the time you are of the lucky age to be living in a van, you are in the life stage of serious relationships, which is why there are so many couples traveling together.

Testing out the GoPro. Duh.

I think that most people our age have friends that they do certain activities with, but very few people have friends who they can convince to work seasonal jobs, finish said job, and jump in a van and live 24/7 with.  It's a lifestyle thing, and it's rare to have two friends whose lifestyles align in the way that ours do.  For couples, it makes sense, because perhaps a big factor in choosing your partner is that they'll agree to live in a vehicle with you.  It's common to share road trips with your best buddy in college, but by the time you finish school usually one of you has a job to work, or the other one is starting a family, or you schedules never match up, or so on.  The fact that Chelsea and I are always ready to get up and go and the fact that we like to do the same things makes us very compatible travel partners.  The fact that we can share 55 square feet of space with each other and two large dogs for months at a time and not kill each other is a huge bonus.  The fact that we used to do this in a Honda CRV is perhaps even more impressive and a testament to our laid back natures and our love for life on the road.

Figuring out the selfie with the GoPro app.

There's a lot to be said about traveling with your best friend.  First of all, I have to give tons of respect to all the solo travelers out there.  It doesn't take long for me to get lonely, even with my very humanized dogs around, so whenever I see people traveling sans company, I am impressed.  And of course, traveling with your S/O is fantastic as well.  But hear me out on this and maybe you'll convince your BFF to hop in the rig next time you head out on an adventure.

That time we got drunk on the New Belgium tour and almost bought a school bus.

1. There's no breaking up.  I'm sure the possibility of catastrophic fallout between us is possible, but in 5 years of road tripping together, some high stress situations, months of rain, chocolate withdrawals, encounters with the law, flat tires, breakdowns, etc., it hasn't happened yet.  The fact that you don't have to worry about your relationship ending, or that you don't have to feel obligated to stay in it makes traveling together easier.

2. You have your own crap.  After being involved with someone for a while, you start making joint purchases.  However, if you travel with your bestie instead of your S/O, chances are you own your own shit.  At least the important stuff.  So if things head south, you don't have to divvy up the rack, you don't have to decide who gets custody of the dog, and you don't end up with a double wide sleeping bag while they get the tent.  Like I said in #1, there's no breaking up, and if you do have to go your separate ways for a while, like when it comes time to work, you still have enough of your own gear to lead a full pitch on your day off.

This is best friend shit.

3. You don't have to cuddle.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my snugs, but after weeks without showering, it's pretty awesome to sleep on opposite sides of the bed with two furry critters blocking your stench from each other.  

4. Sometimes you feel like a badass.  It's pretty cool being two chicks on the road.  We accomplish some pretty neat things together, and it feels good when you make it happen.  Though this holds true for any relationship, it's extra fun to conquer things with your BFF.  Completing things together forms strong bonds, and there's nothing like standing on top of a climb, looking out at the scenery, and saying, 'yea, we did that.'    

5. You can ride the struggle bus together.  We get to Google things like: "how to change your windshield wipers" and we learn other obvious life skills from YouTube videos.  Sometimes it's more fun when neither of you has any idea what's going on!          

The struggle is real when we actually have to do adult things.

6. You don't have to shower if you don't want to.  When you're living in close quarters with your friend, you wake up in the morning, cover your greasy dome with your favorite hat and head out the door.  No judgements.    

7.  You don't have to impress anyone.  Have I shaved my legs in the year 2015?  No, I have not.*  

8. Shenanigans.  Face it, there are some situations that are just way more fun with friends.  Chances are, the two of you have a history for causing a bit of trouble every now and then.  Best friends make for a lot more morning recaps of last night's crazy adventures.

9. Best friends RULE!  Duh.  Who wouldn't want to spend 24/7/365 in a smelly van with their favorite homie?!  

So next time you're planning a road trip, consider kidnapping your best buddy and throwing them in the van.  You'll be sure to make lots of memories, encounter tons of people telling you to "be careful out there, there's lot of crazies," make new friends who spend several days wondering if you're a couple or just friends, and have an awesome time on the road.   

*in the interest of full disclosure, I wrote this post a while ago and have since finally shaved my legs.

When Life Gives you a Lemon...

....bust out the credit card and get back on the road!  A brief history of Silas the Sprinter and his health problems.

