Yellow Aster Butte

After an endless marathon of events this summer, my soul needed some mountain time. Who better to get outside with than Brandon and Traci. I told Brandon I didn’t care where we went as long as it had a rewarding view. And he delivered! The weather held out just long enough! Yellow Aster Butte has …

Banks Lake 2018

Of all the magical things that happened over the summer, none was as magical as this weekend. For me, this was the official start to summer. To think I almost didn’t go on this trip because of so many silly reasons, but none of them matter because I made it. It ended up just being …

The Enchantments

I did it! I finally made it to the coveted enchantments! Despite years of lottery entries, I’ve never received a permit, but I was one lucky duck when Kelli ended up with last minute permits for camping in the core! Unfortunately for me, I could only go one night, but it was still absolutely amazing. …

Tuck and Robin Lakes

The Hoods did it again. They took me on a fantastic adventure in the mountains where memories will live forever. It only seemed fitting that this trip was just around the same time that we met 6 years ago in the mountains at Marmot Pass. After years of failed attempts for permits into The Enchantments, …

2016 – A year of heart exercise

Well, it serves me right for complaining that my 2015 felt uneventful during last year’s post. This year has had just as many highs as there has been lows for me. It certainly has been the biggest roller coaster that I am still on and I can’t see the end in sight anytime soon. 2016 …

A Day at Glacier National Park

Glacier National Park has long been on my list of places to go. With a wedding around the corner at Bigfork, spending the day at Glacier was a no brainer. Unfortunately for us, time was not on our side so I’ll have to hold off on backcountry exploration another time. We decided to spend the …

The Little Yellow Navy – Diablo and Ross Lake

In honor of Joe’s birthday we embarked on our first kayak camp trip! We’ve only been talking about doing one since college, so it was about time we did it. We launched our kayaks into Diablo Lake, and it was SO windy we practically sailed down the lake and make it to the Ross Lake …

Banks Lake, WA

Can we please make this an annual thing? Banks Lake is the most amazing place for memorial day weekend! A 27-mile reservoir in central Washington where great camping and climbing spots are only accessible by boat. An AMAZING weekend with some of my favorite people. It was much needed to be without cell service for …

Labor Day Adventures at Crater Lake

You would think trying to camp at Crater Lake over Labor Day Weekend would be a nightmare. And if you were to stay within the park, I suppose that’s probably true. But there are plenty of state campgrounds surrounding the national park where car camping can be a breeze on what is considered the most awful …

Alaskan Helicopter Glacier Trekking

As a hopeless romantic, I live for real-life movie moments. My last day in Skagway did not disappoint. I thought we were heading out for the boat tour we had to miss at the beginning of the trip, but when we pulled up next to the airport without a dock in sight, I began to wonder. …

Mendenhall Glacier

What’s amazing about Alaska is that glaciers fill your backyard on a regular basis. I mean what do you do with a 2 hour layover in Juneau? Visit a glacier of course. Meet: Mendenhall Glacier. As part of the Tongass National Forest, the far too easy access visitor center is a mecca for tourists during …

Laughton Glacier and the Yukon Route

My first real Alaskan excursion was definitely one of my favorite hiking experiences ever. Who doesn’t love getting dropped off at a trail head in the middle of nowhere by a train? It’s only about as fun until you’re sprinting back at the end of the day to catch the last train back into town. …

We are 12 – Lake 22 and Granite Mountain

To wish our boys luck I carried a 12th man flag to finish the season. Lake 22 The best part was when I found out someone recognized me from twitter days later! Apparently it worked because the guys went on to win the NFC Championship in an EPIC battle. So naturally, we made another trek …

2014 – Taking Chances and Learning to Focus

What a crazy year it’s been. Once again I’m amazed how many things can happen to you to in a year and how fast relationships can grow and disappear.  I pretty much sucked at blogging this year, and for that, I can terribly sorry, but I am hoping to get caught up over the next week …

Silver Lakes

Backpacking seriously never gets old. You can climb mountains upon mountains in the Cascades or in the Olympic National Forest and every view is just as breathtaking as the peak before it. We are just so damn lucky in the Pacific Northwest. While I had been anticipating another trip to the coast over 4th of …

Rock Climbing in Vantage

I know this doesn’t fall under hiking, but I’m thinking of starting a climbing section sometime in the future! I have seriously become addicted to this activity, and hope I can meet some more friends and make this a regular thing! I have always wanted to get into climbing after trying bouldering at my (then) …

Thunder Mountain Lakes

Finally, the painstaking wait was over. I was finally out for a weekend with my favorite backpacking group. A year an a half passed before I could be reunited with Jamie, Kevin, and Bill out on the trail, but as soon as we were all packed into the car together, it felt like hardly any …

Third Beach Camping

My first backpacking trip without a guy to depend on! Even though it was a short trip, I’m still proud of myself. Because if I can do it…any girl can! Organized by my dear friend Monica and her friend Arriana, accompanied by my old high school friend Courtney, we had a crazy awesome time! While …

Lake Twenty-Two

Nothing welcomes summer like a good hike topped off with a dive into an alpine lake. I had full intentions of swimming at the top of this hike, though, mother nature gave me a reality check, greeting me with a half frozen but GORGEOUS lake. Lake Twenty-Two is one of my favorite hikes because at …

Ramona Falls

Located in the Mount Hood National Forest in Oregon, Ramona Falls is the perfect day hike for anyone looking to get some exercise without major difficulty. The 7.1 mile loop trail remains flat for the most part, gaining 1000 feet in elevation, but there were a few tricky parts as the temporary bridge over the Sandy River …

My First Himalayan Hike – Triund Hill

With all of the craziness I’ve experienced in India…I came to India with one thing in mind: Himalayas. It is true that this time of year I would’ve been better off in Nepal, but at the time I wasn’t confident enough in myself to travel to an even more remote country alone. While my lovely …

Monte Vettore, Italy

Located in Parco Nazionale dei Monti Sebillini within the Marche region, Monte Vettore peaks at 2,476 meters (8,123 feet). There are several ways to get there, we came from the southeast trail after spending some time in Castelluccio, which was more or less 335 meters (1,110 feet). While it sounded a great workout, a workout was …

Lake Ozette/Cape Lava Round 2

One of my most memorable trips. Organizing a hodge group of my friends for some car camping on the coast. Part of our group got lost getting there so we were without them during our day hike, but we were reunited at the end of the day at the end of the loop trail. So …

Table Mountain

One summer tradition I’ve developed is a trip to Table Mountain. Preferably before Artist Point is open. It’s more of an adventure that way. Table Mountain is a must do if you’re in the Artist Point area. From the top you can see Mt. Baker and Shuksan Mountain and the surrounding North Cascades. And the hike …

Marmot Pass

I’m really missing these three people right now, so hence the inspiration to get this entry up. It’s been almost two years, it’s hard to believe since this trip, but it is hands down the most amazing backpacking trip I’ve been on. A beautiful weekend filled with breathtaking views and incredible people. This was the …