Friday Feature: Lucy Morals

This is the first installment of what will be an ongoing series coming out every (mostly) Friday called Friday Features. I'm going to be featuring unique Phoenix(and beyond) hikers with an interesting story to tell, a different angle from the norm, mould breakers, trend setters, and just those that do their own dang thing. But as guest contributors, its going to be 'their' stories, not mine.

My first feature is Lucy Morals. Lucy is a burlesque teacher and performer who also happens to love hiking and the outdoors as much as I do (which is hard). Frankly I chose her for my first feature because just like I don't smile enough, she never seems to not be smiling. The LOVE that she has for the outdoors is palpable, even through a photo, her voice, and her videos. Lucy is proof positive that the modern day outdoor industries 'ideal' of younger people with no job living in a van is not all that there is out there in the wild. Editor's note: I have nothing against van life or young people. I used to be one too.

I also am choosing not to edit her post whatsoever. Ok, yes its long but its INCREDIBLY moving, instructive and just overall a message that we all can appreciate. Much like her I've found something incredibly beneficial in hiking and the outdoors.

So without further ado, Mizz Lucy Morals...

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My name is K-Lee. Well, it might also be Lucy.

I am a human who wears many hats but currently my favorite is a ball cap, out in nature. But you might also find me wearing a feathered headdress or a top hat. No, really.

I am a(n) performer/entertainer, a cabaret show producer, dance instructor, burlesque troupe director, dance studio owner, investigator for a retail chain, dog mom and novice blogger. I am also an adventure seeker. Late in 2014 I began to dabble in “hiking” as a means to get off the couch and get healthy. Stuck in a stagnant relationship that had run its course with a partner who was becoming lazier with age, I had grown restless.

As a byproduct of spending time with said lazy couch-surfer, I too had become somewhat disengaged with life outside of our partnership, apathetic about fitness and had cultivated a love of salty, carb-heavy and fried foods. As a dance instructor this just wasn’t an appropriate way to lead by example and I craved a healthier lifestyle. At my heaviest and least healthy, towering at five feet and five inches “tall”, I weighed in at nearly two hundred pounds (187 to be exact, once or twice I hovered at 192).

In addition to my “fluffy” size and squishy physique, I was also on a litany of medications because, since childhood, I’d been diagnosed as “chronically asthmatic with a compromised immune system”. As a young adult the glorious summary of “chronic depression” came my way. “You will be on these for the rest of your life. There’s nothing ‘wrong’ with you, you’re just wired differently.” (To be fair to that medical professional, she did save my life. I was in some very dark places for a bit back then.) It was also around this time that my lady doctor piggy backed on the “dark places” status and added some birth control to “help with your hormonal imbalance” (because a lady with hormones is totally unnatural, right?). Later in my more grown-up years I was crowned with “hereditary hypertension” and scheduled to (again) be on a lifetime of medication. To help combat my asthma and seasonal pneumonia, bronchitis and sinus infections, I was also referred to an allergist who cheerfully handed me two pages full of everything under the sun I was allergic to (I was actually, ironically, also allergic TO the sun with my outbreaks of cold sores after time spent outdoors). A lifetime of weekly injections was up next on the menu. In the end, at last inventory, I was on 2-3 asthma meds, birth control, blood pressure meds, anti-depressants, allergy injections and over the counter meds, skin creams and ointments, annual flu shot, annual pneumonia shot, daily vitamins, and of course whatever drugs du jour they suggested upon my annual check-ups. It was madness. I was an addict. Addicted to medical drugs and to crappy “food”. Salt, sugar, pills, oh my!

So, back to the part about my lackadaisical lifestyle with my then partner of 14.5 years. I was bored. Unhappy. Resigned. That isn’t my personality at all. And it showed.

So I went “hiking”. I did A Mountain aka Hayden Butte, in Tempe, in all of its 1398 feet of elevation (a whopping 283 elevation gain!). I huffed and I puffed up that “mountain” and took some breaks along the way. In my defense, I was just conquering another bout of pneumonia and this was my first foray into “hiking”. It was that day in late 2014, Thanksgiving weekend I believe, that I called a friend and proclaimed “I think my relationship is over. I need to end it and leave it.” Tears streaming down my face while college kids and tourists blasted music and talked too loud, I gazed out at the horizon, recognizing how much existed “out there” and that I wanted, nay, NEEDED, to be part of it. That Thanksgiving weekend I gave thanks for what I learned from that partner and begged whatever entity or deity exists to help guide me to healing. A Mountain led to Papago and Tempe Buttes which led me to North Mountain. I didn’t even make it up to the top. I bailed out about 2/3 of the way up while my lean, healthy sister hoofed it up effortlessly. I was visibly disappointed until she reminded me on her way down, “Hey- you tried. Next time you will.” (Thanks sissy!)

From Thanksgiving 2014 to late 2015 I’d managed to kill many hikes, favoring the more remote ones and those in trees or near water and far from crowds. My soul was bursting wide open and each and every hike healed my heart and had me realize my potential. The bonus payoff to this new healthier lifestyle was all of the gorgeous nature I encountered and new people I was meeting. Something about fellow hikers and people in nature- rarely will you encounter people in foul moods, stressed out, sharp-tongued or nasty. People in nature appear to be kind, friendly and happy to share. Good vibes beget good vibes and the circle goes round n round.