I'll start off by clarifying that Silas is not actually a lemon.  He's just a finicky character with a lot of miles on him who needs maintenance and upkeep.  He's only truly broken down once, and the rest of the work we've done on him was necessary, but wasn't the result of being stuck on the side of the road somewhere and being forced to visit the shop before we could continue.  Silas is probably the result of a "Flip this Sprinter" type situation-  the previous owner had him only about a year, some cheap repairs were made, a coat of paint was applied over rust, and Silas made his way into my life.  This leads me to one of the more important life lessons I've learned:

Do not impulse buy a Sprinter.

Seems obvious, right?  To an impatient person and a wild dreamer such as myself, it wasn't.  I saw a deal and couldn't help but jump on it.  I actually didn't realize I was that impatient until recently, when someone sent me a Buzzfeed article called "17 Signs that You're Impatient."  I wasn't even patient enough to read the whole thing, but every numbered item was true.  (Side note: I now know that city/working version of me is impatient, but I would still like to think that van life version of me is much more laid back and willing to wait for things.  Working version of me is the one who bought the van.)  Anyway, there are oodles upon oodles of resources for people thinking about buying a Sprinter.  What to look for, what you should avoid, ten things that are a bad sign, etc.  I, however, simply opened up Craigslist, found the cheapest Sprinter listed, took it for a test drive and bought it on the spot. (Another good life lesson: probably don't buy the cheapest version of anything ever.  This applies to cars, whiskey, outdoor gear, and more).  I didn't even look under the hood because I didn't know what I would be looking for.  All I knew is that when I turned it on it started up and it drove.  Those seemed like good signs to me.  I'm sure this is horrifying to read, and I know that my Dad and Grandpa are up in heaven shaking their heads and sighing and saying, 'did we teach you nothing?'  I'm sure I knew better, but at the time I had just lost my dad, had just injured my hand and couldn't climb, and was living in the Bay Area where I felt extremely stifled.  I needed a light at the end of the tunnel, an out, a plan to get me excited.  And the van was the plan.

With Silas in my possesion, things started to take shape.  Building him out was a welcome distraction from my injury, and planning my life as a van dweller kept me excited and motivated.  Soon enough, I was on the road and couldn't be happier.  During the first long trip in Silas, we encountered our first problem.  Our EGR was clogged up and we were losing power.  A few days at the shop in Vegas and that was taken care of, but so were my funds.  Chelsea and I decided that we would need to buckle down and work for a while so we could take a much longer trip.  So it was back to the grind.  I somehow ended up back in the Bay Area, where dreams go to die and where people who belong in the mountains slowly lose their ability to breathe (SO dramatic! I did like my job though!).  I was able to delay this problem by taking weekly trips to Tahoe, but soon realized that driving 400 miles a weekend wasn't really helping me save money.  So I stayed in the Bay and stewed, and learned another important lesson: Never sacrifice your happiness for money.  Even if that money will eventually allow you to reach a greater level of happiness (living on the road while funemployed), you need to find a better way to reach that point.  Eventually, the time came when work was done and it was time to hit the road again.  We had saved more money than ever before and planned to be on the road as long as possible, making it to Alaska during our travels.  It was important to make sure the van was ready for all this, so I took it in for an inspection and some tune ups.  I made the mistake of taking it to Mercedes, where I was given a $13,000 estimate for the work they thought it needed.  I laughed, cried, and eventually found someone else to do all the work for $2500.  I'm not kidding.  

A few months into our trip, we headed for Golden, CO, and a much respected Sprinter specialist.  I had a few more issues I wanted cleared up and knew that only someone who knew these vehicles inside and out would be up to the task.  Sure enough, Dennis had no problem curing our Black Death (a very, very common Sprinter problem, that I would have known about had I read those helpful 'what to look for' articles before buying a rig).  He also found other problems that needed fixing, so it was another swipe of the credit card and a funneling of money into the black hole that is Silas.  It was comforting though, to know that Silas had been taken care of by a proper wizard and we hoped for smooth sailing from there on out. 

About a week later however, we were driving over the mountains between Breckenridge and Aspen when I noticed our fuel gauge plummeting at an alarming rate.  I pulled over to find diesel dumping from Silas.  Any time fuel leaks, the fire department comes, so a few minutes later we were joined at the small town gas station by a full sized engine and six firemen in all their gear and helmets.  They were extremely helpful, popped the hood, crawled under the van, and helped us try to figure out what was wrong.  We were towed to a nearby shop and found out that one of the clips on the fuel injector/fuel line had come loose and we had just dumped about 12 gallons of diesel onto the road.  Sorry environment! We really do feel bad about that.  Another swipe, and we were on our way.  

