Night Night

There's few things nicer than snow capped mountains or full moons, unless it's those things combined.  Peace.  Chill.   Reflect.  Bigness.  Greatness. 

Go take a night hike, then...

Turn off that headlamp.

Turn off that music.

Throw back that tent door.

And just revel in the wonder of it all...

Easing the pain

Happy Heat Stroke!  Don't you just love summer in Oklahoma?!  NOT. 

I think I'm turning into adipose.

I'd love a freak snow storm right now.

I' love to be in the mountains.

I'd love to find something besides the weather to talk about.





What do you love?  There's two things I love right now, neither one related to summer.

1. #MisadventureMg  Misadventures Magazine.  COOOOL   COOOOOL  COOOOL new magazine.
I stumbled onto their online version a couple of months ago, and I've been panting with anticipation for the summer print issue to come out.  Well, anticipating anyway.  The panting probably has more to do with the Oklahoma heat.





2. #Chawel   Um- ok- it's a towel, it's a blanket,  it's a bag liner..  it's  going to be an awesome addition to my outdoor gear!  I won one in a contest, and this makes me very, very happy.

I take great pains to keep politics and negativity out of my blog, but I gotta tell you, this year's politics are giving me a pain.  I need relief.  Summer reading in the hammock and looking forward to using my new Chawel is just the medicine I need.

Happy Trails, and may all your adventures be cool ones!

Getting high in Colorado

I'm pretty sure my click throughs for this blog just quadrupled because of the post title...  Calm down, it's not what you think.

I've only recently returned from a week in Colorado, and I'm still living off the high.  NO. Not that kind of high...

I think the mountain air and elevation give me more energy and motivation. Yet another reason to move to Colorado!

And the people you meet on the trails! Characters and coots. The last time I hiked in RMNP I met a pair of elderly locals who hike some part of the trail EVERY DAY. I didn't meet them together, however.  He was hoofing it waaaay in front of her. She sat for a moment to catch her breath and told me with a twinkle in her eye: "We may not walk at the same pace, but we always end up at the same place."



And trail runners! Those are crazy people who RUN up the trail. On purpose. When nothing's chasing them. I can turn into a trail runner, if it's downhill to a pizza parlor...



I noticed a difference in the hikers at elevation from those down below. On the easy walking paths were lots of small children, families, couples, and almost without fail at least one person in the group looked angry/hot/tired/miserable/didn't want to come on this vacation.



Compare that to the folks you meet off the beaten path at 11,000 feet. Cordial, happy, love to share stories of the park.  You have to want to be there to climb to 11,000 feet.



I'm going to live off the air, and elevation, and memories of waterfalls and wildlife for as long as possible. Then, when my thinking starts to get fuzzy, it'll be time to go back for another 'hit'.

Of this.

Stop it- I know what you were thinking. Nature is all the high I need, thanks.

Happy Trails!

Why Why WHY am I posting a picture of my tent in snow when it's 105 degrees outside?  Because it's 105 degrees outside!!!  DUH!



There are many good things about Oklahoma, but summer isn't one of them. I had my first attempt at serious winter camping over New Year's this year.  Serious means it was 7 degrees.  SEVEN.  That's a single digit!!!



There was snow. Three feet of it.  Not a little dusting. Real snow. I've always considered myself a little bit of a weather weenie when it came to winter camping- but I've decided I'm more of a summer sucker.  I have good cold weather gear, and you can only shed so much in the heat of summer.  Makes sense to go when it's cold!



My super cool camping buddy dug out and trampled the tent spot.

Digression -there ARE criteria for good hiking/camping buddies:

• can they carry your pack if you collapse?  Bonus points if they can carry you AND your pack! 
• can they navigate?
• can they hang a bear bag?
• are they large enough to sustain you for several days if you are the sole survivor in a snow packed mountain pass?

These are important things to know. I conduct interviews and trial runs before I commit to serious camping with anyone! Except for the sole survivor part...

Back to the winter camping--- my buddy got the tent spot ready, we set up in the dark (we like the challenge) and threw in the Western Mountaineering bags, water bottles and puffy jackets. Kudos to #WesternMountaineering, #Hydroflask and #Patagonia!  We also buried a 2-gallon water container in the snow.

Wonder of wonders- I didn't freeze and neither did our water.  We had breakfast in a crisp, cool, clean, bright and totally unoccupied except for ourselves campground.  Heaven.

I am now a superfan of winter camping,  Summer heat, be gone!

Happy Trails!