Hi Reader!

How is your week going? Is it fully autumn where you live?

The cooler temps in Los Angeles are motivating me to dust off my running shoes for the first time in a minute! 🏃🏻‍♀️

This week's newsletter is jam-packed, so let's jump right in.

By the way, Wondery is having their Oops Sale right now with tons of items marked 50% off! I picked up a few things myself to wear on my fall and winter adventures. You can even stack my code APRILB for an additional 20% off!! Never feel like you need to buy anything, but it's a great opportunity to grab some pieces at a massive discount if you've been eyeing them. 🫶🏻

Okay, let's hop in for real :)

Adventures

As the subject line implies, I think it's finally time I share a little about my experience hiking The Enchantments last month. I had been looking forward to this trip for months -- and it didn't go according to plan... at all.

Can you spot the three deer chilling at our camp?

Let's start with the highlights:

I accomplished my goal of seeing mountain goats in the wild for the first time! We got to pass right by this mom and her adorable baby while climbing Aasgard Pass.
A family of deer (this time a mom and two little ones) was hanging out in our campsite. Wildlife was abundant on this trip!
We spotted countless types of mushrooms along the trail. Several I had never seen before!
The views were beautiful. I'll never get tired of alpine lakes and mountains as far as the eye can see.
We were able to have a campfire where we stayed, which we didn't expect! This helped immensely with the chilly nights.
The weather ended up being much sunnier and warmer than the forecast predicted. It was perfect backpacking weather. We only got one downpour burst for about five minutes, during which we hid in our tents.
I got to spend time with two of my favorite people in one of the most stunning places in the world. Doesn't get much better than that. 😊

Now for the less than ideal parts.

First, the biggest oopsie of this trip was completely my fault. I mistakenly got permits for the Stuart Zone instead of the Core Zone as I had planned. This meant we were only able to camp in a certain area of The Enchantments, which was separated from the main area by the dreaded Aasgard Pass -- 2,200 feet of elevation gain in 3/4 of a mile.

In the middle of Aasgard Pass with Colchuck Lake in the background.

Next, we didn't allow ourselves enough time for the extremely challenging day hike that would take us into the Core Zone. We roughly calculated out the miles using AllTrails and a couple maps we found online. None were particularly accurate. Some sections were shorter and faster than we expected, while others were far longer.

We got much too late of a start on the day we planned to hike into the Core Zone, which meant we were constantly trying to make up time with speedy hiking and minimal breaks. My friend who isn't much of a hiker was starting to slow down and Aasgard was a huge struggle. It took us a whopping two and a half hours to reach the top. By the time we made it there and had the most scenic section of The Enchantments just ahead of us, we needed to turn back so we could make it to our campsite before nightfall.

Isolation Lake - the farthest we were able to make it this day.

We still ended up doing the last hour or so of our hike in the dark. Thankfully, we had had enough foresight to pack our headlamps for the day and we made it back down Aasgard Pass before light completely left the area. Even with our legs carrying us as fast as they could (and several bumped toes on exposed roots), we only made it back to our camp in the Stuart Zone after 9:00 that night.

I regretted not suggesting that we postpone our day hike into the Core Zone until the following day after seeing how late it was getting into the day. It was close to 11:00 a.m. by the time we set off for this hike, but I was reluctant to push our big day hike because the weather was forecasted to be sunnier this day with a lower chance of rain. I think if I could go back, I would have opted for swapping out this day for an easy hike to Stuart Lake, then tackling Aasgard and the Core Zone the following day with a nice, early start.

The last bit of sun setting over Aasgard Pass, which climbs between the notch in the mountains.

Many lessons learned and wonderful memories created nonetheless. It just goes to show that lots of backpacking experience and time spent planning a trip doesn't guarantee it will all go smoothly. There's always a need for flexibility, going with the flow, and accepting the some days you just have to turn back without making it to your goal.

I wrote up a (much) longer and more detailed recap of our entire Enchantments experience over on Patreon for anyone interested!

Let's all cross our fingers to pool our luck for next year's lottery in February. Maybe I'll see some of you out there!

Shoutouts

My shoutout this week goes to Alice and JS of @bigtunavan. I happened to meet this cute couple at Tunnel View in Yosemite when my boyfriend and I asked if they'd like us to take their photo and they took ours in return. Their positivity bubbled over and was so contagious.

