THE WILL TO SURVIVE - with Dyana Carmella - Part II - Roll Call -with Kurt Caceres

Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Ladies and gentlemen, please take yourseats. The show is a bounce to
begin FA. Yes, this isit. You're back, We're back.
This is part two with my guestsDiana Carmela on Roll Call the podcast.

(00:21):
This is America's podcaster Kirkus Saris.And if you're joining us for the first
time or you're coming back from partone, you need to know that this
woman, she traveled seventy one daysolo, twelve hundred miles the Pacific Northwest
Trail, ebated packs of wolves,kept clear of grizzly bears, survived the

(00:41):
most extreme weather elements to prove tous what the human spirit is capable of,
to prove to herself what she cando in this world. It changed
her life and this story will changeyours. Back here for part two,
my co host Tony Frost, Melissaof a Bit, and this is Diana
Carmela. Oh I Olympic National Park. I had trench foot, so my

(01:07):
my feet basically had massive blisters andtoo many days water water, Yeah,
water, six days in rain.Did you wear uh sneakers or the same
pair for the whole trip? Yeah? And what kind of sneakers? Um,
they're hookas they're made for. Andmy chocos, yeah yeah, and
my chocolates, my sandals. Umbut I had this and every time I

(01:32):
think about this, I get chills. I was in the Olympics raining for
six days. I couldn't get itto catch a break. Hail rain.
Everything was wet, everything was soaking. I hit my lowest point where to
go to the bathroom. I haveto take my pack off, take my
um rain gear off, and it'sa it's hard to do. And I
had to go to the bathroom sobad and I couldn't. I was tangled

(01:53):
and I was you know, andit was pouring and I couldn't my thing.
So I literally just started pissing myselfbecause I and I was crying and
I bent down and I literally Istarted just praying to Mother Nature just for
help. I needed help. Nobodywas around. I was. I was
the only one in the Olympics becauseit was the weather was so bad and
I needed help and I didn't knowwhat to do. So I just put

(02:15):
my head down, crying, justbegging. I had like two hundred miles
to the coast, said I justneed I need something. Within sixty seconds,
the rain let up. So itwas just like a sprinkle and my
head was still down, but Inoticed it on the ground within a minute.
Within another minute, I looked up. I popped myself up and I

(02:38):
looked up and I saw this streamof light coming through the trees, just
one little beam, and I walkedover to it, and I just I
twisted my head and I just putmy face and I felt the heat of
where it was lighting my face,and I just sat there for a second.
I closed my eyes and I justsaid and I like I couldn't believe
it, Like I was almost likeshaking, but I was freezing. It

(03:00):
was almost going to freeze to death, you know. I was like so
cold, and that line just litup my face. And I closed my
eyes for about thirty more seconds,and I opened my eyes and there were
thousands of these lights streaming through thetrees. And I didn't I couldn't.
I didn't know what was going on. You know. It was like I've

(03:20):
never experienced that in my life.But she was listening. I mean,
like mother Nature she saw me andsaid, this is this fucking bitch needs
health. Now. Before before youstarted this whole trip, were you spiritual
at all in any way, I'mnot saying religious, spiritual, spiritual,
yes, spiritual? Yes. Howabout did you believe in God before this

(03:42):
or anything? Yes? Yes?Yes? Now what was your take on
it all after having these experiences thatmother nature, spirituality, the energy of
the earth. Yeah, and theuniverse is real? Are sent? I
mean there were about i'd say twoor three through two or three times where

(04:04):
I should have died. Yea,I should have ye. And my mother's
listening to this like that was aquestion I had for you. Yeah,
finished, But I had another questionabout that. Yeah, I should have
died. Um, I should have. There was a I fell on a
ditch and I thought I broke bothmy legs, Like, how did there
were about five hundred blowdowns. Ablowdown is a dead tree that falls over

(04:27):
and you have to climb over it. There was about five hundred five hundred
section. Yeah, so I'd constantlybe stepping stepping over them, and I
stepped over one and I misjudged thegrounds and I fell right and I landed
in a ditch and I thought Ibroke broke my legs because I couldn't feel
them, And um, that iswhen actually, yeah, that that's when

(04:47):
I was laying there for about twentyminutes, and I said to myself,
I said, nobody's here, like, you've got to get up. If
you're not gonna get up, you'regonna lay here. You gotta get up.
And who was I talking to?It was weird, like who's talking
to who? And I couldn't.I didn't understand it. It's like,

(05:08):
you gotta get up, you gottago. Who am I saying that too?
And then I realized my mind wastelling my body to get up,
you know. And and then Irealized why I wanted to do this hike.
I realized why it was so importantto me. It was because in
Los Angeles, in that world ofpeople and social media and jobs, I
was so disconnected. My mind andmy body were on two different platforms opposite.

(05:31):
Yeah well yeah, oh yeah.I was doing my day to day
living in tasks, so my mindwas in dreamland. I was in a
different, different realm. They werenot together. But this hike you have
to work together your mind and yourbody. You know. When I when
I didn't when I need water,half yeah, when I needed water,
I closed my eyes and I hadto listen for water, and I would

(05:55):
hear it and then I would That'swhat this makes us realize how powerful we
can be. Like we talked aboutif we we just don't do it,
we just first of all, we'renot aware, we don't know how,
and we fear doing it. Wedon't believe we can. But when you're
put in a situation like you are, we have no other choice. Like

(06:15):
I'm wondering if you actually did breakyour legs, This has just crossed my
mind, and you we have theability. You healed yourself. Yeah,
I don't know, said she couldn'tfeel them, yeah, like or they
were seriously injured, and she like, do we have the power to do
that? You've heard of people inEastern cultures throughout time doing things like that,

(06:40):
like you had no other choice.Now that shows me that we have
the capabilities. But see, livingin a city or our normal world,
we don't have to do that becausewe call the doctor or we go to
er, and we do that.We know that's our escape because we have
that security. But when you're outthere, don't have anything, nothing.

