Hi Reader and Happy New Year!

Long time, no see. I hope you had a great holiday season and are having an even better start to the year.

Since it's been a while since I've sent out this newsletter, I'm not going to attempt to catch up on everything from the last month. Let's keep it brief today with a quick check-in to kick off 2025 :)

Adventures

I plan on getting outside a lot more this year. It's crazy how fast the months slip by. I wasn't proactive about scheduling outings in 2024 and suddenly it felt like I let the entire year get away from me! A recent hike reminded me how important spending time in nature is for my mental health.

In December, I went on my first “official” scrambling hike with two sections of climbing. Reviews and blog posts I have seen about the hike label its scrambles as Class 2-3.

Class definitions for the curious:

From my understanding, one of the main differences between Classes 2 and 3 is the level of risk involved. Class 2 hikes can involve loose footing such as scree or talus, but Class 3 hikes bump up the danger with higher exposure. This is where you’ll find trails that require the use of hands to ascend and they often have large drop-offs on the sides. Helmets are recommended to protect from falling rocks.

This hike culminated at a peak with panoramic views of the San Gabriel Mountains and Los Angeles. My friend and I stopped to take in the sights and chat with other hikers.

I was inspired by one hiker we met who had gotten back into the outdoors that year following the end of a relationship. Sunday became his dedicated hiking day each week and he made it out around 40 times over the year!

While I can't commit to weekly outings at this point in my life, I'd love to make it out at least twice each month this year. I've already started booking some exciting backpacking trips for the summer months, but plan to do a lot more local hiking as well.

Southern California has the perfect climate for year-round adventures and I want to take advantage of the incredible scenery and mountain ranges we have within a few hours while I'm living here. There's still so much I haven't seen, so 2025 will be the year I start checking off a bunch more trails. ✅

& S'more

If you've been here for a while, you may remember my newsletter format having a few more sections in the past. This year, I'm playing around with cutting out the excess and only keeping what's important. That applies to the format of this email and the rest of my life.

I've realized that putting too many tasks on my plate each week was taking time away from my main priority: creating long-form video content for YouTube.

This idea of simplifying had been bouncing around my head for a while. Reading Make Time by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky at the end of last year helped confirm the decision.

Keeping up with the social media landscape is overwhelming, especially for a team of one. Too much noise and too many shiny objects to chase. I'm accepting that I can't show up fully everywhere (and maintain my sanity), so I'm narrowing my focus and letting go of the rest. 😌

Part of that includes this newsletter. I'm not planning on getting rid of it anytime soon, but taking a break throughout December made me realize the format change would be a positive shift.

I'm still going to be sharing my recent outdoor adventures, tips and advice for getting outside, and whatever else has been tickling my brain or is something I think would improve your life.

With all that said, the "S'more" in Adventures & S'more will be a more freeform section that varies week to week. This provides an opportunity to dive deeper into one topic each week, instead of briefly touching on five. It also removes the rigidity of pre-planned sections that "need" to be filled in weekly.

I'll return to our usual Thursday newsletters this week with this format for the foreseeable future. I'm always open to hear your feedback and what you'd like to see more or less of in here. Let me know by replying directly to this email! 💌

Thank you for being here 🫶🏻 I hope 2025 is a year filled with love, joy, awe-inspiring moments, laughter, growth, abundance, and the outdoors.

I'll see you here next week!

Happy adventuring,

💚A