Down Time

I was talking to Joe the other day and he reminded me that I should probably write a blog post at some point. My reply was that my life isn't exciting enough anymore to write a blog. Though I think that mindset defeats the purpose of having one. Mostly because, as much as my life is full of excitement and adventure, I do try to find those times to rest and come back to reality a little bit. I think that the more I do travel and the more I am away from home, I have learned to treasure the times I am “resting” even more.

I had worked my first work week of the year and then I headed back to Bozeman where Joe and I drove back to Boise with a couple of stops along the way visiting some of my family. He and I spent a week at my parents house unpacking the car, climbing at the Black Cliffs, running, and exploring some of the peaks just outside of Boise.

Joe's top ten photo!

While Joe and I were here in Boise, we just so happened to make it into two photo contests. And if you follow me either on Facebook or Instagram, I am sure you are well aware of the fact that we had entered the contests. One being the Michigan Ice Fest, and the other being “How Petzl Lights Up Your Daily Life” contest. Joe’s photo was picked out of thousands of entries to be in the top 10 picks for both contests. So of course we shared away and asked everyone to like it. With the top prize for the Petzl contest being a trip to France, we were desperate for likes. After 10 days we didn't win either contest, BUT we did appreciate everyone's effort in liking, and sharing the photo. Not only that, but some of Joe’s work was able to be presented on a world stage and that is priceless. So, if you at all participated in that, both Joe and I thank you!

Though sometimes the transition from that every day GO feeling back to waking up in the same place and without Joe can be hard. It is funny how when Joe and I are together we are either living in a very close quarters and together all the time or we’re either miles and miles apart. We both travel for work and both value that independent part of our lives. But every time we say “see you soon” to each other, I always find myself feeling so lost for a few days. Mostly just trying to find my routine without my best friend here and finding things to help me feel like I have been productive. Especially since I am not working for days to weeks at a time.

Passing time not only by exercising, but doing some art.

Of course I have managed to find things to keep me busy. Some of the climbing goals we have this spring/summer are attempting to climb Mt Rainier and try the North Ridge of Mt Baker again. So we have transitioned into our training period which for me entails eating as healthy as I can and balancing climbing, running and hiking into every week. This last week I have managed to hike up to Cervidae Peak twice. 1,800ft of elevation gain in a mile with 20lbs of weight in my pack. I was able to get two days of running in, with the first day going for 1hr 17min and the second day going for 1 hr 38 min. I managed to get three days of climbing in at the gyms around Boise. We’ve been gradually building up our training all of this year but this is the first week I feel like I have really got down to work. Even though it's only been a week, I can already feel a change in how I feel when I run, and how my legs feel after hiking. Whether it's the stretching in the morning, not eating any junk food, getting plenty of exercise or more likely a combination of it all, I feel great.

It is much harder to get a summit photo when Joe isn't around!

As I am writing this though, I am sitting in LAX headed to my second work commitment of the year. So I am crossing my fingers to try my best to balance long work days but still trying to get my runs in. Since I won't be able to hike or climb at all this week. The weather is supposed to be bright and sunny so I am hopeful for great days for running.

The tentative plan right now, is to drive up to Washington in May. Of course the thought of driving up to Washington now and training with Joe has crossed my mind a million times. Though, as tempting as it is, the rain that is so famous this time of year just isn't appealing. So I plan to stay in Idaho and train and base out of my parents house for work during the month of April. When May rolls around I will make my way up to Washington to enjoy my time not only with Joe but with everyone at Aspen that I haven't seen since last September. I would be lying if I didn't say that the climbing up there isn't a big drive to get my butt over that way though!

Cervidae Peak, summit.