Category: Thoughts

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Hallett Peak RMNP June 2025

I arrived in Estes Park an hour later than I wanted to; primarily due to my flight departing late due to the Atlanta weather issue. 

As I drove into this mountain town it was getting dark and I just needed to get something to eat. Luckily, the hotel restaurant had a cool burger restaurant / ale bar.

I tried to orient myself to this place. I’ve been here a handful of times but it all seems so new and was just discombobulated. Nothing seems familiar, which was funny because I used to be the girl who always wanted to see something new but I purposely have been going back to the places I’ve lived or spent time. It was a bit familiar but still seemed new.

I ate a burger and drank an IPA. I took a short walk down the road and saw a sliver of the moon before heading back and going to bed. Tomorrow was a big day.

In my typical fashion, I was wigged out and not sure what I would do. As I packed for the hike I thought maybe I’d just stay in this cute town and walk around instead of doing my hike tomorrow. I think about forgoing the 5am admission to Bear Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park I reserved when they first were available online months ago.

In the morning I was still uncertain what to do. I brushed my teeth. I looked around the hotel room and something in my brain clicks. I put on my trail runners, put in my contacts, filled my bladders with ice and water, and headed to my car ready to hike. I’m ready for this hike. I felt good.

As I drove into the park I thought how I would love to live here again. It just felt right. I knew Tennessee is not my forever place and maybe Colorado was. I missed my dogs and don’t like being without them but they are not allowed on trails in this national park. 

I came here to hike Hallett Peak because I wanted to go back and do what I did when I took the American Youth Hostel trip in 1988. I was 17 and wanted to see the world. 

Now, I want to go back to these places I visited in 1988 and while doing it – think about all the choices I made from that trip to now. This is the second time I’ve done this; last year I went to Glacier National Park. Next year is Yellowstone and Grand Teton.

Here I am, 37 years later. I’m hiking Flattop Mountain Trail and will continue .6 miles on an unnamed trail to Hallett Peak. 

Here is the entry from my journal from 1988 (I’ve kept a journal since 1984)

Today, June 27, 2025, Friday, I entered the park and showed my timed entry to the park ranger. I was nervous about getting a parking spot at Bear Lake but when arriving at 6am the lot was half full – relief. I was feeling inspired and ready to hike. 

I started up the trail to Flattop Mountain and most people I saw turned left to the shorter hikes to the lakes while carrying big cameras and lenses. I don’t see anyone until I see a family of 5 hiking towards me. They told me they weren’t prepared for the terrain and heading back to Bear Lake. I don’t see anyone again until I made a turn on the trail and saw colorful clothes to my left. A family of 3 was sitting on a rock taking in the views. I asked them if they are heading to Flattop and they said yes. Awesome, I reply. I won’t be alone. 

I hiked the slowest I’ve ever hiked. My heart beat hard and I stopped frequently to catch my breath. I’m a fast hiker, but not today. I thought of turning around many times, but my self-talk told me “I have nothing else to do today so I might as well keep going.” This helps.

I seriously have no other commitments and could take as long as I needed to get to the top. This kept me going, plus, I really wanted to get to the top and re-live this memory. Nothing looked familiar. Nothing. 

I stopped several times to take in the views of the mountain lakes and the snowy peaks across the valley, then kept going. I ate and drank, and stopped to breathe. 

I made it above treeline and kept going to Flattop. The views were stunning. My head started to ache. I sat down for a few minutes. I made it to a snow field and then to the junction where Hallett’s trail continues marked by cairns only. I asked a man in running tights how the trail was. “It’s an easy 20 minutes.” 

I was convinced to continue and it was slow going over rocks, much like Mount Washington and the Presidential Traverse in New Hampshire. The last tenth of a mile was scrambling and looking for cairns. This was not easy. Every step I was cautious and intentional. My brain was zombie-like. I had a headache. 

I made it. 

This is seriously the biggest accomplishment for me in 2025. I did what I planned to do. I didn’t injure myself. I didn’t have a heart attack. I didn’t get killed by a wild animal. I made it. 

I don’t stay long and head back down. I’m nervous about running out of water. I have my filter and just need to find a stream. 

At the junction I met three women, all solo hikers. We took a selfie and this was the moment when I knew I’m not a weirdo to do all these hikes solo – so many other brave women were doing it too. In the background is Hallett Peak.

