Cancer Update 2/26

Posted on February 26, 2025 by sheraaaa

*This photo comes into play later on in today’s blog post (CDT 2015!). For over 10 years of adventures give my Instagram account @wearehikertrash a follow.*

First of all, thank you so much for all of your sleep suggestions, advice, tips, etc. The last few nights have been much better, I’ve been clocking in at 5 or 6 hours of sleep which is a huge improvement over last week, and have implemented a few new things after talking to some of you and my doctors:

Using sleep stories on platforms like Calm and Headspace. These are brilliant. I start a story and get invested. I listened to one last night about Mont Saint-Michele in France, a place I’ve always wanted to go since learning more about France in high school french classes, and the initial details really captivated me and brought me in, but as the story progressed maybe the details got more mundane, or I was getting lulled by the voice, but I don’t remember…cause it worked! I fell asleep. I think these sleep stories will be key for me coming up, especially if I am waking every few hours…which after talking with a lot of you seems very common! We collectively have trouble sleeping solid nights.
More meds. A lot of you suggested THC/CBD products, and some of you told me about other medications. I met with my palliative care doc this week and we talked about sleep, and we decided to try trazodone for a while. I don’t like taking meds, before all of this cancer stuff I almost never took medications and preferred a natural way if at all possible, but given I’m on 437 different meds now I’ve kind of given in and will try the pharmaceutical way for now.
Limit screen time. I was in the habit of picking up my phone when I would wake every few hours, to check the time, first, but then I would start scrolling. Which is all new for me, again before cancer I didn’t sleep with my phone in the room. So many things have changed with how I live my life now! I didn’t have my phone in the room, so would have to get up when the alarm went off in the mornings, and didn’t have the temptation to scroll. If I needed to get sleepy in the before times, I would read a few pages of a book and that would put me out. I don’t have that problem at least because of the HUSO sound therapy. I listen to that when it’s bedtime and I’m out. So anyway, I haven’t been picking up the phone as much, and I think that’s been helping.

What have I been up to this week? I don’t know, the days seem to melt into each other and it’s hard to determine what day is what. But I do have a big day coming up tomorrow, I get another biopsy! The two I had done in December ended up being useless, at least for what we need to know now about my genetic mutation, so I am doing it all over again tomorrow. I get a deep bone biopsy and it’s a legit procedure, so no food tomorrow and only clear liquids.

We are going with Foundation One testing, and the biopsy tomorrow combined with the blood draw I had last week should tell us what we need to know! So of course lets look into this Foundation One:

The company says they are an essential partner to patients, physicians, researchers, and biopharma organizations navigating the complex landscape of cancer care. Their genomic insights help guide informed decisions about treatment plans and research priorities. They built a powerful portfolio of comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) tests that—via both blood and tissue samples—evaluate more than 300 genes known to drive cancer.
Liquid CDx: I had the labs drawn last week, and apparently this test is an FDA-approved companion diagnostic that analyzes guideline-recommended genes from a simple blood draw. It analyzes over 300 genes—making it the most comprehensive FDA-approved liquid biopsy on the market. Sounds good to me!
I believe the biopsy tissue sample will also be sent to Foundation One, and they will put it through their fancy-schmancy testing system to give us an even better picture of what the heck I’m dealing with.

So hopefully we’ll know more soon (I’m not sure what soon means…weeks? A month?) about the specific mutation(s) I have and what kinds of treatments are available for it.

I’m also going to get another radiation blast to my ribs…my ribs have been achy with the tumors and slight fracture I have going on in one of them, so we’re going to hit it again next week right before my third round of chemo.

I’m telling you, its a full time job to have cancer.

What else do I have going on? The hospital provides Reiki, so I’m doing some of that. My PT is coming over this week, so we’ll go over exercises now that I’m out of the wheelchair and walking around the house. I did a lot of walking yesterday at the hospital trying to get some labs done, and it felt good, and I’m a little sore today. It’s been super mild outside in Bend, so I think I’ll try some outside time here soon. I’m trying not to go too hard too fast, yesterday was quite exhausting by the time we finally got home. It’s going to take me a while to get back into walking outside every day condition again, but it’s on the horizon!

Lets go to intermission

Are you an Oregonian who loves hiking?

