Puzzling

It has been way too long since I have written a post.  Not so much because nothing has happened but more so because EVERYTHING has happened.  Most notably we sold our nice big house and downsized to a small townhouse in Novemeber.  The plan was to use this as an economical base during the college years and spend a lot of time hiking, camping and backpacking.  Well- the joke's on us.  Little did we know our daughter would return home early from college and who knows when the nest will be empty.  But at least we have a mortgage free place to live, even if it is a little small, it takes some financial pressure off and leaves us with some money for Airbnbs when it gets to cramped.

The start of the Covid Life was pretty scary.  My sister was one of the first to get it from community spread while working in a nursing home.  She was very sick and this was a personal and impactful intro to our "new normal" and what we had to fear.  Then I was busy wrapping up an online school year and doing a lot of cooking now that everyone is home 24/7.  But just last week I had a bit of downtown and completed three 1000 piece puzzles in one week.  It made me wonder how others tackle the fun of a puzzle.  Here is my gameplan:

1.  Sort and complete edges first and roughly sort remaining pieces by color

2. Once there are not too many pieces left, sort by color and then by shape

Completed puzzle :)

Tahoe Rim Trail

We just got back from a nine day 120 mile backpacking trip. I always wondered what a longer trip would be like. Now I know.  Mostly it was really challenging. There were a couple surprises.  I was hoping that with each day I would feel stronger. But after the first three days I just felt more beat up at the end of each day. Usually I was ready for the hiking to end about two hours before it did each day. Even though we agreed at the start that we were going to take it easy and not go too hard it is a lot harder in the day to day to do this.  Backpacking reminds me of the board game Settlers of Catan. But instead of a good ratio of resources, you need shelter, food and water.  So first we would need to get near water.  Then we would need to find suitable (meaning flat) land for a tent, then we would need to have a rough daily mileage of 15 miles so our food would last for the whole trip.  When you put all those issues together it, along with swarms of mosquitoes, is not as easy to take it easy as one would think.  I still really enjoyed the challenge and the beauty and the teamwork with Justin but I don’t think I have the grit in me that true thru hikers have.  Nine days was enough and I was really happy when I did not have to dig holes for toilets and worry about where the next water supply was. 

Here is what I loved most:

• Stoveless cooking- I did not miss the stove at all.  I have always loved snickers and all the other treats I packed and I felt perfectly nourished.  
• Wildflowers- I just love fields of wildflowers and this hike was no different- I think my trail name would be Flower Power because whenever we came across a field of wildflowers I felt new energy, even if I was exhausted.
• I could not have done this hike without these things:  (worth carrying)- backpacking pillow and air mattress, hiking poles, dirty girl gaiters (keeps pebbles out of your shoes), battery pack for my phone
• I really liked having the Guthook app.  Granted it would have been nice if there was a little more crowdsourcing but even the basic info was really handy. I liked seeing where I was and how far I had gone and how much further we had to go until the next water or break.

Here is what surprised me:

• I still had a list of things to do on my mind.  I thought I would just be walking and thinking about anything but there is always something to think about- in this case it was where a good rock to pee behind was or what to clean at the next water spot or what to remember to get from my pack at the next break....
• The Tahoe Rim Trail was not nearly as crowded as I expected- we met very few others doing the loop and even fewer day hikers.  Even the 50 mile stretch that merged with the PCT trail was not very crowded.
• My water pump stopped working three days into the hike. I have since learned this abrupt problem has happened to others. Luckily Justin’s Sawyer was fine.  Always have a back up water supply. 

In case you are interested here is a day by journal of what our hike consisted of:

Day 1:  We got to the hotel around 1AM local time.  We got up at 6AM and took an Uber to the Tahoe Meadows Trailhead near Mount Rose.  We started a southbound, clockwise loop at about 8:30 AM.  Day one was spectacular.  It was a really nice way to start the hike- beautiful views, a really nice trail and perfect weather.  After 13.5 miles on the trail (although 16 miles total including the scenic loop and water run) we wrapped things up at Marlette Campground.  Surprisingly only one other person was at the campground. 

