Fitness
To Get My Feet Wet, or To Not Get My Feet Wet? Lessons in Leadership from the Arctic
Last August I experienced two weeks of backpacking in Alaska’s Brooks Range and Arctic National Refuge. It was epic.
By epic, I mean the experience was life changing and unforgettable. It was beyond scale. The scenery was epic – truly, out of this world. The people with which I shared the experience – who started [...]
My Brooks Range People Made Me Better
This is Post 2 in a series about my recent Alaska Brooks Range backpacking course.
It was Aug. 6, the afternoon before the start of my NOLS Brooks Range Hiking course. I was in Alaska, enjoying the comforts of the Ah, Rose Marie Bed & Breakfast, in Fairbanks, while waiting for others enrolled in the course [...]
My NOLS Brooks Range Hiking Course: Not a Vacation or Guided Tour
Greetings from my beloved Frontier of Wyoming. I am re-entering upon returning from my National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) course in Alaska’s remote Brooks Range and Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
For two weeks, I backpacked a country that is so big and unending and wild and spectacular that there is no way I can adequately communicate [...]
Alaska’s Brooks Range or Bust
I leave you with this video blog as I depart for my NOLS course in the remote Brooks Range and Arctic tundra of Alaska.
This Hike Takes Your Breath Away
It was very early morning on July 29, when reasonable people were still in their beds sleeping.
Four of my closest girlfriends met my husband and I at our house at 3:09, and by 3:17, we departed for the trailhead at Dickinson Park, about an hour-and-a-half drive. Despite the early hour, as we left Lander, it [...]
Cyclone Pass “Prize” Makes Shoshone Lake Hike (Grunt) Worthwhile
Shoshone Lake is a big lake that is in my backyard. Tucked in the foothills of Wyoming’s southern Wind River Range, the lake is situated at about 10,000′, and in the Shoshone National Forest.
My husband, Jerry, a friend, Kathy Swanson, of Casper, WY, and I hiked to Shoshone Lake and beyond on July 8. The [...]
Why I Pursue “Epic” in My Life
One of my favorite words is EPIC. I probably drive people nuts because I say it (as well as stellar) so often. I have a lot of epic in my life. This is by design.
Epic means majestic, heroic, impressively great. In short, it means big. To do something full-on, cranked up at least a few [...]
A Traverse (Day Hike) of Zion National Park
I had been to Zion National Park, in southwestern Utah, on two previous occasions — enough to establish itself as one of my favorite national parks. Its beauty is stunning.
Our approximately 50-mile traverse hike was the idea of Mike Lanza. He recently turned 50, and had conjured up this trek that would commemorate a mile [...]
Conversation with Stranger on Airplane Leads to Love Story
NOTE: Sorry for the “bedhead” hair. I got into a rambunctious dog pile with my husband and three young sons at the start of the day. Or, this is just how my hair looks because I live in windy Wyoming. Both are correct.
I challenge you to ask yourself what may happen as a result of [...]
Have Workout, Will Travel
Normally I would take a reprieve from training during our family’s spring break. After all, I was getting some exercise. We hiked every day. But the hikes were fun and enjoyable — not “training” efforts.
The fact that in less than four weeks I will be hiking from North to South across Zion National Park — [...]
National Park Trips
Yellowstone International