Wild Beauty is the official hashtag of Montenegro, and yes to both of those words. If you want someplace to go for an adventure vacation, this is it. This small country is in the process of building itself up into a desirable, modern European vacation destination and wild nature is its huge selling point. It's … Continue reading Wild Beauty
Tag: mountains
Cards and Tests and Masks, Oh Yes!
Since the saying is "thank god for...", it's tempting to start this post with "thank god for vaccines." But "thank science for vaccines" is the more logical statement, even though it doesn't roll off the tongue naturally. In any case, yay, vaccines! Thanks to science, I recently took my first international holiday since the start … Continue reading Cards and Tests and Masks, Oh Yes!
Peaks Twenty-Four Through Twenty-Eight
Even though I wanted to get out of Colorado for so long and finally did with my new nomad life, I had to come back for a month in the summer to reach the summit of more 14ers. My target was the San Juan Mountains, nearly the most beautiful mountains on earth. So I booked … Continue reading Peaks Twenty-Four Through Twenty-Eight
Return to The Top of The World
I've had a pretty rough spring/early summer. As long-expected as it was, the death of my dog affected me more than I wanted it to. Lingering in bad feelings is not my thing. I'm very much a "life is too short, buck up and move on" kind of person. But my subconscious fought me on … Continue reading Return to The Top of The World
And I Would Hike 500 More
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
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
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?
The 14,000 Foot Summits of 2019
Despite the late start to 14er season this year, due to the massive amounts of snow over the winter, my friends and I managed to get in just as many peaks as in other years. Dedication to the cause! Not that I ever plan to hike them all—Class 4s with full climbing gear are definitely … Continue reading The 14,000 Foot Summits of 2019
Jennifer A Swallow 