***I just came out of the Alaska backcountry, celebrating my birthday with Justin and some grizzly bears in Katmai National Park. I cannot wait to tell you about that trip and show you pictures, because it truly was the trip of a lifetime. But right now, I wanted to share some thoughts as I turned…
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Before I get into storytelling mode, here is the overall summary of our single backpacking trip we took in Denali National Park: Unit 9 – East Branch Toklat River Total mileage: 15.2 miles Elevation Gain: 1578 feet Elevation Loss: 1567 feet Max Elevation: 3465 Number of Nights: 2 I was equally nervous as I was…
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I already boasted about day hiking in Denali National Park in my last blog post and we are definitely NP lovers, but if you are looking for some less crowded hidden gems, the place to go would be Denali State Park. The State Park has 300,000+ acres and borders the east side of the National…
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Justin & I tried to balance our time while working Denali National Park in Alaska a little better than we did in Wyoming. The long daylight hours really made for no excuses, because we could actually work and still fit in a hike, even if it were at 10pm! Denali National Park is a unique park…
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Currently living/working in: Still working on the road as the Subaru/Leave No Trace Zero Landfill Team. We wrapped up in Grand Teton National Park July 5, drove 8 days to Alaska, and we’ll be in this state until August 22. You might hear me professing my love for Alaska a million times in this and…
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Warning: Picture-heavy post ahead! When you think of the whole United States, most people don’t realize just how far north Alaska is. Go take a look at a geographically correct map. Cue collective “WHOA” There are only so many ways you can drive to Alaska and most journeys take days (even the ferry). And while…
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We are *almost* to Alaska! Middle of nowhere Canada actually!! But, in an effort not to get too backlogged on posts, let’s just pretend we are still in Wyoming. Because I want to recap our hikes from our 3 weeks there. I’ll keep it short and sweet (with lots of pictures!). With its regal 40-mile…
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We wrapped up our 3 weeks in the Teton Valley of Wyoming (Jackson Hole and Grand Teton National Park) and are in route to Alaska (via a long 8 days through Canada). I know I keep saying this, but it felt like way more than 3 weeks. We really had no idea how much we…
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Currently living/working in: Wait, has all of June really passed? Holy cannoli, we truly have been running at warp speed while trying to juggle fiery balls mixed in with sharp knives. Okay, quite the exaggeration, but I’m known for that. Anyway, a million things have been going on in June. I will spare you all the…
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Road life. I’ve forgotten how chaotic it is! Actually, the truth is we’ve been going 150 mph even before we hit the road. As my brother-in-law said to us, “it’s kind of interesting to see you two stressed out and actually working like the rest of us!” Anyway, I knew I owed everyone an update.…
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2 years. It’s the longest we’ve spent in one place since we embarked on our life less ordinary in 2011. So basically an eternity. New Mexico–the 15th state we’ve collectively lived in–unexpectedly stole our hearts. To get even more poetic and cheesy, we were mesmerized by the spell cast by the land of enchantment. Justin…
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Currently living/working in: Enjoying our last few weeks at Fenton Ranch in New Mexico before we close this chapter of our life and hit the road to work for Leave No Trace in June (Fenton Ranch wrap-up post forthcoming!) Current mood: A tad overwhelmed (mainly me) by all the details involved with the transition, but in…
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This should be no surprise to anyone, but we bought another van (our “big purchase” referenced in my April Currently post)!! Meet the Wanderer II, a 2010 Roadtrek Adventurous RS Sprinter. As we do best, we usually spend 22 minutes making big life decisions. To be clear, Justin is always looking at vans for sale.…
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Currently living/working in: Nearly done with our 5-week spring teaching session at Fenton Ranch. The teaching schedule is so busy, but it goes so fast! Current mood: Pumped for our summer 2018! A few currently posts ago, I lamented that our summer was looking pretty boring. Boy was I wrong. Currently amazed by and proud…
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Justin and I have thoroughly loved working at Fenton Ranch teaching kids K-5 about nature. We try our darnedest to impart everlasting knowledge, particularly Leave No Trace lessons on the young minds. Maybe out of the 50+ kids in every grade level, 3-5 learn something. Maybe they don’t retain the facts, but I am comforted…
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In addition to our bylines in Backpacker‘s Spring 2018 Gear Guide, there are also some full-page pictures of us tucked in the pages and I wanted to share our photo shoot story before the issue leaves the newsstands (you know, in case you want to pick up a copy for us to autograph). This…
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Currently living/working in: We are enjoying the quiet of Fenton Ranch for just a few more days until the school children return for their environmental education program! The spring session only lasts 5 weeks, with kindergarteners coming up to the ranch for just the day, 1st graders for 1 night and 3rd graders for 2…
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New Mexico is a darn big state. Even though we’ve been living here on and off for 2 years (holy cow!), we’ve hardly explored half of it. Little by little, we are trying to see more. Because our nomadic half-time RV, half-time hiker friends, BJ & Clara (Shadow & Country Mouse), put down temporary roots…
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Justin & I wear many different hats, and one large one is Gear Testers for Backpacker Magazine (and a prototype tester for a few brands). We get a lot of questions surrounding this. How did you become gear testers? What the heck does that mean? Is that really a job? Do you get paid? I…
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Currently living/working in: Still property caretaking Fenton Ranch in New Mexico … nothing much to report on that end. It’s been a quiet winter compared with last year! Current confession: February was a short month, and that’s my excuse for posting “Currently” so late. Current mood: Oy vey, it’s been quite a month. Actually, quite…
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