by Paty | Nov 23, 2019 | Day Hikes, New Mexico High Points, Southwest US
I have a confession to make. After four continuous months of hiking on the Appalachian Trail, I’m burnt out on forests. Thru-hikers sometimes refer to the AT as “the green tunnel,” because you’re constantly immersed in a living forest. The...
by Paty | Nov 15, 2019 | Day Hikes, Rockies
I used to regularly visit Colorado Springs back in the days when I was in the Army. It’s a beautiful city, filled with people who love the outdoor life. There’s hiking, mountain biking, even trips into the Rockies to go skiing. The opportunities are...
by Paty | Nov 6, 2019 | Day Hikes, Southwest US
5 Fall Hikes and Breweries in Northern New Mexico Welcome to my second installment in the Trails & Ales series. Last October, I shared some of my favorite local hikes and microbreweries in Northern Virginia while visiting the Washington D.C. area. Now a full year...
by Paty | Oct 30, 2019 | Appalachian Trail, Gear
Here’s the list of all the gear I finished the trail with – since it mostly closely reflects what I carried for most of my journey. If you scroll down to the bottom, you’ll can see what items I dumped entirely, what items I swapped out, and what I...
by Paty | Oct 22, 2019 | Places & Events, Southwest US
In early October 2019, I finally got the chance to attend the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. I’ve always wanted to see this spectacular event. But I never lived close enough to pull it off. Now that I’m living the nomadic RV life though,...
by Paty | Oct 18, 2019 | Day Hikes, Southwest US
Ask most people to describe New Mexico, and they’ll probably envision the sparsely inhabited desert scenes from the tv show Breaking Bad. Nothing but tumbleweeds blowing across miles upon miles of dirt roads and flat terrain as far as the eye can see. But head...
by Paty | Oct 11, 2019 | New Mexico High Points, Southwest US, US High Points
Order of Visit: State High Point #17 (New Mexico CoHP #1) Date Visited: October 8, 2019 Route Taken: Williams Lake Trail & Wheeler Peak Trail from Taos Valley Ski Resort – 8 miles roundtrip Type of Terrain: A challenging steep trail that...
by Paty | Oct 4, 2019 | Hiking
While I was out hiking the Appalachian Trail, friends and family often asked me, “What do you plan to do when you finish?” My mother-in-law even wondered whether I planned to hike Mt. Everest, since my adventures keep getting bigger and bigger each year...
by Paty | Sep 27, 2019 | Appalachian Trail, Hiking
Few things bring people together like spending every waking moment together in a challenging environment. Sharing major hardships and small victories on a journey forges a special bond. Before you know it, the people you barely knew a few weeks ago have become your...
by Paty | Sep 20, 2019 | Appalachian Trail, Mid-Atlantic, Northeast, The South
I love metrics and stats! Anyone who’s seen the yellow AT journal I carried on my thru-hike can attest to how much I geek out on numbers. So, here’s some of the interesting facts, figures, and opinions I gathered during my thru-hike. Where I ranked among...