(07:00):
You had to tap into that placethat's bigger than us. That you had
no other choice, And I'm wonderingif you manifested those lights. Yeah,
you manifested that, lady. Youmanifested the will to get out of that
pit, that hole with your legsinjured, because we have that ability and

(07:21):
you had no other choice. Andpeople loosely but they do. I don't
think they really truly understand a wholelot of people. But the way you're
saying it is like the will youwill do? Yes, Well you hear
the lite in la manifest your career, yes, manifest your health, manifest,

(07:42):
you're gonna get that job, manifest, You're gonna sell that home.
Okay, I got you, Butcome on, I must stay dude with
you. You literally manifested some otherworldlystuff that the rest of us, because
I think we just do it inthis sense like we do our affirmations.
Yes, I am good. Icouldn't do it. Yeah, we go

(08:03):
through the motions. She had noother choice. Yeah, and I'm I've
always I grew up with Mother Nature, Like that's why this is like my
dad tossed from the young age.So mother Nature. Even the name of
my wife I hear is mother Earth, Like that's I used to give,
Like that's my life as as andsome of from believer. Mother Nature is
super powerful. So when I'm hearingthis, yeah, I truly believe that

(08:26):
you were connecting what everyone talks aboutGod and these things. But mother nature
isn't is a name for the energyaround us, exact nature itself. You
were surrounded, You were connected tothe earth, the air, the the
animals around you, the trees,everything was can you were all one,
and so you were able to connectto that and the the the earth itself

(08:52):
helped you. Yeah, because yougot there. Yeah. And I would
have conversations with data energy, yes, you know, like funny conversations because
I was alone so much. Butlike you know, I would go two
days without water and like I gottaget some water. And then I'd be
like come on, you know,I'm I'm walking, like please give me
a damn break. You know.I literally would have these conversations with her,

(09:13):
and it really became a deep relationship. And um, I went got
to Yack, Montana, this littletown, little little, tiny, tiny
town, Montana. All the menare, you know, drinking whiskey at
ten am, and they're all packingheat and and and they would I would
meet these old men at bars andthey said, why don't you have a

(09:35):
gun, Why don't I would nevergo out there with a gun. And
it just was something like, Iknow nothing's going to happen. It's a
it's a weird feeling to you know, but I I know that nothing is
going to happen. And I wasthe only one who didn't see a bear
who did that hike that year?I was the only one. Um.

(09:56):
Everyone else, everyone's multiple, Everyonereports their experience. We all talked to
each other on Instagram. I endedup seeing a beer on the Tahoe Room
trail last year. No, II kind of knew I wasn't going to
see one UM from something prior.Yeah, it just it just was this

(10:18):
thing. Yeah, I don't know. So tell me what did you pack?
I'm curious what you are carrying withyou? Um, you start with
a lot of stuff and at theend I hadn't basically nothing, So like
one pair of clothes, Yeah,one shirt to hike in, one shirt
to sleep in, a pair ofshorts, a pair of pants. What
was the weather, um, coldof a Pacific Northwest? Yeah, cold

(10:41):
and unpredictable. And what about toiletries. Um, toiletries had a toothbrush,
a little bar of soap. Um, I would say a hotel like a
motel like once severy like ten dayssomething like that. Um, so I
could like get more food and stuff. Yeau did you watch in the water?
Oh yeah, lakes, tons oflakes in the water, freezing,

(11:03):
freezing, but it was great.Yeah it was you're there. Yeah,
that's why I'm there live. Yeah. Did you send um packages ahead for
yourself to pick up at certain towns? I read somewhere people do that on
some things. Yeah, so youwould just stop at certain towns and resupply.
Yes, there were enough towns whereI didn't need to do that.

(11:26):
And um, sending yourself packages Ifind to be very stressful. Where is
it going to get there? Isit? It's not going to get there?
And I said, and that waspart of my journey, was I'm
just gonna start walking and pray forthe best. I didn't want to prep
anything. He didn't how much prep? So how much prep? Did you
do it? Very little prep?What the hellse you just send horror?

(11:46):
Yeah? What about food? Um? Food? H I started eating those
package meals where you just sad waterlike the backpacker meals. And the water
was it water that you got fromlike lakes and or lakes and streams and
stuff. These lakes still clean becauseI remember when I was young, we
would drink out of creeks and rivers. Yeah, but now things that are

(12:07):
not as clean anymore. Um,how did you know things were clean?
Well, I had a sawyer squeeze, so it's a little filtration system always.
I always drink filtered water. Um. But a lot of the water
up there, once you get pasta certain elevation, I think it's ten
thousand totally clean. It's good.Yeah. Oh my gosh. If you
have never drank like straight out ofa river and cut your hand, drink

(12:28):
the best Oregon and Oregon. Um. When I drive to the coast,
there are spots where people stop andhave their five gallon water jug and just
get right out the well. Yeah, all fresh water coming from the mountain.
Oh, it's awesome. Yeah.And then you got to come here
and you drink out of the tablas. Don't do it. I did have

(12:52):
a new appreciation for food, though, especially during the Olympics. Um,
I ran out of food. Ididn't prep enough because it took me longer
than normal because my feet and Igot really sick. Um. So I
went two days without without eating.Oh my god, And yeah, I
think I was averaging seventeen miles aday. I was snapping there that you
could eat blueberries. Um, butthere's always wild blueberries. Yeah, there's

(13:15):
always I trying, but um.When I when I got to a town
called Forks, which is just beforethe coast. Um, I walked into
the supermarket after I believe that eightdays without new food, and I was
starving at the point I had lostat that point since I started, about
almost twenty pounds, So I wasI was starving because I didn't eat for

(13:37):
two days, just a couple ofblueberries. And I walked into the grocery
store and I went to the fruitaisle and I just looked at all the
fruit and I'm like, oh mygod. And I just started peeling bananas
and stuffing my face with bananas becauseright there in the store they were looking
at me. But I have anew appreciation for food because I felt what

(13:58):
it was like to start to start, and what it does when you eat
a banana, what it actually doesfor you, and when you eat a
strawberry, what it really is doingfor you in a moment exactly. Yeah,
Well, in appreciation, where theseother people go hungry for days and
days and days in these other countries. Absolutely, but you mentioned so.
I don't know if you guys knowwe can actually go days without food,

(14:20):
but we can't go on without water. No, it's water. And you
said you went two days but nowater. Oh no, I always had
water. Well, I thought therewas one point you said you went two
days without water food food? Oh, without food? Okay, So did
you carry water with you? Like? How did you have enough water?
Um? I always had, youknow, the smart water bottles. So

(14:41):
I always had two smart water bottles. Um. So, but how'd you
always you replenished when you got toa town, a creek or l Yeah,
the Pacific Northwest. Every day Ihit water so much water? Have
you ever been up there? Likemy brother lives there. Everywhere beautiful,
it's funny, rains all the time. It's always moist. The rivers are
full. The waterfalls falls everywhere,waterfalls. Yeah, there's a lot.

