hiking

#AYearOfIntentionalLiving | Avoid The Mess and Head To Nature

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One of the things that I wont’ to really conquer this year is decluttering, simplifying and just controlling the chaos and mess in our home. We have a small house that is filled with lots of people and lots of stuff. A room can easily go from perfectly clean to disaster in under five minutes with three small children and two overwhelmed adults. The only way have I have found to completely prevent the mess is to not be home to make it so instead we head to the mountains or the sea to explore nature. 

I know this isn’t a long term solution but it sure makes for a nice start to the week. 

This weekend we explored the Columbia River Gorge, both the Oregon and Washington side and it just felt so good to move my body, be in nature and connect with my people. That’s the thing about chaos and mess at home it often gets in the way of connecting with myself, my family and triggers my anxiety. So I spent Friday night getting wild aka cleaning our living room and Saturday we headed to the mountains. When we returned I felt so full of live and love and happiness it was amazing to walk into a house that had (at least one room) clean. 

So while avoiding the mess is a short term resolution it is something that sometimes just needs to happen so that you can feel full, bonded and ready to take on the mess another day. 

Fit Pregnancy | Latourell Falls Hike

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We have really been trying to get out and take advantage of the beautiful weekend weather here in Oregon. Two weekends ago we hiked up to Wahclella Falls and had a great time so this past weekend we decided to hike Latourell Falls.While I knew that this hike was going to be more challenging I didn’t expect it to be quite as much of a challenge as it was for me.

LatourellFalls_6245 LatourellFalls_6242
When choosing a hike I was looking for something that was had an elevation gain no more than 550ft and was between 2-3 miles round trip. Well, Latourell Falls hike has an elevation gain for 540ft and is 2.4 miles round trip. I thought this would be the perfect hike! Well it was a great hike but shortly into it (I’m talking about a half mile in) it really started to kick my ass. Who knew a 540ft elevation gain was really a lot more than I thought? To top it off the hike begins at a higher elevation than the Wahclella Falls Hike and add in that I’m a week further along in this pregnancy which also makes hikes more challenging.

LatourellFalls_6255Anyways I brought my hiking polls with me just in case I decided that I might need a little extra support and when we reached the half mile point and I realized we still had to go up and up and up before we started to go down (a little more up) and then down, down, down I decided that it was time to take them out. Looking back at things I should have started with them from the beginning because it this hike started with a pretty steep incline right from the start, at least there are lots of switch backs; if we had been in VT doing this hike we would have been going straight up!

By the time we reached the half way point I was slowly treking along behind Neil who was wearing Edith. Feeling proud that at nearly 22 weeks pregnant I was out there hiking but also feeling a little embarrassed at just how slow I was going and remembering back to the 10-15 mile hikes that Neil and I used to do back in VT where to be quite honest the trails were considerably harder in comparison.

LatourellFallsTwoForFitness_6289We completed the hike and it felt great but let me tell you that all future hikes will be ones in the easy category with a 400ft or less elevation gain because while I managed to do this hike I know that as my pregnancy progresses that hikes categorized as ‘easy’ are a better option for me!

Q: What are you favorite types of hikes? Have you hiked in Oregon?

P.S. This is the link to the hike we did around Latourell Falls.

Camping: Underhill State Park

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Camping supplies for one night...for two people.

Our accommodations for the night

Getting the Fire Started

Onions sauteed in beer for the Filed Roast Sausages

Fresh Sweet Corn

Field Roast Sausages with Creamy Chili Sweet Corn

Hubz Homebrew disguised in Sam Adams Bottle

Relaxing Fire Side

Early morning hike on Mount Mansfield

Hiking sights

More hiking sights

Post hike Vega Smoothie in a jar

Backpacking to Tillotson Camp and Beyond: Day 1

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Miles Hiked: 9.2
Summits Reached: 1
Fire Tower Stairs Climbed: 20 ….okay 10 each
Moose Dropping Piles Seen: 500; okay probably less but they were everywhere but no moose to be seen
Coffees Drank: 3 (we split them)
Rounds of Cards Played: 5 and Neil won in the end (but only by a little)
Hours Spent Reading: 3 glorious hours
Minutes Spent Attempting to Do Yoga On A Slanted Rock: 5

Saturday morning Neil and I headed out to Eden’s Crossing at the Long Trail where we had ended our last long hike; you can read about it here. We signed in and started the 3 mile hike the summit of Belvidere Mountain.  This hike was a different one for us because I was carrying an additional 17 pounds on my back and Neil around 25 pounds on his back because this trip we were staying the night.  Unfortunately the night before it had rained so everything was wet and there were some real mucky spots.  We also hit an area that was all rocks so we put our game faces on and got up them anyway we could; sometimes that meant hands and knees.

Neil getting his hike on

We finally made it to the summit of Belvidere Mountain and to the Fire Tower after about 3 hours of hiking up a challenging rock terrain.

Views From the Summit

The Fire Tower

After spending a little time at the summit relaxing without our packs on and refueling with some crackers and water we finally packed up and headed on our way.  We still had 3.2 miles to hike before we finally reached our destination.  Over the next 3.2 miles we encountered load after load of moose droppings, tons of slippery rocks, muddy sink holes and then thunder.  When we started out on our adventure we knew that a thunderstorm was as possibility but we figured we could make it to the cabin before it started.  Well the thunder started rolling in and so we started to book it ….not a good idea when you haven’t had lunch and probably needed more water.  I was feeling pretty nauseous by the end and it felt like it was taking forever to get there.  Finally we made it to the beaver pond which Neil had read was right near the camp and 10 minutes later we were there, our glorious accommodations for the night.

Our Cabin

We took our packs off and settled in and took of our wet shoes, socks and changed our clothes.