Day2:  I am really glad day two is over.  I knew it was going to be hard for two reasons- no water and a long day of hiking.  We got up at six and were hiking by seven.  Before we left camp I drank two liters of water since I knew it was a long hard day with no water along the way.  We also filled all our extra water bags which meant heavy packs- especially for Justin who carried a lot of the extra water.  The day started with a good climb.  Soon we were at Spooner Lake.  We were deciding if we should walk a mile downhill to the lake to get more water when a nice guy offered to give us a gallon of water from his car.  That along with what we still had was enough to get us to Kingsbury the next morning.  It saved us at least an hour of going down and up from the lake.  Yay for trail angels!  SO we crossed the highway and started a pretty steady climb for the next two hours.  This was hard.  It was hot.  We were rationing water and for me uphills are always harder in the afternoon after hiking all morning.  Finally we got to the top but we still had a lot more miles to cover.  After 18 miles we made it to a flat enough area to camp.  Our waterless day is over!

Day 3
Today was somewhat of a near-o day (kind of like a zero day but with a few miles). We hiked out 5.5 miles to where the trail intersects with 206 in Kingsbury. Ben, Jeannie, Connor and Skyler drove up from Folsom to meet us for lunch. We ate at a delicious place right on Lake Tahoe. It was cool to see the lake up close after seeing it from up high. It was also awesome to see our California family. Our plan was to resupply at the supermarket and head out in the afternoon but after hiking in the afternoon heat yesterday I suggested we stay here and get an early start tomorrow for a long solid day of hiking. So we got a room, cleaned our clothes and took a shower. Then we walked to the supermarket and carefully chose five days worth of food because we have about 80 miles to cover before our next resupply. We also won’t have much cell coverage so you might not be getting many updates these next few days.

Day 4
We ate breakfast before heading out of South Lake Tahoe and took a Lyft to the trailhead. We were heading up a steady uphill by 8am. I used to listen to a backpacking podcast called the first forty miles. The meaning behind the title was that it takes 40 miles to get your groove on in a backpacking trip. Early on today’s hike we hit 40 miles for the trip. And today definitely went smoother but it is still plenty challenging. After a few hours we crossed over from Nevada to California. Then we stopped for lunch at Star Lake. After that we climbed a little more to our highest point for the day before a long decent to where we set up camp after a 14.3 mile day. Even though our packs were heavy with five days worth of food it helped that we only ever had to carry one liter of water since there were more steams than the past three days.

Day 5
Today we got another early start. We were hiking by 6:30. We had a brief uphill followed by a really nice downhill through a meadow of wildflowers. Then we stopped to eat breakfast at a beautiful viewpoint of Lake Tahoe. After that we had a very long decent to the Great Meadows Trailhead. After filling up our water we hiked another two miles uphill to round lake for lunch. Then we went a few more miles uphill to where the Pacific Crest Trail and the Tahoe Rim Trail combine together. After about 17 miles we wrapped things up at Shower Lake. This gave us time to enjoy the lake and the views and rest up to get another early start tomorrow.

Day 6
Another early start. Good news is it seems our water worries are behind us. Bad news is with water comes mosquitoes. The ying and yang of life.  We decided to skip eating breakfast at our site in search of a place less buggy. After walking for awhile we decided to just eat something quick. Soon we started a really long descent. Usually our hikes average about 3000 feet of elevation gain a day. It is somewhat of a roller coaster with a good amount of ups and downs through the day and nothing is ever so steep up or down that I can’t take it - just enough to feel like a good workout. But the descent we had this morning was killer. My knees and ankles were so sore by the time it was lunch. I also was nursing a couple hotspots from yesterday that I do not want to turn into blisters. Justin could tell I needed a little boost so he made the wise decision to call it a day after ten miles and rest up. We are ahead of schedule anyway because our permit for Desolation Wilderness begins tomorrow and we already made it to that point of the trail. So we will head into town, rest my feet and hit the trail again first thing in the morning. The only regret is if we had known this we could have carried less food the last couple days. But at least we don’t have to waste time resupplying. So off to an unexpected but much needed shower and back on the trail first thing tomorrow.

Day 7
By 8am we were entering Desolation Wilderness. We have been looking forward to this part of the hike and it did not disappoint. First we walked along Echo Lake and after five miles we made it to the gem for lunch- Aloha Lake. We actually took two lunch breaks here because it was that spectacular and also we were not in a huge rush since we were planning a shorter day today. Aloha Lake also had ideal foot soaking areas and my feet are still in need of a lot of soaking after yesterday’s killer downhill- I am still not back to myself. After lunch we continued on past several other lakes until we stopped at Gilmore Lake around 4:00pm. Even though we only clocked 11 miles, it still took awhile with all the photo stops. Also there was quite a bit of rerouting for snow and the terrain was not the fastest to traverse.

