The Alps of America

Wanted to share a few pics from the drive up Slate Peak and Hart's Pass, plus the last hike up Sahale Mountain with Adam.  The North Cascades are too cool.  If you haven't been, go!

 

It can happen

I'm sitting on the train out of Seattle, heading south to Portland to head east to Maine...I should be home in around 24 hours from now. Let the fun begin...

Anyways, now that I'm giving an effort to writing this blog, I find myself thinking about what I should blog about, and if it really means anything to anyone.  Like I've said before, I have no amazing insights to life that are unique. There are too many amazing people out the in the world who have way more experience than I do and can really see things for their simplest parts.

What I do know though is the past three weeks have been pure bliss.  I mean seriously, there have been but few moments where I wasn't completely present and immersed in what I was doing. The whole thing just got better and better. But wait! It's not over yet! I can chose to live this way all the time, right? Okay, maybe I need to work, have health insurance and have a roof over my head (sometimes), but really, the way I've felt on this vacation does not have to end when the wheels touch down on the east coast tomorrow.

There were a few themes that kept coming up over the past few weeks and I think they helped me maximize my fun out here but can also help maximize fun in life in general!

Now these two ideas are certainly not new. Not at all. And they can potentially seem conflicting, but I'll try to do my best to explain how I utilize them.

First, be deliberate. Deliberate in your thoughts, deliberate in your words and deliberate in your actions.  It's your choice, but turn those positive thoughts into powerful, positive actions. If you have a hard time not letting your mind run wild with self-doubt, start small. Say to yourself, "I'm going to wake up tomorrow and drink a glass of water before I do anything else." Do you know how much drinking a glass of water first thing in the morning can do for you? If I had to take an uneducated but reasonable guess, I'd say 99.99% of us go through life dehydrated. It's a simple thing you can do to improve your mood, eat less food and generally be in better spirits. Drink water. Start simple, be deliberate.

Now here's where this might get confusing to some...don't be outcome oriented. I don't mean blow off drinking that glass of water, but don't stress too much if you miss a green light, or someone cancels on you for dinner, or the back country camping permit you were really hoping for went to somebody else right before you got to the ranger station (might have happened to me and it worked out beautifully)...It all just means that something else will come of it, and if you can deliberately choose to be open to outcome, then everything will go your way because you're not outcome oriented! Does that make sense?

What it really comes down to for me is control the controllables and let go of everything else. The less you're focused on the destination and more on the journey is when things start getting really good.

Make your life, but don't jump the tracks if it all goes haywire because it probably will from time to time...Choose to be strong and don't forget to let others help you along the way when you can't get there yourself.

Thanks for reading and feel free to leave a comment if you're so inclined!

Some pics from the trip this far

So I rolled into Leavenworth late last night thanks to Greyhound and Amtrak to meet up with one of the greatest, Dave Heinbach.  DH and I hadn't seen each other in 12 years, and despite both of us living through some serious life, it hardly seemed like a day had passed.  We woke this morning, got in a few pitches before the heat was too much, then went for a very refreshing swim in the Wenatchee River that runs right through town.  Perfect start to the end of my trip.  I'll be here for a week and then work my way back to Maine.  Weather looks pristine so I know we'll get out into the mountains as much as possible in our given time.  Figured I should post up some photos of my travels thus far to provide some good eye candy for those of you vacillating about a trip to the Pacific Northwest...just go already! It's amazing here!