When I started tracking my unique hikes a few years ago, Trotsky and I took 107 weeks to do 100 of them. This time, we really put ourselves to the task and crushed the goal in 91 weeks. And that's despite a six-month period when we did almost none. I reached a kind of hiking … Continue reading And I Would Hike 500 More
Category: Moving
Time to Move On
For more than a decade, I tried to leave Colorado. When I arrived in August 2008, I planned to get my graduate degree and immediately head back overseas to work in international development. Yet somehow, that never happened. Jobs, romantic relationships, friends, the writing community, athletic aspirations, and financial goals all conspired against my inner … Continue reading Time to Move On
The Final Days
Yes, I know that summer technically ends September 22, but considering that it already snowed in Boulder yesterday, I'm going to say we're well into the final days. And that wasn't even the first time I got snowed on during this summer. This obscenely early snowstorm, coupled with the record-setting storm we had in April … Continue reading The Final Days
Mountains, Mountains, Mountains!
July has been a mountainous month for me. Colorado is a popular state in any season and mountain rentals are expensive, so when friends have one, you don't pass up the opportunity. After coming back from Glacier, I spent three weekends in a row rallying down to the geographical center of this state for all … Continue reading Mountains, Mountains, Mountains!
Wild, Wild West, How I Love You
Although I've been saying I want to move back to the east coast for about five years now, and although I now have a full time remote job that enables me to pack up and move back tomorrow if I want to, I'm quite glad to have been in Colorado through the Covid-19 shutdowns. And … Continue reading Wild, Wild West, How I Love You
The Vacation Non-Race
Last week, I returned from a much needed vacation to Glacier National Park. This was supposed to be our annual girls' trip to run a half marathon with Vacation Races, but, unsurprisingly, the race was canceled. We sat tight for awhile, watching to see what would happen with the state and park. On June 1, … Continue reading The Vacation Non-Race
Pushing the Limits
Last year, I started really pushing the limits of what I can do physically. Between the Harvard/Columbia hike and the Devil On the Divide race, I began to understand what I was capable of, and, naturally, this year, wanted to push myself to do more. So I signed up for seven races between St. Patrick's … Continue reading Pushing the Limits
The Sound of Sound
I've never thought of ambient sound as something that some of us get to choose and some don't. I've never thought much at all about the sounds around me. I grew up in a house with four kids and an endless rotation of babies. The television was always on. I went to public school with … Continue reading The Sound of Sound
Yankee Imperialism and the Classic Car
Two weeks ago, I took a mid-winter trip to Cuba. At first, nothing I saw struck me as that different from what I’ve seen in other Latin American countries. It all seemed familiar and easy. But soon enough, the differences became apparent. Entire aisles in the grocery store filled with a single product because it's … Continue reading Yankee Imperialism and the Classic Car
What Fresh Hell Is This?
Earlier this year, I ran a mountain relay race and it did something to my brain. It made me want to up my running game. I mean, distance? Yeah that's kind of cool. Maybe someday I'll run a marathon. But running uphill at 12,000 or 13,000 feet where you're struggling for oxygen and then being … Continue reading What Fresh Hell Is This?