(15:03):
It's it's it's unbelievable. Yeah,we have to go okay. Oh,
he said, well it's a date. They're going to go together again.
I guess we lost these two.I'm not doing that. I want to
stay in a hotel every day.I think two people felt very sorry for
me. Like when I would geta hitch ride and you'd ride, some

(15:26):
women would pick me up like,oh my god, I need to give
you food. Oh my god.Does your mother know? Like like,
yeah, she knows. She's pissed, like Chris about your family, Like
where they really concerned? People?Are your loved ones? Whoever it is,
Were they really concerned about you goinginto this horrified? Yeah, my
mother. The rule was every dayI have to send her. I could

(15:48):
send her a pin on my satelliteso she can see exactly where it was.
And there was one night I missedbecause the tree overhang was so bad,
freak and I wake up the nextmorning to five. That was.
But she even sleep the entire twomonths. No, she didn't sleep at
all. I mean I would befreaking out. Yeah, she didn't sleep
at all. Um, but itwas it was interesting. I think she

(16:11):
was incredibly proud when it was done, so proud, But it was I
got a lot of Okay, areyou done? Yeah? What are you
done? Are you done again?Yeah? Like like even hiking, it
was very much like Okay, whydon't you come home now you've already done
enough when you come home, wantto come home. And then I think
she realized and my dad too,I think they realized how important it was

(16:33):
becoming to me. Yeah, andthey let it go. Yeah, they
said, all right, just justdo it. And my dad's like,
my mom's like, well, youknow what if she what if something happens,
And my Dad's like, well,Alice, she'll die doing something she
loves, you know, like them. Yeah, Yeah, that's freaking hilarious.
Now we've been talking about a lotof the drama and stuff like that,

(16:56):
and like the intense stuff. Whatare some of the most beautiful like
things that you saw that were justlike you were and you were it was
and it was just otherworldly. Imean, the um so much. And
then that's that's why there was onenight, Oh my god, let's see.
It was um Baker Lake. AndBaker Lake is in Mount Baker,

(17:21):
which is in Washington. It's oneof the most beautiful mountains in Washington.
There's a lake kind of right nearit. And part of the trail was
to walk around the lake. AndI looked at the trail and I said,
Okay, I'm gonna try to getall the way around the lake.
And I started hiking around this lakeand I was like, damn, this
is a beautiful lake. And Isaw a camp site on the map and
I said, you know what,I'm just gonna get to that camp site
and not continue. I'm just gonnaget to I'm just gonna like five miles,

(17:45):
just get to that campsite. Itended up being the greatest camping spot
I have ever experienced. And Isent you a photo you can see.
And I was sitting there by myself. I had the whole lake to myself.
There's no there was nobody was acamp site. It was a campsite,
but there was only like five spots. It was one of those like
your ones, right on the lake, and I didn't see anybody. And

(18:07):
the sun started setting and this musthave been this a sunset that I will
never forget in my life. Yos, right, I got I sent you
a photo, yeah, oh yeah. And and then from out of nowhere
this this this boy starts rowing inlike this canoe thing, and I'm like,
stay there, and I take hisphoto and I'm trying to be present

(18:30):
and look at this sunset, butit's so gorgeous. I can't comprehend it.
It was past something I could yeah, you know, and then I
went skinny difving and it was justlike I was in my own world.
And then I'm like, what's yourname? You know? And and m
canoeing right, No, I werehis parents. I don't know. I

(18:51):
don't know if that's another mother naturething. I was like, maybe you
were hallucinating at this point. Yeah, this ransom gun. But the next
day I was like, all right, see you later. The next day
I started hiking. I was aboutten miles in and I was starting to
get really bad leg cramps, likesuper bad, and I just sat on
the side of the road and tryto figure out what to do. Truck
pulls up and it was him andthe kid kid. Yeah, he's like

(19:15):
I thought it would be you.And he picked me up and he took
me five like twenty five. Oh. I was, oh, no,
like twenty five, yes, Ithought it was around here. And then

(19:36):
and then and then I and thenI would say as far as like beauty
um. Probably one of, ifnot the most impactful nights, was the
second to last night on a trailon the coast and I was alone on
the Washington coast and it had rainedfor like four days. And I remember
I had some canned wine and Ijust went. I pitched my tent on

(19:57):
the on the on the coast post, and I knew this was gonna be
my last night on trail. Andthat's where I wrote that letter. And
I just stood up and just wasstaring at the at the ocean and um,
literally in the distance, like theclouds parted and like I could see
the sun start setting in the distance, and I I just said thank you

(20:21):
to her, and I just andthat's when I wrote. I was just
like I wrote a letter saying goodbye. Yeah, did you plan on writing
that letter? It was? Didit just come to you? It just
came to me. Yeah. Butit was almost like that that trail,
that experience was we were saying goodbye. And actually now that we're on that,

(20:42):
okay, go for it. Toknow how you had electricity to keep
your phone charge to stay. SoI had a little portable charging device from
a company called Anchor, and itcould charge my phone probably about seven or
eight times wow, um and mygarment twice probably And that lasted every week

(21:07):
month. Yeah, So so oncea once a week I would charge it
in a town or a restaurant orbark. Yeah, so i'd have to
wait charge when you would stop intolike a restaurant or a bar, you
go in and have a good meal. Yes, okay, yes we had
money on you. Yes, ohyeah, okay. Never lost your cards
in Vegas one time. This waslike three weeks ago, right, Yeah,

(21:30):
I was lost, lost my cardand my idea. I didn't know
what to do. I drove backto la on twenty five dollars a gas.
Yeah, you're you're losing yours andher losing hers is two different.
Yeah. Oh yeah, I wouldjust pizza, pizza burgers. Wait wait

(21:52):
where did you eat pizza burgers?On on on the trail stop? Yeah.
I would hit a town like everyonce in a while, and I
would stay in the text so youlike, see I I picture it as
you're eating just like nuts and berries, like healthy stuff because I'm like,
I need to stay because pizza andburgers would like slow me down. But

