Cooped Up? Get Uncooped.

Family, friends, sweethearts - sometimes it's hard to be far away from them. Here are some tips for staying close whether you're on a business trip in Rapid City, running Class V rapids on the Urubamba River, hiking the PCT, or climbing the Pacific Ocean Wall.

Before you leave

-Give your loved one(s) a book, CD, DVD, or magazine related to where you're going or what you'll be doing. 

-Get one envelope for each day you'll be gone, date each envelope, and then put something in each one. A card, a letter, a silly drawing - just something to remind your loved ones you care. Tie a ribbon around the whole bundle and give it to your loved one(s) when you leave.

-Hide notes, candy, and trinkets all over the house right before you go. Wrap a little love note around his or her toothbrush; stash a Snickers in a jacket pocket; tuck a stuffed animal under a pillow.

-Let your excitement show, but make sure your loved one(s) know you will miss them and be thinking of them. This applies especially to, say, a trip with your buddies, or any situation in which your loved one(s) might feel a tinge of abandonment.

While you're gone

-Postcards

-Email

-Phone calls

-Letters

-Mail home a used roll of film so they can develop it and see what you've been up to. The last photo on the roll should be something about them- maybe write "Miss you! love, yourname" in the sand and snap a pic.

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