27

September

0

John Muir Trail Thru-Hike Recap

For 18 days we backpacked from a parking lot in Yosemite Valley to Whitney Portal—a total of 223 miles—211 of these were on the John Muir Trail. Obtaining this difficult-to-get permit which starts at Happy Isles in the Valley, and finishes at the top of Mt. Whitney at 14,505 ft (4421m), is considered a win of “The Golden Ticket”, as thousands apply for this particular route each year. I had fast-packed most of the trail prior, but my 4 companions had not, nor had they backpacked in the wilderness for more than a few days at a time. At an age range of 56 to 60 years, we were all first-timers at doing the whole trail in one fell swoop. […]

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Category: Adventure

16

February

0

My (reluctant then jubilant!) Gardening Initiation

 I’m 56 and I’ve never really gardened. I’ve grown plants, sort of. Including an attempt at a tomato plant or two. This isn’t due to lack of interest perse, it is because there is only so much time in a day and I’ve never been lacking in finding other awesome ways to max out that time. But gardening is a grand way to commune with nature, you say. Prior to literally playing in the dirt, I’ve not had a shortage of getting down and dirty with nature! So gardening has always been on the back burner. Even though its February, ‘it’ thinks its spring here in Santa Cruz, so for the past month or so in the evenings I’ve headed […]

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Category: Adventure/Reflection

14

December

0

The Gift of Travel—Bhutan

     Its been 5 years since I first set foot in the iconic country of Bhutan. Significant events have transpired since that first life-changing day; Expedition Bhutan experienced the entire country west to east, a film was made of our journey—Crossing Bhutan, an international marathon and half marathon was created continues to thrive, two Bhutanese Expedition Bhutan team members have visited the U.S., fundraising efforts have supported women entrepreneurs in the country as well as the Bhutan Olympic Committee, and I’ve twice ridden one of the most grueling one-day cycling events on the planet. Over these past 5 years I’ve spent over a year living and volunteering in the country, making life-long friends while co-creating ever more initiatives which will help the country grow […]

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Category: Adventure

28

August

0

For Other Stubbornly Independent People Like Me (yeah you): The Argument for Letting at Least One Person Know When You Are Up to Something Notable or Potentially Risky

I’ve spent a good portion of my life not being required to be accountable to anyone, generally speaking. Though I have always enjoyed this type of freedom, an incident involving a mix up in my travel plans while coming to Bhutan, and no one involved knowing of my whereabouts, caused grave worry, hours of work, and a lot of morbid speculating as to what had happened to me by many people in Bhutan and the U.S., including government officials. This crazy situation has (finally) caused me to rethink my freewheeling way of being. I’m sharing how this played out because it may be useful to those of you who also revel in moving about in life unencumbered or think that […]

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Category: Bhutan

28

August

0

Back in Bhutan

After dealing with a flight mix up (which involved calls to various embassies by friends in Bhutan and US to try and sort out where I was!!!) and a typhoon I have arrived in my beloved Bhutan, again. While on the drive from the airport to Thimphu I felt so much joy to be back in this beautiful, peaceful place. My heart is full. It was fitting that the first familiar face and hug was from Secretary General of Bhutan Olympic Committee! Bhutanese love to joke so I threw down my first at the airport when they did what is so common here—collect several people to do one task. “How many Bhutanese does it take to put a bike case […]

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Category: Adventure

16

August

0

2-Days in Yosemite Backcountry—Pondering Perception and Freedom

One intriguing aspect of my long term relationship with the Range of Light is how it pulls at me like a magnet. Most readily when I am in balance, and sometimes when I am feeling weighted down. Experiencing the latter as of late, I took off in the middle of the night on Sunday to Tuolumne Meadows for two days of tough solo hiking in the backcountry and one night of blissful sleep under the stars. I never know what will surface from each foray into the Sierra Range except that I will have wiped the slate clean on unproductive mental grappling, and in position to create what I wish moving forward. This familiar scenario played out, yet this time […]

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Category: Adventure