Spring! You guys, it finally feels like spring! With the change to warmer weather comes the first days of the hiking season. (For me anyway, I know some people brave the trails all winter. I don’t pretend to be one of them.)

Last weekend I had a free afternoon and the itch to get outside, a.k.a. the perfect reason to hike. Turns out, since we moved to the far east side of Madison, we are only 9 miles from a state park, Lake Kegonsa State Park. With a short drive to about 3 miles of trails, this seemed like the great way to spend the first warm afternoon.

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I recently had the chance to visit Maui to attend the destination wedding of two dear and incredible people. The wedding was absolutely perfect and I couldn’t be happier for the newly weds. (And a bit jealous of their two week plus Hawaiian adventure!) Amid the hustle and bustle of the wedding activities, I was able to steal a morning for myself and check out one of the trails I was hoping to visit while on the island. Armed with two other lovely ladies, we ditched the boys and headed for the trail! (They had a tux fitting to attend anyway.) Continue reading →

Here we are in March. The weather has been pretty forgiving by Wisconsin winter standards and it seems like we are finally breaking the grasp of winter. Except for the large, stubborn piles, most of the snow has melted to expose the brown grass underneath. (What a beautiful time to be in Wisconsin.) I’ve talked about this before, this is the time of year I start to get even more restless and my cabin fever spikes. The itch to get outside is strong, but the weather isn’t quite warm enough. So close, yet so very far.

Well, you know what? I leave for Maui in 19 days.

So when I think Maui, I think this:

(Photo: GoHawaii.com)

Sand, water, and warmth. Don’t get me wrong, I want a significant amount of my time spent this way, but I’m hoping I can do more than that. I want to explore the island the best way I know how, hiking!

Similar to my 2018 Wisconsin hiking goals, I bring you the Maui edition. Not goals, per se, but more a prepared list of possibilities. Continue reading →

For all my female friends, I wanted to share a project with an incredible goal that I first learned about today from my online community of Women Hiking Wisconsin. (Some seriously impressive, motivating, and welcoming women!)

The 10K Women Trail Project is working to inspire 10,000 women to hike and log their adventures all over North America. Funded by REI’s Force of Nature grant and partnering with Hike it Baby, the project is asking women to join, hike, and log their adventures from November 1, 2017 through September 1, 2018. Continue reading →

It’s mid-February and all I want to do is hike. I’ve had the outdoor camping/hiking itch since December and the ground is still covered in snow. (I really need to get into snowshoeing.) Instead of getting down on the weather, I’m going to use these months to plan and set some personal goals. I would get nowhere, literally and figuratively, without goals after all. What follows is my hiking goal/wish list for 2018.

5 Wisconsin State Parks I want to Visit this Summer:
(in no particular order)

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I’m generally not a fan of New Year’s resolutions and rarely ever bother to make one. Forcing myself to be a better version of me while the weather remains cold and terrible just doesn’t seem fair. I understand the idea of  new year, new you, but can’t I just follow the Earth’s lead by waiting until the weather improves and better myself then? The idea of a spring resolution makes more sense to me. It’s like spring cleaning, but for your life.

Anyway, If I did make a resolution, which I didn’t, it would be to do more of something I enjoyed. More camping, more traveling, more brewery tours, more wine tastings, more Netflix binges, more time sleeping…I think this is going the wrong direction. More hiking. I should go with more hiking.

Sticking with my Not a New Year’s resolution, I was lucky enough to be somewhere warm enough to start the year off right with a hike. Happy New Year’s Hike! Continue reading →