29029- snow basin

I’ve just completed my first 29029 “everesting” event- it’s a monster hike where you complete a certain number of ascents with your total elevation gain = 29029 feet, or the height of Everest.

For me this event meant REDEMPTION 🔥 after being hit last summer and missing out on ALL of the events I’d paid for and planned on, this one (if it went well) was to be my personal signal that I am on my road to recovery and making my comeback 💪🏼

I chose this event back in December because with this new knee of mine I knew hike up- gondola-down could be a really great combo for me. Plus it seemed like a new audacious goal wayyyyy outside of the 📦 of my norm endeavors/conquests. Here there are no winners or podiums - you either finish and get your red hat, or you don’t.

52.42% of the 250 participants got the hat.

I hiked & prepped a lot but I’ll tell you after that 1st ascent I wondered if I’d done enough. …ascent after ascent I kept meeting the 🏔️ and giving it my best.

After 9 climbs on Friday I decided to stop at 830pm and get some sleep. (You’ve got 36 hours to get the 13 ascents in and you can stop whenever you want). After some amazing rest I went back out for four more today and finished at noon.

I’ll be honest, the uber competitive part of me wanted to see if I could “crush” all 13… and it was hard to go to bed walking away from being one of just a few people with nine accents. I knew I’d wake up to people way ahead of me. And you know what- I prioritized myself and my wellness and rest and I put myself to bed. Not ONE regret.

The boards don’t show finishing times… so I worked on dialing down my “crush it” and turned up my “bring maximum stoke.” Finished it off with a jog to the finish and collected my red hat.

I’ve been absolutely BLOWN away by this event and the caliber of the staff & volunteers & aid stations & accommodations.

I didn’t stay in the 🛖 since I’ve got the 🚐 and Ramsey 🐶 but the tents looked amazing. The food has been stellar and truly just feeling like a rockstar with all the cheers and all-round stoke has made this an event I’ll def recommend to others. *It’s not cheap but you get lodging and meals as well as a top notch event.

Don’t underestimate the challenge- the 🏔️ is humbling. People are going home without hats and I’ll tell you what— I never once took for granted that I would either. I’m dealing with new body parts & hardware that’s only a year old; it was all new to me seeing how my body handled this long event. I was super happy it went so well. 🙏🏼— #getbusyliving #29029everesting #29029 #onelifetolive❤️

photos:

The trip began with a stop at blue Mesa reservoir for a night; I’ve wanted to check this out and now that the water levels are topped off I wanted to see it in its full splendor !

Then it was on to Snow Basin, Utah … (a spot I’ve not been to before) … some pics of the venue and setup:

Day one: we started at 6am. Amazing to see everyone with their headlights on and to feel the nervous energy !!! I logged nine ascents and stopped at about 830 to sleep.

After some solid sleep Friday night, I started my final four ascents around 630am Saturday and finished by noon.

I showered and laid down for an hour to let my back recover and then rode the gondola up to the top with Ramsey to cheer on the finishers who were under the gun to get their final ascent in by 6pm. So inspiring 🙌 the volunteers at this event bring MAXIMUM enthusiasm— oh my gosh they all cheered so hard for all of us 🙏🏼

The event finished with an awards ceremony and recap video - so good.

We wrapped up the trip with a second stay at Blue Mesa res on the way home; this time on the west side (before we stayed towards the east end). It’s absolutely GORGEOUS!!!!!

A special SPECIAL thanks and shout-out to volunteer Pip, a dog-loving goddess, who volunteered to let Ramsey hang out with her near the ascent boards at the base so that Ramsey could be part of the action and not stuck in the van alone. Pip is truly an Angel 😇!!! 🙏🏼

Gore creek & turquoise lake

The idea of checking out gore creek- both the campground and the trail- came about in the winter of 2021 at mcdowell mtn park in Scottsdale az. Yes this is how my world works. I’d potted some little plants in old jam jars and felt called to give one to the super cute volunteer couple who often worked the gate there. I was leaving a van camping adventure, departing the park, and on my way out I stopped and gave them a little plant.

Somehow we got to talking about them being camp hosts at various campgrounds around the country and he said- hands down- his favorite place of all time where they’d been camp hosts- was the gore creek campground just outside of vail.

Well with that kind of endorsement I couldn’t NOT check it out ! So I added it to my adventure list for the summer and booked a campsite for a few days - June 2022 …

And then I got hit by a motorist in early June 2022 and 100% of my summer plans were immediately canceled. Including this one. I scrapped the camp reservation, ate the cancellation fee and kinda mentally moved on.

Until this summer … when I began adding adventures back on the books; I recalled this gore creek campground Recommendation and decided I still very much wanted to check it out.

Van camping for Ramsey and me in the peak summer months can be tricky as my van has a rooftop air fan but not an AC. Just the van itself has ac and I don’t like to run the van and have it idling just to keep us cool. Thankfully vail is at a higher elevation and as the trip approached I checked the weather to ensure we wouldn’t roast — the temps seemed doable esp with nice cool overnight lows so off we went :)

It’s such a lovely and small campground RIGHT at the base of the vail pass bike path/climb ! not sure how I never noticed this little gem in here before but what a hidden treasure. I could understand fully why it was so hard to find available sites here. (**Note: I booked this site MONTHS ago! No more days of winging it with campsites- too many people are also doing the #workfromanywhere thing these days to be spontaneous - plan ahead!). 🗺️

We settled in, set up camp, went for a couple walks, made a quick run to get some groceries and then I enjoyed an *evening of light yoga and meditation as well as reading one of the books I leave permanently in the van— The Fifth Agreement.

*With all the rain colorado has enjoyed this spring and summer, this is the first trip in the van EVER where we’ve had a really bad issue with biting flies. 😞 they made it impossible to focus during yoga and super easy to go to bed early.

Tuesday morning i woke up excited to finally check out the gore creek trail as well as one called deluge. We started on deluge as I assumed it would feature fewer humans given its “black” trail difficulty designation on trail forks - the trail was gorgeous but very overgrown, making me nervous about snakes/ poison ivy/ ticks etc.

We went about 1.5 miles up gaining almost 1000ft elev before I’d had enough foliage scraping my legs and we turned back. We only saw a couple humans— which was awesome — This trail made me 100% convicted about (finally) getting myself a pair of hiking pants asap.

We doubled back to the sign where the gore creek path started and went up that for awhile- it was not as overgrown and followed the creek, offering that lovely rushing water sound as well as several water crossings which give Ramsey a chance to get wet and cool down. Soooo pretty. I turned us back once I felt she was starting to run out of steam (ok and I was, too 😉) and we made our way back to the van.