(22:15):
you're you're burning That's true. That'strue. So so that's what I forgot
to ask you when you talked aboutit earlier about the two days they miss
food, burning those calories. Howthe hell did you function? Yeah?
Yeah, you still don't know.I don't water. I had water in
some blue and again pushing the limitsof the human body and showing what we're

(22:40):
capable of. This is this isthe major topic of this, of all
of this, is that you haveproven what we are all capable of.
We just don't realize it and we'rescared to even try it. Oh,
absolutely so much. That's why thisis what I teach my daughter every day,
and that is why I tell peopleevery day, like so much,
something like it's the mind. Themind. The mind is so powerful,

(23:03):
but we don't use it. Wequit too easy. We especially in industrialized
societies, we give up too easy. Oh no, I can't do it.
Oh that's too hard. Oh no, I no, I'm not I
can't. I'm not possible. It'sin the mind. You know, you're
having a bad day, you're goingthrough something. Oh, and you start
to go in your little hole.But it's in the mind. You can

(23:23):
overcome anything. And you've proved tothat. There's there's when a people complain,
oh, things aren't going good inmy life. That's nothing compared Their
life isn't on the line, usuallyunless they have some sickness. But you
actually have proven that anyone is capableof coming out of anything. Absolutely.

(23:44):
And I think a big thing too, is is I failed so many times
on trail, like I wouldn't makea town. I'm like, oh,
I lost food, I don't haveany water. It's like it was constant
battles. Yeah, that I hadto fight, but it's like I wanted
it so bad. I just pushedand pushed and pushed and pushed, and
like I didn't give myself the optionto quit, Like when I got to

(24:08):
Washington, I don't. I don'tcare what happens. I'm going, you
know, And um, I meanthere were yeah, through through everything,
it doesn't matter like I will Iwill continue to fail every single day,
but I will always get up inthe morning and I always do it again.
And I will try and I willtry and I will try. And
yeah, I mean then do youthink that's transcended into your life now?

(24:32):
Like do you find yourself? Iknow you say you've changed, you're a
different person that person before. Yeah, it doesn't exist, But now do
you find yourself like when you're challengedwith things, does that like become relevant
now? Yes? Oh my god, I made it through that and I
didn't think I could do it likethis, and you know, how does
that? How does that apply now? I think now, Um, a

(24:55):
lot of my friends, a lotof my family, a lot of their
problems are very built up in theirheads and it's really not a problem.
Yes, yes, everybody blows thingsup, you know. Like as soon
as I got back, one ofmy friends is like, oh my god,
I tried to get my nails donein the place was closed. Oh
God, and I because I can'tgo to dinner without getting my nails done,

(25:17):
you know. And I'm just like, oh wow, I hope,
I hope you get them done.Dressing about that? How about rats like
making their la home by my head? How about worried about it bear outside
your head? Yeah, And it'slike it's like it's like all these little
problems are like in the scope oflife. You were missing the point so

(25:37):
bad, like, you know,do something, do anything? That was
that was one of my last questions, But I'm going to do it now.
And it was what or if anything, you realize and discovered about humans
in comparison to mother nature? Likewhy did you discover on this journey and
you're you're touching on it now.Um, you really saw about us compared

(26:00):
to mother nature, how powerful mothernature is and how weak we are,
and did you discover anything through thatas far as really, do you look
at humans differently? Now? Like, do you look at us differently?
Or at least in this country.I mean you just described it whole the
nails and the nails. Yeah,I mean that's what he just said.

(26:22):
That's pretty much this country all wrong, exactly. M Yeah, it's a
respect Yeah, it's a respect thing. Um right now, there's so much
disrespect going on. There's fires blazing, I mean exactly, there's so much
disrespect. I don't understand why peopleare you know, even somebody throwing a

(26:44):
cyrute but out the window. Yes, like even um people these day hikers
in the Hollywood Hills just leave theirtrash everywhere. Yeah, you know,
I see it all the time.When I go on these little house I
see the like a plastic bottle.I'm like, what the hell do can't
she just hold on to that untilthe hike's over? Yeah, people are
still a little plastic bought water bottleon the side. See why don't everybody

(27:04):
pick up? Yeah, it's likepeople walk over trash, didn't exactly if
I will always pick it up.Oh germs, germs, your germs,
just pick the damn thing up.It's like it's like we're disconnected. Yeah,
we're so disconnected where we live onthis planet and we're so disconnected for
her and once she's capable of andwhat she gives us, and how we're

(27:26):
destroying and how we are destroying itand what do you think about? That?
Is like a body, right,the earth is a body. We're
destroying it. But as a person, when you were on that trail doing
all that, did you notice thingsabout your body? Uh? Was there
anything that? Um? You werelike, Oh, that's that's a moment

(27:52):
where I can realize something new aboutmy body that I didn't know could do.
My body got so strong. Imean I lost so much weight,
but I was so strong and likemore than you would get if you went
to the gym, Oh, morethan you did all your years from volleyball
and basically on a StairMaster for eightto nine hours a day, like stretching

(28:14):
every day and like light stretch yoga. Yeah, La, this isn't a
resort, no, but you knowyour body crazy, Yeah, that rigorous
exercises, sleeping, we used tobeing on the floor, like, yeah,
hard, I brought a queen sizebed, you brought an air match,

(28:37):
I'd be bringing their match. Butit is like last four days out
there all that stuff, but alsofour days it becomes addicting, and hikers
and um campers who don't normally doit, they go out for two days
and like, oh, I hatethis the buck. But if you allow

(29:02):
yourself, give yourself five days,just get in the rhythm to your skills
going to clear up. You're you'regonna lose weight, you're gonna be you're
gonna feel so good. But youhave to get over that that three day
hump that the first three days aregoing to be hell, you're gonna sore,
you're gonna hate it, You're gonnapeople quit and they're like, oh,
backpack, he's not for me.Yeah, it's like, no,

(29:23):
I really think we are made tobe in nature, and yes, we're
not made to be in la.No, this is toxicity. You can't
escape it. Every the energy istoxic, the air is toxic, the
waters, everything we're doing, thepeople are toxic. Yeah, there's so
much toxics here. Then when you'reout there, you're you cleansed, you

