Lessoned learned from three days lost in Olympic National Forest with Stephanie Lincoln

Stephanie Lincoln, former US Army Veteran and all around bad ass (and Washington State Hiking Podcast listener!) sits down with Jennie to share about what she learned and how's she's changed as a hiker since being a missing person for three days in Olympic National Forest in August 2020. 

Stephanie shares about how she survived, how she was rescued (spoiler alert - she was rescued!), how she returned to solo hiking as a woman after this ordeal, moving to Washington State two years ago and more. 

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Transcript

Welcome to the Washington State Hiking Podcast. I'm your host, Jennie Thwing Flaming, 

and I'm your co-host Craig Romano.

Craig and I are happy to have you here. We provide practical and timely seasonal hiking advice for hikers, trail runners, and potential hikers and trail runners of all skill and ability levels that is helpful, accurate, fun, and inclusive.

 





  today everybody, I am super excited to have Stephanie Lincoln with us. Stephanie is a listener and reached out to Craig and I, um, because she has a pretty wild story and some cool things that we can learn from her.

So Stephanie, welcome to the podcast. Thank you for being here. 

Thank you. I'm honored to be here. I love your podcast. Thank you so much, Jennie and Craig for doing what you do. 

Oh, 

thank you. And I moved to Washington State two years ago. You guys were an integral part of me being able to orient myself to living in the Seattle area and finding just the best hikes.

And I've been so, I've been avid listener, you know, since. 

Aw. I love that. Thank you. Thank you so much. So Stephanie, can we start by having you just introduce yourself to everybody? Tell us a little bit about where you're from, a little bit about your background, and then we'll get into what we're talking about today.

Yeah. Um, I am unfortunately from the East coast Boo. Uh, 

he's from the east coast to you. We're not east coast haters. 

Yeah. Craig is from the east. Yeah. Yeah. 

But, 

Down south, you know, the, the, I'm a southern girl come from a, you know, big redneck family. And, um, yeah, that's a term of endearment where we're from, not a, not an insult.

So, um. And, uh, I, I grew up born and raised in Florida. I'm the child of a, uh, Navy Marine, and Navy, um, veteran. And, uh, we moved around a little bit, um, on the East Coast. You can still probably hear my accent on, on occasion. I still get those comments here and that I, um, I joined the Army when I was 17 years old.

And, um, I lived up and down the East coast and, uh, actually got my master's degree in counseling psychology. And I was a, I was a pretty avid athlete. Um, I did endurance races. I was actually on the, uh, Florida National Guard Endurance Racing team in my twenties. We were, uh, training for the Eco Challenge.

That's what it was called back then. I think it's called, uh, the, the world's, uh, hardest race or something like now. Um, but I, you know, I'm no, no stranger to the outdoors and, um, hard things. And, uh, we trained up in, um, the Smokies obviously with our location and, uh, did a lot of really fun, um, races. And, uh, I just got into hiking just kind of naturally, um, in, you know, kind of in my early thirties.

I just started doing it. I, I don't know what was going on with me at the time, but. I just needed some solace and some miles and, and some alone time thinking about some things on my feet. Um, probably having to do with my, my dad's, uh, terminal cancer illness and taking care of him. So, um, I just got into solo backpacking at the time, just as kind of a, a, a therapeutic tool.

And, um, did a couple of trips again up into the, the Smokies did some solo, um, back country. Hikes. Nothing, you know, nothing crazy. And, um, my husband and I, by circumstance, ended up on the road. We sold our house in 2019 and um, bought an RV and two weeks later we were literally just driving around and 

That's 

awesome.

We had no idea, no plan. Knew nothing about what we were going to do. And so we actually traveled for almost five years in rv. Wow. We lived time. Yeah. And we saw just the most amazing places in the United States and talked about just a nature experience pretty much everywhere we went. That was, um, the kind of the catalyst for all the wonderful hiking opportunities I got over the years.

I mean, I did all the majors. I mean, I've been to 38 national parks this point, countless state and, and county parks and national monuments. And so that's how I ended up, in forks. So people might recognize the name of, of that little teeny little town. Yeah. And then northwest corner of Washington State.

We actually loved spending our summers in Washington State on our RV trip. That was all. On regular rotation for us. Like every other year we, we were in Washington state and we ended up in forks and that's, uh, that was the, the fateful hike that I write about in my book. Born to Be Brave. Yes, 

yes. Yeah. So.

Listeners. So Stephanie has written this beautiful book, which I would really encourage you to pick up and read Called Born to Be Brave. Um, like you said, I'll put a link to it in the show notes, and this is Stephanie's story of having this adventure. Slash survival situation slash mm-hmm. Uh, depending on how you wanna think about it in the, in Olympic National Forest Near Forks.