At the end of both trails are lakes and while it would have been cool to see one of them by making it to the trail end, I was happy with our adventure. I don’t do efforting or muscling my way through things these days; when I feel complete, I shut it down. I let my intuition and what my body is craving guide me and while it leads to a fair number of “Incompletes” I also 100% do not give a damn ✌️

I try to soak up these adventures with Ramsey while I can before she isn’t able to or doesn’t want to anymore. She’s twelve and still hikes like A BOSS but I know it won’t always be like that 😞 🐶 ❤️

I’m in a major retraction phase (again) now after being really open, outgoing and energy-outputting for the last few weeks … a few folks overstepped some boundaries of mine, I felt over-asked and over-stretched really quickly, and I came right back into energy preservation mode… it’s really notable to me how quickly and desperately I needed to shut things down and go back within again.

It’s just showing me so clearly how deeply depleted and grief-filled I still am and how much healing there is to do yet. Grief works like that I think.One step forward and two steps back - for me that’s how it feels in this season anyways.

So I’m super thankful for this van outing where I don’t need to talk to anyone or summon courage or energy. I simply get to do whatever I feel called to do next. Moment by moment. 🙏🏼

On day two I (of course!) got the road bike out and rode vail pass - 3x. The first time I took super easy, the second I gave it some gas and then the third just took in the scenery. Not even close to my PRs from back in 2013 but 🤷‍♀️

I wanted to get four climbs in but started too late and needed to pack up the campsite for noon checkout (camp hosts take this very seriously I’ve learned in these years of camping!).

It was absolutely perfect out. A pristine bike path far away from any motorized vehicles and just a few other riders out. Slight cloud cover, ideal temps —- true slice of heaven out there. 🙏🏼

We left vail/gore creek (aka the land of pernicious flies) and with fingers and paws crossed (that the 🪰problem would not follow us) we made our way to our campsite at turquoise lake near Leadville…

Wow. In a word. At this even higher elevation (Approx 10k feet), Temps were nice and cool and with the lake right here the breeze felt heavenly - and it kept the flies at bay … thank GOODNESS. 🌲🪵 (although a few sneaky 🦟 found me and bit me up!).

The lake is breathtaking and the campsites are fantastic. I wasn’t choosy when i selected my spot here but once I got Ramsey put for a walk and did some recon I quickly learned the “beachfront property” spots are the ones to aim for next time.

Even better- no signal here. 🙏🏼 that’s always my goal when we’re out camping - to have my 📱rendered useless. I had just one bar of signal in vail which meant some annoyances found me there // that I was touching my phone more than I wanted to be.

Here- radio silence. Just the breeze and the absence of flies and quiet. 🐾 Ramsey and I are in heaven. (I use my iPhone notes app to draft my eventual blog post when I’m in places w/out signal).

We sat by the lake for a long time just… being.

It began to sprinkle so we returned to the van where I looked for another book and found “she- understanding feminine psychology.”  I read it cover to cover as I have before on van trips (hence the reason i leave it in here). Something about sitting in the midst of tall trees with nothing to do and nowhere to be really heightens my reading experience.

Each time something new jumps out from this book — this time:

“A woman has a profound capacity to be still, perhaps the most powerful act any human being can make. She is required to go back to a very still inner center every time something profound happens to her. This is a highly creative act but must be done correctly. She is to be receptive, not passive.”

This book blows me away every time.

I highly recommend it. It’s 80 pages and will probably take you an hour to cruise through.

I woke excited to ride the mtb trails along the lake— stunning!!!

I had an absolute blast and can’t wait to come back here!!

**I always post these blogs after the fact -never contemporaneously with my trip.

Lake Havasu & Cattail Cove

For the price of a @mbaaraceseries @mangledmomentum bike race entry … we got two free nights of 🚐 camping out at the rodeo grounds. Yes it was just a dirt lot but we had loads of room to spread out, clean restrooms and showers! And who doesn’t love a pop-up bike party out in the desert.

I was thrilled to come away with 🥈 in my second race back post-crash. How far I’ve come since last June. The body is an amazing thing and I’m constantly blown away by its capacity to heal and grow stronger 🙏🏼.

After the race was done, we went into town to check out the famous London Bridge— timing it early on Sunday morning and enjoying the quiet while everyone was still sleeping.

Do you know the story of this bridge ? It’s mind-boggling:

“After it was dismantled, each of its 10,276 exterior granite blocks from the original bridge was shipped to Lake Havasu City. Each block was numbered before the bridge was disassembled. The blocks were shipped overseas through the Panama Canal to California and trucked from Long Beach to Arizona. The shipping and assembly of the bridge, and dredging of a man-made channel underneath, cost $7 million.”

Source: https://www.golakehavasu.com/london-bridge

Then back out to the SARA trails for a hike attempt (cut it short due to loose scrambly nature of the trails; much better for riding than hiking).

Ready to see more of the lake, we moved to our campsite at @cattailcovestatepark … What a little slice of lake heaven ! While there weren’t any trails I could ride in the area, we enjoyed one of our best-hikes-ever along the water. Water on one side as far as the eye could see and then yellow and purple flowers on the hillsides - it was a visual feast that elicited emotions of feeling supported and held by nature. 🌱 💕 🌸

Spring break in this area was understandably busy & congested but the weather was cool and lovely and we had a great adventure here. 🌵 amazing to see such a huge body of water in the middle of the desert, 3.5 ish hours away from phx. We will def go back to explore more of the waterfront campgrounds in the future. 🗺️

@golakehavasu @lhcazgov is a spot that’s been on my AZ list for a few years now, and I am so glad I finally made it out there (once again thx to bike racing for providing the impetus and destination!).

#explorearizona #vanlife #lakehavasu #lakehavasucity @cattailcovestatepark @lhcazgov @golakehavasu #latergram #arizona #optoutside @trustforpublicland #homeiswhereyouparkit #freshairandsunshine☀️ #dogsofinstagram #vandog #mountainbikeracing

Little Ramsey deserved her own little cute gallery :)

Book review: Feral by Emily Pennington

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

If you know me or follow me on IG you see most books get five stars from me - I suppose I am intentional with my choices or perhaps am generally easy to please ?!

I really wanted to like this book. It called to me as a vanlife adventurer and someone who of course wants to see as many national parks as possible…

I saved it for this road trip and devoured it in the course of three days. But truthfully I read it so fast because the book itself brought on feelings of rush, haste, and yes- caused me some bedtime anxiety (I read before bed).

While i appreciated (and yes at times 100% related to) her “get this quest done in a year following my plan as much as possible” … I also wanted her to slow down and share more photos and feelings and to SOAK IT IN. She got herself good and sick several times on the journey and much of her angst was related to a crumbling relationship which really hung over her trip like a wet blanket. I appreciated her frankness and candor but I also wanted her to enjoy it more. For much of the book, this once in a lifetime adventure simply felt to me like … work. I felt depleted reading it not energized as I’d hoped.

