Date: Monday 5 March 2018

Location: Ridgecrest, California

5:45am- Wake-up, put on work clothes, check blood glucose level to calibrate dexcom, watch the sunrise outside my tent

BG: 120; bolus for 75% of breakfast carbs

6:30am- Breakfast: oatmeal with banana, coconut almond butter, craisins, chia seeds and cinnamon; coffee

7:00am- Stretch and safety circle at camp

BG: 100

7:30am- Hike to work-site with 6L water, lunch & snacks, PPE (personal protective equipment- gloves, sunglasses, hard hat), shovel, medical supplies

BG: 90

7:45am- Vertical Mulching (naturalizing paths made by vehicles going off trail to restore the natural habitat by means of digging holes and filling them with branches from surrounding creosote plants)

BG: 70

10:00am- Morning snack: apple with Justin’s almond butter packet and a clementine- No bolus

10:57am- Pod change; our work shirts are long sleeves so I couldn’t put my new site on my arm as desired, so instead I used my next favorite site- upper abdomen. I had to be careful while changing my pod because the winds started to pick up and carry off alcohol swabs and other little pieces involved with the pod changing process. I find that leg and thigh sites do not work for me- I have never had a thigh site that did not fail but the arm sites and ab sites have been great so I stick to using those when in the field- especially since my backpack straps and buckles do not rub up against them!

12:00pm- Lunch: kiwi, carrots, trail mix (walnuts, raisins, craisins, pumpkin seeds, almonds), plantain chips, too many spoonfuls of peanut butter, kale bar from Kind bars. Since our work site today was so close to camp, we had the luxury of eating back at our campsite rather than in the field. I enjoyed my peaceful break on the rocks with my girl Julia (check out her blog too for more deets on our hitches!) I also added an electrolyte tab from Gu to my water bottle to give me some extra energy and nutrients for the afternoon.

1:00pm- More vertical mulching! Today is day 6 in the desert- the hump day of our 8 day hitch. I finally gave in and put on a few podcasts to keep my mind from wandering too deep into my anxieties and from staring at all of the BEAUTIFUL rocks scattering the ground- I always feel like a little girl collecting sea shells at the beach when in the Ridgecrest desert!) My go-to podcasts: Pancreas Pals and She-Explores. Have y’all listened to either of these badass women?? Let me know in the comments!

3:00pm- Afternoon snack: pear. Continuing my self-care actions on this desert hump day, I decided to lay down, close my eyes and allow my muscles to ease their tensions and relax. Working 10 hour days plus helping with camp chores in the mornings and evenings can be rough on the body, thus why should I expend extra energy keeping my body held upright during our snack breaks..? I shouldn’t. I allow myself to rest and re-energize before finishing out this work day strong!

4:30pm- Tool up, more like Tulip! On our way back to camp, we picked up as much trash as we could- bottles, cans and cardboard- that people unfortunately left behind during their previous trips to the beautiful desert- please don’t be those people if you’re reading this, it hurts my heart to know people don’t realize their affects on the environment with their thoughtless actions. Also, hella chafing on my thighs now that I’ve been wearing the same pair of work pants for 5 days straight- gross..practical..both?!

5:00pm- Change into cozy camp clothes and pack tomorrow’s lunch in the last of the day’s sunlight.

5:30pm- Dinner- NOMNOMNOM my fave meal ever- FALAFEL!!! Also kale quinoa bites which were so superb and some chopped potato fries. All around yummi meal, although high carb and high starch. I do prefer eating more veggies at night, but I have zero complaints about this meal because my tummy felt so so happy afterwards!

6:30pm- ZZZZ. I am an old man and go to bed before 8pm, well before 8pm every night! However, I love my alone time in the tent after these long work days. I wash my face and brush my teeth then I sit in my crazy creek camp chair with my legs in my sleeping bag and I take some time for myself to journal about the day- details for time sheets, highs and lows of the day, diabetic observations so I can compare after hitch what worked and what did not. Today’s observations: lunch will make my BG spike despite what it reads prior to eating; don’t panic when the dexcom receiver reads 80 in the mornings, it tends to stabilize there (don’t over-correct for lows or potential lows), and I still get the nighttime spikes from lowering my insulin ratios during the day.

 

Tomorrow’s another day- filled with new views and new moments, don’t let them get away. Be present and focus on appreciating where you are in this moment!

Goodnight 🙂

-amanda