So, Stephanie, without, uh, you know, people can, people really, folks, you should read this book. It's really awesome. But can you tell everybody just a little bit about what happened to you on this fateful hike near forks? 

Yeah. Well, um, you know, there's a spoiler alert right up front. I actually survived, so 

Yay.

You know, 

great news. A 

little obvious, you know, since I'm here talking to you. Yeah. I'm not a ghost. 

Yes. 

So there's that. I spoiled it. Sorry, you know, spoiled the ending, but,

it's okay. 

Yeah. I, I, yeah and, and the wonderful comment I I get about my book, the feedback that I get about my book is, even though I know what happened, you know, at the end, obviously you wrote a book about it, so you survived.

But, you know, I was on the edge of my seat. Like, oh my God, what's gonna happen next? Is she gonna make it? But even though, you know, she's gonna make it, 

especially with the helicopter. 

Yes. 

So I, I won't like give away the whole thing, but the part about the helicopter that was so relatable to me. 

Yes. Yeah.

That, that was definitely a, a climax in, in, in the book. So, we'll, we'll let you read it to find out what happened with the helicopter, but, um. I had, you know, headed out just like every other day, hike that I do. I, you know, grab my, my backpack, I have all my, you know, 10 essentials. I tell my husband where I'm going, I send him a screenshot of the, uh, of the trail.

I let him know, you know, when I'm gonna be back and rolled out. And, um, kind of had a, a couple of. Mishaps when I got there. Um, definitely user error, but also just, I, you know, one of the big lessons learned for me was just I, I was rushing, you know, I was just kind of. In this place of looking at this hike that day as like, I need to get my workout in.

I got, I got things to do. You know, it's just like I, I skipped over a lot of kind of the checks and balances I'd normally do for, um, a hike and it really bit me in the ass. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Because it was, you know, the culminating kind of, kind of reasons, the perfect storm. Maybe if one of those things would've happened, I would not have gotten lost, but.

Yeah, it was one or two or three things that happened that ended up me getting extremely disoriented, having kind of a failure of navigation and, um, ended up, you know, being lost out in the Olympic National Forest. And for those of you who don't know that area, um, you know, the Olympic Peninsula, the Olympic National Park is, you know, very crowded, very, you know.

There's a lot of people there. It's kind of, I don't know how easy it would be to get lost over there because it's, it's a pretty small area and pretty dense, you know, with just people. But the Olympic National Forest side of the Forks area is, pretty remote and, , not very, uh, well visited. Um, and they really only have, uh, you know, like a handful of kind of official trails, so to speak.

Yeah, even those were almost impossible to find on the, the, the apps that I was using at the time. So, um, definitely, uh, much more, um, opportunity for something wrong to go to, to happen. And it did for me. 

Yeah. And so how long were you out there by yourself before you were rescued? 

I was there, I was, um, officially a missing person for 56 hours.

So, yeah, three days. 

That must have felt like absolutely forever in the moment. 

It did, yes. It felt like about three years. Um, 

yeah, I bet it did. 

Yeah. Absolutely. 

Yeah. 

And especially because I chose to, for the first, for the, you know, the two nights I was out there, I chose to not sleep. 

Yeah. 

Um, and the reason for that was.

I don't even think my body would've let me because I was just running on pure adrenaline and cortisol and like, yeah, you're lizard 

brain must have 

totally taken 

over. 

I don't think I even could have slept. Um, but I also, because of the fact that I, um, was afraid I would get hypothermic Yeah. Because the temperatures did plummet pretty low, um, at night.

And, um, it was just a way for me to stay warm was to keep moving mm-hmm. At night. 

Mm-hmm. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Um, so I, I'd love to know. Stephanie one. One of the things that I think is really important for people to hear about your story and something that Craig and I have, have talked about and, um, my husband, Jay, who came on the podcast a little over a year ago, he's involved in search and rescue and we did an episode about that.

Mm-hmm. So, you know, listeners, if you missed that one Yeah. Go back and check that out. I think it's so important, Stephanie, that you are a very experienced person in the outdoors and I mm-hmm. I think your story kind of illustrates that this really can happen to anyone, and that's not to freak us out, it's just to remind us that mm-hmm 

these 

precautions that we take, um, are, are important every time.

You know? 'cause we don't know when that one time is gonna happen. Where we need that. You know, like where you told Brad absolutely where you were gonna be. That's huge. What if you had skipped that step? Yes. Huge. You know? 

Exactly. Yeah. 

Yeah. 

I mean it, yeah, and I, and that is such a good point, Jennie, because Yeah, because you think, oh, you know, she must have been an inexperienced hiker.

She must have, you know, like no, like, 

yeah, 

no, and no, and no, like all the things like, 

yeah. 