If nothing else it reminded me to slow down and savor my own adventures more…

An indication of how much a book impacts me is how many bottom corners are bent, signaling a page I wanted to come back to. Here there aren’t many corners bent. I’ll share the lines that touched me most:

I was struck by a quote from Edna brush perkins in the visitor center: “how can rocks and sand and silence make us so afraid and yet be so wonderful?”

three life altering mantras:

In this very moment …there is nothing to worry about - nothing is lacking - there is much to be grateful for.

it’s not a race I kept telling myself it’s an excuse to roam around a beautiful place in the name of self discovery. why do I keep forgetting that? This is what’s real wilderness sickness loss beauty what if the parks are showing me exactly what I need to learn? That if I don’t slow the F down I’ll miss out on the miracles happening all around me

I have been a fugitive from the void for too long I have traveled too far to keep running away if I am to love let it be easy if I am to find horror let me wrap a ring of flowers around its neck if I am to belong nowhere let me belong everywhere

100 miles in 100, er, 30 days

As these things go… I was following the AZhikeaholics on the ‘gram and then started down the rabbit hole of amazing Phoenix area hikes and then … I stumbled on Maricopa County’s 100 miles in 100 days challenge … with about 30 days remaining in the challenge GAME ON 💪🏼! Need another tshirt ? Nope… but I did need a new challenge ✅

The challenge started back in November ‘21 and ends Feb 8. I logged my first miles of the challenge on January 7. 

So yeah… no time like the present ;) let’s do this

It counts trail runs, hikes, mtn bike rides and horse back riding miles. (The biking miles are only counted 50% which makes sense as four easy rides would knock the whole challenge out). Hikes/trail runs count 1:1 mileage. No clue on the horse miles as that’s not my jam. 🐴

**You also need to visit a minimum of 3 of the Maricopa county parks. uh, yes please - I’ve always wanted an excuse to tour all of these amazing sites

So- with the white tank xterra 20k run as my first race of 2022, I nabbed some hiking, running and cycling miles the weekend of that race at White Tank park wayyyyyyy out on the west end of Phoenix. That was my first visit to white tank and I really enjoyed it. The campsites were nice and spread out - and as with my overall experience in Maricopa parks, the restrooms and facilities were all uber clean and nice. 

The following week I booked a thurs-sat campspot reservation at Mcdowell, with the goal of getting a nice long mtn bike ride in (my first since sept 19- the monarch crest crank ! The dirt from that event was still on my bike!) as well as a nice long trail run … I love mcdowell and have spent the most time at this park. I’ve learned that when the scheduling is within my control it’s much better to camp mid week than on weekends because the weekends are just so much busier of course. 

I logged a three hour (30ish mile) mtn bike ride Friday afternoon checking out some new trails I’ve not ridden before as well as reconning some that I’ll be racing in March. I happened to time this camp excursion with the full moon and let me just tell you- that is the secret sauce right there. It makes sitting outside after the sun goes down, soooo magical. I mean seriously check out these pics : 

As of the Friday evening post mtn bike ride and hikes in mcdowell I had 44.34 miles counted towards the challenge. 

White tank and mcdowell will spoil a person when it comes to immaculate (and new) restrooms and showers. They set the bar sooo high it’s hard to measure up at other parks.

After that outing … the following week I booked a night at Usery park and while I was on that end of town I decided to nab a night at Lost Dutchman - (not a Maricopa park for purposes of the 100 mile challenge but I’ve wanted to check it out and do some hiking there). 

I should pause and say- this time of year in AZ and esp with Covid lending to more people out in the campgrounds now due to work from home / work from anywhere and people just generally being out in the wild more (myself included) it’s not really feasible anymore to just “wing it” and nab a campsite reservation a day or two out. It has to be planned and booked a few weeks out. i actually have come to really like having van trips PENNED in on my calendar so that I can map life and work around them and always have something ahead to look forward to!

Honestly — it does get me out in the van more — the default and easiest thing to do is ALWAYS to just stay home.  Van life is amazing but yes- it does take effort and planning/packing/prep of some meals and more. So for me at least, making campsite reservations a ways out really helps. 

Usery was great for full moon photos as it’s got a bit more character to it, I feel, BUT the biggest reason I won’t camp there again is the gun range across the road. Ugh 😣 The shooting went from early in the am until well after dark and while I don’t really mind it, poor Ramsey does- fireworks and gunshots have her either hiding in the van or else trying to make a run for it - neither of which is ideal. 🤦‍♀️

I got in an ok ride there… Usery isn’t just wide open and flowy like Mcdowell is, and then the next day I got in a solid 7 mile run/hike which included a jaunt with Miss Ramsey up to Wind Cave:

As of leaving Usery park… I had 63.43 of my 100 miles of the challenge done:

After relocating from Usery out to Lost Dutchman, I truly began to appreciate the cleanliness and newness of Maricopa parks. LD is an arizona state park and it’s much older - the bathrooms/showers are clean but quite dated (paint chipping etc). 

It was great to see this spot on the WAY east side of phx. The campsite is super full/booked - but I lucked out with a spot that sits all by itself which is totally ideal (135 if you ever camp here).

All in all a great trip and some really great sights, workouts and sunsets in the bag. The hike was more tech than I realized so I went up as far as I felt safe with Ramsey and then turned back - I’ll need to tackle it solo another day. (Siphon Draw trail up to its peak).

So then- being a woman on a mission to now camp at all the Maricopa parks- I checked campsite availability and found a SINGLE night out at Lake pleasant— it is wayyyyy out there on the NW corner of phx but I’ve never been and so with such limited campsite availability there I added it to my mid-week calendar / plans. Two nights would’ve been better given the haul up there but that just wasn’t in the cards… it ended up being ok since folks there LOVE their generators 🤦‍♀️ and the spot i’d booked was nowhere near water as the edges are all dry.
I’m glad I got out there and got to see it - a giant lake in the middle of the desert is pretty cool - but one night was plenty. That was my least favorite of the four Maricopa parks.
That boosted my challenge miles a bit and made for the 4th (bonus round) Maricopa park visit. ✅

photos:

I was back to mcdowell the first weekend of February, for another xterra trail run and - what would be my last chance to get miles in before the contest ended on Feb 8.  I got out to the park Saturday midday and nabbed a nice and easy 16-mile mountain bike ride which gave me 8 more miles towards the challenge. A couple hikes added to the tally and then it was time to hit the hay before my run the next morning. Check out these lovely photos of the Saturday adventures and sunset :

Going into the 15-mile run, I needed a little over 15 miles to finish the challenge:

And I’m happy to say the run went SPECTACULARLY!! Wow.
Surprised myself big time with a 2nd place AG finish and 9th woman overall…
the race not only went really well but it + a short hike with Ramsey afterwards put me over the 100 mile goal and marked my completion of the challenge JUST in the nick of time- it ends tomorrow!

