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🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00My name is Kaya.
00:26I'm a rock climber and a writer.
00:29And I have a 2006 Dodge Sprinter van named Lyra.
00:33I got inspired to live in the van from this girl who was climbing at my climbing gym.
00:39And she told me that she was going to buy a van and move into it for the summer and
00:44like turn it into a house and go travel for the whole summer and just rock climb.
00:48And it was like one of those moments where I kind of like, I was blown away by that concept.
00:55It seems silly now, but it never occurred to me that that was an option.
00:59This is a sick **** vista.
01:04I had always wanted to be a history teacher.
01:06I'm actually a huge history nerd.
01:07I find it really fascinating.
01:09In my very last semester, I was like on track to graduate.
01:12You know, I took the CBEST and I passed, but I kind of got to this point where I was like,
01:17I don't really know anything about the world.
01:19I don't feel like at 23, I could walk into a classroom and provide any kind of insight
01:27into what the world is actually like to students.
01:31And it felt like I was doing myself and potentially them a disservice.
01:35And so I just completely switched to a different department.
01:38And I was like, well, I'm going to build out a Sprinter van and turn it into a home.
01:43And I'm going to teach myself how to build.
01:45I'm going to try my best to learn about electrical.
01:48I'm going to study, you know, nomadic peoples.
01:51I'm going to look at the concept of home.
01:54So I really combined all those elements.
01:56And then at the end of it, I had this house.
01:59I had this desire to like kind of go out and be out in nature and rock climb.
02:05That was something I'd always wanted to do.
02:07So I drove out to Indian Creek, which is 1200 miles away from Santa Cruz in the Utah desert.
02:13There's no cell service.
02:22I had no crack climbing experience.
02:26I had no partner, no idea what I was doing or where I was going.
02:31You know, in those 11 days, I climbed my first desert tower.
02:34I did my first trad climb, met some people who I am still really, really close with,
02:40you know, interact with on a daily basis.
02:42I got a taste of what it could be like.
02:45And I was like, that's what I want.
02:47And it really just like kicked off from there.
02:4911 days in the creek and like it was all, it was all changed for me.
02:57So, this is my van.
03:01There's a lot of stuff up here.
03:02This is kind of my like sentimental items.
03:05I think of it as like my refrigerator door.
03:08So this is a magnetic board and I just put little things that kind of mean something
03:16to me as they come through.
03:19So, a birthday card from my grandma and grandpa, the memorial card from my friend's funeral,
03:25a little poem I wrote about Yosemite.
03:29This is actually my tattoo.
03:31It's a stick and poke, so it's kind of fading, but I got it on the side where my heart is.
03:35It's like the view you see when you're going into Indian Creek.
03:38These are the Bridger Jacks and then that's the South Six and the North Six shooter, which
03:42are two towers in Indian Creek.
03:44That view for me every time I've gone there is like this welcome home feeling, like just
03:49like as soon as I see it, I'm like, okay, I'm home.
03:53Like this is where I'm supposed to be.
03:59Here is all of my kitchen slash bathroom stuff, utensils, tea, spices.
04:05Here is pots and pans, coffee craft, cutting board, to-go mugs.
04:14And then finally, my super empty pantry because I haven't been shopping.
04:19It's really nice having a sink, wash your dishes, wash your hands, wash your face.
04:22Clean water, gray water.
04:24I have my stove, which is just a Coleman stove that I can pull out, set here.
04:30My propane tank is under the bed.
04:32Carbon monoxide alarm.
04:34Fridge, which is also currently very empty.
04:38Underwear, socks, pants, shirts, dresses, jackets, things like that.
04:43This is my battery box.
04:44So I have my inverter, DC power to AC power.
04:48This is my solenoid.
04:49So this takes the solar panel energy, makes it into something the batteries can take.
04:54This is a battery charger.
04:55So if I ever go to an outlet or anything, I can plug it in here and that will charge
05:01my batteries.
05:02This is my map.
05:02It's everywhere I've been since I hit the road.
05:05So a line is where I've driven.
05:07So this huge long road trip to Vermont and back.
05:09And then all the places written on the map are recommendations from people who have visited
05:15my van.
05:16Back storage.
05:17This is basically where all the toys are.
05:19So I have my crash pad, ropes, cams, sleeping bag, sleeping pad.
05:27I got my ukulele in there.
05:29Backpacking backpack.
05:31And then jacket storage as well.
05:32The biggest pro is the freedom to do whatever you want to do, which, you know, sounds
05:39inherent and obvious.
05:41But once you hit the road, I think the reality of having unlimited freedom is really shocking.
05:52Traveling alone as a woman on the road is like, it's like one of those things that I
05:59just like hate talking about because sometimes I feel like it's the only thing that people
06:04are interested in.
06:05I generally want to encourage other women to pursue rock climbing and to pursue living
06:11in a van and to pursue solo travel.
06:13Getting to make all your own decisions is really empowering.
06:17And I think that a lot of that can be lost in traveling with a partner, even a friend.
06:21I think that van life, solo female van life in particular, opens up a safer avenue for
06:29women to hit the road because you're in a giant metal box that has an engine in it
06:36and you can just drive away, you know.
06:38And so I hope that, you know, women can feel safer and more confident traveling alone in
06:44their vans.
06:46I really love rock climbing.
06:48I'm really passionate about keeping these spaces pristine and also accessible for, you
06:55know, generations to come.
06:57I don't really know what is next for me.
06:59Probably lots of training in the gym and hopefully some big adventures in the Sierra
07:05this summer.