The only thing I didn't have on me, which was my error, because I usually check my pack before I go, wow. Is I had brought my. I usually bring like a, you know, like a raincoat, you know, kind of windbreaker thing. Yeah.

And a like a beanie, um, you know, and an extra pair of socks. Those were not in my pack. 

Mm-hmm. 

And they should have been. And my life was. Kind of miserable without those items, but I may do. 

Yeah. 

And you'll learn how I made deal in the book. I got a little creative. Yes, you did little MacGyver stuff going on out there, but, uh, I was not winning the fashion awards, but I made it work and, and you survived.

Yeah, I had the tennis essentials. Yeah, I, I mean, I, I had all the things, I had my water purifier, you know, I had my emergency whistle. I had, you know, my, uh, I, I had my electrolytes, I had my medical kit, I had my fire starter and my, you know, my kindling right? I, I was able to make a fire. All of those things that I had on me.

Yeah. I, I really believe the reason why I was able to survive, I had plenty of water. Right. And I, I had my, my, the way to make it clean for me to drink and safe. 

Mm-hmm. 

And, um, you know, I, I had my emergency kind of stuff to make sure that, you know, when and if and when I had the opportunity to get found, it helped me get found.

Yeah. Absolutely. I know it drives Jay absolutely bananas when a person is missing and people say, oh, she or he was so experienced. He's like, yeah. 

Mm-hmm. 

And, and probably spends more time outside, therefore, like there is a higher risk of this happening. Not, not that. Plenty of people who aren't experienced don't.

Need rescuing. That also happens, but I think, 

yes. 

Yeah, I, one thing that I think is really important about your story is that you did know what you were doing and you were experienced, and like you said, you, you didn't have this one thing, or you skipped over this one step, and we all do that, right? Mm-hmm.

You know, it's just whether or not it bites us in the ass to use your term. 

Exactly. 

Yeah. Okay. So I would love to know what. What are some of the things you had with you? You already mentioned being able to treat water that you felt were, that you feel now looking back on it, were really crucial to your being able to survive.

So I'm talking about other than the skills that you had from your experience, both your experience hiking and backpacking and adventure racing and in the Army. But aside from that, things that you actually had. What do you feel like was really crucial and extra important that you had with you? 

Yeah, definitely the water purifying system.

Yeah. The upfront number one, right? I mean, I, I would've died a dehydration. 

Mm-hmm. 

You know, most likely. So, you know, I carry a ver, a large camelback. I also carry a one liter, um, you know, Noggle. And then I have my, my Purifier system. System. Um, I do the, um, the LED light one, but I also carry purifying tablets.

As a backup and I have a solar charger, um, with, you know, with all the cords for those things. 

Yeah. 

Um, a bright red backpack. 

Yes. 

That was key. Yeah. You'll find out when you read the book. Yes. Something bright like you need to wear or have something that is a bright color. 

Yeah. 

So, you know, that is how you're going to potentially be able to get somebody's attention and be found.

Yeah. Like, let's say. Down a ravine or a hole or, you know, and you're wearing all dark colors, you're gonna, it's gonna be harder for them to s to people to, for people to see you. Yep. So, yeah. Something bright. 

Mm-hmm. 

Um, my fire starter, uh, kit mm-hmm. Emergency fire starter kit was key for me. Yeah.

Especially that first night. And I had, you know, was very, very soaking wet from sweat and attempting to recover myself and you know that Yeah. Those, that ridge I was on was very tall, and those beautiful, beautiful trees are very tall. Yeah. And they block out the sun very quickly. 

Yeah. 

That sunsets fast there.

And, um, you know, I was in high danger of hypothermia definitely that first night. Yeah. And I was able to dry myself out by getting a fire started and if I had not especially like have you ever tried to make a fire in a literal like rainforest? I have actually. Yeah. 

Yes, I'm familiar with that. That challenge?

Uh, yes. Yes. 

So, yeah, and having that, um, the, especially the kindling that I had was a game changer because otherwise I really don't think I would've been able to get anything lit up there. So I think that was a, a big survival plus, um, for me 

Yeah. 

Out there. 

Uh, absolutely. Yeah. And I'll just point out listeners that this didn't happen in the winter.

This was in the summer. 

Yes. 

Yeah. And so I think it's really easy for us to underestimate what it would be like to try to get through a night, even in summer with the temperatures. Mm-hmm. So, you know, you talked about sweating all day, and then now you're worrying about hypothermia now that it's dark. So.

That is something, you know, it's easy 

Yeah. 

For people to be like, oh, I'll just wear a sleeveless shirt today, or a, you know, whatever, and like, not have something warm just in case. Or if you get injured, you know, even if it's not night, you know? Yeah. You can get cold really fast even on a hot day. Mm-hmm.

So, yeah. 

Yeah. 

