So our quadrangle made our way safely thru a ‘long-planned’ trip to and from <some alpine area in Nevada>. It was full of excitement, adventure, serenity, and at least two beavers.
We spent 3 days 2 nights wandering up and down from about 7,000-10,000 ft in elevation. Kelly and Jessie were able to check out this trail last summer on a backpacking trip and even tho Jessie wasn’t on this journey we felt more comfortable knowing Kelly had already checked it out.
Prepping can take time, especially for someone like me who doesn’t have a lot of experience backpacking. Kelly did and does a lot of the inviting and motivating of our group. Here is a sample of our planning correspondences
As a reminder there are other more specific details we exchanged about the trail specs and meetup spots but since we’re not trying to crowd out any trails or sell anyone on any particular gear I’m trying to leave those details out.
The journey itself
For me, this was a heritage trip. I was able to visit where part of my fathers side of my family used to live, work, make love and make art. On Instagram I shared a pic of my grandparents from 1948 (below). They were married in this same county of Nevada. I joked that I’m not hiking this mountain “because it’s there” as the infamous quote states but “because without these mountains I barely even exist.”
For us as a group, this was a chance to reconnect in person, catch fish and catch up with some serious life changes as well as address upcoming life goals in which we want each other’s words and presence.
Kelly asked me if i would pace with her on the last leg of an ultra on Halloween and I accepted that honor as well as the honor of writing/saying something official sounding about Britt and Pat’s union (She’s the bride but I’m blushing from these profound asks).
We also briefly talked about the future of this blog space. It’s a bit of a pet project that doesn’t get all our attention yet it’s still a fun way to gather our thoughts about ourselves as athletes and as complex human beings who enjoy the indoors and the outdoors.
Hopefully Kelly will be willing and have time to write about her preparations for that hallowed feat of endurance.
On the mountain, Britt mentioned her idea of carving out some posts about how her running habit has morphed as a way to keep her body in shape into a practice of being in tune with her sense of well-being.
Jake is thinking about going to school for public health and nutrition. Do you think his work in food distribution might prove to be helpful to his studies? (I think so! Sometimes what we do and what we study seem disconnected but are more connected than we think.
I’ve got some pending posts about Pilgrimages In the Time of COVID and also will continue on the line of posts on how endurance jogging has helped me learn how to succeed in short and long term planning as well as builds resilience to failure. I’m also hoping to write up something that shares how I afford to tour around this region as a trail runner. I know nothing about economics except how to manage my own however I hope by sharing how I prioritize my budget that any young beloveds out there who are hoping to fold “athletics” into their budget can jog their creative memory of how to make that happen in their goal planning processes.
What else? I’m always forgetting something… but hey, isn’t finding out what we forgot half the fun of going out on such fools errands like this one?
Special Thanks and gratitudes to all the diners, local artists and artisans who we were able to connect with along our ways. As always, thanks for reading and Raise hell peacefully,
Emily
Trail Adventures 