As many of you know, I enjoy hiking so much that I’ve become much more active in joining in with other trail advocates around the state to share our love of trails and strategize how we can work together to defend our current trails and build the trails we envision.

YOU CAN JOIN US TOO by registering today for Trails Day at the Oregon Capitol on March 10.

For the Love of Trails! 2025 Trails Day at the Oregon Capitol Tickets, Mon, Mar 10, 2025 at 9:00 AM | Eventbrite

What will happen on Monday March 10 in Salem?

8:30-9:00 am: Attendees arrive at our training venue about a half mile from the capitol to sign in and pick up up a schedule, training materials and talking points, and materials to share with legislators. (There will be coffee and light snacks!)
9:00-10:30: Welcome and training: We’ll let attendees know what to expect, go over tips for a productive meeting with your legislators, and give a primer on our key issues.
10:30-11:00: Small group practice and Q&A.
11:00-4:30: Grab a (free) sack lunch and head to the Capitol for meetings with legislators and/or legislative office staff. Expect to have 2-4 small group meetings (generally 15 minutes) scheduled during the afternoon. We’ll ask each meeting group to share a short meeting report so we can track support for our issues and respond to any questions that legislators or staff may have. (You don’t have to have all the answers!)
5:00-6:30: (Optional) Join a group of trails advocates at the Joint Committee on Transportation Meeting. (We don’t yet know if there will be a public comment opportunity during this meeting, but it’s a great opportunity to see a bit of the legislative process at work.)
4:00-7:00: (Optional) As you wrap up your meetings, join other trails day participants for camaraderie, an informal debrief, and a bite at a local watering hole before heading home!

What are we asking for? Our platform is straightforward!

Oregonians love trails! More than 80% of Oregonians use local trails and are happier, healthier and more connected to their communities because of it.
Oregonians want to keep our trails open! We’re working toward a lasting legislative fix to recreational immunity through passage of SB 179 with amendments.
Oregonians want alternatives to walking, biking, running, and skating on high-traffic roadways! We must address the funding shortfall for the Oregon Community Paths program as part of a safe, green, fairly-funded transportation funding measure.
Oregonians want to see beloved trail projects move forward! We must continue to build on recent planning efforts for Oregon Signature Trails like the Salmonberry Trail and Oregon Coast Trail and not let those plans gather dust on a shelf.
Oregonians love trails! More than 80% of Oregonians report using local trails, so of course we want our state legislators to partner in the work to keep trails open and build the trails we envision for our communities.

I don’t know if I’ll be able to be (game time decision?) in Salem on March 10, which is why I’d like to ask you to consider going on my behalf!

I went last year and many of us were learning to speak up and have meetings with our electeds for the first time. It wasn’t that scary! I wrote up a blog post about how it all went last year so you can give it a read and decide if this is something you would like to participate in. You don’t need to be affiliated with a trails group, and you don’t need to be a hiker! The Oregon Trails Coalition represents motorized and non-motorized trail users, and there are lots of issues we can combine our voices on together.

A hiker, biker, and equestrian walk into the Oregon State Capitol

Memory time

Early this morning I got an email from Mark Trails (one of my CDT hiking buddies) with a photo that brought back a flood of memories.

Instead of rehashing these first few days going into Colorado with Mark, trying to ski the trail, and getting spit out, I’m going to redirect you to my blog posts from those days to help tell the story of one of the hardest weeks of my life on the trail.

Here are a series of links to my blog that will explain everything:

That was a good chapter of the CDT, things got a bit easier from there, actually did they? No, they didn’t.

Mark Trails and I went low again, he had a scary fall when we headed back to the trail from Creed. I lit myself on fire and had to walk with 3rd degree burns to Salida, and wow, I guess the brutality didn’t end at Durango. Keep reading my blog to get all the deets!! (at the bottom of each day’s blog post will be a link to the next day)

That’s it for today kids. Have a good one.

A Virtual Oregon Coast Trail – Day 0

Posted on October 11, 2024 by sheraaaa

I woke up about midnight in excruciating pain. My neck and shoulders were on fire, and I could barely move without setting off waves of muscle spasm. Imagine if this was happening in my tent, 10 miles from the nearest out.

I couldn’t.