Okay. So, 

yeah, that's a killer I, that, that kills me when I see people out there in like little crop tops and like short shorts and I'm like. I'm like, what if something happens? You, 

you know? Yeah. Like, like wear that, but bring 

Alea, hypertonia in 80 degree weather. Like 

Yeah. 

I, and I always, as a rule, I don't know if I got this from the military, I always wear long sleeves and long pants when I hike.

Always. Yeah. I, no matter what time of year. I'm always in long sleeves and long pants. 

Yeah, that, that's funny. This is something Craig, I don't remember what episode, but Craig and I have talked about this before 'cause he's a shorts wear hiking and I can't stand hiking in shorts. It's like stuff is brushing up against me and you have to put sunscreen and your on your legs.

Like who wants to do that? Mm-hmm. 

Mm-hmm. Yeah. Love that. 

Okay, cool. Alright, so is there anything. I, I think the, this would be really great to talk about to you, Stephanie. What have you changed about both your process? And what you bring with you since this incident. So maybe we should separate those two things.

Like what, is there anything, and if you haven't changed anything that that's cool to you, but is there anything that you now bring with you that you didn't before or anything that you don't bring with you that you did before? Um, as far as what's in your pack, what, if anything? Mm-hmm. Have you changed since this time?

Yeah. Well, I definitely, even though I usually always brought it for some reason because I was rushing the day, um, that I did that hike, I always even no, no matter what time of year, I always at least bring, you know, a beanie. Um, a, a warmer layer of some sort, whether it be a puffy or, or a vest or something like that.

Yep. 

And, um, an extra pair of socks, that's always a, a thing. So I definitely always make sure, and I always do a hands-on check, like before I go out. Yeah. I, I don't care if I plan on being out for an hour or a, you know, back country hike. I always have just a hands-on. Um, saying so, because that's, that's the thing that, that I didn't do that day, that, that, you know.

Was made me very uncomfortable 'cause I didn't have those items. 

Yeah. 

Um, I do also, I did invest in a, uh, I know this isn't for everyone, but, um, a satellite, um, uh, you know, an, uh, the garment little mini, um Yep. Satellite emergency beacon. 

Yep. 

Um, I had been hesitant to, to invest in one of those. Yeah. Because they're pretty pricey And, um.

You know, I'm a little, a little on the cheap side. Yeah. So, uh, I feel like my experience justified it. Uh, definitely. You know, I, I certainly wish I would've had it out there time. Yeah. Um, but, you know, uh, so yes, I, I always, no matter what, even when I'm skiing, I, I, I always have it clipped on me. Yeah. So, um, if I'm just going into wildness area, I just always have it clipped on and, um.

I think that's it. I mean, I, I, mm-hmm. I, well, yeah, the only other thing I, I did change was I stopped using the app that I use. I won't say what brand, but it's a pretty popular app. 

Yeah. 

Um, and I, I now use, you know, just like a, a regular kind of GPS system, um, you know, through, through Garmin, um, yeah. For, you know, a trail navigating.

Yeah. Yeah. Let, actually, let's talk about apps for a minute because a, again, without getting too far into the things you wrote about in your book, what, what jumped out to me about your app experience is one that I've also had or heard other people talk about, which is like, it just isn't reliable enough for, for the kind of.

I think it's fine if it's like a super popular, well traveled trail. Mm-hmm. You know, pla you know, if it's like the mount si trail fine. Mm-hmm. You know? Mm-hmm.

So one of the challenges I think with apps is that they don't have the depth of information that sometimes is necessary. And I think this applies to, to your, your rescue. Mm-hmm. Um, but also many other situations. And the way Craig described it a couple weeks ago in that episode about search and rescue was like bite sized.

Information versus like having the fine print. So if you're, if you're using a GPS and you know exactly where. You are, or a map encompass and you know exactly where you are or you are getting your information from like guidebooks or like WTA entries that only applies to Washington. Mm-hmm. Because that's the Washington Trail Association, but where you're getting more detail.

I uh, I think what Craig said was like, the fine print can be the thing that saves your life. And so, you know, we were talking about how. One of the challenges with apps or social media or lots of other things is just that there's only a little information. There's not like everything you might wanna know, like this avalanche shoot that can still release avalanches into June.

You know? 

Yeah. So, yeah. Yeah. 

Anyway, 

yeah. And I, I do love the WT a TA app. I use that one a lot too. 

Yeah. 

Um, especially for researching certain areas or trips that I wanna take. Um, but yeah, I, for me, um, I, I have always had the practice anyway, um, of any back country stuff that I'm doing. If I'm, if I'm staying the night out there, I actually have a paper map.

Compass. Yeah. Um, because. But not everybody has those skills. Right? Yeah. I, I was in the military, you know, I know how to use a paper map and compass. 

Yeah. 