In December of 2015 I made the terrifying decision to dump all of my medications. I had also, by this time, dropped about 25 pounds. My refrigerator inners looked nothing like the year prior. I told two near and dears about my choice to go off all meds so they could help monitor me. For obvious reasons I weaned off some, cold-turkeyed others. No, I did not tell my physician(s). Why? They’d convince me it was a bad idea. They’d talk me into staying “addicted”.

It’s now June 2016. I’ve been drug-free for six months. Last week during a visit to my dermatologist (I hike A LOT so this is necessary. My German-Irish descent and a family history of skin cancer tells me that of any medical choices, this one is imperative) she spun in her chair after reading what her assistant had logged into my chart.

“You went off ALL of your meds?” she asked incredulously.

Fearing I was about to be lectured, I sat up straight, puffed up, “Yep.”

“What made you decide to do that?” she asked.

I explained my lifestyle choices, the newfound love of fitness and hiking and climbing, how I totally rewired my eating habits, and how being nearly naked on stage felt a lot better now, and dating in my 40s wasn’t as daunting as it was 30 flabby pounds ago. She commented that I looked great, confirmed my blood pressure was not only normal but good, and that aside from my “new tan” she thought I looked the healthiest she’s seen me and THE HAPPIEST. She asked what made the most impact.

Hiking. Nature.

It may sound silly but it’s what works for me. On a drive to a site I jam out to some happy tunes, pushing the city and adulting from my mind. Upon arrival to a trailhead, the standard “selfie with the trail sign” happens then I pull up my big girl pants and forge forth. I crunch out stress over rocks and with each heave of my feet upon the backs of beasts, over the hills and humps of this earth, “chronic depression” and “mood swings” eat my dust. Each step releases steam. Each ascent and requisite deep sigh at the beauty in front of me reboots and recharges my soul. Ascending a challenging hill makes me push myself past what I think I can do and confirms what I CAN do. Lunch at a summit or a nap near a gushing stream feeds my spirit. I give mental thanks (sometimes out loud if I am alone) to “the gods” or powers that be that created what’s laid out before me. At the top I tell myself, “You did it! I knew you could!” just as I would a hiking companion who has summited. As I accomplish a particularly challenging climb or tight squeeze, after some adrenaline dumps, I look back and smile. “Another challenge killed. Good on you. Look how far you have come.”

And that? “Look how far you have come”; That’s it. That’s my life now. I don’t look at how far I have to go anymore. I share this way of thinking with my burlesque and dance students, many who battle body dysmorphia, and low self-esteem, poor self-worth and body image issues. “Don’t look at how far you think you have to go. Don’t compare yourself to anyone else. Look at how far you have come, compare yourself only to who you were yesterday, last week, last month, five years ago. See your upward movement and don’t get stuck if you slip back a little. If you slip, tomorrow is a gift and an opportunity to get a do-over.”

Now I am no expert. In fact, compared to some in my hiking group I may appear a novice. But compared to who I was a year ago, I am my own expert. I’ve managed to kill 62 hikes since April 2015 (14 months) and logged well over 200 miles since January 2016. To be fair, some hikes have also killed me, hahaha. The bigger challenges so far? In their dastardly order; I chugged up Piestewa, cursed up Echo Canyon at Camelback (it was a hot day which kills me), I huffed up Tom’s Thumb, I grunted up Picketpost Mountain and I humbly took out Flatiron. ← That one was a tearjerker for me. My proudest hike so far; Hardest but not longest.

Some favorites I’ve encountered have been Treasure Loop (I went off-loop which is what made it so special), Peralta (to the pine tree), Seven Falls, Horton Creek/Springs, Wet Beaver (I mean who doesn’t like a… Oh nevermind), West Clear Creek, Fossil Creek… wait! I can’t do this! I’m referencing my hiking journal and I want to list every hike! Each hike holds its own special beauty whether it’s the nature provided, the personal goal met or the person I experienced it with. It’s tough to narrow down favorites. Guess I’d better plan my next adventure to see if that one will be my favorite.

K-Lee aka Mizz Lucy Morals is an entertainer, show producer, dance instructor and all around, self-proclaimed Badass. She is in her forties, single, a lover of life, chronically optimistic and HAPPY. Here are some of her favorite things, as they may relate to this particular blog.

Food: Summer Spinach Berry Salad, scrambled eggs, Justine’s Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups, Sauvignon Blanc or a crisp Pinot Gris, coffee in the morning, IPA at night

Animals: Doggie snugs (even if she isn’t a hiking doggie) and seeing that as the first face I see every morning, ART dogs, rescue dogs and pound puppies

Experience: Curling up in the back of the Xterra to sleep, hatch open, view of the stars, after a long day hiking and adventuring, sunsets, beaches, vistas, road trips, campfires

Work: Dancing with my students, performing with VaVaVoom Burlesque and Dance and sharing the stage with my circus family (Romantasy Cabaret)

Goals: Smashing them and making new ones

You can creep her here:

Shameless plugging here: https://www.facebook.com/LucyMorals

Hiking, food and the hilarity of online dating here: https://www.instagram.com/mizzlucymorals/

Blah, blah, blog here: https://wordpress.com/pages/n8trgrl.wordpress.com