PMP & Piestewa Peak 🏔

I caught myself sitting on my couch mindlessly scrolling again. A Monday night. Just any old routine night.

I did a mental inventory of the day - I got a lot done, my place was clean and picked up, basically things were all in order. Hence, the scrolling. I was also aware of my nervous energy- further prompting my scrolling as an avoidance /numbing behavior … My dad just had a major surgery and I was supposed to ✈️ on Tuesday to visit he and my mom, to help them for a few days but given the absolutely rampant Covid numbers right now, they asked me to postpone. So I saw a wide open Tuesday that I’d held open for travel- now ripe with possibilities.

Around 7pm I got the itch to load up the 🚐 and go somewhere local for a sunrise hike/jog in the morning…. I simmered on it for a bit. Went out and checked on the van (aka Artemis- she’s usually stocked and mostly ready to roll, complete with dog food, snacks and water, which makes going wheels up so much easier) and then I felt the, “it’s Monday night you shouldn’t go out and do this” (insert sleep concerns and all the “responsible” adulting messages we tell ourselves)…. 🤦‍♀️
yet I found myself packing a small bag of run essentials and snacks, and mapping my way to the neighborhood near the trailhead …because 🚐 > scrolling on my 📱 any day (or night).

“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.” Mae West

Also… what’s the point of having a 🚐 if I am not using it as often as I’d set out to when I bought it; what’s the point of working for myself and having a flex schedule if I don’t go do spontaneous things on school nights; on that note- I don’t have kids and so there really aren’t school nights in my reality …! I’ve just come off some majorly huge HUGE life events and stressors, the saddest solo Christmas ever thanks to my Covid booster that rocked my world and set me back a week and also-finally and most importantly: I am a grown ass woman who can do what she wants and I don’t need to rationalize my desire to go vancamp and sunrise run/hike during the week to anyone, including myself! 🙌 (put that on a sticky note if you also need a daily reminder!).

This is why they say getting out the door is the hardest part - because yes, sitting on my 🛋 is loads easier. It takes effort to get out the door. And yes the adulting voices in my head wouldn’t have objected to staying home and I could’ve saved myself effort and prob slept better at home,

but. . .
I GOT OUT THE DOOR. ON A SCHOOL NIGHT.

I was rewarded with this :

I’d love to tell you I 🚐 camped up there but saldy, no … a group of young punk kids were all up there drinking and what not … so I got to be the weird lady in the giant van trying to turn her rig around in the midst of them trying not hit their cars or boulders or roll off the edge … sigh. 🤦‍♀️ Didn’t anyone tell them it’s a school night ?!

Not easily dissuaded from my plan I just parked a bit further down and got ready for an early bedtime. Rams loves vanlife because it’s the only time she gets to sleep on the bed next to me:

We got up and attem with the sunrise and struck out for the trail via some extended mileage as I wanted a full morning adventure. The views, colors, temp and desert bliss did NOT disappoint. THIS, I proclaimed to myself - this is why we LOVE the desert 🌵!

Imagine my surprise once we got to the base of PP and found signage prohibiting dogs. drat. No worries though, it was a great quiet morning to be out running/hiking and rams and I had a blast exploring PMP with the help of the Trailforks app (a game changer for me in outdoor spaces like this so I can avoid being lost).

**This is a good lesson for me - no dogs allowed is not usually an issue on Colorado trails …but given the types of trails and peaks here in Phx, it’s likely to be a regular thing …so I’ll need to do more research before the next one. Thankfully temps are nice and cool so rams can chill in the 🚐 no problem.

So we doubled back to the van after nabbing a nice 5ish mile hike/jog and then I relocated the van to the PP trailhead … made myself some coffee, warmed up a bit and then tackled the peak while rams held down the fort in the van.

PP aka Piestewa Peak, at 2,610 feet is the second highest point in the Phoenix Mountains, after Camelback Mountain, and the third highest in the city of Phoenix, Arizona.

The peak (previously called Squaw Peak) is named after Specialist Lori Ann Piestewa, a U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps soldier from the Hopi Tribe in northern Arizona, who was killed during an ambush near Nasiriyah, Iraq, in 2003.

More about the peak here: LINK

And let me just tell you — it’s fun/challenging on the way up and pretty dang sketchy coming down. Double black diamond, indeed.
Definitely leave the little kids home for this one.
and bring your grippy trail shoes.
**Wanna blow your mind ?! Check out the Strava segments and the times these maniacs are running up this beast. Like 15-17 minutes to the top. Wow.

Now that I’ve done it once and know what to expect I’m excited to do it again. I’ll def start earlier (park opens at 7) as by 930-10am on a Tuesday morning the trail was pretty busy.

My First 14er attempt… unsuccessful

This Van adventure was intended to cross off an item that has been on my bucket list since I first moved to Colorado back in 2006, namely hiking a Fourteener. 

For those not from Colorado or familiar, a 14er is a mountain hike that rises up to 14,000 feet above sea level and there are numerous 14ers. across the state. In fact it is a very popular endeavor to attempt to hike all of the 14 or‘s and many people have done so. I’ve ridden two 14ers on my bike, evans and pikes peak, but haven’t hiked one. 

For no specific reason this is one of those things that just simply has not happened for me, and it’s also not something I’ve wanted to attempt to do the first time on my own. 

So when I made a new friend who was willing to hike Yale, a 14er that she has done a couple times already, I jumped at the chance!

The night before Rams and I did a mini recon hike of the first half mile of the trail. Wow that sucker is steep.

Then, I drove the 🚐 up Cottonwood Pass and watched the sunset from the top of the pass which was absolutely incredible. This experience made this entire endeavor worthwhile in and of itself! 

I then drove a bit down the pass to VanCamp for the night, and if I could do this over again I think I would sleep at the lowest elevation possible, since I think the thin air caused me to get absolutely no rest. 🤦‍♀️ Dinner was a batch of hot Huel, some almonds and hot tea.

Micah and I met at the Denny trail head at 5:30 AM sharp and off we went to hike Mount Yale.

From the word go, I knew I was in trouble; my body felt like absolute garbage, my legs felt wobbly and I felt dizzy. I kept trying to keep the fluids and fuel on board, however the sense that my legs were just not reliable, persisted. 

As we approached tree line and then got above tree line I told Micah that I thought I needed to turn back -as disappointed as I was- because I felt like I was going to be a significant liability on the way back down if I went all the way to the top.

Thankfully she agreed to keep going so that she could get her acsent in, and I turned around and started back for the van. I am really sad that my first 14 or attempt was unsuccessful. 