And I just have that as a backup because, you know, that's, that's also the other challenge is the assumption that you're gonna have your phone, right?

Yeah. And it's like, okay, well that can change really quickly. Right, right. What if you just, you're, you're doing a stream crossing and you didn't have it secured and you fell, you stumbled and whoop, there it goes. Right. And if we're relying on that, that phone, you're shit outta luck, right? 

Yeah. 

So we don't always assume that that item can be lost.

So any backcountry camping trips that I've done, um, not only, you know, we have the app, but we have a, a backup system of a paper and map encompass. And if I'm with somebody else too, I make sure they also have a paper map. Like, I've literally just like put it, you know, on a copy machine and just copied the section that we need.

Put this in 

your pack. 

Hopefully we don't need this. So somebody has an extra one, right? Yeah, yeah. Like, just in case, you know, somebody loses the map, right? 

So, yeah. Right. And having, I also use both a paper map and a GPS and, um, you know, again, if it's the mount side trail, you're gonna have cell service.

It's going to, you know, it's probably fine if you don't have those things. I, I bring them all the time, just so. Like you were saying, I'm always in the habit of making sure I always have that, and maybe I don't need it here, but that's fine. You know, it's like part of the process. Um, but of course, you know, you can also lose or damage the paper map, right?

So you kind of have two redundancies there, like having a spare tire. Yeah. Cool. Exactly. Okay. Is there anything, Stephanie, that you've changed about your process? So I wanna ask you a little more about solo hiking in a moment, but, um, I know you said you already had a practice of telling Brad where you were going and when you expected to be back.

Is there anything that you've changed about that since, um, since your rescue, or has that stayed basically the same? 

Um, well, one additional thing, um, that I did, I love that you asked this question because in my book I talk about how horrified I was at the picture that was used in the missing persons, uh, on the missing persons flyer.

Yes, 

yes. 

Um, it was not a flattering picture. Yeah. And if, and so yeah, I added to the practice now when even if I'm going on a day hike. I, um, do, I, I take a selfie, basically a full body selfie. Selfie. I just put my phone, you know, on the counter or whatever, and set the timer and I take a full body picture of myself, of what I'm wearing.

Yeah. 

Along with the backpack. I just prop the backpack next to me. Yeah. And take a full body picture. And I send it to Brad as well, so I not only send him, you know, the, the name of the. The trail I'm gonna be on, uh, you know, when I'm gonna be back and, um, I sent him the picture. 

Yeah. 

Of what I'm wearing, head to toe, you know, so in case Right.

I go missing, they know exactly what I was wearing. This is exactly what, you know, I look like. Yeah. So that, that would be helpful for search and rescue. 

I love that. That's awesome. Yeah. Okay. So let's talk a little bit about solo hiking. This is something as you know, and as listeners know, Craig and I have talked about quite a bit because he and I both do a lot of solo hiking.

However, you and I are both women. Mm-hmm. And so I'd love to know, I guess a couple things. One is, um, did you always feel comfortable hiking on your own or. Not, let's start there. Is this something that always felt comfortable for you or is it something you had to work up to, 

um, overnight? Yeah. I, I, I did. I, I distinctly remember my first overnight, it was in Shenandoah.

Um, and the first night I was very nervous. Yeah. And not that I was like nervous about people like getting attacked by people. I was more so nervous about just. Wildlife, you know, like bears or whatever. But of course there's like, you know, there there's no bears that will harm you, you know? And, and the in Shenandoah, I was just, I don't know, I was just nervous of being out there by myself at night.

Yeah. Um, so it took me a while to kind of get through those nerves. Mm-hmm. And work through that. But now I, I don't have any kind of nervousness. Mm-hmm. Um, when I'm, I'm, uh, you know, solo back country, you know, as long as I, you know, I, I'm oriented and I know where I'm at and I've got all my gear. Like I've proven, you know, that I have everything I need to survive.

Yeah. And I'm gonna be okay. And, um, and it's really sad to me though, Jennie, because. I remember even on that Shenandoah hike, I um, I got up to like a peak area and there was a, a man and a woman. They were together and I had my big backpack on. Obviously I was out gonna be out there for a while. It was obvious I was back country camping.

And the woman looked at me and she said, oh gosh. I don't, I don't, I couldn't do that. I couldn't stay out here by myself. I don't, I I would just be too scared. And it made me sad when she said that to me. Um, and I, and, and that was actually my first, like, my first reel back. I had done like little ones, you know.

Overnights, you know, local you, but not like out in the wilderness. That was my first, like out in the wilderness by myself. Experience. 

Yeah. 

And that was the comment I got right from a woman. And it made me sad and I, it, it kind of made me determined, you know, at that point when I heard that, I was like, I'm not gonna be like that.