I hiked slowly and methodically because I wanted to remember this moment. I did it. 

I found a stream and filtered water into my bladder and kept going. The sun was strong and I was eager to get into the trees. I made it down and I’m surprised that nothing hurts; my training was good. 

I got back to my car and drove back to Estes Park. I needed food and more water. I don’t have a post-hike plan other than to drive to Leadville after. I should’ve had a plan.

I left the park and head edback to the hotel where I knew I can use a restroom to clean up and possibility get another burger. The burger place was closed so I drove down the road to a Mexican restaurant and ordered a burrito and Pepsi. Just what I needed. 

I looked through my photos of the day while I ate my burrito and I felt so happy. So happy.

Now on to the next hike – Hope Pass at Twin Lakes on Saturday – and a chance at redemption.

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Things To Do Before You Die, updated again

I’m feeling reflective and I find this post, Thing to do before you die, updated.

And then I find this: Let’s just see if dreams come true, post. My dreams are about pushing my limits, seeing new places, and adopting more dogs. (Oxford comma intended)

I’m looking at houses on real estate websites and find a perfect cabin in the woods, somewhat close to Great Smoky Mountain National Park. A cabin in the woods has always been my dream. As much as living in Montana.

I’m reaching a point where I want to go back to that list I created as a senior in high school. Things I want to do before I die. Who thinks of these things at 18 years old living in New Hampshire? Apparently me. Goal oriented, fast thinking, decision maker; often not thinking of consequences.

Here’s my updated list:

  • Be a member of a church
  • Cabin in the woods
  • Visit Italy and Spain
  • Finish a 100 mile running race
  • Complete a Marathon in every state
  • Finish Ironman Florida

When I think about the original list. There are a few things I remember about that original list.

I remember: being a member of a church, log cabin in the woods, be married, have a child, Mount Whitney, AT, triathlon, live out west.

A few of these I can still do.

Today, in 2025 I don’t want to travel internationally until our government is restored and a sane president is elected. I can do everything on the original list except be married and have a child. I’ve lived out west. But maybe this is my time to be a member of a church and buy a cabin in the woods.

I’m a lover of lists and dreams and plan and possibilities.

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Best things of 2024 – In retrospect

Reflecting on the best things of 2024, here are my best thoughts and actions from 2024

I love trip planning and making my dreams come true. I planned some good ones in 2024. Places I traveled to: Little  Rock, Memphis, Whitefish, Banff, Glacier National Park, Missoula.

Realizing that I’m good at my job and and I’m not here to make people like me. 

Realizing that I might just stay here for a while. 

Finishing the Philadelphia marathon.

Buying a Wahoo trainer so I can ride inside. 

Driving the Cades Cove Loop in Great Smoky Mountains National Park  

What am I doing when I am my favorite self? The answer: when I’m on a trail in the woods, whether hiking or running. Most of the time I’m scared and can’t wait to get home, but my favorite self is out there reaching a goal such as getting to the summit, and hiking fast or running to get there, and then get back home safely. I like being an outdoorsy person who knows how to dress in layers to stay warm. I like doing amazing things outdoors. This is my favorite self. 

I also really like going to work and I like the work I do. I like doing all the tasks I do from project planning and coordination to strategy and master planning. I like all the things coming at me at once and making a plan from chaos. I just have to remember not everyone likes the same things I do, and they don’t approach problem solving like I do. 

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Monument Valley March 2025

I’ve been writing this post for a month. I’m still processing everything I saw. But also, simply, it was such a great few days to travel across the country (although flight problems delayed me one day). I have been consumed with all of life’s problems in government, work, dogs, and so many things that don’t matter; but do. I’m flip flopping. And couldn’t complete a thought. But unexpected change, makes things more clear. I’m finishing this and here it is:

I want to tell you about Monument Valley in Arizona. I want to tell you what I saw and how I felt about it. Here it is. Finally.

For more than 10 years I’ve been wanting to visit Monument Valley. I’ve seen pictures and read articles about why it’s one of the top places to see. I’ve been to places all around it: drove through Kayenta, Four Corners Monument, Page. But never through Monument Valley. 

The first week of March, I flew to Arizona and headed north to Monument Valley.

I’ve driven this route several times: the Phoenix airport to Highway 17 North to Flagstaff. For trips and to get somewhere. Many times I’ve gone this route.