I learned a few things in this process one of which is that I need to do a lot more glute strength work, as the butt cheeks were on fire 🔥 from the very start, whereas the quads never felt a hint of effort. I also think that getting up sooner than 40 minutes prior to go time is a good idea, as I don’t think I had time to sufficient to wake up (never got my coffee in!) and didn’t really get my mind in the game this morning. 

Lastly as I mentioned, I think I would sleep at a lower altitude and then drive up to the trail head the morning of. 

This is certainly not the last time that I will attempt to summit Yale, it is simply the first… while I am very sad that I didn’t get to stand at the top and hold the sign, I know that I will try this again soon!

Cottonwood Lake and the Women We Met Along the Way

“I have a lot of proof that the world is conspiring to make me happy.”
― Matthew McConaughey, Greenlights

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First: The women we met along the way …

The first was while filling up the van with gas at the gas station. The woman next to me asked if I liked my new black rhino wheels and Toyo AT tires. I said did and explained my reasons for choosing them and then we got to talking about the van etc. She shared she just moved to CO from FL to work and lives in CO six months of the year (in her “mini Winnie”) and that the day we were chatting was her 62nd birthday ! She simply exuded life and positivity. After chatting a bit we wished one another well and off we went. 

After arriving at my campsite I was walking Ramsey to scope things out when we came upon a woman sitting by herself on her ATV. I asked if she’d be willing to take our photo by the lake & she happily agreed. This led to us conversing about the area and she filled me in on several really good details to know. Like nearby free disbursed camping. And the path around the lake and so on. She was just sitting there waiting on the rest of her party to join her and it was so fun to chat. She couldn’t get over that it’s just me and the Rams out here. :) 

Last, at the campsite that evening a mom and her daughter rolled in around sunset and set up camp at the site across from me. So cute… the little girl looked to be around four or so. At one point the mom waves at me and then said she was sorry for the noise they were making. I was like ARE YOU KIDDING ME ! …there’s no one else I’d rather have for camp neighbors ! A mom and her girl (later learned it was Kelly and Luna from Longmont) out camping and chatting and listening to her little girl giggle it was so good. She went on to apologize for speaking loudly but said it’s because she’s 50% deaf. I said again seriously you guys are not bothering me at all and if I had a little girl that’s exactly what I’d be doing with her as well— camping out under the stars ! 

Next -Where are we this time? Cottonwood lake campground up Cottonwood pass from BV. After seeing pictures of this lake on IG I just had to come up here and yes it’s just as glorious as expected... The lake is absolutely stunning. 

The past two months since our last van trip have been an absolute whirlwind - we made our way back to CO from AZ in early May. I had a birthday :) then… I was off to Cabo for a trial lawyers college May 13-16; it was the first gathering of lawyers anywhere since Covid. Amazing experience.

Life forever changed when I landed back at DIA on May 16, I learned my dear friend Gwen had been hit and killed while riding her bike in a bike lane that morning. On a Sunday morning at 10am. This news absolutely rocked me and our entire community. I went straight into action that Monday getting her ghost bike done and installed at her crash site, organizing a ghost bike ceremony for the cycling community that next morning and getting involved with her husband Mike & her family to help make arrangements. News and media sources across the country picked up the story and the interviews and requests for comment were extensive. I was so glad they covered her story — she deserved it and it also helps elevate this issue for the public at large. 

That week was a blur. Her viewing was Friday evening and memorial service Saturday. Writing my friend’s obituary is something I hope to never have to do again- AND- it was a gift for me to once again re examine how I’m spending my precious days. I’m all too acutely aware of how any bike ride could be my last. For Gwen it was her last - and I take solace in knowing she went out doing what she loved. 

On the heels of that I was off to San Diego for a women’s trial lawyer conference June 4-6 - this one is special since i’ve been attending these the last four years (except 2020) and while it’s a group mostly of Nevada lawyers they’ve welcomed me into their family. This time I had the immense honor of closing out the seminar with a talk that was titled “finding your inner peace.” I was so lit up doing something I feel so passionate about and I truly hope we can save this noble profession by helping lawyers get and stay healthy. I talked a lot about trauma and how we aren’t trained nor prepared to manage the trauma we experience and adopt in our clients’ cases. No one teaches us about “secondary trauma” and how it’s tantamount to PTSD. And here we are as lawyers brushing it off as “just part of the job” and those emotions and trauma are living inside us until we address them. No wonder this work consumes so many people. Just over the weekend I learned another talented Colorado lawyer lost his life to suicide. 

Anyways — I ran off to “numb out” on nature and altitude. There are a lot of pressing things weighing down on me right now. I saw this 2-3 day gap between them and with my van packed I hauled a** out to the mountains. I highly recommend it. Give yourself permission. Yes. In the middle of the week. Mid-week camping is where it’s at nowadays with campgrounds so full. 

After settling in, our first night featured a nice long hike around the lake …complete with a semi stressful river crossing to get back to our campsite so we didn’t have to reverse the two miles back, as we were running out of daylight. I crossed in my shoes and socks to protect my feet and the current was strong enough I was really glad Rams had her puppy backpack on so that I could use her leash to tow her across. We made it and Rams got to cool off in the water so it was alllll good. 

Dinner was a nice big salad with extra toppings for flavor and protein. Then I made a fire and read outside until it grew dark. No cell signal. The compulsion to keep reaching for my phone lasts a while, then slowly the phone is no longer near me. And then eventually I forget where it is … 

I can’t get over how good it feels to me to be back out here. It had been too long- my last van trip was early April so… two months ago. I’d grown a bit rusty on the van stuff and already notice things I totally forgot to bring along. 🤦‍♀️ ahem Coffee bean grinder ! Sweat pants ! …definitely out of practice. Being out here with no cell signal is exactly what I wanted and needed. Adding in the area being close to the lake and not many humans and this is definite new fave spot. 

On this trip i wish I’d brought my gravel bike and not just my road bike. I wasn’t thinking about the long gravel road up here from the paved road, to get to the lake — only thought about riding cottonwood pass on the new road bike when I packed up. Whoops. Lesson leaned: Always bring the gravel bike no matter what. 

The next morning, we had our breakfast and coffee and then it was time to strike out for a reconnaissance run up the gravel road where woman number two had told me there was incredible dispersed camping. Before we left I chatted with the lady and her daughter Luna she so very kindly offered me the use of her kayak in the lake today. Is that not the most incredible thing? The kindness of strangers still continues to amaze me. Ramsey and I ran up the road to check out the dispersed camping sites and sure enough, there were many of them and they were incredible, many situated right on the river.

On our way back down we encountered a camper with two women in it. They stopped and rolled down the windows and chatted with Ramsey and I for a bit, asking me about the campsites up the road. I was happy to share the information I had just learned in observing the many spots along the road perfect for camping. So far that is five women (and a little girl named Luna) I have met on this van trip all of whom have added joy and happiness to my days.

