Ah yes, late January, right when I start longing for summer. It happens every year without fail. As I see March and April starting to creep ever closer I start thinking about all the lovely outdoor fun headed my way in about 3 or 4 months. I get daydreamy and look at photos of summers past. Hiking, biking, running, swimming, walking , playing frisbee, followed by a cold beer and a nap. My life outdoors is constantly shifting and changing. My time outdoors has shifted and changed throughout the years but unfailingly I still spend most of it hiking, biking, running, and camping.
I have every intention of including my future children in my love of the outdoors. My parents made sure to do this for me. I did not grow up with an instinctive love of exercise and the outdoors. In fact, my earliest years were spent in a place that is so far from outdoorsy it’s laughable. When we moved to the PNW I actually hated pine trees. I couldn’t understand why you’d love something that spread pine needles all over. I hated the way they’d get stuck in my socks. I missed seeing the horizon. Now I love them so much that I cringe at the thought of using up my last stamp in my series of pine cone stamps from the USPS.
My parents gently forced me to go hiking, camping, and cabin-ing. In my very early years in the not-so-outdoorsy place my mom even did her best to find the most outdoorsy and pretty place for us to rent a cabin every year and play at the lake. After we moved our opportunities to be outside became endless. I loved taking trips to the ocean and “lazy” vacations but hiking felt so tiring and camping was so dirty. I didn’t really find my groove with those activities until middle school. As an adult I live for the endorphins and relaxation that comes with exercise and the opportunity to skip a couple showers while camping. (I also discovered that braids, bandanas and hats are a great way to cope with dirty hair. duh!)
I figured out one of the best ways to cope with early-early-early Spring Fever is to look at photos from past outdoor fun times, take a run, hike or a walk despite the rain (or 10!), and make plans for the summer.
Today I’m coping with a long walk at lunch and making some plans for some kind of Yosemite trip this summer. As for the pictures. Enjoy:
Mt. Hood
Oregon Coast
Orcas Island
Location, obvious. With two dear friends
Lake Louise / Banff National Park, Alberta/BC Canada
Hiking and holding up trees at Mt. Rainier National Park
Picking huckleberries in the Cascades
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