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Spring Wildflowers- Making Mom Proud

4/5/2020

Almost 10 years ago, my beloved mother passed away from ALS after a very quick and hard fought battle against the disease. By then, I was 30 years old and a mom myself. My mom had the opportunity to see me marry a man my father became strong friends with for all his interesting talents and hobbies; she enjoyed meals in my home watching me try to perfect her classic recipes and helping me tweak my skills and cooking; she shook her head watching me garden and can my own vegetables wondering how I finally got interested in an art I had watched her do a thousand times, yet never seemed much interested in growing up… However, she never witnessed my love of the wildflowers she was such a pro at naming and finding.

The Kinds of People You Meet on the Trail: Protagonists & Antagonists

3/24/2020

2 x 18-25 year-olds try to cook dinner without a stove or water filter. Needless to say, they got some freebie handouts from us.

After years and years of backpacking experience, you start to be able to typecast the individuals you run across on the trail. There is definitely a dichotomy of hikers out there. It’s almost as if you are sizing individuals up as you first spot them approaching you on the trail. Maybe this is some sort of caveman self-defense mechanism to determine whether someone poses a threat to your survival. So without further ado, and correct me if I am wrong, here are some of our top memorable people met on the trail, some of which we've been ourselves.

Igloo Building 101- What not to do….

3/24/2020

In 2010, our area got a very unusual winter ice/snow event that brought our region to a screeching halt. Schools closed and road crews worked 24/7 to keep up with the grind. The first few days were a glorious respite, filled with hot cocoa, sledding, and organizational projects. Our son was 2 at the time, so our days were very routine, a cycle of story time, playtime, snack time, and nap time.

The Waterfalls of Glacier

3/22/2020

Glacier National Park was truly more beautiful than any place I’ve ever been in this country, but the surprising thing even among all that beauty was the overwhelming number of waterfalls throughout the park. On our first hike I assumed we had just chosen well, but as our trips continued, I realized that Glacier is just full of amazing waterfalls....

Does G.Z still love J.Z?

3/22/2020

Leave no trace?

Last weekend, before the world lost its mind and we were all quarantined to our homes, we had one last glorious day hike on an unexpected 60 degree spring day- the kind of day that gently nudges you out the door and reminds you that spring is indeed right around the corner. It was brisk outside, but the sunbeams soaked into our jackets and provided that unique warmth that only the sun can. The wind reminded us of its presence and we hustled on down the trail to generate some heat.

We had an amazing day, unexpected really. Hemlock Cliffs is listed at just a mile hike, so I didn’t have high hopes for adventure. I figured our hour and a half drive would feel hardly worth the effort and we’d quickly be sitting in the car again. Immediately I was mistaken....

"The mosquitoes were affectionate today" and other musings in the Belly River...

2/28/2020

In Lake Clark National Park, Alaska sits a small log cabin that is part of the National Registry of Historic Places. Famed wildlife chronicler Dick Proenneke walked away from his 9-5 job as a diesel mechanic and built a legacy akin to the likes of Davy Crockett or Daniel Boone. He constructed a small cabin on the shores of Twin Lakes with handmade tools and materials gathered and worked with his own two hands. His precision and skill can be seen watching Alone in the Wilderness, wherein he films the labor of love and journals of the run-ins with the majestic animals of the mountainous terrain. So it’s no wonder that this hearty man’s man would speak of the likely swarm and annoyance of North Country mosquitoes as “being affectionate.”

There is a man’s man I know that ascended to the level of Proenneke manhood one summer day while backpacking the Belly River of Glacier National Park....

The Golden Rules of Hiking with Kids

2/26/2020

The backpack hung low on his back. It was the smallest backpack we could purchase, but still it seemingly swallowed our son whole. It was a red Osprey cinched up as tight as possible. Inside it held a white blanket with silky borders, called Bindy, and a few small snack bags. We had been chomping at the bit to take our little guy hiking for 3 long years and watching him light up on the trail was warming my heart.

Since that first hike of one mile, we have learned from the highest highs and the lowest lows of hiking with a child. Below is a list of do’s and don’ts compiled over 11 years of adventuring with our little man in tow...

The Dozen Dozen

2/26/2020

Loaded up for our first backpacking trip, two Lakes Loop Hoosier National Forest

Maybe you’ve heard of him...Aron Ralston.... the guy who saved his life by cutting off his own arm after being trapped by a boulder in a secluded slot canyon in Utah. His book Between a Rock and a Hard Place was right up my alley. You see, I’m what you call an arm chair adventurer. I’ve hiked to the top of Mt Everest at least a dozen times from the comfort of my own couch. I’ve bagged the Seven Summits on the Seven Continents while sun bathing on the porch. I’ve even swam the Amazon after putting my son to bed...

Why We Hike...

2/21/2020

The image of perfection after 5 nights on the trail...

So in a modern world with all the plush accessories and creature comforts available to us, a lot of people we know simply can’t fathom why on Earth our family would ever want to traipse out to the forest and sleep on the ground and squat in the woods. And at first glance, yes.... it does seem strange to prefer the ‘luxury’ of a 2 x 6 mat full of air to a queen size bed of pillows and soft, warm blankets.

We hear an endless chorus of questions (mostly about hygiene and food). At times we feel like its not even worth sharing in certain circles of people that just don’t get it. You would have thought we were pariahs or outcasts from the people who simple can no longer imagine what an evening without the tv telling them what to think and when to retrieve more snacks and use the restroom is like.

There was much debate in the family as to what we all enjoy the most, so I decided to mash up everyone’s answer, so here goes...