(29:44):
feel like yourself. You cleanse,cleanse. Yeah, And that's that's why
I always say, it's like II need I want to retire in the
middle of the forest. I alwaystell people that that's why I need to
retire. You know, I havea child, and then once she's off
and done her own thing, I'mout. I'm out. This isn't I'm
a fish out of water in Laman. I can't. You grew up
down here right apart? Yeah?Oh wow, so you're like out here

(30:08):
in the valley. So it's likeit's people don't realize connection to nature is
the healthiest thing you could do foryourself. And you all who are listening
to make a point, truly makea point to get out there, even
if it's just for a weekend.Get out there. You don't need to
go backpacking, but take your family, take your kids, take your loved

(30:29):
ones, and connect with nature.It's the healthiest thing you do. We
do all these vitamins and supplements,and we do yoga and we do all
the stuff. Yeah, but connectingto nature cleanses you and really connects you
in a way to this earth thatyou don't even know. As possible.
Let's hear and watch her letter rightnow. This is her ending when she

(30:51):
got after the entire seventy one daytrip. She's on the beach. I'm
gonna also put the link for this. It's her video on YouTube on YouTube
channel which will put later of hersaying her last goodbye to the pacif Northwest
Trail after seventy one days. Andhere we go, dear Pacific Northwest Trail,

(31:11):
as I crossed the finish line afterhiking seventy one days on your stunning
and wild landscape. I want youto know I hate you and thank you
for I will never be the same. You taught me to feel comfortable with
being uncomfortable. You made me screamwith frustration. You pushed me past my
limit. Just when I thought Icouldn't handle anymore, you pushed me harder,

(31:33):
over and over, and I foughtlike hell, climbing, slipping and
falling, but always rising. Youtaught me to be a stronger woman,
to wake up, gear up andstare down a mountain and under my breath
softly whisper, let's fucking dance.You taught me to welcome each challenge and
venture through the wilderness. A fearlesscrusader, a force of nature. You

(31:56):
taught me not to fear the darkness, but in race the silence. I
learned to be silent and to bestill when the woods were dead quiet.
I learned to listen and to feelthe peaceful sense of freedom only found in
the wilderness. You showed me Athrough hiker's life is one of heartbreak.
The views, towns, moments,sunrises, sunsets, and people come in

(32:21):
and out of life in a flash. Goodbyes our heart. Having to say
them over and over is unbearable.You taught me to fight through the pain
and heartbreak, to find strength tomove forward and never look back. For
wild hearts can't be broken. Tonight, as I gaze out over the Pacific
Ocean on my last day on trail, I thank you you taught me to

(32:42):
fly out Of the hundreds of goodbyesI've had to say of the last seventy
one days, saying farewell to usethe hardest For tomorrow morning, I'll be
gone, never to look back,to move forward, a more wilder and
wiser woman. For tomorrow the sunrise and a new adventure awaits. Yes.
Wow, Yeah, So that that'sthe one that made me crying.

(33:06):
Is it's good again? So umit takes the trailer. It's the quality
is so good that you're storytelling too, because the way you present it and
narrate it and talk it and theand the way you guys did that is
it's beautiful. It's That's what I'msaying. This should be. There's no
reason why this can't be a TVshow. Like I have one question for
it to lighten it up just alittle bit. Now, I know that

(33:32):
I know when you sell houses,possibly Um, Kurt, when you lay
in a big role, Um,and me if I do something extremely great
one day, I don't know whatit could be. You have like sexually,
you feel like you want to releaseyou know, after you do something

(33:53):
extremely great, it's like you knowwhat I need to release somehow, Um
on that trip when you had thosehurdles that you crossed over and maybe sexually,
usually you would be able to dothat and be like release it.
How would you release that? Didshe masturbate? Is that you completely asked

(34:20):
that question. I didn't ask thatquestion. I understand the question. I'm
glad that's the last thing on it? Really? Is it really the last
thing on your mind? We arewe are you asking question? Are you?
Are you asking what I did tocelebrate? She opened her canned wine.
Did you hear that? That wasonly once? Oh God? And

(34:46):
the planning thing is the way hekind of round about from the back.
Could have just said, hey,when you were done, did you master?
I had the way for a womanto ask that question. Oh my
God, help you out. Wegot there, like I menting sexual,
but there was like one thing Idid. It's not sexually. Um,

(35:12):
when I was done, when Icompleted it, that moment when I said
goodbye and I took my first stepoff trail, I had a hike three
miles to a road and I gota I tried to hitchhike to another town.
Yeah, and and um, whenthis this couple pulled over, Um,
after like thirty minutes and I hoppedin and they were just a sweet,
nice young couple. Did you tellthem what you just did? So

(35:36):
I just finished seventy one. They'relike, they're like, we normally we
don't we don't pick up hitchhikers,but we never picked up a hitchhiker.
But you looked like you needed aride. I was like, oh,
thanks, And the whole time I'mhiking. When I would meet people,
they would ask me where you're comingfrom, and I would always tell them
the camp I stayed at the nightbefore. Oh yeah, I'm just ten

(35:59):
miles back. You know. Itwas always where I stayed the night before.
And this couple says, oh,were you coming from? And I
said Glacier National Park and they're like, excuse me. And it was the
first time I was like, Ijust I'm coming to the Glacier National Park.
And so when you say when cecelebrating, the celebration was very much

(36:21):
internal I was. I just stayedvery calm about it. I didn't go
partying and drinking. Yeah, itwas. It was. And then I
was like the celebration, Yeah,I just was very silent about it.
I just was to myself for probablya good two weeks after that, just

(36:44):
very intern kept it the celebration internaland I was just very calm, like
I was. I was at apoint where this is where I should be.
I just did something to prove thatI'm capable, and I was.
It was very internal. Nothing wasvery external like master Yeah, yeah,
like masturbation, internal feeling. Didyou when it was all done and over,

(37:07):
did you feel like, uh,like a huge sense of relief or
like I wish I would have donemore, or like you know what I
mean, like it's done and you'regoing okay anymore she hit the coast.
Okay. I'm just saying, likethe feeling you felt inside was it like
Japan You're going to um? Itwas a feeling of I suddenly I suddenly

(37:31):
became who I knew I could be. And like I said, I was
no longer that girl that started onthat first day. I don't even know
who she is. And every singleday of her I see pictures of her
and I was like I knew whatshe was, how scared she was.
And now I'm very fearless in almosteverything except snakes. I'm very fearless.