The next few months passed uneventfully as Silas motored from one state to the next.  He made it through Canada and back, managed to start after spending a night at -15, and bounced up a treacherous dirt road in Oregon with us.  All seemed grand until I was pulling onto the highway in the middle of Oregon and I heard a 'cachunk' noise and immediately lost power.  I tried the age old turn it off and on again trick, but that didn't seem to solve our problem.  We were able to limp the van to Boise, some 200 miles away, at a max uphill speed of 25 MPH.  Unable to find a proper Sprinter expert there, we diagnosed the problem with the help of online forums and the wonderful van community on Instagram, found the part at a reasonable price, and had a shop put it in.  As I attempted to zoom away from the mechanic, it was clear that our problem had not been solved.

At this point, Chelsea and I went into a slight panic.  Every now and then you're reminded that your entire life plan revolves around a vehicle that could decide to stop functioning at any time.  This was one of those times.  We needed someone who knew Sprinters to tell us what was wrong.  We considered limping the van to Salt Lake where we knew of a good mechanic, shipping it to Golden so Dennis could look at it, and leaving it in Boise and renting a car and dealing with it later.  We eventually were able to get the problem diagnosed over the phone by Dennis (I told you he was a wizard).  He also told us where to get the part we needed for a fraction of the price that the dealer would charge ($3000-$5000, which was totally out of the question).  We overnighted the part to Boise, convinced the shop to put it in for us, and just like that, we had turbo power again.  All told, we spent a week in Boise trying to figure out what was wrong, getting the part, and getting it installed, but thankfully we were able to slowly drive around and go climbing and hiking in some pretty fun places around the city.

So that's Silas' history in a nutshell.  If you're considering a Sprinter, know that they are fantastic vehicles, and when they are running properly they are unstoppable.  They have diesel engines that will go up to 500,000 miles with no problem, they have great power, great gas mileage, and handle like a sportscar (maybe that's a slight exaggeration).  BUT, also be aware that there are signature Sprinter issues that every owner will have to deal with, and remember that all the parts are made by Mercedes, which means they are expensive.  Also keep in mind that it is hard to find people who are willing and able to work on these complex beasts, so the more you know about them when you hit the road, the better off you'll be!

The 9 Stages of Projecting

I don't always project boulder problems, but when I do it usually goes something like this:

1. Infatuation.  You see the problem in the guidebook.  None of the following icons are listed: pumpy, powerful, bad landing, highball, overhung, reachy.  Yes, things are off to a good start.  The grade is right at your upper limit.  Oh, there's even a picture, and it's pretty darn aesthetic.  You love this problem and the idea of its perfect movement, holds that are just good enough, hard enough to stump you for a while, but not too hard that you won't overcome the struggle.  This could be the one.  Your new project.

2. Hope.  You grab your pads and stuff in your necessary projecting materials.  Brush, shoes, other shoes, chalk, and mega snacks.  Because projecting burns a lot of calories (or am I the only one who eats my weight in trail mix while I'm climbing?).  You hike up to the line and when you see it in all it's glory, it is even better than you had imagined it.  You touch a few holds.  You envision the moves.  You see yourself sending it.  Yes, it looks possible, you may even send it today!  Hell, you might even flash it!

3. Fear.  You grab the start holds and you cannot pull off the ground.  Panic quickly sets in as you wonder, 'what if I can't do it?!'  

4. Hope, Part 2.  After proper pad arrangement, you've found that you can lift your rump off the ground, and you again feel that the line is possible.

5. Hatred.  Nothing is as it seems.  The moves are contrived, the holds are crap, you hate this problem.  You call it names.  'Stupid problem!  You are so stupid!  And lame!  How did you get three stars!?'

6. Infatuation, Part 2.  By some error in your beta remembering, you've put your foot somewhere else and somehow stuck the move that was previously impossible.  Then you make a link.  You love this problem!  It is so fun, and the moves go, and you might just send it after all.

7. Exhaustion.  So. Tired.  Your skin is thrashed and you can barely lift your arms.  You are thinking about calling it a day.  Just one more go.  Wait, just one more go.  Ok, last go.  Ok, really this time, this is the last go.  Actually, that one didn't count, because, well it just didn't, so this is the last go.     

