Current mood: Excited! Anxious! Overwhelmed! NZ trip planning brings out a range of emotions! Currently thankful for: Carving out some quality time with J’s side of the family here in CO. We have 2 young nephews on this side of the family and they are growing fast! Currently worried about: Well, besides the fact that…
It is no secret that J & I are gear heads. We couldn’t tell you who is running for the next election, but we could tell you what the latest innovation is when it comes to sleeping bags, tents, clothing etc. Over the years, we have definitely upgraded our gear and lightened our load. We…
Tramp [verb]: to walk long and far, hike, march or trudge. to wander about as a vagabond. to walk for sport or recreation To some (okay, most), backpacking means schlepping everything you need on your back just so you can get to a campsite where you’ll sleep on the ground and be eaten alive by…
First thing first. Happy birthday J!!!! Today he turns 38. This means, it’s just 2 years until he hits the big 4-0! However, he still acts 18 or so. Anyone agree with me? But, I love that he doesn’t act his age. My shout-out via blog serves as my bday card to him. J &…
We may be leaving Oregon in a week, but we will be back. We have to be back. We have some major unfinished business in the Mt. Hood Wilderness of Oregon. Back in May, J tried to climb the 11,240 foot summit of Mt. Hood and was turned back due to weather. And, as he…
Today is the last day RimRock is open. Let me start by saying we had a good time this summer. Overall. This week has been anti-climatic and deathly quiet compared with all the drama and challenges we faced this summer. Add to the fact that we let our SIXTH cook go last week (partly because…
I skipped August, so this will be a catch-up edition! Current mood: at peace Currently thankful for: a character-building summer with one of the most beautiful backyards we will probably ever have photo credit: Erika Eve Plummer – one of our favorite guests from July Currently worried about: my family’s health (father and Nana, in…
FYI, this is a guest blog post by hubby, so please excuse all typos, poor spelling and incorrect grammar. In my wife’s last blog she called me a “Mountain Man.” I am not quite sure I have earned that title yet, but I am striving at it and I totally rocked out this past 6-day,…
The good news is J is doing well on his Shuksan expedition. He was actually able to call me from base camp! It’s cold up there, but he is getting some good practice on mountaineering skills. They should be attempting their summit Thursday night into Friday morning, so keep those good vibes coming. The bad…
J left this morning for another harrowing adventure … he is taking a 6-day expedition skills seminar with RMI guides and other crazy adrenaline junkies on Mt. Shuksan in North Cascades National Park of Washington (less than 25 miles from Canada!). The program is meant to practice those fun mountaineering skills–like crevasse rescue (think being…
Back in May, we did a little scouting on the hardly used Chico Trail down in Joseph Creek Canyon in the Wallowa Whitman National Forest and created a loop trip that had all the makings of the perfect backpacking trip–no crowds, views, wildflowers, wildlife, good water source and challenging terrain. That trip was a little…
J’s mom came to visit last week. Our visitors have been perfectly timed during our slower weeks, so again, we got to spend a good bit of time showing her around! We went down roads we’ve never been down and roads few people travel down. My favorite quote from her was, “I like reading about…
Back when babies were allowed to sleep with blankets, I was born. I’m at the age that when people ask me how old I am, it takes me a minute to remember. There are some years that ask questions and some years that give answers, and this has certainly been a year that is asking…
My sister and mom came to visit this past weekend and it was of course nice to have all the girls together! I took them to all the hot spots in the area, including up the Tramway to the top of Mount Howard on a very frigid and rainy day and on a boat ride…
We haven’t been able to take a backpacking trip in awhile since we’ve been so busy, but I realized I never posted a recap from our last one in mid-July! So a few things about Aneroid Lake. 1) It is glorious. My favorite so far. 2) The sign at the trailhead said 6 miles to…
RR has been open for more than 2 months and it’s time for reflective thoughts. Of lately, I bombard you with pictures, but I don’t often say much. Sometimes I don’t write because our life is fluid and things change by the minute. Plus, I like to let my thoughts to fester in my head…
Current mood: Tired. We had a long, busy weekend Currently thankful for: Google Translate. We have had several guests from foreign countries who don’t speak good English. How do you say “tipi” in French? Currently worried about: Our future Currently excited about: Our future and our new baby niece or nephew to be born any…
We ventured back into the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest and Eagle Cap Wilderness again and this time, we weren’t stopped by snow. We’ve had some really warm temps these past few weeks and got a good ranger report, so into the wild we went. This time, our destination was Ice Lake. The trailhead starts at 4,600…
Back in the day when gluten was not an allergy and J and I lived in one place for more than 6 months, we would get tons of visitors wherever we were living. People would plan their vacations around us. From July through August, there were few days we were without visitors. But now, we…
I’ve been taking lots and lots of pictures of our time here, but few are shared. Until now. First, I thought I’d share the wild in our life: We have not seen an alive bear. But, a few weeks ago, a motorcyclist hit a bear 1/4 mile away from us. Fortunately, the motorcyclist walked away…