How to Get Out More Often

We spoke with friends of Adventure 16 who seem to get out all the time. How do they do it? Some of their advice...

MAKING
IT A PRIORITY...

Jackie Paulson, Santa Monica

Longtime Adventure 16 outings instructor and globe-trotting adventurer Jackie
recently climbed Acongagua. When we spoke with her she was leaving for Colorado
for a round of ice climbing. She’s planning a Mt. McKinley ascent this
June and will also climb the Mountaineers Route up Whitney. “I don’t
see outdoor trips as a frivolous vacation or extra treat. I see it as something
that is a priority: A part of my life in the same way as eating properly, staying
fit and showing up for work. Fortunately my husband is ok with all this—he’s
more of an adrenaline junkie; skiing and such. I keep all of my most commonly
used gear in one giant duffle. I keep a file of places I’m going to go.
Every time I see something in Backpacker magazine, it goes into that file—I’m
constantly planning years in advance…That’s part of the joy. It keeps
me inspired.”

MAKE THE MOST
OF YOUR TIME

Jerry Schad, La Mesa

Author
of the enormously popular Southern California hiking guidebook series “Afoot
& Afield,” Jerry is an astronomy and physical sciences professor at
Mesa College. He’s usually out in the field each week updating his books.
Jerry’s newest book, “Trail Runner’s Guide to San Diego”
(Wilderness Press) will be out this year. It will contain descriptions of 50
runs. “The time of day and time of year are so very important around here.
Don’t go out in broiling sun in summertime. So many people can get the
wrong idea about day hikes when our area starts warming up in May. They hit
the trail at 10 a.m. and then it gets uncomfortably hot and they’re not
enjoying themselves. Confine your explorations to early evening or early morning.
My interest is based on the KISS principle (Keep It Simple Stupid). It’s
so easy to slip on my running shoes and be out the door in a minute for some
trail running. Everything in Southern California is incredibly close. Rather
than drive for a day or two, I like to make the most of my time. My pack is
typically an average of 10 pounds (cameras are a big part of the weight), although
I can be over that at the beginning of a trip because of water. Sometimes in
Mission Trails Regional Park I just carry my keys, ID, Kleenex, and a few coins.
I don’t carry a cell phone.”

DREAMS
BEGIN WITH MAPS

Gwyn Benedict, San Diego

Adventure 16’s Solana Beach Store Manager, Gwyn is an avid flyfisher, hiker,
backpacker, and outdoor skills clinic instructor. When we spoke, she was off
for her third trip in recent years to Patagonia. “Maps are a special love
of mine. The adventure begins as soon as you buy a map. You start becoming intimate
with the area before you go. You can visualize yourself on the trip. Afterwards,
looking at that same map is like replaying a video—you remember everything.
I also like having one big long-term goal and training for it, staying in shape
for it. For example, the ‘8,000-meter challenge’—a one-day footrace
where you bag Southern California’s highest peaks—was a big challenge
for me. I did a four-month training program for that single day, but the training
got me into the local mountains ‘looking for elevation’ pretty much
weekly.”

GO
FOR THE ENDORPHINE HIGH

Corey Freyer, Los Angeles

Corey, the former Wilderness Outings Coordinator in West LA, has taught backcountry
cooking, map & compass and more. She is an avid hiker, backpacker, mountaineer.
She works as a salesperson for Adventure 16, and teaches clinics such as backcountry
cooking. “A continuity of exercise is very important to me. Even more significant
is the way I feel when I’m active in a backcountry setting: that endorphine
high, that peace of mind. Beauty is a big part of that, too. I’m planning
on doing a substantial backpacking trip at the end of summer, so training in
the Santa Monica mountains or Idyllwild and San Jacinto area—a genuine
mountain setting—will be a part of life until then.”

PACK
MAN

Robert Burroughs, San Diego

Robert is a freelance photographer for N.Y. Times, remains active in Boy Scouts
as a leader, and has become an ultra-light advocate. He trekked in Nepal/Everest
last fall. “I always have stuff around for overnighters or two-nighters,
but I don’t leave myself packed because I never know where I’m going.
In packs alone I own three Gregories, two Glen Van Peski G-4s, a North Face
internal, two external-frame vintage A16’s…Why so many? I loan them
out too. And I always have ‘backpacking food’ in the house because
I don’t go with freeze dried. I buy those Lipton dinners when on sale:
the ones that only need two cups of water. My favorite is a risotto and rice
cheddar broccoli. And I have extra food lying around. I could go on a hike right
now in an hour…I keep a list of places I want to go. Just belonging to
the Sierra Club and taking their Wilderness Basics courses is a great idea for
someone starting out or anxious to get back outdoors more.”

FULL HOG INTO
IT

Jeff Cooper, San Diego

Former
Outings Director for Adventure 16, Jeff started his outdoor career with Outward
Bound. His personal trips that have “nothing to do with my job” included,
in the last year alone, a winter mountaineering seminar culminating in a 5.7
all-day snow and ice ascent ‘mega-adventure,’ a whitewater ‘tour’
through California and Montana, a kayak trip around Elsmere Island north of
the Arctic Circle, and a canyoneering hike (see story page 14). “My trips
have everything to do with what feeds me: the nature of adventure—extending
your potential, gaining skills, and enjoying nature in all its raw essence.
I made a commitment to learn something new every year. I don’t mean read
a book. I don’t mean take one class. I mean get full hog into it. Devour
it. Be passionate. Eat sleep drink it. Get to know whether you like it and whether
it’s for you or not. For me that’s often been in the outdoors. I think
there are two ways to attack the challenge of ‘getting out more’:
examine what keeps you from doing it, and what attracts you to it. Are we motivated
by the possibility of negative consequences? Or a positive outcome? People start
to think about digging in a disorganized garage for their gear, the aches, the
possibility of rain, the worry that they can’t afford the time or money,
or that they’re too tired. Whatever the reasons, we all do it. But when
you do go, you think, ‘I can’t believe I waited so long to get out
here!’ I’ve done it enough to know that the latter is far more often
the outcome: almost 98 percent of the time it’s totally worth it.”

THE
EVERY YEAR THEORY

John D. Mead, La Mesa

John is President of Adventure 16, and stays active in the outdoors. He’s
been in the outdoor industry since his teens. “Ten of us go backpacking
every fall to a different National Park. It’s a guys’ week out after
our kids are back in school. Our busy schedules prevent getting together on
short notice and some of the group live far away, so to make it happen we’ve
committed to the next 50 fall seasons. We get a backcountry permit and lodge
reservation for the first night at least six months in advance. This gives us
most of the year to sweet-talk our wives, arrange our schedules, set aside the
dough, fortify our equipment arsenals, and get in shape.”