This past weekend, I finally got back outside for a little overnight backpacking trip with Brian and Scotty dog. The last year was a little crazy for us with work, travel and moving to CO, so we haven’t been backpacking since an amazing long weekend trip in 2013. That year, we spent 4 days backpacking the southern and western slopes of Mt Adams in Washington. We didn’t see a single soul the entire trip, until the last 1/4 mile of…
I’m usually one of those people who turns up their nose at the thought of just DRIVING through a National Park. I love hiking. I love camping. I love to smell the air and feel the breeze. I want to really experience what makes an area special and DO something. I want a spectacular view and the chirping of birds and the light scent of wildflowers in the air. Mostly, I love to get away from the crowds and enjoy…
Change is the spice of life. And trying something new is the heart of adventure. Well, during my summer of (f)unemployment I am gonna try a few new things! For my first adventure, I decided to try the Stand Up Paddleboarding craze. It’s the fastest growing water sport and has been tremendously popular. I did some research and it sounded like it was easy to pick up, but I was still reluctant to go out on my own and just figure…
Back in March, I made a list of 10 things I had learned about living over 9000ft. Well, summer is here now, so I’ve added a few more life lessons onto the list. Here’s the original list, plus a few new additions: Hydrate!! You’ll regret it if you don’t. Follow the high altitude baking directions. If you don’t have any, make up your own. Cooking everything takes much longer (see above) and you’re 80% likely to either undercook it…
A lot of folks asked me how I got involved in the outdoors. Most folks assume that I grew up with it like Brian did. If you’ve ever met my family, you’d know there is NO WAY I was genetically inclined. I was raised outside Washington, DC. Camping meant taking the RV for the weekend when I was growing up. Despite this, I still loved being outside. I played in the woods and built forts and campsites. I was a…
I was an athlete for a long time. I rowed all through high school and college, with the latter being a very intense, DI program at the University of Tennessee. We trained. A lot. Amazingly, despite the fact that I graduated 13 years ago, I am still very close friends with many of my teammates. So why has that bond held on so long? I firmly believe in the power of friendship that grows out of mutual experience, especially sweating…
I had an interesting run-in over this holiday weekend. It was a great reminder of everything you SHOULDN’T do. Travel in the wilderness, especially in high-altitude mountains, requires a certain respect for mother nature. You never know when she will turn on you and you should always be prepared for her to do so! In the outdoor world, it’s known as Wilderness Risk Management. Plan for the worst. 99% of the time, you won’t have to deal with it. That…
This is my first foray into blogging. I decided to call it “A Mountain Happy Place.” Why? Well there’s my obvious love for the mountains. My hubby and I recently packed up our whole lives and moved away from our jobs, friends and the amazing community we had around us in Portland, OR. We decided to go on an adventure and relocate to the mountains of Summit County, Colorado. Why Colorado? We had no connections here, no friends… but we DO love the mountains. Summit…