When we got back from our run, Luna had a present for me- a drawing. And flowers. So cute.

I shared with her mom my intel from the recon run about the disbursed camping up the road and started to pack up. I bid them farewell and made my way to the spot I’d see on our run- right on the river, gorgeous trees around and the Grand sound of water flowing fast. Totally ideal.

I came out here to write this book that has been brewing in me for a couple years now. It’s around the concepts I feel lawyers can and should implement in life in order to thrive in this profession. It’s a combo of my own biography plus tricks and self help wrapped into one. I started it in late 2019 and then stalled out with a bad case of “who am I to write such a book .” But now after being asked repeatedly to write and speak on these topics and after what I’ve seen during the covid era and the fact that the book stuff keeps waking me up at night, I’ve decided to write it. No matter what. Even if no one reads it. 

This venue is perfect for this. No cell signal of any kind. No distractions. No people. Just Rams and me and my laptop and the van and the healing sound of rushing water. It’s not lost on me now that bringing the road bike actually serves my goal as I can’t just go for a ride here. Walks and runs are my options - far more time efficient.

So far the system that’s working is to write as long as I can and then take stretch breaks or stand in the water or quick nap or snack and then get back to it. I’m proud to say just in these few days of being out here I’ve got all of chapter one downloaded from my brain and solid start on two. 

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There are no emails to check. No house to clean. No Instagram posts to create or comments to read. It’s just us out here. And it’s incredible beyond words. Oh also it’s a week day. How lucky am I for this to be reality ? Time both goes very slowly and also, flies by out here. The time writing absolutely flies. Hours fly by. The time sitting still or resting go slowly. The good kind of slow. Check out the time lapse video of the clouds —-> good, right?

And another thing that is serving me out here: no sugary snacks. No distractions in terms of food. Just healthy meals like Huel curry or oatmeal. Avocados. Bananas. Grapefruit. RX bars. Tomatoes. Seltzer! But Nothing to mindlessly snack on. That’s proving really helpful and important for writing. 

The upcoming weekend will be perfect for catching up on emails and work. (Thank you Google for “schedule send” so they can go out Monday morning)— as no one ever said you had to work only on week days & play only on weekends. 

I’ll close out with this- on my way home from San Diego last weekend I bought Matthew’s new book, Green Lights. I read it all the way through on the flight home- I devoured it, and I bet you will too. I highly recommend it. The quote up at the top of this blog is one of my faves. Here’s another:

“I think we are our own aspiration and we should interrogate and investigate ourselves, get to know ourselves as well as possible,” … “And in doing so, we will learn and we find out what our own greenlights are.”

A Giant Slice of Humble Pie 🥧

Quick quiz…
1️⃣ it’s really important to cool down after a hard, short race.

2️⃣it’s really important to warm up before a race involving a “hole shot.”

3️⃣intervals are the only way to truly improve fitness and performance; therefore it’s important to include them in training each week.

4️⃣all of the above.

Before the start. ICYMI- Drinking coffee in the van is NOT a proper warmup. 👍

If you said 4️⃣above, you’d be right.
Even though I’m not new to bike racing I committed several cardinal sins today and acted like a total newbie: I didn’t eat three hours before my race. I didn’t cool down last night. I didn’t warm up this morning.
When the race started and my group took off uphill towards the single track I popped. Immediately. Legs imploded. 💥 My race was over a few minutes into the thing. I watched my entire AG ride away from me and I never saw them again.

As easy as it was for me to spend the next four hours reading myself the riot act, I didn’t.

I honestly didn’t.
I haven’t done many intervals or much structured training of any kind during the pandemic. Races were cancelled and TBH it turned into a nice long off-season. I rode when it felt good. I ran when it felt good. And after twenty years of structured training, racing, teaching spin classes and following interval regimens my body got a much needed break. It honestly felt the best it’s felt in a long time last year.
I’ve been riding lots of road miles in 2021 but without structure or intensity now and then, I haven’t made any gains towards race fitness. And I knew that.
I also knew this morning when it was cold and rainy and I sat in my van drinking the precious, aka my coffee, that I should’ve been out warming up. I knew that last night when I went from a full gas race effort to driving my van to the campsite and not cooling down, that my legs would feel awful the next day.

Sometimes, we must be reminded of the things we’ve learned already but forgot or pretended didn’t really matter…. today I got re-reminded.

In addition, there were some personal wins:

🏆 I started. I finished. I didn’t crash. I rode some techy-ish stuff that previously would have scared me. I had numerous chances on course to bail out to my van and drive away. Or nap. And I didn’t. My legs felt empty from the start and yet I kept riding. I ate … drank … focused on form and kept going and I felt better the longer I stayed on the bike… four hours later I finished.

This morning’s view out my van window ⛈

Sometimes just throwing a leg over the top tube on a cold rainy Saturday and pedaling four hours on the mountain bike is a win. I mentally stayed in a positive place even as I suffered - my legs did NOT get the memo that I needed their participation today. They felt like total 🗑! Today the head ruled the roost and kept my body in the game. Given the cold and rainy weather, had I been home I would NOT have ridden four hours on the road or inside on the trainer. So again- that’s a win; I netted some fitness today that I didn’t have this morning.
and …I filled up on humble pie. 🥧 Big time.
Last place by a LONG shot. Friends— first place finished over an HOUR ahead of me. In 40 miles that is a proper ass-whooping.
Yes. I’ve got work to do. Today was a wonderful reminder and kick in the pants.

“Don’t judge each day by the harvest that you reap but by the seeds that you plant.”

— Robert Louis Stevenson

Seriously MAD props to the women out here CRUSHING it. They’ve obviously been putting in the work. It’s super inspiring. I don’t love getting my ass handed to me but I do love the motivation-by-contagion I caught out here. 🔥

Love it when a fellow PeopleForBikes fan has the same socks ;) 📷 cred: Julie Lyon

Post race I was cold and wet. Found myself a hot shower in the campground showers and then made a warm lunch of udon noodles and hot chocolate ! Looking forward to another chill and quiet evening in the van out here in the desert 🏜 . The rain is a nice touch now that I’m warm and dry INSIDE the 🚐 😊!

Lunch was deliciously warm.

Wanna try some of this tasty HUEL?? I LOVE the spicy indian curry!! Click HERE to get $15 off your order!

Post race recovery (& dinner) looked like this:

Back to being a ‘Newb & Pandemic-versary

The tears welled up in my eyes today as I stood near the start line for the national anthem. It gripped me by the throat - more, I dare say- than ever before. My throat tightened and emotions bubbled up as I reflected on my reality:

I am at the start line of a bike race. 🇺🇸 🚲

One year ago, my world (and your world & the entire world) felt like it was ending. We were locked down and scared out of our minds with so much uncertainty, so many unknowns, so much panic. For the first time in my lifetime I went to my local Sprouts in March of 2020 and saw many of the shelves totally empty. How could we NOT panic when we saw our neighbors hoarding food and supplies?!

