How to Add a Joy Checklist to Your Outdoor Adventures

A windstorm hit the area yesterday, forcing me to cancel my first hike as a newly minted Mountaineers Hike Leader. In the end, safety ruled. All eight hikers remained safe because…I notified hikers before anyone wasted gas driving to the trailhead. The rest of the weekend, I daydreamed about hikes I might lead in 2025 …

Trails Curve: How to Embrace Detours and Setbacks

As I approach some hard new challenges, the accompanying emotional highs and lows feel disorienting. I’m reminded of something my spiritual coach says: “The closer you get to the gates, the louder the lions roar.” By this, she means that our internal resistance (aka the ego) tries to protect us from failure, falling, impostor syndrome, …