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Showing posts with label hike. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hike. Show all posts

8.25.2015

summer re-cap.

i went to church on sunday only to discover the average age in the ward dropped to 18; westminster started.

paige became a full-fledged adult today and started teaching english to a bunch of eighth graders.

i added about 5 minutes to my morning commute (as of yesterday) because of the elementary that's located on my street, and because of all the freaking school zones on the the way to work.

summer 2015 is OVER!

for me though, things will pretty much stay the same. i've gotten over that gotta-buy-school-clothes-and-get-back-to-school feeling i grappled with post-graduation. and it's still warm enough to swim. so really, i'm good! it also means that city creek isn't so crowded and that i basically have the food court to myself at lunch. win!

nevertheless, here's a pictorial summer 2015 re-cap for your viewing pleasure:

at the beginning of the summer i went on a architecture tour of salt lake. man, we have some beautiful buildings in this city (see above). 

i continued to love burgers this summer and was ecstatic to find this burger seat at one of my fave spots: red robbin.

i went to a lot of concerts this summer. concerts are kind of my jam lately. here ^^^ is passion pit at red butte. we also saw death cab for cutie, father john misty, and black rebel motorcycle club at twilight. last week i sat on the hill behind red butte to listen to wilco and it was a DREAM! looking forward to a few more really great concerts this fall.  

i didn't hike as much as i wanted to this summer. i did timp last year and was yearning for another 10-hour gig, but didn't get the chance. fingers crossed for some good fall hikes. i did however, do a few short hikes here and there. above ^^^ is on the grandeur peak trail.
 ^^^ here's a view from the trail behind the draper temple ... i don't know what it's called ... bonneville shoreline?? which reminds me of a new bucket list item i have:  hike the entire bonneville shoreline trail, which spans from idaho to santaquin. on the day this was taken, i just hurried up the hill to see the sunset. boy was it worth it!

^^^ this is the desolation trail up millcreek canyon. it's lotr reminiscent no? 

^^^ lastly we have a hike-selfie from donut falls.

of course we participated in our annual moonlight ride on antelope island! this year was the BEST YET because i brought a portable speaker and we JAMMED the whole ride. actually, at one point, i was taking a breather at the top of a hill and led zeppelin's kashmir was playing. a couple people thanked me while they passed and said the song helped them up the hill. long live jimmy page.

many a sunday night (and a few weeknights) were spent out on the front lawn. this is a favorite pass time of mine and paige's. another favorite pass time of mine and paige's is TICKET TO RIDE. the best board game ever to exist (with monopoly taking a close second, obvi). 

a super big giant best highlight of the summer was our quick jaunt to disneyland for a two day spree. we drove from saint george early on a sunday morning and returned late (SUPER late, like we got home at 6am) monday morning. it was all in all a wonderful trip. i'm realizing the more i visit disneyland, the more i love it. the ears, the food, the fun. it really is a magical place.

BEFORE the drop on splash mountain.

and AFTER the drop on splash mountain. somehow paige still looks like a model ... 

this summer was momentous because it was my first time seeing 2001: a space odyssey. loved it! love that stanely kubrick. also a shout out to my uncle for letting us watch it in his theater. so good.

two of my oldest and dearest friends had babies this summer. brooklyn (on the right) is my birthday babe cause she was due on my birthday. although, when it came down to it she couldn't wait to make her entrance and came four days early. still, she's my birthday babe. 

^^^ here's another one of my babes i just couldn't help but include in the post. showing me her smile on a sunday facetime sesh. that face! oh that face!!!

i know this picture is really dark, but it was one of my most favoritest days this summer. it was my birthday week and i did a little ferris buellering (if you know what i mean) and spent the day with my favorite people at lagoon. we did lagoon-a-beach, rode all the rides (well, some of the group rode all the rides), played games, won prizes, and ate something called a "beaver tail" that i've been dreaming about ever since. SUCH good times.  

a couple of weekends ago, me and my two best girls drove up to bear lake on a saturday. we stopped in logan for breakfast at angie's (highly recommended, we loved it!), then made the rest of our way up the canyon to that SO BLUE bear lake. it was crowded, but it's so big it didn't make much of a difference to us. we laid on the beach, tanned, listened to poolside playlist classics, and rented a jet ski for a bit and rode around on the lake. it was such a great day we decided to make it a tradition. 

^^^ dancing AND tanning. best of the best.


last weekend was a last-days-of-summer-celebration of sorts. we did slide the city. please note that, although my burger is so adorable, it is not a tube and therefore, was not ideal for sliding down the three block water slide. 

paige WAS wearing a swimsuit. just fyi. 

after slide the city we had snow cone chasers. interestingly, this was my first of the season and it did not disappoint. please give me coconut ice cream with my snow cone ALL THE TIMES.

in the evening we attended a concert at the sandy amphitheater. which was so delightful. oh! and then we went to bill & teds excellent adventure at the tower. 
perfect way to end the summer.

looking forward to football games, horror movies, pumpkin EVERYTHING, and all else that comes with fall.

9.16.2014

checking things off.

guys! i finally did my triathlon! the goal first crossed my mind while watching my 80 year old grandpa compete in the st. george senior games. it was so inspiring to watch him, in his frail state, swim, bike, and then finally cross the finish line running. AT 80!!!

... that was in 2007. 