Day 8
A week ago we hit the trail. Since then we have covered over 100 miles on the Tahoe Rim Trail. Today we did about 15.5 miles. Our morning started with swarms of mosquitoes. We broke down camp. (Well let’s be honest mostly- Justin broke down camp- he has been pulling a lot of weight on this trip- finding camping spots, getting water and making sure we stay on trail when there is too much snow to follow the trail.). Anyway.... after leaving Gilmore Lake we headed up to Dicks Pass. This was a good climb and we had some snow but the harder part was on the downhill on the other side. It was hard to stay on the trail with all the snow and there were a couple parts I had to sled down on my bottom. Sledding in July was a first for me but I do not recommend sledding with out a tube. My tailbone hurts. Once we got over the pass and through the snow the rest of the day was pretty uneventful. After about ten miles the mosquitoes let up and thankfully our lake tonight- Richardson- has a nice breeze and we are bug free.

Day 9
Another early start- trying to get miles in before it gets hot. Once again we ate on the run from mosquitoes. We went up and down and up again and finally found a little reprieve so we took our first break of the day. Then we headed across our final snowy area. As we got closer to Tahoe City we started looking for somewhere to camp but the closer we got, the more we realized we were getting too close to town for good camping so after about 18 miles for the day we hitched a ride with a couple at the trailhead and they dropped us off at the closest brewery to celebrate. So after 9 days we are wrapping things up with more than 120 miles on the Tahoe Rim Trail. We won’t finish the entire circuit but we got pretty far and had a lot of fun. Special thanks to Justin for being the brains behind the operation on most days.

My Year of Intentional Spending

This year I am hoping to be more intentional about how I spend my time, energy and money.  It is related to a goal my husband and I have set to try to save as much money as we can during a very costly year- the first year we will have a child in college (followed the very next year when we will have two in college.)  But we are determined to do this without going into debt so in the fall we started looking at ways to increase our savings while decreasing our spending and still maintaining a good quality of life.  (In other words we did not want to resort to our college days of cup-o-soup and ramen noodles for dinner.)

The first round of cuts were pretty easy- no more Green Chef, an organic meal delivery service that would send us two meals per week with recipe cards and all the ingredients I needed for cooking.  We dropped Netflix DVD and started using the library.  (I needed more errands for my son's driving lessons anyway.)  At the same time we dropped Sling.  We had dropped cable years ago so now we are down to streaming Netflix which is now included in our cell phone plan since we switched from Verizon to T-Mobile (another cost-saving measure.)  Next week we will drop to the smaller garbage can as we have become pretty good at composting and recycling and rarely fill our current can.  Last but not least we sold our larger family vehicle, a 2011 Honda Pilot and shuffled the cars around so that now I drive the electric car and no longer use gas for my commute.  My husband, who was using the electric car now drives a very fuel efficient Hyundai Iconic which he also uses for his side hustle of Uber and Lyft.  The teens share the CRV which we also use for family road trips.

Our cost saving choices are not just financial but also a small step to improve our environmental footprint.  So while it is good to save money on the gas and garbage, it also feels good to know we are adding a little less to the landfill each week and less dependent on fossil fuel.  We certainly still have a ways to go but at least it is a step in the right direction rather than just using more and more of everything.

So far this journey has been fun and eye opening.  There is something called Lifestyle Creep which is when you start to spend money a little over time but it can really add up.  At the end of a rough work day you can say lets eat out.  We deserve this.  And next thing you know you are eating out 2 or 3 times a week and it really is not that satisfying.  Now we have pulled back to about once a month and it is back to being a real treat.  (Not to mention the weight loss that occurred along with more meals at home and the major cost savings.)

