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It has been raining cats and dogs, and even elephants for days now. The ground is soaked and swamp like. This weather is not friendly to a fun outdoor adventure. Mother nature has decided that you are staying inside for a weekend of great outdoor adventure flicks! Grab the popcorn, candy, soda and hit the couch with the remote in hand. It’s time for the Girl vs. Wild’s top six outdoor adventure movies.

•Into the Wild: Directed by Sean Penn and based on author Jon Krakauer’s true story of Christopher McCandless, a young man who gives up all his worldly possessions and his life as he knew it to trek into the deep Alaska back country to live in the wild and become Alexander Supertramp. This film is my all-time favorite film and has the honor of Girl vs. Wild’s top pick. (R)

•Out Cold: Epic adventure comes to mind when I think of Out Cold. I have spent many a night watching this one, dreaming of my days as a snowboard town thrill-seeker. I spent several years working at Wolf Creek Ski area, all for the treasured employee mountain pass. Out Cold is a hilarious film that captures exactly what it is like to be a mountain town snowboarder, while also telling the tale of the town’s beloved Bull Mountain being in jeopardy when corporate tycoon Lee Majors attempts to move in. (PG-13)

•A River Runs Through It: A fly fishing classic that tells a nostalgic story of a father and his sons as they grow up fishing the Montana waters. As the brothers near adulthood, they choose different paths as they struggle to live up to their father’s high standards, but both always come back to the waters they loved with their father. (PG)

•Aspen Extreme: This is a classic ski adventure. Two snow-struck friends from Detroit chase the ski-bum dream of being Aspen ski instructors. The guys soon realize the Aspen ski scene is cutthroat, and through several challenging turns the friends are tested with money, temptation, and fame nearly tearing their friendship apart. (PG-13)

•Alive: This true story is the account of 35 rugby players whose team plane crashes in the Andes mountains on a barren glacier. Stranded with no food, no water, and no rescue coming, the 35 athletes must decide how far they will go to survive. (R)

•Vertical Limit: Siblings Annie and Peter grew up climbing with their father until a split-second decision ends their father’s life and tears the siblings apart. Years later they are reunited at the K2 base camp and must face the life and death decision to survive the dangers of K2. (PG-13)

There is not much to say except we are all wet climbing rats. We spent the entire day in the teepee with dreams of sunny dry skies.We watched Into The Wild and answered calls from our families with warnings of road closures and tornado watches while we sit wet in the teepee. We have started bedding down for another soaked night, but Mr. Shunk I warn you to stay out! Until tomorrow morning I am Girl vs. Wild Jacquelyn Farris a wet climber!

You only get good grades if you do your homework, correct? Yes correct, and the same goes with selecting and buying your adventure gear. It’s like picking a new car or even a spouse. It’s a big deal. This is the gear that you are trusting to save you in tight situations, right? You can’t go to the local five and dime and get a “super deal of a tent” and honestly believe it will stand up like a tent that is sold and trusted by the guys at your local gear store. Sure the gear at local shops might cost a bit more, but you are honestly paying for quality. Every bit of quality should be counted when headed out into the wild. You can’t control the way the wild will act, but you can control how you and your gear will hold up in any senario.

Buying gear can feel taxing at times when the total seems to be adding with each “necessity” added, but you can take relief in knowing that if you get the best you can afford in the beginning you are much less likely to have to replace it anytime soon.

Shopping around and doing your research is the only way to give yourself good peace of mind.

Right now is the perfect time to grab the great deals on apparel weather it’s online or in stores. This is the time when stores are flipping their retail floors over to spring and summer. If you thought all winter how you really would like to have a quality winter jacket you can now find it, but not feel like you will go to the poor house after paying for it. Just tuck it away in the closest for next year. It will be there waiting for you.

Honestly all retail stores have sales you just have to be a bit more patient for the best deals. Online is ideal if you aren’t set on a certain color. Most items found online are last season’s styles. For instance, for 2008 a pair of climbing pants might come in grey and green, and last years colors were blue and brown. Same pants just last season colors making them half off.

I myself have a gear acquiring method I use when outfitting myself with the latest and greatest. I work both ends of the shopping spectrum online and in store. When it comes to an item that needs to be tried on, for instance apparel, shoes, and so on. I suggest going to a local store. Ask the important questions of the products and their recommended wear. If your feeling indecisive as to which product is honestly the best choice ask the sales associate which they use, wear, or have tested. You will find it’s not always the most expensive. I have never gone wrong with this method. The gurus at Backwoods on North May have helped me in countless buying decisions. The guys and gals know their stuff inside and out.

