The big event of this year was meant to be take two of my attempt at The North Appalachian High Route, a route I came up with a few years ago that I wasn’t able to complete after Shannon ran into unexpected health issues on my first go around. This year I gave it another shot and made it a little more than 600 miles into the 1,400 mile hike but found that I wasn’t having any fun, partly due to being alone; I didn’t camp with another person for over 30 days. Partly because I’ve become spoiled by the west (and enjoy not being wet all the time). More than anything though, I wanted to be spending time in the mountains with Shannon, whom I love oh so dearly. In Keene Valley, New York I decided doing what we love together was more important than trying to put a first attempt in the books, and I hopped on a bus to the Albany airport to meet her in Oregon.

In Ashland we got on the PCT while she attempted to finish her thru-hike of the trail. Immediately the surroundings and her company were so much better than anything I had experienced on the NAHR, and despite the sometimes frequent sense of contrition, it was clear that I made the right call. We were able to stay just ahead of fire closures, having a blast despite the heat until we got to the Washington border. There we had to make the tough call that the hundreds of closed trail miles ahead weren’t worth trying to re-route around.

We then went to Denver to complete the Colorado Trail, a couple of sections of CDT we had missed, and the Weminuche High Route. We also spent time with our friends Lebowski, Fiddlehead, Niccolo and Bjorn, plus a few days with Shannon’s Mom Janeen and her friends from Wisconsin. Even though the Rockies can be cold and wet, Colorado won me over on this trip. Exploring places off of the Divide painted the state in a whole new light, culminating with the Weminuche High Route in the heart of the spectacular San Jaun mountains.

It wasn’t the year I had expected, but was still full of laughter, sweat and the occasional tears. After a fall apart while Shannon spent time with her family in Wisconsin and I built a house (minivan, pictures to follow), we’re back in Tahoe for the winter. What happens after this season is still very much up in the air, but that’s a later problem. For now the mission is to refill the bank accounts and try to enjoy life as much as we can!