Colorado hard core locked things down right around St Patty’s day. That’s the day I really felt the shift and began to self quarantine because suddenly we were surrounded by this invisible, indifferent and apparently very random and contagious killer called Covid…. Those were the days when I wondered what was next - would banks & ATMs go bust? (Anyone else get charged by their bank for trying to withdraw cash to have on hand? 👋🏼… yeah that was scary as hell - they didn’t want to part with it). I remember thinking I should’ve stocked iodine tabs at home in case water became scarce. A generator suddenly sounded like a really good idea but I didn’t have one. We worried about whether the gas pumps would run out. We laughed about the TP shortage- kind of. A shortage of anything in this day and age was such a foreign concept…. How far would it all go? I grew tired quite quickly of the word ‘unprecedented.’ Ugh 🤦‍♀️ yes it was -and also let’s stop saying that word over and over.

I remember thinking how thankful I was that Waste Management was still coming to get our trash- because … what if they hadn’t ?
Eerily and overnight -rush hour disappeared. I mean vanished. POOF. I could have WALKED down Highway 58 in Golden or jogged down Colfax if I’d wanted to. I rode the 470 bike path along 470 and could count the cars on two hands. People joked about it being apocolypic and yes— it very much was.

I recall Nat Geo posting that new earth tremors were noticed because we’d all quieted down. The air in Denver was the clearest I’ve ever seen - atop North Table Mountain looking down on denver there was no longer that brownish haze. We all stopped going places and hunkered down. Mother Earth got to catch her breath. 🌍

The upside- we saw people taking to bikes like never before. Summer camps and school clubs and vacations were cancelled and families looked to bikes as one of the few things NOT cancelled. More people riding and fewer people driving meant we didn’t get a call in my office that entire 8 weeks from any injured cyclist hit by a motorist. It was a small win in the midst of an absolutely terrifying time.

A year ago I didn’t know if we’d ever get to bike race again. I didn’t know when I’d get to see the cycling community again. I didn’t know how long I would be locked up in my house unable to go anywhere.
And yet today there I was. About to toe the line of a race.
And let me tell you- it has been a MINUTE since I’ve had the pre race 🤮 jitters. I mean I can’t recall the last time I was so nervous and felt so new ….

Yes, I’ve been a bike racer for a long time. But (aside from one 50-mile mtn bike race years ago and the couple chill 12-hour mtn bike races I’ve done on my singlespeed), I’ve not honestly raced proper mountain bike events and certainly never one for 3-days/stages.
I felt like a proper NEWB. Aka newbie.
I had to readjust my expectations and goals. From trying to podium or win, as historically was the case, to instead— having fun (first 🏆), learning something new (second 🏆), meeting new people and not crashing (ties for third 🏆).

In total candor I was so nervous about this I almost talked myself out of coming to the race at all. That’s right. I almost chickened out. The fears of the unknowns and newness almost steered me into excusing myself due to rain or life stress or other reas…er, excuses.
I am so glad I didn’t chicken out. 🐔 Today I got to see racing through the eyes of a terrified newbie all over again. What kind of nutrition and warmup? What about kit versus skinsuit ? Will my fitness matter or will my skills hold me back? I don’t want to crash. Crashing hurts.

I texted my friend Shannon - a legit mtn biker- and asked him to weigh in on the skinsuit issue. And guess what. Several of my competitors also had skinsuits on - moral: wear what makes you feel fast. Period.

I was a BALL OF NERVES I tell you. And yet I had committed to myself to work more on moutntain biking in 2021– a commitment I made last year during the pandemic when I was looking for solace and a focus. Today I made good on my promise. I loaded up my new “big girl bike” and I decided to wear my “roadie” skinsuit and I gave it my all. I haven’t seen heartrates that high in years. I can’t remember the last time I have had the post-race “hack” … it has been a long time and it felt good to be back in the game.


As predicted … today’s short and punchy time trial looked like this: me crushing the climbs & losing precious time on descents /tech sections. Any time I would make up on a fitness-dependent spot I’d lose on a skills-dependent spot. I finished 6th out of 7 in my AG.

Now-the old megan would have been disappointed. This megan is thrilled we get to race at all and she’s thrilled she even toed the line today and she’s stoked she didn’t crash.

Tomorrow’s stage is the XC 40miler. Sunday’s stage is enduro format where we are timed based on fastest descent times on three segments.

I appreciate events like this which require a combo of skills and fitness. It’s what I once appreciated about cyclocross racing too. That’s not to say my fitness can’t use some work- it can. I haven’t done intervals in a realllllllly long time :)

So yeah- it’s fun to be a newbie again. It’s fun to do things that scare me and to enjoy them and push myself and yes- camp in the van too 🚐 …

I have SO missed my wonderful cycling community and it’s surreal to be back in the midst of it (albeit masked)… It’s something I won’t take for granted again that’s for sure. 🙏🏼

With lovely lady and friend Julie Lyon- she gets credit for race pics above 🙏🏼 💕

The afternoon and evening ended with a walk with Ramsey, camera time as well as a healthy van dinner and then some self care in the van like lax ball rolling and foam roller and meditation on the neck cradle. I got to try out my newest van toy- a usb /cordless mini blender. It was PERFECT for my post race recovery shake!!

Since I have signal out here in the van this trip, I’m keeping up with my nightly MasterClass sessions. This one on sleep 😴 has been really informative and interesting. I definitely recommend it.

Wanna try a free week of MasterClass? Comment below and I can email you a guest pass. (Limited to the first three takers).

VanLife: How and Where to Park It?

Now that I’m publicly posting and sharing some of my #vanlife adventures (here), I’m getting some great emails in my inbox asking me wonderful questions. Here is a recent one:

Good morning Megan — I hope you’re well. I secretly have a little #vanenvy of you and your van. So, I ’m reaching out to see if you have any tips to share!

I’ve made some progress on my cases, and I’m really close to renting a rig and driving it one-way to (my favorite destination) with (my kiddo) and Ace (my dog). It seems like a 4-day, 3-night trip, give or take 1-day/night. Any tips for me on things like where to stay at night? Should I make reservations in advance or go with the flow, etc.? What are my actual options about where to park at night to sleep?

Here is my short answer: YES DO IT! 100% yes. Go for it! AND. Plan ahead (a little bit)….

As sexy as it seems to “wing it,” winging it has yet to work out for me.