Now when it comes to replacing an item that I have used and loved in the past, or buying from a brand I know fits spot on I go direct to an online store. If I search hard enough I can land a great deal, and most of the time get free shipping. But bottom line, if it’s something I am not for certain on I go straight to a local store and save the headache of return shipping nightmares.

In the end shop around, get good advice, and buy the gear your most comfortable with because your the one using it.

Girl vs. Wild,

Jacquelyn Farris

The grass is not always greener on the other side. In fact, I would say 9 out 10 times it isn’t. The same goes for this great state.

Oklahoma is A OK. In fact it’s far better that just OK. This past weekend I went on a winter camping trip in the Wichita Wildlife Refuge. I grabbed a few friends and we hit the road.

Driving west on 44 we start chatting and laughing of good times, and dreaming up grand plans for the future. All of a sudden it hits me. I am in Oklahoma, and am having a great time. That’s right, I like it here. I live in this great state and look at all these amazing places I have at my fingertips. I have the best of both worlds!

Monday through Friday I have a great job that allows me to be creative and push my limits. I get to run through the city and take it all in. Local hot spots, live music, and eclectic food. As soon as Friday breaks I am ready for an escape. I pack fast and within an hour I am in the great outdoors. Far from the fast world, traffic and electricity, into experiencing the pleasures of what life is really all about.

Now I know what you’re thinking, because I have heard it a thousand times. If I could only live in Colorado or Utah, life would be perfect. I know from experience what you’re thinking because I lived in Colorado for 3 years. I ran through the mountains and loved every bit of it. But there was something missing for me. Family, success, and drive.

Well, I ask you this. Have you thought about what it is you want from those places?

If it’s mountains, hiking, clean trails, fresh streams and rivers, climbing great rocks, setting new routes, kayaking, or deep valleys. We have it all here. Just open your eyes!!! Oklahoma better than A OK!

Girl vs. Wild,

Jacquelyn Farris

CLICK ON THE PHOTO FOR MORE PHOTOS FROM MY ADVENTURES

In a few hours I will be on the road, and soon there after in a tent and by the fire. Sitting in good company cooking veggie dogs fireside while enjoying fun laughs, and preparing for a cold nights rest.

Last night my camping buddy and I aligned our watches for a last minute run down on what we were about to do. It was agreed that we had to at least be slightly crazy to be heading out with the temperatures that are expected.

With that said, I am more excited than ever for the challenge, and plan to growl in the face of being cold. I will post my weekend adventures, and tales from the trails on Monday!

Girl vs. Wild,

Jacquelyn Farris

Every Monday I find myself starting the weekly count down to Friday. Not because I get kicks from sitting around watching TV, eating Bon Bons, and painting my nails, no way! Friday is the day I get to grab my pack that has sat in the corner begging me for the past five day to hit the road.

When the clock hits five I run to the car and go. Now wait a second! I absolutely love my job. No worries there. I am Girl vs. Wild, what more could I ask for? But, I do plan methodically all week for my weekend adventures. Desperate to explore the outdoors.

I relish in knowing that on Saturdays I get to wake up outdoors, and stir with the waking animals scampering at sunrise. Making my morning cup of joe listening to the leaves rustle as the sun start to peek through the trees, and share it’s wonderful rays on my face.

There is nothing better. I swear my oatmeal tastes a thousand times better when eaten outside in a titanium bowl with my trusty plastic camping spork! Hiking all day through thick bushes and open plains. Searching as far as the eye can see with no other man in sight. Amazing.

Dinner fire side telling tales with friends reminiscing of the day’s adventures had. Slumbering off to bed in my five hundred layers, and pulling the rip stop snug around my face. Drifting off to dreams of travels not had, and adventures to be found. Excited to wake with one more day in the wild before I pack off to start another Monday, A Monday to start the count down all over again.

Yes I have a case of the Mondays!

Girl vs. Wild,

Jacquelyn

CLICK ON THE PHOTO FOR MORE PHOTOS FROM MY ADVENTURES

Life can be messy. Mine is that. My family is made of patches and love. We formed as a group out of fractions which grew into new formations. Leaving behind others to form a stronger unit. This is how I got my Mimi. She was a woman of constant thought, and some might call it worry. Always caring for those around her and loving on those who were hurting. Of course she was hurting herself, and she let others love on her in her time of need, but was always there to offer kind words.