8. The miracle.  You are standing on top of the boulder.  Unaware of how you arrived there, you try to recall the events leading up to this moment.  "Nice send!"  yells your friend from the ground.  I sent?  I sent!?  YAY!  Time for a nap.

9. Cookies, donut, ice cream. 

Underwear, an orange, and border patrol

On being sketchy girls in a sketchy van

Chelsea and I are not very serious people.  As such, we don't tend to do particularly well in serious situations.  Like border crossings.  Our lucky streak of being stopped and searched began on our 2013 trip when we were trying to cross into New Brunswick.  We had several things going against our favor: we were bleary eyed from driving and multiple days of rain, we had been sleeping in a Honda CRV (as we did in those days) with the two dogs in the aforementioned rain without showering for an extended period of time.  I was tattooed, tank topped, braless, and sporting California plates on my car.  And we had terrible answers to the border agent's questions.  We had left on this road trip after completing our seasonal winter jobs in Jackson, WY, and when the agent asked where we lived, we were a bit stumped.  We didn't technically live in Jackson any more.  Neither of us had lived in California in over a year. We were legitimately homeless.  We stuttered about and I think eventually settled on California.  Then they asked what we did for work.  Another guaranteed stumper.  Unemployed?  Then we also answered incorrectly when he asked us when we were last in Canada (legit mistake, the years all run together sometimes!) We did have appropriate answers to the other question that usually hangs us up- where we were headed.  We were visiting a friend on Prince Edward Island who was attending vet school.  "Mmhmm.  Pull ahead, park and head inside for a backgroud check."  Damn!  The agent had seemed so friendly and jokey with us.  We shuffled into the office and handed over our passports.  Once we were deemed ok to enter, the dogs were looked over and we were on our way into the Canadian night.  We thanked our lucky stars that they didn't pull apart the jam packed car and search it because repacking it would have been a nightmare.  

A few weeks later, we were on our way back to the US.  I was genuinely nervous about the border crossing.  We practiced our answers.  We pulled up and the kind gentleman in the booth asked "where are you headed?"  I looked him in the eye and said "yup!"  Somehow in my nervousness I had completely misunderstood what he asked me.  Chelsea shook her head and sighed.  Thankfully, the agent let us through without a hassle and I promised Chelsea I would do better next time.

A couple weeks later, we were at it again.  This time we were headed north from Vermont.  We were going to visit a friend in Ottawa and then head west and cross back into the US in Michigan.  We pulled up and the first thing the agent asked was, "where are you headed?"  "California," I answered confidently.  "You're going the wrong way," he said, totally deadpan.  Shit, I thought.  "Well, we're going to turn left here shortly, and cross the Sue St. Marie into Michigan," I explained.  This guy was nice too, and we were on our way without further questioning.

Fast forward to 2015.  We started off quite well.  We easily crossed the border into Canada from a small crossing in Montana.  Little did the agent know, but all he had to do to stump us was ask us what province we thought we were crossing in to. We were shocked to cross the border and see a "Welcome to BC" sign.  We thought we were in Alberta.  Oops.  Anyway, we made it to our destination without any trouble.  We spent about a week in Lake Louise, Banff, Yoho, and Jasper National Parks.  From there we planned to head to Whistler, but our friend Clancy invited us down to Olympia, WA for the weekend for a seafood cookout, paddling, and a promised good time.  We couldn't resist so we gunned it for the states.  We again had an easy crossing and then a truly fantastic weekend in Washington.  

We headed north to complete our ski season in Whistler and check off the last destination on our ski pass.  We stocked up on food at Trader Joe's and headed for the border.  We pulled up and answered the first few questions like border-crossing champs.  We are headed to Whistler.  We are going skiing. We will be there for one week.  Even though they always ask where you're staying I wasn't prepared for it this time.  I thought saying we were going to Whistler would bypass this.  "In the van."  Damn.  Bad answer.  He started jotting down notes on a yellow piece of paper.  He asked when we were last in Canada.  "Thursday" I answered assuredly.  It was Sunday.  This did not seem to please him.  I'm sure he thought we must be running loads of weed up from Washington or something.  He asked us why we were in Canada on Thursday, drove back to California and then were returning to Canada so soon.  I tried to explain that we had just gone down to Washington for the weekend to visit a friend.  "Pull over, lane 7, the man there will tell you what to do."  Sigh.  We pulled up and were instructed to put the dogs in little metal crates that were sitting outside in the rain and to head inside.  We lined up and handed the agents our passports and our mysterious yellow paper with the codes written on it from outside.  Three agents went outside to search our van.    We sat and stared at our feet and then tried to stifle our chuckles as we saw curling come on the TVs above our head. All the random things in the van that might appear weird to an outsider starting finding their way into my head. I wondered what they would think when they found the Gatorade bottle that I spit my toothpaste into when there isn't a better option. Ew.  Eventually our van was deemed drug free and we were allowed to reclaim the dogs and leave.  

