We got to Warrensburg, Missouri and hung out with my brother. He lived in their downtown area so conveniently we walked from his apt to the coffee shop near by and went thrifting. We found a near by antique store that had 3-4 stories. My doubtfulness of how many floors is indicative of how vast this building was. There was vintage fishing lures for cheap that end up being used to catch my personal best rainbow trout. We got lost frequently, it had every thing you can image and more. Following day we went to a near by creek with incredible water quality. It seemed to support a healthy trout population. The trip in MO was fleeting, our next destination was Rocky Mountain National park.

Colorado

Colorado was a humbling experience. It revealed a new dimension of importance when it came to hiking. Not nearly how much you gain but where you start out at. Our first trip was to Long’s peak trail head where the parking lot itself was starting at 8,900ft high. This made the hike feel as though you couldn’t walk a 1/10th of a mile without being out of breathe. Chasm Lake was our destination and as we stomped along, novelty just strolled passed us. I only imagined a hot humid summer, all of which inversions in this environment. It was also full of snow. Arguably the most snow I’ve ever seen. Let alone in the month in which i least expect it.

Halfway through the hike and much elevation to go. Here Long’s Peak is in the background, a marker in which we head toward. We will should end up but hopefully at the base of the vertical wall ending our journey at 11.8k feet of elevation gain.

Once we got to Chasm Lake, the mountain weather changed on us. It was not too long after our arrival that we had to run away from the storm. In the processes of getting down to safety, I was running ahead and around the corner a young moose was startled. I too was terrified given its stature, but luckily we both ran away from each other. In my mind I like to imagine he was scared of me as much as I was of him.

Wyoming

Grand Teton National Park

Our next destination was revisiting our beloved park. Last time we came to GTNP we were young, drove across the country in a small car and spent 2 weeks in July. I distinctly remember seeing the CLIMBER’S RANCH and people with big bags on their backs and thought nothing of it. This time around, 3ish years later we have learned more and done more. We hiked into camp and spent the night in Cascade Canyon. The loop was still covered in snow and impassable above 9,000ft. We did an out and back for the first night. Once at camp I couldn’t help but pull on a random boulder out in the field. With the mountain range surrounding me, I couldn’t help but imagine summiting the peaks.

Yellowstone National Park

Subsequently after Tetons we went around Yellowstone but a snow storm closed many of the roads as we were exploring. This part of the trip was unexpected yet welcomed. Seeing Yellowstone in the snow highlighted all the geothermal features. There were areas where the snow melted and created a huge fog directly in front while also making it feel otherworldly.

Idaho

Crater of the Moon

he Craters of the Moon Lava Field spreads across 618 square miles (1,601 km2) and is the largest mostly Holocene-aged basaltic lava field in the contiguous United States. This landscape was just unforgiving. At one point you can stand and overlook the lava field and see nothing but these weird formations with trees that are thousands of years old. The night sky was also incredible. Aly and I were able to see shooting stars dart across our skylight. We spent quite a bit of time staring at the milky way galaxy.

Crater of the moon hot spring

As we left the park the entrance to it was so nice we wanted to turn around and take a picture. In doing so we got a pull out and saw a man in a towel coming back to his truck. Given the remote-ness of the landscape and nothing on our gps indicating a water feature we decided to explore after the photo. This coincidence led to us finding one of the nicest hot springs we’ve ever seen. It was like the ones in florida but it was hot and secluded. To my excitement it was such a large pool that you can really regulate yourself. Re-iterating the fact that it was a random pull out, one of thousands we saw along our whole trip but every time we passed one regardless of how inconspicuous it was I wondered what secrets did it hold.

Tin Cup Loop

Round trip the loop is 22 miles with 4,200ft of elevation gain. The trail linked the two days but they couldn’t have been a more different experience. The ladder was stressful and at times life-threatening, while the former was delightful and drunk. We began our day late and took our time to get on trail. We knew we had to hussle but we weren’t worried about it. At this point milage became a daily pleasure we indulged in and our loaded packs were just an asset and not a hinderance. The counterclockwise route marched us towards the peak and through the forest floor. We made dinner late at dusk and as we approached the summit the tree line thinned out. Our dinner was some backpacker’s meal, a bottle of huckleberry wine and a sunset to remember, what more can you ask for? The wine was not a whole lot but given our exhaustion and elevation it got us drunk. This made hiking back to the trail more difficult than I anticipated yet we pushed on. A mile or so ahead we camped right before the snow pack and peak. The night fell and we were sound asleep. The rest was plentiful but lacking for the day to come. We wake up to my phone having no battery, our battery pack missing and Aly’s phone was dead. We had a 12 mile day with the peak soon to come and we thought we could push on. And so we did. But the snow patches became feet of snow above trail, it was more than we could imagine and lost complete sight of the trail. We followed what was left of the trail, without a gps device and no phone it felt like it was going to become a rescue mission. Common sense told us the main marker points and where the trail should be (path of least resistance) but at any moment we doubted our place. Luckily this was a popular enough trail and by Friday afternoon it had enough crumbs of fellow travelers throughout to guide us in the general direction. But the worst was yet to come. The summit was a half mile hike up a very steep snowy slope that by the time we got there, was turning into slush. The days were warm and the nights were cold and left the snow to be this slippery ice-slush that was really difficult to stand on. Alternatively, it allowed us to dig into the side walls and carve out steps in the wet slush. One by one we pierced the diagonal steps to the top of the ridge line. We saw a group of women come down and their descent made us hopeful but the moment was short lived, they end up sliding hundred feet past us without being able to stop. Aly and I knew that could happen but to see it was another thing, not only was it a ways down but we were essentially out of food and the additional steps would have worn us out enough to spend another night. Knowing that we couldn’t do that we pushed on to the summit. As we approached the exponentially sloped cliff, the technical skills of using trekking poles became essential to our safety. We slid but recovered, we scrambled loose shale rock until it became more dangerous than snowballing to the bottom. We bouldered enough to get around the worst parts. Nothing about this summit was safe and yet given the severity of what we didn’t have: food, gps and phone directions, we had to finish. So we got to the top and was rewarded by some incredible views of the frozen lakes, patterns that resembled fractals or early stages of cell development. It was a relief that the worst was over and it was, the adrenaline finally wore off and the rest was a miserable hike down to the car. We know that we are done with the hike when hours before getting to the car all we are thinking about is fast food and the absolute fattiest item on the menu. That moment didn’t come for a long time after and made our hangry state turn to pure delirium (just how we like it). Once we got to the car we felt as though we did enough backpacking for a while and have not done so since.

The following events were more safe and relaxing.

Caravaning with friends

We met Colin and Olivia while camping with our friend’s Nick and Loreli. They were a great couple and we all meshed well. When getting to know them I sometimes have a coach-like monologue about group dynamics. I think its an interesting field of study for high performing sports psychologist so I often put on my metaphorical cap to understand how people blend. Colin and Olivia mixed really well, I felt like we all had enough similarities to get along but enough differences to fill in the gaps and creating an enriching environment. So come day one we did nothing but hang around camp and just share our personal lives. By the end of the day we were bantering as if we’ve known each other for years.

Happiness is best when shared. :)

If I could describe what van life is like at its best moments. Its this:

A shared belief in adventure and community, where no place is too far for the bold, yet no place at all is needed to find laughter. Where time spent with one another is not merely how we pass our days, but perhaps the point of our brief existence together.

my greatest summer to date III