She was my Mimi. My grandmother by marriage. My truest realest grandmother I have ever had. Sure I had real birth grandmothers, but never seeing them made them distant thoughts, and she was real to me.

When I was younger she drove me crazy. Driving far too slow in her 19 God knows what tan Chevy Caprice. It was a close relative to a military humvee, and I was sure she got it off a local air base. She was also known for documenting, or at least attempting to document every single blessed event with a picture. I have decided over the years that she had about a 30 to 70 % chance to actually get the camera to fire. But God knows we all had to smile and say cheese each time.

These days I have moments when I would trade 500 misfires for five minutes with her. Just a few seconds to spill my guts out so she could tell me it will all be ok. In her final weeks I lived for what became coined Mondays with my Mimi. I would sit with her in various hospitals and care centers and lie to her, and myself saying it will all be ok. I knew better than that, but sometimes lies can bandage the soul.

I remember when my Dad told me she was sick. Everything was rushed, and panic set in fast for my family. I was strangely calm though, and immediately had resolve. I remember the first thought I had was “oh she’s dead.” For some reason I had her in the ground before she even got there. Looking back on it though I think that was my way to cope. Be matter of fact, and scientific about it. Some might say I was just being pessimistic, but I think I was just being real. She was going to die. There was no bargaining with God in this matter. He had already claimed her to visit him soon.

Everything went really fast. Like an honest blur mixed with false positives about the future ahead. She moved here as soon as she was stable and we began the process to the end. It was similar to riding a roller coaster at Disney, except for it was in hell. As a family we all walked on egg shells with each other pretending the elephant of death wasn’t in the room. We got really good at it too. Almost so that we thought she would live. Be fine. I even had myself nearly convinced.

My Mondays with Mimi became a daily event straight to the end. Robotic almost, but loved through and through. Go to work, go run, go see Mimi. Go to work, go run, go see Mimi. Daily, for weeks this went on from hospital to care center, and back to the hospital again. For weeks that was all we knew. Friends became vague thoughts of my past. Time was broken down into shifts and stays. I don’t even know why we ever unpacked her. She was like a Supertramp of hospital stays. Always on the road.

I remember her last day traveling on the earth with us. She fought strong and hard to go with God. She wanted it to be over.The journey to end. She was tired of traveling, to weak to go on. I knew that night when I left the hospital there would be no Mondays. No more more kind words and comfort. It was to end simply then and there as we gave her back to God. She was not be ours on this earth any longer.

It’s almost like she set me free in her passing that night. Asking me to travel for her. Carry her pack and find adventures she only dreamed of. She put me on the path to explore this world with no ties holding me back. No need to second guess each move.

Maybe she is what lit the fire in me to travel, explore, and seek my own adventures on the road. Just maybe, she led me to be Girl vs. Wild?

Girl vs. Wild,

Jacquelyn Farris

CLICK ON THE PHOTO FOR MORE PHOTOS FROM MY ADVENTURES

Last month I went to see the last showing in Oklahoma city for the film “Into the Wild.” Amazing. Absolutely amazing!!! The story of Chris McCandless is remarkable. I would give anything to be able to take a leap of faith as Chris did. Transforming himself into Alexander Supertramp. I have the utmost respect for him and the legacy of leather-tramps that have followed him. I dream of being able to make the trek to what has become a mecca in it’s own right. A mecca for those searching and testing themselves as they hit the road, of bus 142. To be able to see where he became himself, Alexander Supertramp. His final place on earth. I travel, hike, and explore with the utmost respect for you, Alexander Supertramp!!!!

“Two years he walks the earth.
No phone, no pool, no pets, no cigarettes. Ultimate freedom. An extremist. An aesthetic voyager whose home is the road. Escaped from Atlanta. Thou shalt not return, ’cause “the West is the best.” And now after two rambling years comes the final and greatest adventure. The climactic battle to kill the false being within and victoriously conclude the spiritual pilgrimage. Ten days and nights of freight trains and hitchhiking bring him to the Great White North. No longer to be poisoned by civilization he flees, and walks alone upon the land to become lost in the wild.”
— Alexander Supertramp
May 1992

“So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more dangerous to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.”
— Chris McCandless