I'm not gonna let my fear keep me from doing what I love. I love this. Like, yeah, there's nothing more peaceful than getting to like your destination and setting up camp. And just chilling, like at your campsite and just having that beautiful experience of just that quiet and that just contemplation and, and you, you know, there's nothing compared to that space you get mentally, not, not only physically, but mentally.

Yeah. 

When you are, you know, out in the world. 

Yeah, absolutely. Do you think, is there anything. Would've been different. And I know we didn't talk about all the details on the podcast, but in your, in your rescue or let's say in your getting lost, do you think that anything would've been different if you had not been by yourself?

Or do you think it would've been the same? I know that's kind of a nonsense question because you were by yourself. Yeah. No, but the reason I'm asking is because I feel like, of course there are benefits to, to being with someone else in certain situations. There can also be some downsides to being with someone else.

You. Sometimes other people help you make better decisions. Mm-hmm. And sometimes they help you make worse decisions. So I'm just curious, like 

Yes. Yeah, exactly. 

In your situation, if you feel like it would've mattered or not. 

Yeah. And I, I did, I wrote a whole chapter about people's, other, people's reactions to my experience.

Yeah. 

In my mind. So Jennie is cringing because I can go, I quote, um. Oh, some of the, the comments I got and one of 'em was, you know, you know, you should have been hiking with someone, right? And that wouldn't have happened. It's like. Well, that's a big guess. You know, it's like Right. Two people can get just lost as one person.

Yes. And four people can get just lost as one person. Like that's a strange equation. I'm not sure where you got that math. Yeah. Because numbers don't really equate to whether or not you get lost. Right. 

Right. 

Yeah. Would it be helpful. Something, you know, let, let's say you fall and you break your leg.

Absolutely. Like that's a fantasy thing. Yes. That would be 

different. Yeah. 

Move they can get somewhere to get you help. Right, right. And that actually did happen to me on a back country hike with an army buddy of mine. 

Mm. 

Um, and I tell the story in my book, we were out in the Smokies and um, on day two of our hike.

He got violently ill like, 

oh 

yeah. And he, I mean, it, it was just nonstop vomiting and he, that 

sucks. 

Obviously was suffering some from something very serious. And he was severely dehydrated. Yeah. And we were in the bottom of a canyon, like, yeah. It like couldn't have been a worse scenario. We had to go up and it was like our longest day too on the trip is like an 11 mile climb up to this like ridge and, and I mean, yeah, it got, it got real serious, real fast and it was a benefit obviously to him to have me, um, assist him in that, you know, probably saved his life.

So, yeah, I mean, of course if I could hike with someone every single time, I would love to. The problem is, you know, finding someone to hike with. I mean, that's, 

I know

so much Oh yeah. Coordinating da, da, da. Yeah. 

Yeah. It's like people have schedules, people have lives, people, you know. Yeah. Like it. Yeah. Not everybody, um, you know, has the desire to even do it. Right. Right. And, and like people ask me all the time, does, you know, does Brad hike? How come he wasn't with you? No, he does not hike.

My 

husband doesn't hike 

either. 

Hate he hates it. It's not his thing. He's a tennis guy. I hate Dennis. 

Yeah, 

right. So, you know, everybody has their thing and Yeah. And just in case I've been able to make, yeah. 

Oh, go ahead Stephanie. 

Oh, I've, I've been able to make a couple of friends since I've moved here. Um, and so I, I have, you know, been on some, um, hikes with, with other women, and that's, that's nice and I love that.

And I wish I could do that every time, but it's just not, you know, why, if, if the choice is for me to just not go, um, because you know, you're not allowed to go solo, quote unquote. 

Mm-hmm. 

Um, or you shouldn't go solo, quote unquote. No, that's, that's bullshit because I, yeah. I love hiking. It's, it's just a part of who I am.

Same. 

And I'm not gonna give that up because of fear. I mean, really, that's what it is. It's fear. 

Yeah. 

Yeah. And my fears are not gonna control me, you know, from, and limit me from doing the thing that I love to do, you know, because I'm afraid that there might something bad might happen. Yeah. And it's such a delusional.

Thought process anyway. And I'm a therapist, so I, you know, have this talk all the time with my clients. It's like, 

yes, yes. 

You know, like these, these kind of irrational fears. Sure. Is there a chance that something might happen? Absolutely. And you need to prepare for that. Yeah. Right. The best you can. And, but.

We do a whole lot of, a whole lot of things every single day, all day long that have a lot of risk and we never once think about it. And it certainly doesn't prevent us from doing those things. Right. Like 

driving, 

like I got in my car this morning and drove to work. Right? I didn't think about the 150 terrible things that could have happened to me on the way here.

Right? Yeah. It's like I didn't even give a thought and it didn't prevent me from coming to work 'cause I got bills to pay. Right? So it's like. There's a cost benefit, right, of these risks that we take every single day and just isolate certain things like hiking and say, well, you shouldn't do it if you're doing it alone.

