Tag Archives: utah

I have discovered something life changing; the perfect excuse to stay in college for…ever. They’re called “outdoor education classes” and they are basically classes that get you college credit while you’re out in the wilderness living life. It’s been decided — I’m going to be a college kid forever. Sorry, world. I put this whole “in class” excuse to use last weekend when I took four days off to play in Moab’s desert while taking a sport climbing class.

After working two overnight shifts [ie: basically sleeping 6hrs in 48hrs…after a weekend of sleepless winter camping] I piled my camping gear into the Honda Civic and headed west. All was well. Exhaustion hadn’t kicked in yet, I remembered snacks + the busted antenna was doing its part go play me some sing-a-long music. I was happy + full of grand plans for an early night followed by a weekend of slab climbing, sandy running + comfy car camping. All I had to do was get to Moab and find myself a campsite…simple, right?

**Disclaimer: at the bottom of this post there is a clothing review for product I received at no cost, all opinions are my own.**

I finally made it to an OR Show! Yup, now that I’m not professionally working in the outdoor industry I got to make the trip to Salt Lake City to check out all of the new summer gear coming out next spring. I learned three things — people are insanely creative, we are a country of consumers and I obviously need all of the things I never knew I wanted. There was a lot of really cool gear, in awesome colors, that is bound to make my life easier.

I spent my long weekend roaming the wilderness of Utah, scouting out routes down canyons, chasing down a very sneaky river, camping on cliffs and experiencing a rainy night in the desert.

When Heather sent out the “whatcha doing Memorial Day Weekend” email I got excited. We’re on the same page when it comes to holiday weekends – head to the mountains but trek your way into the backcountry to avoid the crowds! When the follow up email had “CANYONLANDS” in the subject line I knew it was going to be a good weekend!

I am the kind of person who writes up packing lists like my life depends upon it. I may end up rewriting the list about eight times because I tend to “misplace” things but there is always a list. And it is usually color coordinated by day and activity. I’m weird like that.

This explains why last Sunday night was pure chaos in my apartment! I was packing for a trip I knew nothing about. Well, I knew there would be snow to play in…but that was all. How do you pack for that? You count out clean socks, convince yourself Columbia baselayers count as pants and throw together one outfit that might qualify as “mountain town cute” then hope for the best. That is precisely how I packed for the #OmniTen trip to Park City…and somehow I survived the full week without running out of clothes to wear! Although that may have had more to do with the amazing Columbia swag bag than my ability to plan for the unknown!

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.