Beloved Feist, my thirteen-year-old terrier is still keen, enthusiastic, and delighted to be adventuring together...she just adventures as a vigorous trundle, rather than an unbridled sprint.
Adventures to Accommodate our Aging Pup
Tag: adventure
2021: Where Do We Go From Here?
It's a new year, I feel excited, cautious, optimistic, and weary. I'm trying to leave space for all the emotions. 2021 is going to be another big, chaotic year (and, hopefully, moving towards reconciliation and healing, rather than divisiveness and rage), and I suspect that my annual themes are going to be even more important … Continue reading 2021: Where Do We Go From Here?
Top 5 Adventures of 2020
2020: the year of gratitude and grief! Last year when I was writing my Top 5 Adventures of 2019 I said: "I’m looking towards 2020 feeling that I have my life where I want it, and I’m ready for whatever new adventures I’m thrown"...I don't think I was quite ready for what was coming. And … Continue reading Top 5 Adventures of 2020
7 Inspirational Non-Fiction Books for Outdoorsy People
This summer has been a weird one. Or maybe one that is so simple we don't know what to do with ourselves without unnecessary opulence. The 'back to basics' approach we are experiencing here in British Columbia is really working: lots of cooking at home, time with family and close friends, no big crowds, and … Continue reading 7 Inspirational Non-Fiction Books for Outdoorsy People
Welcome 2020: New Goals, New Year, New Decade
I feel that 2020 is the year of driving towards new and different adventures and being open to the universe. To that end, I have identified three themes that will move me in said direction...
Top 5 Adventures of 2019
I am not ending 2019 where I started it, and I am very grateful for that. 2018 was a year of turbulence, opportunities, growth, and change, so I entered 2019 prioritizing stability, consistency, and balance. And what a year it was!
Holiday Gifts for the Aspiring or New Hiker
What is the perfect gift for the new or aspiring hiker in your life? Before we dive into gift ideas, let me describe a bit of gift giving (and receiving) ethos. I'm a huge fan of gifts that achieve three key functions: (1) the gift is something I probably wouldn't get for myself, (2) the … Continue reading Holiday Gifts for the Aspiring or New Hiker
Socks: The Most Underrated Piece of Hiking Equipment
Picking the right socks can be an art because he socks you chose to wear on a hiking or backpacking trip can make or break your experience. Socks have the magical power to gently swaddle and comfort your feet as you pound along on the trail for days on end, or to rub, chafe, blister, and generally allow you to devolve into foot-pain driven madness in a matter of hours. If you think I am joking about foot-pain driven madness, you have clearly been lucky enough to avoid such a fiasco, and I applaud you. I, however, have not been so fortunate.
Off Season Cross-Training for Hiking and Backpacking
Winter is fast approaching, weather windows for hiking are rapidly diminishing (if not completely vanishing), and it gets dark waaaaay too early now. I'm sure some of you will be layering on the waterproof jacket and venturing out into the west coast rain, trading in your hiking boots for snowshoes and skies, or even heading south for sunnier, drier conditions. And some of you may be thinking 'well, I guess those trails can wait until next year...'
Easter Weekend Rock Climbing on Quadra Island
Over the Easter holiday (a four-day weekend, here in Canada), my partner and I headed up to Quadra Island, one of the Discovery Islands wedged between central Vancouver Island and the mainland. Quadra Island is my favourite of the Gulf and Discovery Islands: it embodies the true west coast island style, with funky hippie houses … Continue reading Easter Weekend Rock Climbing on Quadra Island
Barefoot in the Backwoods 