By exit 322 I finally feel like I’m out of the desert and into the mountains and Ponderosa Pines. These Ponderosa give this area a different feel and I can see San Francisco Peaks in the distance; the elevation is now 7,000 feet. It’s getting cooler, and there is snow on the mountain peaks. I am looking forward to stopping in Flagstaff for food then continuing northeast to Monument Valley

I get to Monument Valley and I’m in a red, painted desert. 

I checked into the View hotel and love the newness of the hotel. The view from my room of the valley had amazing views: Mitten Buttes (East and West), Merrick Butte, Three Sisters, Totem Pole, and Ear of the Wind.

The next morning I woke early, knowing that I was not going to run the trail race in the Navajo Tribal Park, which was the original reason for coming here. I instead hike to a rocky peak about a mile from the hotel and watch the sunrise over Homan Valley.  I just sat and looked at the landscape and the color. 

Later I drove to the Navajo National Monument and walked the trail to Betatakin Overlook. 

The desert southwest – captivates me.

I picked a great week. The following week, weather came in and this happened.

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Reading books, obsession, poets and the star

I’m currently in book reading mode. This happens to me every 5 or 9 years. I suddenly want to read everything, go back to school and watch every movie or documentary on the subject I’m suddenly obsessed with. It’s pretty fun to spend every free moment reading and thinking about reading, and listening to books in the car and on my phone. I’m obsessed.

This time it is Western American Literature and Western American History.

I should say, this time and last time I got obsessed with every writer writing in the late 19th and early 20th Century. I read master theises, I read research and subscribed to journals. I go down associated subjects’ rabbit holes. It’s so fun.

Warning: this is not really related to the outdoors but I do have a triathlon analogy coming up. Read on, please.

I’m reading and buying books from DeVoto, american history scholars, railroads, authors writing about this time period and text books about these subjects. What is interesting to me as I follow link to link, reading about writers and historians and the transcontinental railroad, I see a book about a man writing about the Sonoran Desert. And I remember his name. I read his book when I was living in Tucson and the Sonoran Desert. I remember on my blogspot blog I wrote about the book, and about him.

The irony in the story below is about obsessions and getting so into a subject that it generates a book, a story or a movie – or changes your life.

I dream of being a scholar, professional athlete, world traveler. The closest I can come to realizing a dream is to: read everything, do the work, talk to people. The key to success in any enterprise.

But I digress. Here is the story I wrote January 2014 about a book I loved.

The Fallen Sky and Obsessions

I am reading The Fallen Sky An Intimate History of Shooting Stars. And while, I am no scientist and I know nothing about meteors and meteorites, it is a really interesting book. What hooks me is how the author personalizes a story about the people who are obsessed with meteorites. The author, Christopher Cokinos, is searching for those who are searching for meteors; he is hunting the obsessive types.

I know that type well.

For I am obsessed with triathlon.

I am endlessly fascinated by fellow-obsessed triathletes. I want to know what drives them, what makes them get up in the morning and train, then go to work, and train again. But I’m also obsessed with the west and western writers and people who chose to live in the west.

Maybe my next book needs to be about obsessed nature writers who are triathletes and live in the west.

I am reading five books right now and The Fallen Sky is my number one. I can’t seem to put it down. This is my favorite passage so far. As you read it think of what you are searching for, the journeys you have been on and what you found, and the people you met:

“Whether someone wishes to possess a meteorite to sell it or to crack one open in a laboratory for discovery, the meteorite must first be found or hunted. Which often means you have to be willing to go where the meteorites are ….such journeys have impressed on me that wonder-whether from discovering a geological rarity or tracking down a hidden history or finding a lover – is not as pristine a feeling as some would think. I found that mine was a journey into wonder and its costs. Along the way, I bore changes in my life and realized that I was hunting the lives of the meteorite hunters – not just the stones themselves-and I began to understand these strangers’ lives better when I accepted my own. Quests, after all, can come at a very high price….As to the meteorite clan, they’re a complicated, colorful lot.” (4)

Yes, quests come at a cost and triathletes sure are a colorful bunch.

It’s like the osprey folks. They are obsessed about finding osprey. The obsessed are everywhere.

I’m going to keep reading The Fallen Sky and learn about shooting stars and crazy people who are endlessly fascinated by them, to understand my own obsessions.