As my Instagram feed suggests — I did not return to the States with the rest of the Columbia crew. When Columbia first threw out the possibility of running one of the UTMB trail races I was excited about a week in France, then I spent two weeks in Chile and realized that was nowhere near enough time to really explore an area. I opted to extend my stay a few weeks…and then a few months. In Switzerland you can stay in the country on a visitor’s visa for up to 90 days over a 180 day period and that is exactly what I plan on doing. (more…)
The stressful part of my summer is officially over! As of last Thursday I was officially done with my classroom EMT training! I am “practically certified”, if you will. I have passed all of my NREMT practical exams but still need to take the intense written exam later this month. Up next, more training and classwork [IV, EKG, etc]. Turns out you spend a LOT of time advancing your knowledge and experience when you’re working in the pre-hospital field. Makes it rather depressing that we barely make minimum wage. Talk about irony – people can’t live without us but we literally cannot live by saving their lives. American priorities seem to be a little jacked up. (more…)
Shabammy…it’s spring! There are flowers blooming in front of my bedroom window but still ice on my car windows in the morning. Yup, definitely spring here on the Colorado Front Range. It has been a crazy busy start to 2015 and it feels weird to think we’ve already hit April! Read more…
For the first few days of my experience on the O Circuit of the Torres del Paine National Park check out Torres del Paine: The O Circuit [Part 1]. Those were the rainy, cloudy, cold days of the trip…the days I spent wondering “why the heck did I fly half Read more…
I did it – I survived a bajillion hours on airplanes, a few naps on busses and 6 days of trekking around the Torres del Paine O Circuit! It was awesome. It was wet. It was beautiful. It was something I’ve never done before…and will probably never get to do again. I learned a few things about traveling in Chile and a lot of things about myself. And, of course, I returned to the States with a few photos + stories worth sharing!
I pinky promise I’ll have full-blown recaps of my time in Torres del Paine and exploring the cities of Chile but I’m holding out for Logan to get home so I can snag some of her photos! Turns out I’m that person that stops taking photos after a few days…oops. For now, these are all the details on the planning + packing that got me there and back. This may be extremely boring for someone not planning a similar trip so feel free to scan through the photos, judge me for rambling and then coming back later this week when the real stories show up! I won’t hate you for it!
I proudly pack ALL of my weekend adventuring gear and backpacking essentials into a 22L Columbia pack and wrangled tent poles through airport security with big plans for some backcountry backpacking in Oregon with Erin and Weez. After a day of wandering around Portland on my own it was time to explore the great outdoors. On Friday morning I carefully packed up my food and reassessed my layers. The weather was much chilly than forecasted but we had high hopes for rising temps as the world woke up.
By mid morning we’d packed everything into the car and headed southeast toward the Three Fingered Jack trailhead. Our game plan was to spend the next two days/nights backpacking the 20-24ish [depending upon which website you ask] loop around Three Fingered Jack. In our diluted minds we’d spend the days hiking and exploring than camp along the trail with rainy but bearable temperatures that *might* drop below 20 degrees. The closer we got to our destination the more “uh, we might die” talk swirled around the car. The thermometer in the car kept spitting out lower temperatures…by the time we got to the trailhead, at 2pm, it was reading 11 degrees. ELEVEN DEGREES! In the afternoon…on a very sunny day. Oh, and we were surrounded by heaping piles of snow. As in the trailhead was not accessible because it was buried under 2-3 feet of fresh snow. This was not going as planned… (more…)
And just like that, December is here! It feels weird to be closing in on the end of 2014. It’s been a long year with many life changes so I am more than ready for whatever 2015 has to offer…but at the same time it feels weird to close out such a massive year, to just be done with it. Of course, I’ll still be signing everything with “2014” well into March so I have plenty of time to adjust! (more…)
It is finally time…for my OmniTen trip with Columbia Sportswear! My packing list is a jumbled mess in my head, the board bag arrived yesterday, airport carpooling is planned and I’m perfecting my “I’m as cool as I sound on Twitter” elevator pitch for when I actually meet everyone in the OmniTen and OmniGames crew. (more…)