Well, like, that's risky. Sure. It increases your risk a little bit, but you know, actually I was more in more danger driving out to the trail than I was on the trail. 

Yeah. Mm-hmm. That's a really good point. And, uh, so listeners, any, anybody, um, if you wanna hike more and it's too hard to find someone to hike with, consider this your permission slip to go by yourself.

From Jennie and staff. Yes. And women. Even if you're married, it's okay to go for a hike by yourself. Again, permission slip. You don't need that from us. But granted anyway. 

Mm-hmm. Yeah. And Jennie, I'm sure you've experienced this, how many times have you gone out maybe by yourself and you kinda hooked up with some people, you know, that has happened a few times on the trail and you're maybe hiking with them for a little bit, maybe not the whole time, but you know, you're chatting, you kind of, you know, I've, that's happened tons of times on, on hikes for me.

Yeah. Where I maybe, you know, hike for a little while with somebody. Maybe not the whole time, but. It's, it's a really nice social experience sometimes. 

Yeah, definitely. I think, um, you know, I think most people who listen to the podcast by now probably know that I work in Alaska quite a bit in the summer and I also have a podcast that's about Alaska and, um.

Even though I solo hike a lot here, I rarely do that in Alaska. Um, I do occasionally, but not often. Um, and only if I'm really familiar with the trail and the area because of bear safety. Not that, that's not something to yeah worry about here, but it is different. Um, and so, but there have been quite a few times, you know, and I have friends there that I'll hike with or whatever, but I often.

You know, I've been places like on my own, like Cat, my National Park or Glacier Bay National Park, and there'd be somebody else there. And you could be like, obviously here in Bear City, I'm not going to hike by myself. People do it, but like, I'm not going to, you know? Mm-hmm. And you can like find somebody and be like, let's stick together and make noise for bears.

So, yeah. 

Yeah, yeah. 

You can, you can totally make friends too. Alright. Um. So, yeah. So you were talking, Stephanie, about, about comments, people said, and, you know, there were a lot of social media and people in your personal life and people you hadn't heard from for a long time, who suddenly had an opinion about your life and your choices.

Mm-hmm. Um, so what, why did you write your story, right? Like, I mean, you, you talked in your book about. Like that being really hard to navigate and I could really relate to that. I can imagine myself just being like, I do not wanna deal with all of these people and all of this attention, and all of this judgment and all that.

So why did you decide to not only tell your story, but like write it down forever? 

Yeah. Um, it really, for me it was more of, it was a, it was a therapeutic choice. Mm-hmm. Um, I just felt like it would be a tool for me to process, you know, a very traumatic event. Um, and journaling obviously is, is a good way to do that.

And it just morphed into. And it actually was a, um, my therapist was the person who originally kind of said to me, Hey, I, I think you should write a book about this. And I don't think she was really saying, oh, you should publish it or what, you know, whatever. I, she just was encouraging me to, to, you know, she felt like I had a story to tell and it wasn't just about what happened to me.

Right. It was. A cumulative kind of preparation of the things that happened in my life over time. Yeah. That prepared me for that moment in time that helped me survive and also recover, um, in a very healthy way. Yeah. And so, you know, that is, it was, it was my therapeutic tool. And then so as I kind of. Went through the, I mean, the, the book now is only like two.

It's a, it's a pretty short read. It's like 200 and, I don't know, 20 pages or so. 

Yeah. 

Uh, it's not, I actually 

wrote, it's not like a Russian novel. 

Yes, yes. But what I actually wrote was, was like warn piece like times too, like, 

yeah. 

I, I mean, just thousands and thousands and thousands of pages of. Just writing, just, it was just my therapeutic vomiting of just all the things to process.

Yeah, 

yeah. You know, this, this event. And, and so I, um, I, I gave it to my lovely, uh, you know, person who, who was kind of I hired to give me some feedback on, Hey, is this a book? You know, like, yeah. Kind of question mark. And, um, you know, her, her answer back was. Uh, this is like three books. And so, 

yes. 

Uh, and, and, but it was great to get that feedback because she, she really kind of laid out for me as, as you know, her profession.

This is what she does for a living. And she said, well, I think you, you have kind of a adventure story slash memoir, and then you also have kind of a self-help book. And, you know, and, and so she said you got to kind of separate those things out. 

Yeah. 

And if you want to actually publish something, um, you need to choose one and kind of.

Go with that. Yeah. And so, uh, that's where I decided, okay, I love memoirs. I'm a more memoir junkie. Like I am just 

me too 

obsessed with people's stories. Yes. Yeah. It's just same. I don't care who you are, like I wanna hear your story. 

Yeah. 