(37:53):
I feel so like just yeah,yeah, because of the most basic thing
comes across. Yeah. Yeah,like you challenge work, challenges, Yeah,
anything like that. I'm just let'sdo it. That's amazing. That's
amazing. So if someone came upto you today and said, Diane,
I want to get I want todo what you did well, but I'm

(38:15):
they're hesitant. What would you howwould you? What would you tell somebody?
Well, what I learned too isum. A lot of my friends,
I would say, you're gonna lovebackpacking, give back, paying your
try, like out there, butI realize it's not for everyone. Yeah,
I don't. I can't push anyone. But if somebody comes to me,
comes to me and says, andI've had a ton of people say
they want to do this trail,um, I can kind of tell just

(38:37):
by looking at looking at them andthey're kind of Instagram and I can kind
of tell if they're the kind ofperson that could do it. Um.
But there have been a few thatI I sense they can do it,
and I say that that you seein them. But I'll have thirty thousand
followers or a hundred. Yeah,they're doing it. They're doing it for
that experience, not for the nature. No for why you did it.

(39:00):
Yeah, because they need they needsomething, They need something. And I
always say the number one thing Isay is just let go. Just let
go preparation, preparation, know whatyou're getting yourself into. Um, But
as soon as you start, assoon as you take that first step,
just let go. Don't over likelet yeah, let go over who you

(39:22):
are to the experience, because itis not going to go the way you
want it. Yes, it's goingto go completely opposite. Yeah, you
can never let go. And um, that's life, very good, very
good, analedge and life the quickeryou can get comfortable with being uncomfortable comfortable,
you know. Man, I wishI would have known you beforehand and

(39:44):
seeing what you were like beforehand,to see the difference. Wow, just
very kind of Do you think that? How about people that knew you well,
like your own parents, did theysee a change in you? I
think so. I think it ismore of things don't phase me as much.
Um, I'm stronger person mentally.Um. And I think before I

(40:05):
would hit these just depression modes andlike we all do. But now it's
like I kind of I understand humans. I understand the world better because I
lived out there, I lived youknow. Um, But but it is
it's just ultimately it's it's I'm stronger, stronger humans that make you feel like
you can live with less. Absolutely, we have way too much stuff,

(40:28):
way too much, stuffy much stuff. It makes you realize that you don't
need. Oh it's awful, it'scrazy. Yeah, even with everything,
food, clothes, it's it's Igot one more question, so when you're
about your sexual when you finally didYeah, sexually you can't, that's a

(40:53):
primal thing. But aside from that, when you have to lie, let's
say, uh, urinate or ordo you like number two whatever? Yeah,
is there a certain space where youhave to have around your um vicinity

(41:14):
where you're sleeping that you can dothat or so the animals don't come animals
come to something different? Um,yeah, well yes. So it's really
funny because there's a lot of YouTubevideos on women explaining like when you get

(41:34):
your period and you're out there,but they always like there's this one girl
I'm not going to say your name. She's very popular, but she's she
did a video about going to thebathroom in the woods, and she was
like she's like, all right,you go out there and you just pull
your pants down and you do youdo your business and you do this,
and you just do business. Youclean up and you walk away. And

(41:57):
I'm like, oh my god,And I'm like when people ask me how
do you go bathroom in the woods, I literally dig a whole squat shit
and cover it up. Yeah,there's that's what you do. Yeah,
she made it all pretty wipe um, I always had no, I always
had oh what wipes? Yeah,same thing, And then and then it
becomes fun and like very natural,like I love, I gotta, I

(42:17):
gotta yeah, yeah, light travel. I don't take those breakdown into the
earth the wet wipes to carry out. You know you can't carry the little
bag. Yes, yes, throwthem away at the next place. There's
no way you could drop them there. That's no. I was very frowned.
Find no way you can through that. You wouldn't even need to find

(42:46):
a trail, just follow his literally. But sometimes too would be going to
the bathroom and I had this beautifulvista and I was like, this is
I want to shit the rest ofthe day. I want to watch the
sunshet while the ship and it's sittingon it is weird. How was your
first night? I was like,oh, it was amazing, but like,

(43:06):
sit down, that's for you.I made it. It's like fireworks
and everything they're on fire. Yougotta going to afternoon. Yeah, So

(43:30):
now you're working on well, Idon't know if you're still working on.
Are you working on trying to doa nineteen hundred mile hike in New Zealand?
What's it? Called the tar ROWA. Yeah, it's nineteen hundred miles.
It goes from north to south orsouth to north right through the center

(43:50):
of New Zealand. Nineteen hundred miles. That's like what they didn't Lord of
the Rings. That's exactly they ranin like five minutes, right. Yeah.
I was supposed to do it thisyear, but the country's on lockdown.
I think they have one case ofCOVID. Yeah, yeah, they

(44:10):
lockdown and they're on lockdown. Sonext year, that's my next one.
I will not do another big onein the States anytime. So there's too
many people and the kinds of peopleare not my favorite that are doing them.
Yeah, there's there's one that goesfrom California all the way north to
right. No, it's the sameone that starts. It goes through here,

(44:35):
that's right. But New Zealand's myfavorite country. The people are incredible,
the landscapes, there's no predators,there's no bears or anything, okay,
and so my mother is very excitedabout that. Yeah, but I
want to do one more big oneand I think I think that'll be it
next year. Now, what aboutthe thing called the Triple Crown, the
crash appellation and what's the other one? Content will divide? Yeah, Like
I just read somewhere some seventy oneyear old man continence was seven one your

(45:00):
old man named Victor did all ofthem? Oh yeah, crown, yeah,
tripled crown. Yeah. But Iheard like a lot of people get
murdered on the lappelation murdered by whatother people? The apple I don't know,
real it was the one that shedid was the one that people got
there like a murder. You don'thave to worry about bears. Yeah.