HA! so yes, this has been on my to-do list for 7 years. and on labour day, i finally finished. 350 yards swimming, 12.5 miles biking, and a 5k. woo!

we're all so happy to be posing in our swim-wear. 

here i am, waiting to start. i was mainly thinking, will everyone laugh at me if i plug my nose when i jump in?


then at the end of the bike and run. if you think i look extraordinarily happy it's cause I WAS! i felt so happy and accomplished. you know sometimes, in special moments, when you feel like you're really living life to the fullest, getting the most out of what heavenly father has given you? this was one of those moments. i'm so grateful for my healthy body, and for my recent desires to be active. for this time of my life where i've had the chance to cultivate new hobbies and talents. i'm grateful to have the opportunity to compete in these kinds of races and to live in a place that offers them, that i was born into a family of adventures/lovers of life, for good weather, for swimming pools, my blue bike, for music that pumps me up. i'm grateful for it all and i know to whom i should offer my thanks.

i did the race with a bunch of extended family, and my dad and sister. it was a blessing training and racing with them. my family has always been my biggest cheerleaders. part of my joy upon finishing was brought by seeing my dad and sister finish.

and here's the whole tri crowd. from left to right, my uncle, me, cousin kenzie (whose influence helped me to sign up, train, and actually DO the race, thanks kenz), sister paige, dad (or roy orbison?) cousin davis, and cousin maddy.

some other things i've been checking off:
- conquering a headstand
- getting a NEW JOB!!! (more information forthcoming) 
- hiking "the living room"
- eating at spitz (a new salt lake city favorite)
- trying a fried oreo (A+++++)

7.28.2014

9. hike mount timpanogos and/or the narrows.



16 miles, 11,749 feet, second highest summit in the wasatch range, 10 hours. i did it! i finally did it! i hiked mount timpanogos!

this item has been on my to-do list for years. i first wanted to do it when i heard about hiking up to the top and sliding a glacier down to the bottom. sounds like a blast but actually it's really dangerous. instead we chose the fail-safe hike-on-foot method and came out (nearly) unscathed.

i say nearly because really i WAS SCATHED. i thought my knee caps would burst while hiking 5 hours down the mountain. then my feet! ouch. the day after, the calf, quad, hip, groin, and shin pain set in. i'm recovering, but my hot yoga class will be wholly welcomed this evening.

ok but guys, the scenery! oh man, i didn't even know! just the view from aspen grove is breath-taking. we did the aspen grove trail and went through pines, aspens, rock fields, and snow; passed a few waterfalls, fields of wild flowers, un-touched streams and lakes, then to beautiful emerald lake. we saw pheasants, mountain goats, and moose. it was all SO beautiful.

next time around i'd like to hike to emerald lake, camp, wake up the next morning and hike to the summit then back down. sounds like the dream backpacking trip to me!

all in all, SO glad i did it. big shout out to my hiking companions steven and tiffany. you guys are the best.

we started hiking when the sun was just coming up. this is the first waterfall you come to.

 
you see vast landscapes on the hike. there are areas that the snow never melts. and it's just so green! 

i loved this little area that looks almost untouched by mankind.

emerald lake was one of my favorite parts. it's about 5 miles up, surrounded by fields of wild flowers and has some of the bluest water i've seen. 

this is looking down on emerald lake from the top. you can see how blue it is from here. to the right you can see the glacier slide that you can ride down from the top.

on the way back we took a good rest on the banks of the lake. so serene.

steven taking in the view from the top.



it was SUPER crowded the day we went. i'd say anywhere from 100 to 150 people were hiking it with us. while doing some research after the hike i learned that prior to 1970, provo held an annual event called the "timp hike" that sent thousands of people up the mountain's slopes. it generally took place on the third or fourth weekend in july (we did it saturday the 26th, the fourth weekend). i take that to mean we chose the best, most historic weekend to hike.
   
the three of us at the top. look at that view!
  
looking south.
  
and here's the finished product, us at the end of the hike. all i wanted to do at this point was take off my shoes and sleep for two days (which is pretty much what i did).

HAPPY! hooray for accomplishing goals! WOO!

9.30.2013

guest post // hiking tips from marie.

i couldn't let fall go by without having at least ONE guest post! remember marie? i've known for a while that i've wanted to scour this girl's hiking brain for tips. sadly, i didn't hike much this summer, but i'm making up for it by hitting the mountain side this fall. what a better way to kick it off than to have marie share her hiking packing list with us:

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


Happy Fall! Can you believe this gorgeous 60’s-San-Francisco-like weather? I have welcomed the best hiking season with open arms.

I’m back again (hi Courtney and friends) and I’m about to go on a rant about hiking (again). I've been back in Utah for a little over a year now and I’m sad that I won’t be here for eternity!!


I can’t believe how much beauty surrounds us Utahans every day. Every morning I get to look out my window and see the epic Wasatch Range hovering over our beautiful city. (sigh) Salt Lake City is not for the faint of heart!



So first off, last year I purchased the book “60 hikes within 60 miles” by Greg Witt. Run to the bookstore and get yourself a copy!

Or call me and we can go on all 60 hikes together.

I have to share with you the number 1 rule for hiking. BE FREAKING PREPARED! If you saw me on the trail you would think I was going on a 10 day backpacking trip with a scout troop. Yes, I look like a fool, but I don’t care! (*cue music*- I love it, by Icona Pop)

It is better than being lost: in moose/bear country, after sun down, with no flashlight, having 4 more miles until the trail head and being separated from your friends…(this might be a personal experience) Never be that, previously mentioned, idiot!

Here is my hiking-packing list, no matter how short/long the trip is:

-Bring a friend
-Water
-lots of snacks
-water proof jacket
-good shoes
-wool socks
-long pants
-Map
-First aid kit.
-Flashlight
-and of course a camera, for documentation (you haven’t really gone on a hike, until it’s been instagrammed)

Hope to see you on the trail this weekend,
NOW go and conquer those beautiful mountains!

**see more from marie by clicking here >>> fresh open air