So to keep me on track and working towards more ways to cut down on time wasters and money waster I am going to try do the following "free" days once a week.  Mainly I am just trying to test habits and see which changes I can adjust to and which might be more than I am ready for right now.  I figure if I just do a day at a time I can at least experiment a little and then hopefully work up to week free as the year progresses.  But for now, this is what I am aiming for one day each week:

Meat free Monday- Shouldn't be too hard for me but I will read labels on that day so maybe it will be harder than I think
Animal Free Tuesday- This will be a lot harder than meat free but I figure anything is possible for a day and maybe I will decide I can make it a weekly standard
Garbage free Wednesday-  I admit I use way too many ziploc bags.  On these days I will need to use my reusable containers and not put anything other than tissues in the garbage.
Spend Free Thursday-  No matter what comes up the wallet can not come out on my spend free days
Screen Free Friday- Aside from work no screen time
Car free Saturday- This means I will need to bike, walk or (if needed) carpool everywhere that I need to that day.
Sunday?  Still trying to think of another free thing- any ideas?  If not I might make it a double yoga day.... still a work in progress

What FI Means to Me

About 18 months ago my husband introduced me to the Mr. Money Mustache blog.  He is a local legend from my town who I have never met but he blogs about the FIRE Movement- Financial Independence Retire Early.  Since then we have been reading more and more about this movement and learning about how this philosophy might fit into our own life.

While we are still working we like the freedom that FI offers.  By reining in our spending and increasing our savings we have more choices.  I know that I could stop working sooner if I wanted to but I am choosing to work as long as I find my work fulfilling.  It is no longer a case that I HAVE to go to THIS job, but I am choosing this work.  If I really decide I am not fulfilled I can choose to do something lower paying but more fulfilling since we have lowered our expenses while also increasing our savings.

Related to having choices, I am using time with intention.  Ultimately time is our greatest asset and FI gives us time to do more of what fulfulls us.  So while I am working and as I make decisions of what I will do when I work less, I ask myself how I want to spend my days.  It is these deep conversations about what makes us happy and how I want to spend my days that helps me solidify what really matters and how I want to use my time.  These are the top ways I want to use my time:  Being with friends and family, hiking, yoga, eating healthy, reading, growing my mind, and traveling to connect with new and old friends and see natural wonders.  

By spending less and using less I am also making more sustainable choices.  Sometimes the differences are not necessarily huge financial gains but they are still worth doing because it is saving money and still making less garbage.  For example, we have tried to eliminate paper towels.  That alone will not lead to FI but it is also rewarding to switch over to rags simple because I like knowing that I am not literally throwing dollars in the garbage when I could simple use a rag.  I also enjoy biking to and from work when the weather allows.  Not only does it save a little on gas, it also gives me a little exercise and I actually enjoy starting and ending my day with some fresh air and sunshine.  
 

In case you are interested in learning more about the FIRE movement, here are some good first steps.

Here is a video from PBS that introduces the Fire Movement.

Mr. Money Mustache lives in Longmont.  Here is his blog.  

I like the ChooseFI podcast- pick and choose the episodes you like but here is a good place to start.

Yoga Retreat

I have enjoyed yoga for much of my adult life. But usually time and money kept my from a very dedicated and consistent practice. Last spring a studio opened up in my neighborhood and I started making more of an effort to make it part of my routine. In the summer I got a monthly pass and tried all the different types of classes and really started being a regular student. On Thanksgiving I learned about a teacher training class that was beginning. While I had hoped to do this once my children headed off to college, I decided the circumstances were just too perfect to put it off. So I began my journey as a yoga teacher. It has been such a great experience and I know it is just the beginning because it is the kind of thing that the more you learn, the more you learn you need to learn. But for now I am just so happy to be learning more about breathing and mindfulness and awareness and surrounding myself with others who are on a similar path of discovery and appreciation for each other.
Part of my teacher training included a week long yoga retreat in Costa Rica at the Goddess Garden Yoga Retreat Center. We nourished our bodies with vegetarian meals, nourished our minds with yoga talks and meditation practice and practiced postures and breathing daily. We also had free time to enjoy the beach and reconnect with nature in the rain forest. It was such a gift and I am so grateful to my family for supporting me and encouraging me to begin this journey a little ahead of schedule.

