The Love Vitamin rock climbingIf you read my last post a week or two ago, you’ll know that I was having a pretty unsightly breakout due to quitting the Estroblock & Thorne SAT supplements two months prior.

Thing was, I was also scheduled to head down to Squamish and go on a 5 day rock climbing and camping trip with my friend.

I know just as well as you that feeling of just wanting to stay inside and hide when you’re breaking out. And believe me, it was tempting!

But I also really, really, reeeally wanted to go rock climbing.

And as difficult as it can be sometimes, I am passionate about not letting acne stop me from doing things that I want to do.

Emotionally it’s hard to see it, but logically, I know that no one really cares as much as I do. I KNOW that not going, or going and being anxious about it the whole time hurts no one but me.

So I put on my brave face, packed up my gear, and hit the road.

Getting my gear ready

I started using the supplements again before I left, and made a point not to eat anything too crap on this trip.

While you’re away, it can be super difficult to eat as well as you might at home, but the effort can still be made.

  • I made a mango black bean salad before I left and that seemed to keep me going for lunches for 5 days. I also brought a grass fed bison sausage to gnaw on, snap peas, and some real fermented kimchi
  • I had fruit, granola, and goat’s yogurt for breakfasts
  • I made my own ‘Cliff Bars’ before I left … aka energy balls like these ones, except with lime juice and zest instead of chocolate. So they were like key lime energy balls.. sooo good!
  • When I had to buy a meal, I opted for big salads, and skipped desserts
  • My friend and I made pasta a couple of nights with lots of vegetables, and gluten free brown rice pasta (Tinkyada brand; actually tastes really good and hard to tell the difference from regular pasta)

I only succumbed once to eating a white flour burrito. But whatever, nobody’ perfect!

Another thing I did to help me was re-read the book ‘F**k It – The Ultimate Spiritual Way‘, which I talked about in this post. So any time I started to think about my skin or what other people might think of me, I just said “fuck it” a lot.

It worked, and especially by the end, I felt a really cool, fluid kind of “I can do anything” freedom… it’s kind of hard to describe, but it’s pretty sweet.

I also find that camping in general just helps me really let go of my skin.

Since I do the caveman regimen now, I no longer have to worry about washing my face and doing my skincare routine (something that used to stress me out SOOO bad while camping, since it’s not an easy or discreet thing to do).

So now all I do is have a quick look in the morning, inside my tent … I just use a little handheld mirror to throw a little concealer on if I need it, maybe some mascara, and then I don’t look at myself all day.

It’s glorious.

It’s just too damn easy at home to go back to that mirror over and over again, and every time you look in the mirror, you’re reminded of what’s right and what’s not (usually what’s not, unfortunately).

This is why I love camping. I can just forget about it. And I feel so much better.

All in all, I really truly had an amazing time. The climbing was epic and I learned so much, meaning now I can lead climbs and take others out climbing. I totally loved it.

So glad I didn’t let the acne stop me from going, because now I want to go back as soon as possible!

And the good news is that the breakout started to clear and I didn’t get any new pimples while I was away. Woohoo! So here’s hoping it stays that way.

Stawamus Chief
Hiked up “The Chief”.. trying not to look terrified about the 1500 foot drop behind me
Stawamus Chief
But next time, I’ll be climbing up the face of it 🙂