This was the reason I wasn’t out hiking this October. I would not be watching the colors slowly change in the trees as the trail tread gradually disappeared under splashes of gold, red, orange, yellow, and maroon. This was the reason I had to distract myself from the huge gaping hole left in the wake of what I love to do more than anything and can’t do…so much so that I designed my whole career around it…what was I going to do if I wasn’t thru-hiking?

The answer is obviously to try and fix the body. But that will require rest and very little movement for the near future…something I’m not so good at.

My neck and shoulders have been painful for two weeks now, and I think that pain was triggered by a rib injury that I sustained almost a month ago now. Several trips to urgent care and lots of epsom salt baths later and now I’m trying the chiropractic route. Last night was probably the most pain I’ve been in this whole time, but after the first two adjustments I finally feel like there is progress in my quest to return to backpacking condition. And yoga! I haven’t been able to do yoga for a month now, or much of anything else. I’m turning into jello with every passing day. How does anyone stand the inactivity?

If I had been hiking the Pinhoti right now, where would I be? Lets see. I would have started walking the Sunday after Pinhoti Fest ended…that was a little over a week ago now, and at a 15 mpd pace, I would have hiked about 135 miles.

Instead of making my first cup of coffee in the zero-dark hours on trail, hunkered in my sleeping bag, trying not to spill it all over myself as I start writing this blog on my phone, I am in front of my laptop in my office at home, drinking coffee through a straw. It hurts too much to bend my neck to sip, so I have to bring the coffee to me.

This not-hiking is agony, and I have weeks of it ahead of me. I am not working during this time; my brain needed a good long walk as much as my body did. Walking is what feeds it with new ideas, hiking causes it to play parkour with ponderings and musings. I need to give this hardworking brain of mine a rest too, so I am going to play a little game with myself while I heal. I’m going to give myself a virtual hike along the Oregon Coast Trail.

Wait, the Oregon Coast Trail? Yes, well, after I had pushed my departure off for the Pinhoti Trail for a second time, I stewed in self-pity for a few days before glomming onto the idea that I could rest another week and still go hiking. The Oregon Coast trail was close, had plenty of towns (outs) to bail if my body couldn’t take it, and I could talk a lot about real-time trail issues our long trails in Oregon are facing (a la Oregon Trails Coalition ).

I could even take public transportation! Walk out my front door, hop on a bus, then another, and arrive in Astoria. From there I could walk as far as my body would let me, and bus back home from wherever I made it to on the coast. A true masterpiece in connectivity. And talk about connectivity! The Oregon Coast Trail ties into other trails that are included in the Oregon Signature Trails project. There’s the Salmonberry Trail , a work in progress that will connect Portland with the coast, and potentially share some tread with the Oregon Coast Trail, and also the Corvallis to Sea Trail …the route Amber and I walked three years ago to its western terminus at Ona Beach. I’d walk right past it!

Then there are all the bazillion times I’ve been to the coast in the 20 years I’ve lived in Oregon. The first time I went to Beverly Beach with some new friends, we whipped ropes of seaweed like 13-year olds. Then there was the time Cindy and went hiking for New Years, and some hoodlums shot a bullet into our rental car. Or the time I taught a light-weight backpacking course at Portland Community Collage and we overnighted on the coast.

With a virtual hike of the trail, I could imagine and research what I would be experiencing in real time. What would that look like? What would I see and learn about the area? Where does the trail go, and why? What are the issues facing the Oregon Coast Trail and the coast itself? For the rest of my convalescing time, I’ll take myself on a virtual journey and share it with you like I usually do in my daily blog. BUT since I’m at home and love maps and multi-media storytelling, I’m going to make a story map of my virtual hike so you all can learn alongside me, in real time.

Each day I’ll “hike” my miles, and the next day will keep up my morning writing routine with you here. I’ll cover 400ish miles, create a story map, and share it with you.

Ok, lets go. (click below to start the journey- This story map is best viewed on a desktop, laptop, or tablet.)