Some of my favorite yoga quotes and comments from this week:
"Yoga doesn’t happen on the mat. It’s what happens when I get off the mat."
"Massaging the earth with each step you take."
"If you want to change one thing you need to change everything"

Embrace Plan E

I was supposed to have TEN DAYS ALONE!  I am a happily married mother of two teenagers but I would be lying to tell you I was not looking forward to the once in a lifetime opportunity to have ten days alone.  It really was too good to be true.  In fact I hadn't even made too many plans because I did not want to jinx it.  But if everything went as planned Laurel was going to be in Germany on her exchange semester, Owen was going to be in Japan with the Longmont Sister City Program and Justin was going to be hiking the Washington portion of the PCT.  So the big day had arrived.  I had just returned from dropping Owen off at the airport and going to the post office to mail Justin a resupply box.  I was sitting on the couch deciding what would I do first- eat cereal for lunch, plan out my hikes, or start to organize decades worth of photos and then my iMessage dinged.  It was a message from Justin  saying he had had enough of the PCT and was heading home.  And just like that my ten days of solitude turned into 24 hours.  But it also turned into the best ten days of the summer.  Because there is something really amazing about embracing plan e- because let's be honest- at this point I was past plan b,c and d -but it still turned out really well.  Luckily I had already been really productive and gotten most of my summer chores done.  So the time was pretty open.  We brainstormed our possibilities.  We considered more backpacking.  Or maybe some lake camping.  There was also a hike seven hours away that I was planning to go to by myself.  I had been training for this hike all summer but because it was in an area that was closed earlier this summer for a wildfire and currently was in monsoon season I was doubtful if it was the best time to go.  But at the same time I decided if not now, when.  We decided to just give it a try and see what happens- so in the matter of an hour we mapped out a five day roadtrip and I managed to book places to stay along the route.  And what a fantastic time we had!  So maybe Justin did not hike all 500 miles of the Washington section of the PCT.  And I did not get those photo books sorted.  But we had a rare couple's road trip to the San Juan Mountains, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and Mount Princeton Hot Springs filled with laughs and chats and amazing views and weather and there is not one thing I could have changed if we had planned this trip for a year.  So here's to spontaneity from one who can be little too much of a planner at times.  I am so grateful my summer didn't turn out as I planned because there is no way I would have had that much fun by myself anyway!

A Year for Adventures

2018 has been an exciting year for our family.  First Laurel departed for a semester in Germany.  If you are interested in hearing more about that here is a link to her blog.  My big adventure was at the start of the summer when I went to visit Laurel.  I kept a pretty detailed journal but so as not to bore you all with too many details, and since a picture is worth a 1000 words, I figured I would post a top ten photo summary of my visit with Laurel. 

 This photo was taken along Lago Maggiore while we were waiting to take a ferry to visit three islands- Isola Bella, Isola Superiore and Isola Madre.

 Enjoying some pizza and the sunset along Lake Como in Bellagio- (We enjoyed a lot of yummy pizza and gelato while in Italy.)

 One of many beautiful villages along Lake Como.

 One day we took a funicular up from Como and then took an 8 mile hike along a trail called the Strada Regia through the woods to another town and then we took the water taxi back to Como.  It was a very nice hike but hard to stay on the trail which made it much harder and longer than we planned. 

 Prosecco and eggplant parm was a well deserved reward after our long hike!

 Enjoying the Austrian Alps above Innsbruck.

 While back in Freiburg we took a day trip to Basel, Switzerland.  I have been to this city several times and always enjoy the visit.

 On another day we took a bus ride to Strassburg, France with Rahel and Renate.  We enjoyed walking around the city and treats from a French bakery.

 Another picture in Strassburg- this section of the city was called Petite-France.

 Laurel enjoyed showing me around Freiburg.  She was especially excited to show me all of the pens.  She loves the German pens.

So that about sums up my European adventure.  It was a wonderful two week trip filled with lots of good visits with Laurel and Renate and the rest of her family.  I am so grateful that Laurel has had this opportunity thanks to the generosity of Renate and her family. 

Yesterday Justin began his big adventure- he will be hiking the first 500 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail.  He will start at Hart's Pass, WA- hike up to the Canadian border and then turn back to head all the way to the Oregon border.  He can't just start at the Canadian border because of 9/11 permit regulations.  That is why he has to walk in 30 miles south from the terminus.  I am so excited for him and I cannot wait to hear about his adventures.

Owen has his own big adventure coming up in a couple weeks.  He will be going to visit Longmont's sister city in Chino, Japan.  He applied to be an ambassador last fall and he has been attending many meetings to prepare for this special trip.  When he returns he will have a host sister with us and we will enjoy showing her around Longmont and Colorado for a couple of weeks. 

So even though we are not taking a traditional family vacation this year, I am glad that everyone is pursuing some sort of interest and we are all growing by taking our own trips and living through each other's trips.  And once we all return home we will plan some nice weekend getaways to reconnect this last year as a family of four before Laurel heads off to college.