And um, so it was kind of apropos for me too. Um, to write a memoir.

And so yeah, my book is kind of about what happened to me, but it's kind of also not about what happened to me. It's, 

yeah, 

it's very much a kind of mishmash of the things that I went through in my life that I feel like prepared me for that moment in time. Yeah. And, um, and, and also recovering from that, which is, you know, why it's called Born to Be Brave?

Yeah. 

And, um, so it, it just kind of helped. My life kind of come full circle with those realizations of, I, I don't think if I had not had those experiences that I would have maybe a survived, you know, the actual event, but maybe B not had come out the other side of it. Um, in, in such a healthy way. 

Mm-hmm.

Yeah. Absolutely. Okay, Stephanie, as we kind of move towards wrapping up here. So spoiler alert listeners, Stephanie of course, survived and was rescued and later, several years later, moved here. To Washington, so I would love to know. I know. Welcome. We are happy to have you here. I would love to know if you have had, from your hiking, that you've done since you moved here and you're no longer living on the road in the rv, right?

You're living in like a house with a job. Yes. And all of that, a different job. Um. I would love to know what some of your favorite hikes have been. Maybe a couple of them or however many you wanna share in Washington and why? 

Yeah. Oh gosh. I mean, I could go on and on. Um, I, I am fortunate enough to live near the White River entrance of Rainier National Park, so I mean, it's probably door to door, 40, 50 minutes for me, for my house.

And so, um, I think the Sunrise area in yes, Rainier is just the yes. Most beautiful spot. Like, oh, I think maybe even That's wonderful. Washington state. 

Yeah, 

it is. It's just gorgeous. So, um, I love the, um, on that side of the park, um, one of my favorite hikes is the, um, the crystal, um. I think it's the Crystal Mountain Peak.

Mm-hmm. Hike. Um, there's a Crystal Lakes and then there's, there's, then there's the summit. So there's like a 

Yes. 

Uh, you choose, you choose your own adventure at a fork. Yes. Um, and I mean, both of those hikes are just gorgeous and I, I, I've done those a couple of times. I think they're definitely the most scenic areas.

I, in Nash and in in Rainier. And, um, yeah, love. That's definitely my, one of my favorite hikes. Um. I love the Cascades. Uh, I think they're so special. I think they just look unique. Yeah. Um, to me, I, I recently did one, um, and it was, I found it from your podcast. I went back and listened and, and was like writing down, like, okay, I'm gonna look at this one.

Look at that one. And I, I'm blanking on the name, um, of, of the, the hikes that I did, but it was one of you guys' recommend. Recommended hikes. Mm-hmm. And it was just spectacular. Mm-hmm. And, um, anywhere in the, the Cascades, I mean, it, it is just brilliant and just for the Alpine Lakes and just how unique those peaks are.

So, yeah. Um, yeah, those are definitely my, my. Favorite areas. 

Love that. Is there anywhere that you have, I mean, I, I'm sure this is a long list, but is there any, are there any particular hikes that you're like, Ooh, I haven't done this one yet, but it's like, top of my list to do and I get the chance? I, 

yeah.

Um, well, I missed, you know, the, the, all the, the Ls, you know, the Yes. 

Oh, you gotta do 

that. You're 

awesome. 

So, you know, I, I know there's, there's a lot of controversy about how packed those areas are and, um, I, I definitely want to do the large experience. Oh yeah. You know, since I. I've never really, you know, encountered that.

And I, I just think the fall colors are just so spectacular. That's one of the reasons why I love living here. Yeah. And, um, yeah, that's, that's definitely on my bucket list. And um, I'd love to do the entire Wonderland trail. I've done sections. Um, and those, that's just amazing. Yeah. And I, I hope to, to kind of be one of those people that kind of checked that box and did the entire wonderland trail.

Maybe not one shot, you know, unless I 

Yeah. 

Win the lottery and Right. No 

longer need a job and 

no longer need to work and Yeah. Um, but, you know, do, do it in sections and, and I'd love to have that, um, crossed off my bucket list. 

Love it. Cool. Well, Stephanie, thank you so much for coming and sharing your story.

And listeners check out her book, it's called Born to Be Brave, and there's a link to it in the show notes. Also, Stephanie, thank you so much for being here. 

Thank you so much for having me, Jennie, and I just love you guys' podcast.

But you guys have.

I credit you guys with some of the most, you know, amazing hikes that I've done since I've lived here the last couple years. So thank you so much for what you do. 

Oh, love that. Well, it is our pleasure to do it. All right. Bye everyone. See you next week. 

If you are enjoying the Washington State Hiking Podcast, Craig and I would love to have you leave us a rating and a review that helps other people find us. And if you wanna support us financially, you can leave us a tip through the show notes. No account, no commitment, nothing like that. Thank you so much for listening and see you next week.