The thing about these searches is that they don't actually tell you anything.  You know they are searching your van, but they don't implicitly say it, and when you're allowed to leave, they just say 'ok you can go.'  There's no explanation of why you were stopped, what they were looking for, nothing.  It is terribly intrusive and frankly, violating to have a bunch of men go into your home and paw through your stuff.  I had a few pairs of underwear that were wet from paddling in the rain that weekend that I had laid on the bed to dry, and sure enough they were shuffled through.  The pillows were moved around and one of the organizers on the back door had somehow been ripped off in the process of the search.  The good feelings for Canada were gone and we just wanted to get our ski days in and GTFO.  

We ended up having a great time hiking around Squamish and skiing our last two days of the season in Whistler.  We were amped to get back to the US and get climbing.  We were also getting kind of fat from going to Tim Horton's every time we needed to use our phone.  You can't go in for wifi without getting donuts of course.  We cruised down the road, and made it back to the US border in no time.  

We got there around 8 and there was no line.  As we pulled up, I'm pretty sure the agent in the booth was already prepared to send us in for a search.  He barely paid attention to the questions he was asking, let alone our answers.  He handed us a search warrant before he even saw Titan sitting in the front of the van.  "Oh, wait, you have dogs?" he asked.  "Yes, two."  He explained where the dogs kennels were and sent us on our way.  Now we were just feeling annoyed.  We obviously aren't on any sort of time schedule, so it's not like we are being held up from anything, but we really didn't think we would be hassled trying to get back into the US.  We locked the dogs into a concrete kennel, apologized and told them we would be back soon.  Apparently we arrived during a shift change, so we and the other few groups in line, sat there unmoving for a good ten minutes while people shuffled around in the back of the office.  Finally, one agent came on duty and started processing things.  I could tell that he took great pleasure in the THWACK that his stamp made when he finished someone's paperwork.  We were called up and given customs forms to fill out.  Then we were asked all sorts of questions, including what food we had in the van.  I started listing things.  Mushrooms, rice, quinoa, broccoli, onions, kale, bananas, apples, an orange... "An orange?"  "Half an orange..." "That might not be coming back with you."  "Not my orange!"  This guy at least seemed to have a sense of humor.  We couldn't tell if we should be really serious, or if it was ok to be lighthearted.  He went to tell another agent to search our van and we heard him say, "there's an orange in there."  I had no idea my orange would cause so many problems!  Chelsea hates oranges but I insisted on getting one and had eaten half of it before we started driving.  A few minutes later, the agent came back.  "Wow! Your van is very.... organized!"  Haha!  I'm pretty sure this guy wasn't even the one who was supposed to search our van but he was just curious to see it.  Then he told us it sort of smelled!  "It smells!?" We both asked, incredulously.  We hadn't noticed.  "I mean, just like a travel vehicle," he said, "you know.  I've smelled much worse!"  I just laughed and told him I guessed I would take that as a compliment.  He let us on our way.  Sans orange.

After that, we decided we were glad we would't have to cross the border again until July.  Unfortunately, we have four more crossings in our foreseeable future.  One into Canada, then into Alaska, then back into Canada, then back into the lower 48.  At this point, we are resigning ourselves to the fact that we will probably get searched more often than not.  It kind of just goes with the territory.  In the grand scheme of things, it's just a minor inconvenience and not really a big deal or something to get upset about. The agents are trying to do their jobs well and apparently we fit the sketchy bill. Being profiled for a lifestyle that I've chosen to live is nothing compared to the profiling other people are subjected to on a daily basis for things they can't change. I just wish I could see the border patrols faces when they step into the van and see that it looks like an 8 year old girl lives in it.  I think opening the door and seeing colored foam floors, chalkboards, big bubbles on the wall and penguin curtains is probably a lot more shocking than finding an eighth would be.