(45:29):
One of the one of the scariestthings that happened involved a person and not
necessarily animals really, so it's morethe people. Yeah, but I was
a little naive to people in thatarea. You are in the woods like
mountain men out there the caves andship like a lady I'd like to like
to take you for a ride,you know, like, oh, come

(45:52):
on out, you need my trunk? Yeah you just yeah. And so
what happened, Um, it wasprobably the scariest thing that happened to me.
It was a human, Yeah,it happened. Um. I hitchhiked
probably at least twenty twenty five timesjust to get to towns to get food
and stuff. So I was veryused to it. But I was in

(46:13):
an interesting area. Um, rightby m Ross Lake kind of in Washington.
Winthrop was the town that I washitching out of. Put my thumb
out, and um, I cantell within thirty less than that fifteen seconds
if this is a person I wantto get in a car with. As
soon as they pull up, Ianalyzed the car. Um. The first
person came up and was totally crackedout on something and shaking, and I'm

(46:37):
like nope. And then like,um, a gentleman pulled up in a
truck and I assessed his truck.I saw he was a musician. His
name is Jason, probably about fortyyears old. Jason, yeah, four
years old. I assessed his truckand I said, you know what,
I feel okay getting in this person'svehicle. I feel okay, and I'm
going to buy with a guitar probably, But but I saw there was nothing

(47:00):
sketchy in the you know. Ijust like I could assess, and by
then I was already in it,and I was like, I knew this
person would be okay. And thenon the way there, he asked if
he can make a quick stop tohave an old lady signed some documents.
He was a tree cutter and heneeded her to sign this like invoice horror
movie. You normally would say no, you don't want to do that a

(47:22):
trail, but we had a rapportand um I felt the trust and I
said, I said okay, yeah, yeah, he goes it's on the
way. I said, okay.So he turns down a dirt road and
we go down the dirt road forabout three to four miles and it my
heart starts the serial killer. Yeah, my heart will bring you back from

(47:43):
part two when I survived starts poundingabout. I go into survival. Yeah,
I go into survival mode. Whatam I gonna do? I go
into kill bill like mine? Yeah, of like, if anything happens,
I'm gonna take my knife. I'man jab it in his hands on the
stair. Yeah. Yeah. Andthe spraying with my bear spray and run.
Usually whenever I hitch, I alwayswear my sneakers better. It gets

(48:09):
better. So we go about fivemiles and my GPS will not work because
there's tree overhang, so nobody knowswhere at my hearts pounty. But we're
still having a good like a lightheartedconversation about tree cutting, and he just
seems like a cool guy. Sowe pull up to this old, fucking
old wood house that looks like it'sit's about to cave in. I have

(48:30):
no cell reception, my GPS doesn'twork, I have nothing. I am
horrified and I I don't know whatto do. You know, I just
have to sit there. He goes, Okay, I'll be right back.
He gets out of the car.He rings on the doorbell. Another gentleman
comes out, a big ass guy. I am horrified, and I said,

(48:51):
I fucked up. I fucked up. I should not be here.
My heart's pounting. So then whathappens is I get my bear spray ready,
I get my knife, Freddie.I start sending where I am on
my GPS. I know it's they'renot gonna get it, like immediately,
but at least they'll have something totry something. All of a sudden,
another guy comes out. I'm like, I definitely out of the wood.

(49:15):
So then I release my pack andI have my weapons and I'm geared up
to run. I am fast.I got these long ass legs and I
know I can outrun these guys.They're bigger than me, but they're heavy,
so as long as I don't havea gun to shoot me. My
heart was racing, Yeah, myheart was racing. So then I'm sweating.

(49:37):
All of a sudden, these thesethree men and they look at me
and they're waving. One of theother men comes over to the car and
he taps on the window, andI was like, and I rolled out
my window. I'm shaking. I'mso scared. And he goes, I
heard you're doing that long trail.And I'm like, I'm like, everybody
knows where I am. And hegoes, you're doing it all by yourself,
and I'm like, no, Igot some friends on me in the

(49:59):
next down right, now get up. And then out of the corner of
my eye, I look at thehouse and from the other two men comes
this little old lady. Oh thankgod for the little old lady and her
Pj's white. Jason hands him overthe papers, she signs it. The
gentleman next to me says, willyou be careful? You know you'd be

(50:19):
careful. You know these crazy peoplein these woods. I'm actually of all
but Jason. Jason comes over thecar, sits down to my friends.
I guess um. He comes tothe car. He says, thank you
for trying to get her to signthis document. Forever the document it is
a tree cutting. So he justhad listen. Jason ended up having foot

(50:45):
surgery, so he ends ended along story story. He took me to
the start of the trail and hehiked with me for about a mile.
Wow, and he said, hesaid, I just want to tell you
you inspired me. And I don'thave a cell phone off a computer.
I just live in the woods.He was, But but I wish you
the best of luck and I willpray for you every night. He wrote
a great story. Amazing human beingsI met on the entire trail. But

(51:07):
it was, it was, itwas a good um. I would say
ninety seconds where I thought I amdying. Isn't that like how that went
down? Like just visually what youthought? And it was totally not totally
just like you couldn't make a movie. I guess y. Yeah, I
could see that. The guy walkingup click and banks on the window and

(51:30):
you're holding hold. I was,I had a piss, I had a
vomit. He's looking you up anddown. Yeah, it doesn't say real
quick he's looking around and your heart'sracing. Yeah. I mean that's something
like I can say as a woman, I have never felt that way.
Yeah, I have never felt likeI was going to be murdered and raped

(51:51):
and killed in an instant like that. And you did scary Yeah, but
I was ready. You're lucky.You're lucky that you didn't just react and
when he came to the window juststabbed you. I know, I know
well what it is by that point. Now, the old Diana who started
literally would have you know. ButI I felt like I can handle myself.

(52:16):
Even though I was panicking, Icould. I felt like I was
ready to fight, Like I wasn'tjust going to be like roll over.
Well, you've already been in situationsleading up to this that made you feel
that kind of fear, of likekind of fear maybe dying or almost not
making it, and you overcame that. So this was another one of those
moments. So I was ready togo. I was about ready to go.

