Episode 18: Weekend Warrior Paulina Dao
Episode 18: Weekend Warrior Paulina Dao
This week’s episode is brought to you by Oru Kayak. Thank you to them for the support!
Banner image by Marisa Jarae
Weekend climbing, camping, and backpacking are not so different from going it “full time.” Meet Paulina Dao, the blogger behind “Little Grunts” and an honest advocate for spending time outside. We talk about overcoming insecurities, growing, and finding the activities and issues you’re passionate about in the outdoors.
Paulina Dao is the blogger behind Little Grunts. There, she writes gear reviews, trip reports, and thought pieces on the outdoor lifestyle. Be sure to read her recent post on the diversity dilemma in outdoor media, “Why Don’t They Look Like Me?”
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Music is by Chris Zabriskie, Halogen, Lee Rosevere and Mise via freemusicarchive.org
Paulina in the outdoors ->
Backpacking Lake Mildred, Eastern Sierra. Photo by Bobby Dolan.
Photo L & R by Josh Ourada
Tips for when you and your partner don’t align in your outdoor skill levels:
- Before you head out, talk to your partner. Let your partner know where your strengths and weaknesses lie in the activity. Set expectations and come to an understanding – will you work to balance out your complementary skills? Will one of you go ahead of the other? Will you wait if he/she is struggling? It’s very easy to assume things of your partner: communication goes a long way.
- The same goes for compromise. You and your partner might have different goals in the outdoors, but if a common one is experiencing the activity together, there will likely be some compromises made. If your partner is a beginner, you won’t set a personal speed record for the climb. Set it another day.
- On the trail or climb or river – wherever you are, take stock of how your partner is doing. Both visually and verbally. Check in with your partner and yourself. Are you achieving what you set out to achieve?
- Know that you’re growing every time you step outside. You’re likely getting faster and stronger and more skilled. Sometimes it happens so slowly that it’s hard to benchmark. Push yourself, but try not to beat yourself up. We know, it’s hard sometimes.
I love the tips for for when you and your hiking partner don’t align in your outdoor skills. My ex-boyfriend is a forester and literally hikes for a living. He would get annoyed with me not being able to keep up with him. It frustrated both of us. I thought he wasn’t compassionate enough, but he thought I didn’t push myself hard enough.