Protect Your Public Lands: A User’s Guide

Posted on June 29, 2017 by sheraaaa

We can’t hike trails without public lands, so I wrote this blog for Oboz about 5 things you can do!

by Renee Patrick

What Designations Does You Favorite Trail Have Photo By Renee Patrick

Image: Take some time to learn about public lands surrounding your favorite trails. Photo by Renee Patrick

After huffing up the 2,000-foot climb out of Big Indian Gorge, my sweat-dampened shirt quickly chilled in the sharp November wind. I was just days from finishing my Oregon Desert Trail section hike with the final 65 mile stretch up and over the monolithic Steens Mountain in eastern Oregon.

I surveyed the miles of alkaline playa 5,000 feet below Steens summit and the vast expanse of public land stretching far into the horizon. That early November morning was just days away from an election that would upset the nation, and jeopardize the future of the very land below my feet.

In the weeks that followed, one thing became clear: I need to act to protect what I love, and the question became: How can I advocate for public lands and have a real impact?

I am fortunate enough to work for a conservation organization, the Oregon Natural Desert Association (ONDA), which has been working for 30 years to protect, defend, and restore high desert landscapes in eastern Oregon. But after multiple conversations with friends who don’t directly work in the conservation field, I realized they too wanted guidance on how to be effective in advocating for the future of our public lands. So I surveyed a few of my colleagues and came up with these action points:

5 Tips on How YOU Can Advocate for Public Lands Protection

1. Focus on public lands close to home

One of the best ways to participate in the public lands debate is to become educated about some of your favorite places. Is your go-to hike on public land? If so, which agency manages it, and does it currently have any protections or designations? We often form personal connections with our favorite places, and those connections can be powerful when a place you love is at risk. Visit your Forest Service, BLM, or State Parks office. Learn more about how they steward your favorite places, ask how you can participate in trail maintenance, or in any upcoming planning processes.

Even the youngest volunteers can make a difference in a conservation organization. Photo by Allison Crotty

2. Join a local conservation organization

Most communities have a variety of nonprofit conservation organizations that work to protect important landscapes and watersheds. Each of these groups may have a specific focus, whether it is sustainability, climate change, river health, or supporting the stewardship of a specific wilderness area. These organizations give a powerful voice to important local and national public land issues, and rely on their members to help support advocacy for restoration activities in the places we all cherish. Consider becoming a member of one conservation organization in your area. Start volunteering, or join them on a hike or stewardship trip. Your donation, membership, volunteer time, or voice can make a difference.

3. Get to know your senators and representatives

Your senators and representatives represent you on the state and national level, so it’s important to let them know where you stand on public lands issues. There is a lot of debate these days about the most effective ways to reach out to your elected officials, but any action is better than no action. Call their offices, write postcards, attend town hall meetings…and make it personal. You don’t have to be an expert on public lands to have a powerful pull. It can be very meaningful for our officials to hear from everyday people who care about public lands, so share your stories, share your concerns, and if they have been supportive of keeping public lands public, thank them!

Get creative with your signs at the next town hall event in your area. Photo by Heidi Hagemeier

4. Hold small gatherings with friends/family

Since so many people take access to public lands for granted, we need as many folks as possible to simply be out talking with their friends/neighbors/family about why public lands are important. Invite some friends over, and over dinner or beers talk about a few of the current threats. One of the main issues you may want to discuss involves proposals to hand over American public lands to the states. Because most state governments can’t afford to manage millions of acres of land, a likely scenario would result in raising taxes or selling our land to the highest bidder in order to pay for costs like firefighting and management. Come up with a list of your legislators’ addresses, and then have everyone write a few postcards and make a night of it! (find more here: https://www.congress.gov/state…, https://www.congress.gov/ -search legislation).

5. Vote

Start local. City, county, state and even school boards have elections between the presidential election years, and we can build a strong voice from the bottom up. Do some research and find out where your local candidates stand on public lands issues. Then make your voice heard on Election Day.

Renee “She-ra” Patrick is the trail coordinator for the Oregon Desert Trail in Bend, OR, and a triple crown hiker, having completed the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail and Continental Divide Trail in addition to 6 other long distance trails. When not backpacking, she can be found packrafting, skiing or napping in the backcountry. You can read about her adventures on her blog,www.sherahikes.wordpress.com.