Coincidentally, we ended up camping right next to them later that day at one of the campgrounds! I spotted their Instagram handle sticker on their van, which is how I follow their adventures now. They travel with a one-eyed cat and an elder husky. What a dream. 🥹 Check out their page for wholesome van life and amazing outdoor destinations.

Munchies

My boyfriend and I are getting our health and routines back in check before the end of the year. That means eating healthier, which can be a challenge when we're craving something sweet. 🍩

To satisfy that craving, I've been experimenting with different protein brownie recipes. There's still some sugar and chocolate, but we can feel a bit better about having dessert for breakfast. 😋

Lots of protein brownie recipes are super simple and even gluten-free. One of the most popular recipes I found (based on number of reviews) was this one from The Big Man's World and it only requires four basic ingredients!

I also tried this one from Eating Bird Food and found it required a little more liquid, but was delicious and fudgy. Sub flax eggs or mashed bananas for the eggs if you want a vegan version.

On My Mind

Some days, I feel like I spend too much time out adventuring and too little creating content about those adventures. Other days, it's the other way around and it seems like I've spent weeks at home creating content without spending any time outside. It's a hard balance for me to reach as an adventure content creator. Somehow there never seems to be enough time to do all the things. 😅

I'm going through a phase of the latter right now. Since returning from my Seattle road trip, I've been fully embracing the homebody life: catching up on work, running errands around the city, and getting back into the gym and a regular routine.

I can't help but feel I'm missing out on all the fall adventures and the short-lived leaf peeping season. I remind myself it's always the "season" for something in the outdoors since it's always changing. The FOMO can be so real, so it's more about focusing on what I do get to experience and letting go of the rest. Spending time relaxing and working at home are also wonderful ways to spend the fall. 😌

At least we know Pico is happy to be spending more time at home 😂

Reading

I grabbed a couple "skip the line" books on Libby this week, which have a shorter checkout duration of just one week -- good motivation to finish up books quickly. Because of that, I have three reads to share today!

First, Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler was an immediate must-read after finishing the first book in the series last week. I was long overdue to checking out Octavia Butler and this was a satisfying sequel to Parable of the Sower.

The story is now being told by Lauren Olamina's daughter with the support of Olamina's journal entries. I was left feeling conflicted about all the characters and wish there were more books to continue the series. Unfortunately, Butler passed before completing the next book. I give this one 4 stars out of 5. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Second, I read The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan, which was a delightful walk through her journey into birding. Tan is a Chinese-American fiction writer, so it was interesting to see a new side of her. Who knew she was such a talented artist as well!

I loved the astute observations she made and the way she approached birding with such humility and curiosity. It made me admire her even more. This was a 5/5 read for me. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Lastly, I reread The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel. I first read this two and a half years ago and I enjoyed it just as much as the first time. This has to be on your reading list if you're interested in money, building wealth, or psychology.

This isn't one of those smarmy "use my scheme to get rich" books. Housel talks about the psychology behind obtaining and maintaining wealth -- or not. This is a book I'll reach for every couple years when I need the reminder. This was another 5 (two 5-star reviews in one week?!). ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

If you have any recommendations for spooky books, I'd love to hear them! I'm always on the lookout for some good scaries this time of year. 👻

Check out all my book reviews on Goodreads if you want to see what else I've been reading!

Everything Else

Me attempting to embrace the cold and snow.

As the days get shorter, I've been thinking of ways to keep getting outdoors during the winter. In past years, I've spent the colder months mostly indoors with the occasional hike or snowy cabin trip.

I'm recruiting the help of one of my friends, who's a pro at mountaineering and snow camping. Will this be the first year I try snow camping myself?? I'm deathly afraid of the cold, but I'm willing to give anything a try. My goal is to find some backpacking trips I can do throughout the winter months.

In the meantime, it's prime climbing season and I'm hoping to make it outdoors for some climbing trips before the snow sneaks in. I'm hard at work getting my climbing (and skin) back to where it was before my road trip so I can fit in some fun climbing excursions.

How do you like to spend the winter? Are you a winter sports person or do you prefer to cozy up at home and wait until spring?

I know we had a wordy one this week. 🤐 Thank you for reading and being here through the highs and lows.

Have a fantastic rest of your week and I'll see you here again next Thursday.

Happy adventuring,

💚A