Elevation Gain, Anyway

I admit, it’s been quite some time since I’ve typed in this space to share news of travel, life, or whatever it may be with you… but I’m back and I’m here to stay.

The past two years haven’t unfolded the way I had hoped, or even remotely imagined, but they did contain small, meaningful moments of joy. My first backpacking trip since my knee surgery, my return to snowboarding since the accident occurred, and — when I least expected it —meeting a special someone and getting the opportunity to grow closer to them.

While the pain and uncertainty didn’t disappear, those moments became anchors – proof that I was still moving forward and enjoying the things I love in life even if it didn’t feel like it.

For those that don’t know, after surgery, I came back to Alabama with my bus to recover. The drive alone was fairly disastrous — though I met a few people along the way who helped me, and who I keep touch with to this day. Shortly after I landed, I lost my job (one I loved so very much) — my last day being Valentine’s Day of all days — while re-learning how to walk.

Before getting the incredible opportunity to move to Utah, I remember lying in bed crying, feeling stuck in Alabama, knowing the West held my heart. To this day, it still pulls me. For a long time, I let the frustration and sadness consume me, keeping me from fully showing up where I was.

This year, I’m choosing differently — getting back outside, hiking, biking, and moving my body the way I used to, no matter the elevation gain there is to be had.

Instead of waiting for life to look a certain way again, I’m choosing momentum. I’m planning trips, saying yes to any and all adventures as they come, and giving myself things to look forward to — like a snowboard trip to Colorado this coming week, time in Guatemala climbing Acatenango with views of Volcán Fuego,  and kicking off the new year by celebrating my 30^th birthday with my dearest friends in Patagonia.

For now, I’m focusing on building a life that feels expansive even when it’s rooted – finishing the bus, chasing adventure, and exploring ways to share this love for travel with others. I don’t have it all figured out (who does), but I’m here, I’m moving, and I’m excited to see where it leads.

At its core, this space is a personal journal- a place to document the messy, beautiful in-between of healing, movement, and learning how to live adventurously again. Over time, it will also grow into something more practical: sharing outdoor gear I’m loving, itineraries and trip from my past and future backpacking trips, bus updates, snowboard adventure etc.

Everything here will come from lived experience, not perfection — written as I go, while I’m still figuring it out.