(52:38):
Yeah, but he ended up beingawesome. That is that's why you
said you've become fearless. Well,fearless you were on your path. You
literally have experience more from that tripthan every one of us. Yeah,
I mean I don't know. I'vebeen shot at before. What this is
about you? I've been shot at. Absolutely, I shout out at he

(53:01):
just he just throws different, that'snothing. But he never So we need
to, as humans go through neardeath experiences to like really grow and evolved
into who we really are. Likeno, I like not that. I

(53:22):
almost feel like die just to becomewho you know what? Those sometimes a
lot of times too, when peoplehave near death experiences change their lives when
they have disease and survived. Sure, you have an appreciation you're all of
a sudden, your perspective changes likeyours did. It's sad to say,

(53:43):
but humans, most of us needto hit rock bottom or slap in the
face. Oh it's the best thingto wake up for what's really going on
here? Yeah? Do you believegrowth? Um a lot? Uh?
Yeah? The probably about a monthbefore I started the hike, I was
a demo rep. So I wasworking in a grocery store and I got
locked in one of the freezers anda whole foods and I that was the

(54:07):
lowest. That sounds like how longhow long were you in the five minutes?
But I was me compared I wasonce I was locked in a freezer
for five minutes. I was Iwas totally panicking. Um, but that

(54:30):
was my rock bottom because that wasat that point right there, like I
thought I was going to freeze todeath, and even though everyone's outside,
I could just knock, but youknow, and and then I got let
out. But but it's funny goingfrom being locked in a Whole Foods freezer,
which is small and smaller than thisroom. It's tiny, to at

(54:52):
the end of this trail overlooking thePacific Ocean, like those are the two
extremes. And that's my book isgoing to start locked in that freezer.
And but I loved you, butyeah, but but it is it's not
about going Anyone who has been throughhard things in life. Yeah, they're
they're they're they're tougher, just they'retougher. But we're going through things in

(55:13):
our heads. You know, you'rebattling yourself and your heads in your head.
You know, you're killing yourself withyour overthinking in your mind constantly and
learning to let go of that.Roommates never do anything. You can't do
it, you suck whatever, allthese things that you're then you fight with

(55:34):
that voice, but but fail,like I want people to fail and keep
going and keep failing. I failedhundreds and hundreds of times on that trail.
I fucked up so many times.But it's I I'm I'm strong.
But that's what That's what life is. We have to make mistakes and fuck
up to get better. People arescared, so scared to fail, are

(55:58):
scared to fail, but tell youget better because some people fail and stay
in failure for so long, theydon't use that failure as an opportunity to
grow, Like, Okay, I'mdown here and it fucking sucks, so
let me try. You know,some people just get stuck down there,
right and then they just yea andthey drink or do drugs or whatever to
just numb. Yeah, you know, rather than okay, this sucks failure,

(56:22):
let me yeah. And for peoplewho who are struggling with something I
don't know, drugs, their ownminds, I don't I always say,
set a goal that is so challenging, like this hike was so challenging,
something that is going to eat yourmind, that just feed your your day
to day of trying to work towardsthat goal. People don't have people don't.

(56:45):
They just sit in these ruts.They don't have anything to reach for.
And again, society is like limitsus very much. We do the
compare game and I'm not gonna beable to do this as good as her,
So I'm not even gonna try andthis and that. But it's letting
go and and challenging yourself. Expectto fail, but you will grow quicker

(57:06):
than you think. You know,people, you are gonna grow so quick
and learned so quick instead of juststaying in one spot and think I'm not
going to do it because we feedourselves with not personal goals. It's like,
oh, I'm gonna do this soI can go on a vacation,
or I'm gonna do this, Ican buy that car. I'm gonna do
this so I can get that thing. It's not like I'm gonna do this
so I can be better. Ifeel great and amazing, and I do

(57:30):
it for that reason. Anyway,I just had something. My grandmother passed
away this last weekend and no,no it was how old was she was
ninety six, But I went throughdays of not being able to handle it,
like like no matter how old theyare, it's it's still hard.
But then I came out two dayslater, I said to myself, you

(57:53):
know what, and I'm gonna makea YouTube video out of this. I
said to myself, I have time. Like the thing I got from that
is she had no more time,her time was up. Yeah, I
have time. Who people listening tothis, you have time? Thank you?
You have time some more than wait, don't wait, but it's exactly

(58:14):
you have time, use it,don't same thing? Yeah, because before
you know, you're gonna blink andyou're gonna be that ninety six year old
or you're not. Exactly you havetime yourself. Yeah, right this moment
to do these things. Absolutely absolutely, And but but then I say,
if you don't want to eve,then don't there there's people out there that

(58:36):
will, and you're going to bejust looking at them. The same thing
is going to happen to you thathappens to them exactly at exactly. So
yeah, be a host for Larva. So let's let's speak about your YouTube
channel real quick. You have ayeah, and so you have a ton
of things on here. You haveYeah, that's the whole Pacific Northwest Trail

(58:57):
in like eight videos. So thereyou go. So everybody listening. You
can go to her YouTube channel andactually a lot this is the Now that
was one thing I forgot to askyou. Your videos are high definition,
everything's high How did you carry allthis equipment with your stuff? So the

(59:19):
all the Pacific Northwest Trail stuff ofme on the trail was shot with a
d G I Osmo action and andthen my cell phone. I didn't bring
a big but the commentary of metalking a shot with my Canon five d
Mark four. Okay, but Ididn't want to bring a big camp and
all these things. Yeah, noway, you could have brought more.
Now and they survived the weather andoh yeah yeah, okay, So everybody

(59:43):
going there, what's the YouTube isit? Diana Carmela. Diana Carmela.
Yeah, she's got some amazing videosin here. Everybody, y A d
Y D y A n A Carmelac A R M E L l A.
These things are eventually this is thisis this is this is a TV
show, absolutely trying and so thisis the end of the show. Diana

(01:00:06):
Carmello podcast. You've inspired me.Honestly, I want to put myself through
torture and pain. So that's Melissa, Yes, thank you, Melissa,
you were awesome, right, andwe're gonna have to have you in more
often. That's freaking great. It'sfun. Tony Frost American completely toward her

(01:00:32):
like I'm like, they just forgotI don't even know how to happen.
Oh my gosh. They turned towardseach other like we're just like they forgot
about us. This American's podcast akirky Serouces will call the podcast thank you
for tuning in. Diana, comeout and thank you. You're freaking awesome.
We're gonna blow you show it.We're gonna we're gonna get your show
made. It's gonna happen. Seriously, you're an inspiration. You are an

(01:00:53):
inspiration to people, not just tomen, to humans. Get that.
That book's gonna be fucking badass.We'll check out our YouTube channel and we'll
see you next time. Good night, h

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THE WILL TO SURVIVE - with Dyana Carmella - Part II

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}THE WILL TO SURVIVE - with Dyana Carmella - Part II