Tis the season to be thankful. I know it has been awhile since I sent an email update and wanted to share some highlights from the last several months.
Summer 2018
I spent summer in the mountains and finished one of my major goals from the past couple years: I summited Mount Rainier and stood on top of my 5th Washington volcano. A project that has spanned five years. In addition to Rainier, I trained with heavy packs and was able to summit other peaks, like Eldorado and Sloan.
Fall 2018
I haven’t been back east for fall foliage since moving to the PNW. My favorite season in the east, I was itching to go back. Since most of the year I had a remote job, I planned an epic road trip to tick off 6 new U.S. states I had yet to visit while hiking to 3 states’ high peaks, Mount Katahdin in Maine, Mount Washington in New Hampshire, and Mount Marcy in New York.
PLUS, we got a camper van!
What’s next?
After not having a corporate job since February 2017, I finally bit the bullet and am contracting for a company in Seattle. Even though it has been an adjustment to commuting and being at a desk again, I’m enjoying the perks of a full-time job, more money and cheaper insurance!
I’m staying local for the holidays and am itching for the snow to start falling in the mountains by embracing the Seattle rain.
New stories:
- 9 After-Work Training Hikes near Seattle
- Travel Guide: 8 Things to Do in Ketchikan, Alaska
- The Best Navigation App: How to Use Gaia GPS
- Summiting Maine’s Mount Katahdin via the Knife Edge Route
- 2-Week New England Road Trip: The Perfect Fall Foliage Itinerary
- Scrambling up Mount Washington on the Huntington Ravine Trail
- Hiking Basics: How to Choose a Hiking Trail
- How to Razor Clam in Washington: What I Learned
Where I traveled:
- July: Seattle tourist with sister in-laws, Westport, Washington
- August: Leavenworth, Washington, Ketchikan, Alaska
- September: Olympic Peninsula, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire
- October: Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania
- November: Olympic Peninsula, Canada
Outdoor adventures:
- June: Goat Rocks backcountry skiing, Teanaway peaks, Exit 38 climbing, Mount Baker mountaineering, and Camp Schurman mountaineer training
- July: Camp Muir, Sloan Peak mountaineering, Washington river floats, Exit 38 climbing, and Eldorado mountaineering
- August: Mount Rainier – Emmons route summit, Leavenworth mountain biking and climbing, hiking and salmon fishing in Ketchikan, and Washington hiking
- September: Backpacking to the Enchanted Valley, self-rescue climbing course in Leavenworth, hiking and camping in Acadia National Park, hiking Mount Katahdin, and hiking Mount Washington
- October: Hiking Mount Marcy, climbing at the Gunks, hiking in North Cascades, and climbing at Vantage
- November: Razor clamming on the Olympic Peninsula, and skiing in Whistler
What’s next for December?
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