I’ve spent the last few months…not writing, not overworking + not running. Instead, I’ve been wandering, planning + spending time doing not-so-crazy things with people I really enjoy being around. I don’t want to jinx myself by saying “life is slowing down”, but my life choices seem to be a bit more purposeful. The “because, why not” way of decision-making isn’t going anywhere, trust me. But I’ve been a bit more intentional with my choices lately.
There are a bajillion + a half blog posts, articles + flashy insta-stories out there telling you how to properly, safely + comfortably go on a yurt trip. So, for the sake of trying something new, let’s talk about all the things you can do wrong while venturing out to a remote mountain yurt or cabin. The fact we just recently did all of the following things [over the course of four trips, the only reason we’re still alive] has nothing to do with my motivation to overshare this list. Probably. Not.
I live a pretty cyclical life — my summers are spent roaming the country + world while my winters are spent working my leggings off in a resort town. This lifestyle isn’t exactly conducive to a small, close-knit group of friends due to constant movement + a crazy work schedule. Instead, it gives me the opportunity to meet all sorts of awesome people that float through my life from time to time. Every once in a while a handful of these cool kids get the same days off work. This happened last month [after a lot of co-worker bribery]. To celebrate we headed into the backwoods of Northern Colorado for our version of “girl’s weekend”.
The best life lessons are learned in the wilderness, right?!
Such as “if it makes your heart flutter, do it” + “just huck yourself over the edge + hope for the best”.
These are the life lessons you’ll come upon when you lug a snow tube along the ridge of the Continental Divide trail on Loveland Pass. The guys were up there the week before with pristine conditions — fluffy snow + full coverage. We were not so lucky this time around. Instead of being greeted with a mountain cloaked in fresh snow we were staring down at a rocky, bare slope with patches of snow. This was our launching point. We had two choices — huck our bodies over the edge + hope we’d manage to stay atop our tube or turn back.
There are many ways to escape cell service. The most logical one is to just shut off your phone. But, what fun is that? A much more exciting way to escape cell service is to run off into the wilderness + pretend adult responsibilities don’t exist for a full 48 hours. That’s the way we did it…
Life isn’t exactly slowing down, but I’m finding a way to work a little more fun into the crazy. Both jobs are still in full force + I’m roaming around Summit County without a car. This has me sinking a ton of time into work + bus-muting. However, my free time has been put to really good use…sans running shoes.
In today’s world there is a plethora of pain; in ways no one wants to admit or acknowledge. A quick scroll through the news headlines in your Facebook feed will offer up more proof then you’ll ever want. There are some seriously depressing + demoralizing things going on in today’s world. It sucks, there’s no way around that. I am not going to deny that. I’m also not trying to take away from anyone’s pain, frustration or confusion. However, there is also an immense amount of love + joy floating around in this world, too. It just takes a little effort to find it.
A whole eight weeks ago I waxed poetically about running, just because. I talked about getting back into the running bit on my own terms. Running when I wanted to, hiking when I could + using Max as my excuse to get outside. Ha. Yea…no. That is not what happened. Instead, I’ve completely forgotten how to run.
There is a first time for everything…the first big snow of the season, your first time snowshoeing, being the first to break trail, first time out to Lily Pad Lake. First times are fun, ask anyone who’s survived the rush of trying something new. However, there seems to be a tipping point. Add enough first times to the same experience + it goes from being exciting to exhausting rather quickly. Last week, we found that tipping point!
And just like that, it’s December. We still grossly low on snow up here in the Rocky Mountains but the weather has taken a turn for the colder [much colder] so I guess we can officially say winter has arrived. Finally. The resorts opened 3+ weeks behind schedule which meant those of us lucky enough to snag mountain jobs were stuck with an extra 3 weeks of free time, sans paycheck.