After we settled in and decided to make some Backpackers Pantry Pad Thai for lunch and to my surprise the peanut butter in the pad thai was Justin’s!

Pad Thai ....soup? (not photogenic)

We thought the pad thai had good flavor but could have used more time (our fault) “cooking” and less water so it wasn’t so much like a soup.

We also enjoyed a nice cup of coffee and relaxed outside looking out at our view.

View

 

Via!

The remainder of the night we spent doing yoga (well attempting to on rocks), reading, playing cards and just soaking up the sun.

For dinner we had the Backpackers Pantry Katmandu Curry.  It was actually really delicious! We both loved the flavor and the addition of the lentils.  We will be buying this one again.

Backpacking

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It’s been a long weekend of backpacking and now it’s time to relax. We did 6.2 miles Saturday and finished off 3 more miles this morning. I will be doing a follow up trip blog and Neil and I are going to do a He Says, She Says blog post on gear so standby and goodnight.

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Fitness Friday: Backpacking

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Neil and I are heading out on a grand adventure this weekend. We will be heading out to the great outdoors with just the shoes on our feet and the packs on our back for ONE whole night. I know it’s a big deal, haha. Anyways we are heading out on our first ever backpacking trip. Now we have done our far share of hiking which you can read about here, here, here, and here.

Last night was spent preparing everything to do this trip and it’s pretty crazy everything that you need to bring; okay if you are hardcore you can probably do with less but well I’m not.  So here is backpacking for two:

Our Gear: His and Hers Backpacks, Sleeping Bags, "Pillows", Bladders, Polls and Sleeping Mats

FOOD!

Dinner and Lunch: Backpackers Pantry sent me the Katmandu Curry to try and we decided to pick up a Pad Thai for lunch. Will report back...

Snacks: Triscuits, Newton Fruit Things From Foodbuzz Tastemakers, Dates, Primal Strips (these might be a little old)

Drinks: Water Purifying Drops, Amazing Grass (need our greens) and YogaEarth pre and post workout drink mixes

Energy Foods: Clif Shots, Shot Blocks (Margarita my favorite) and Sweet Wheat wheatgrass

Breakfast: Oatmeal, Goji Berries, Chia Seeds and Peanut Butter

Cooking Supplies: Jetboil, Gas, Mugs (for the Via we haven't purchased yet), Bowls and Cutlery

Fire: Matches, Lighter, Fire Starter and Camp Fire Starter Blocks

Tools: Multi Tool, Knife, Spade (so you can bury your....), Compass

First Aid Kits

Trail Maps and Books

Lights and Cameras (not pictured): Headlamps and yes that is a Farm Sanctuary Pig Flash Light

Sunscreen and Insect Repellent

Clothing: Day 1&2 Outfit (same just change of unmentionables and socks) and Camping Outfit

Other necessary items: Trail Shoes, Rain Jacket, Hat, Sandals (for when we get to camp) and Knee Support

It looks like a lot of stuff eh? Well it is and yet with a few extra socks and a little a bit more food you could easily do 3-4 days with the same amount of stuff; it just looks crazy for one night. Anyways we are going to head out on our adventure tomorrow morning. I’ll catch you up on all the events on Sunday/Monday. Have a good weekend!

Five Things x3

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Five Things I Am Looking Forward To This Summer:

  1. Wanderlust (EEK it’s next week!)
  2. Hiking the Long Trail with the Hubz 
  3. VT Brewers Festival 
  4. My First 5k Race- Old Port 5K 
  5. My First Trip To Philadelphia (that wasn’t to the airport), sadly not for HLS, however we will be with two of our good friends.

Five  Blogs I Have Been Reading Lately (just a few I have a million in my reader and I’ll do this more regularly so don’t feel let out)**:

  1. Anywhere There’s An Airport I was first introduced to this blog via Kristen’s guest post over at PB Fingers and I fell in love with the blog instantly. Kristen writes about her life which involves living in Madrid my old home for 2 months the summer of 2004.  It is a place I have always wanted to travel back to but haven’t made it back so until then I live vicariously through Kristens posts.
  2. Pure2Raw I have been reading the Twins blog for awhile now and I just love how it has developed and evolved.  I love the features on their life, workouts and recipes.  If you are looking for some really great healthy recipes both raw and cooked visit their blog.
  3. Eating Bird Food Brittany’s who is a current IIN student has a wonderful blog that focuses in on healthy living more specifically wonderful food. Check out her recipe for Massaged Kale Salad– SO good!
  4. Healthy Ashely I love to read Ashley’s blog because she is open and honest and doesn’t apologize for who she is. I love reading about her active adventures (running, hiking, yoga, ect), the wonderful places she gets to eat in Asheville and about her upcoming wedding. You can read her vegan wedding tips here.
  5. Healthy Balance, Healthy Life A shout out to my local blogger and new friend the crazy Allie.  Her blog features her life unedited- she is a crazy ball of energy and always has something entertaining to say.

** I would like to note that I decided to remove my blogroll.  I just feel like it isn’t 100% up to date and I hate that I might be forgetting people so I have decided to feature 5 different blogs each week.  I hope you enjoy this!

Five Things I Am Loving:

  1. Running- I am addicted!
  2. The Broads– We have Sirius/XM in our car right now and I listen to them every morning on my way to work. They are hilarious. 
  3. Salads- I have a love hate relationship with salads.  I either want them all the time or I don’t want them at all.  Currently we are in love. 
  4. Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt. Addictive. period.
  5. My Husband. I know I love him all the time but right now I just wanted to express my love for him because he has been ridiculously supportive during the crazy time. XO. 

Lastly, I just wanted to encourage you to read my Yoga Aid Challenge post and donate any products (gently used or new) or services to my auction to raise money for Off The Mat.

What are 5 things that you love right now? What are your favorite blogs?