Packrafting Blue River

Posted on May 14, 2017 by sheraaaa

Oregon Desert Trail Presentation

Posted on March 28, 2017 by sheraaaa

A big thanks to fellow thru-hiker VirGo for filming my presentation at the Mazamas in Portland in January 2017. Now you can watch it here:

Photos from my Oregon Desert Trail trips so far – 425 miles of awesomeness

Posted on August 11, 2016 by sheraaaa

I’m hiking the Oregon Desert Trail in sections this year, and will be uploading photos periodically to the Oregon Natural Desert Association Flickr page. You can see the slideshows here:

Oregon Desert Trail

Posted on November 12, 2015 by sheraaaa

I have an exciting development to share with you all…I’ve accepted a position as the Oregon Desert Trail Coordinator here in Bend! The 800 mile Oregon Desert Trail is one of the newest long distance trails in the country, and begins right outside of Bend and connects a series of remote mountain ranges in the high desert of south eastern Oregon.

This is an incredible opportunity to combine everything I love doing to help shape a long trail. Ever since my friend Sage Clegg was the first to hike the ODT in 2013, I have watched with envy as other friends and hikers jump on the trail. Before I even heard about the new position I wanted to hike the ODT next. It’s exciting to be on the other side of the trail community and really be able to dive into something I am passionate about.

It will be fun to keep this blog going and share my experiences on the other side of the hike, and yes, take you with me as I hike it as well.

Thank YOU!

Posted on March 16, 2015 by sheraaaa

Wow, the CDTC fundraiser we put on last week was a great success! We filled the seats and raised over $1,300 for the trail. I’m grateful for friends, co-workers, and everyone who was just plain curious about these crazy people who quit their jobs to go hike across the country…again and again and again. And for all my sponsors and supporters for donating some amazing items to the raffle, thank you!

But don’t take my word for it, here some some pics (courtesy of Robert Curzon):

Tons of items were donated to the raffle

This ladies package was really popular! Jewelry by Bronwen Jewelry, Sierra Sage products, Go Macro bars, Salazon Chocolate, a Purple Rain Skirt & Pro Knot card.

Our breakfast raffle bundle had coffee & hazelnuts from Strictly Organic, Breakfast oatmeal/cereal from Straw Propeller, mugs from Stanley & a CDTC shirt!

And the prizes keep getting better, $100 to Desperado, Stanley flask & more…

I put everything in giant zip locks, because zip locks are GOLD on a trail!

Patagonia @ Bend was very welcoming and let us use their beautiful store for the talk.

I shared a bit about why I hike.

And invited Kim (SOL), Sage & Mary (Speedstick) to tell stories from their CDT hikes.

I shared all the gear that I’ll be taking on the trail.

Even the bug condom!

Raffle time!

This little pup really wanted to win the Ruffwear dog bed.

Grady (Fun Size) won the Stanley lunch box, I expect to see him carry that on the CDT this year…

So much fun, now for the hike!!!

Finishing up the Ski Tour

Posted on January 14, 2015 by sheraaaa

January 2-3

The last two days of our New Year Ski tour we basked under blue skies.

I watched the sunrise from our tarp for a good hour.

Then chased the first traces sun…the snow was absolutely beautiful

We skied around a bit.

And enjoyed the stunning views.

Taking a break with the best show on earth.

How can I not kiss this man?

The view from camp isn’t bad on the other side either.

The hardest part of the whole trip was putting on cold ski boots.

But all good things must come to an end.

We skied out.

And headed back towards Bend.

Beneath Broken Top

Posted on January 7, 2015 by sheraaaa

January 1, 2015

I can officially say I’m hiking the Continental Divide Trail THIS year!

For those that have had to wait years between thru-hikes, and for friends and family that have heard me go on and on about the CDT in 2015 know what a milestone that is. Three more months of work baby!

Back to the trip…last night we skied about three miles before veering off the main trail to make camp in a small clearing near Todd Lake. We opened one of our beers to toast the New Year (and also lessen the burden in what had become a regrettably heavy pack). For some reason I had grabbed my new Western Mountaineering Ultralight sleeping bag (20 degree) instead of my -20 degree bag, and though the temps hovered around the 20s, my feet were still cold throughout the night. It’s hard to sleep with cold feet. But inspiration struck and I put on the down booties I had packed. Much better.

In the morning we lingered over coffee before hitting the snow.