The trips where I’ve looked ahead, made plans to park or stay at a specific location, and even reserved a spot in advance, have hands-down been the best experiences. Those times I was driving and said, “I’ll see how far I get tonight,” or “I’ll go with my gut and stealth camp,” or “I’ll see what looks good when I get there,” just HAVE. NOT. WORKED.

You know what those nights looked like? You don’t - because I haven’t posted them anywhere. Because they’re not pretty. They ended with me parking my van in a hotel parking lot.

Those are NOT the dreamy #VanLife photos you see on IG. Those are the sleepless/awkward nights in the van spent regretting not planning ahead (or at least that’s how I felt).

By way of providing just a little context- I started my #Vanlife adventures back in Mid-December 2020, when the days were super short and the nights very long. It’s hard to consider stopping the drive for the night around 4:30pm, when it’s getting dark, as was the case on one of the nights I ended up camping in a Holiday Inn lot. I wasn’t ready to stop driving to scout a place in the daylight, only to sit in the van for 5 hours before bed. (Now-this was also one of those road trips where I was trying to get somewhere, too- it wasn’t an adventure of exploration, it was one with a destination I was rushing towards). Keep your daylight in mind as you map things out too. You’ll have more flexibility in the summer months when sunset is later. You can also set up camp earlier and enjoy having the van doors open and enjoy the outdoor space outside of the van (versus huddling in a closed van with the heater on during winter).

Lessons I’ve learned:

Trying to wing it or be spontaneous once it’s dark is not ideal for me. That’s because I cannot get a good “gut” sense of a place in the dark enough to know if it’s a good place to park and sleep for the night. Whether you’re a single woman traveling alone or a man traveling with his daughter (as my friend who emailed me above is), you cannot fully “feel” and survey your surroundings in the dark. You could park somewhere unknowingly that, had you seen it in the daylight, would’ve been a “hell no” to you ….

Also, you don’t get the chance to read reviews ahead of time if you’re going to stay at a specific spot or site. I’ve learned those are really good to survey. Sleeping is when we are most vulnerable. For me, peace of mind is how I sleep well in the van. Not feeling good about my spot means I don’t sleep. And that’s a fast way to take the fun out of van life.

Case in point: a few months ago, I made the drive from CO to AZ and en route decided to stop in Holbrook. It was dark, I was tired of driving, and it was a new stopping point that seemed ok to me (versus other towns along that stretch of highway). I’d checked the apps (I explain them below) and didn’t come up with any ideal solutions but some articles and blogs I’ve read about “boondocking” or “stealth camping” had indicated that local parks can often be a great spot to park it for the night. So I found a nice-looking residential park in Holbrook and parked off in a corner away from the street, street lights, and homes…. And I felt good there.

Until cars began to pull in one or two at a time and converge in meet ups in the other park corner … where it was dark… these could have been harmless teenagers out to meet up and have a smoke or a make out session away, or … they could have been partaking in some seriously sketch behavior.

I didn’t know, and I didn’t want to know. The point was they were acting sneaky in my spot and it suddenly did NOT feel safe. Argh. Home is where you park it… until you have to move.

I ended up relocating to one of the city’s newest and brightest-looking hotel parking lots. I parked, put up my window shades, and made dinner before going to bed. To pull off this kind of stealth camping, one does need to be self-contained, i.e., bathroom, water supply, no need to let the dog out and so on… and of course you do this at the risk that a property owner may come out and ask you to relocate at any moment. The brightly-lit parking lots at hotels make me feel safe, and the visiting-nature of the guests staying there makes me think no one is going to notice a van with out of state plates there (versus a quiet neighborhood street). It doesn’t make for great sleep with all the lights and often-late-arriving guests with car doors opening and closing. However it does feel safe.

But it doesn’t feel fun- like, at all … and the voice in my head sounds something like, “why did I buy a van to travel in if I was just going to end up back at a hotel…I could have saved myself the money and hassle, driven my normal car and just booked a hotel room here…”. That’s the inner bully in me that comes out when I don’t do “van life” the way I feel I “should” be doing it. Harumph.

All this to say — after a few times of sleeping in hotel parking lots under bright lights because I wanted to be spontaneous but then my safety and spidey-senses didn’t like anything I was seeing in the dark — I’ve decided spontaneity doesn’t set me up for optimal outcomes (or at least it hasn’t, yet). Now of course this depends on the nature of your trip… are you trying to get from point A to point B quite quickly (as I was) or are you meandering off the major roads and taking the smaller roads, off the beaten path? Are you in a 4x4 capable vehicle where you can park off a Jeep road or out on some dirt road or forest or mountain pass somewhere more desolate away from humans where you don’t really need to worry about being discovered whilst stealth van camping or you won’t be seeing humans, period. (And if that’s the case, then you are perhaps taking other concerns into account, like wildlife, getting stuck in snow or mud, or being offline/off signal/lost)….

For me -for maximum enjoyment - I’ve decided a little planning ahead and forethought makes for the best experience, where I enjoy myself and actually get good rest, and also where I avoid paying a bunch of extra costs and sticking myself right back into the midst of high-human-concentration.

A proper campsite to me, means ample space between spots and on this trip- a full moon, too!

Stated bluntly, RV parks and KOAs are not my thing. I purchased the van in order to be independent, self-sufficient, and to avoid expensive hotel stays, as well as to avoid sharing space with other people … so to drop $50/night at an RV park or KOA with ample humans all around me — isn’t my thing. For me, it defeats the purpose of the van, unless I really get desperate for a spot to park for a night. I

f I’m going to spend any money, it’s going to be on a campsite in a legit spot in a rad park with views and humans spread out. REAL spread out.

I’ve also been using a new (Colorado-based WOOT!) app called Harvest Hosts. With HH you pay a cheap annual fee to be able to stay for free at farms, breweries, vineyards, alpaca farms, and so on. It is literally a place to park the van- some are bigger and more spectacular than others — but all are property or business owners who’ve said “you’re welcome here, and it’s safe to stay here,” and that on its face holds immense value to me. So far I’ve stayed at 2 HH locations and messaged a 3rd (but ended up continuing to drive so didn’t stay).

All 3 owners have been amazing and friendly, and hospitable, and in each, I slept super soundly knowing I was in a place I was approved to be, that was safe, and also family-owned, and not shared with too many other campers, either. With COVID closing some of these places, the owners are still often willing to let you just pull up and park, no worries. (Again- you need to be self-sufficient, restroom use isn’t usually offered).

Other apps I like to consult and explore to research/reserve camp site spots, investigate dry camping on BLM spots, and more, include:

Campendium

Recreation.gov

National Parks

I’ve also heard Hip Camp is great, though I haven’t tried it out yet (and I hear it does overlap quite a bit with Harvest Hosts).

Another site that’s been recommended to me, but I’ve not yet used other than to check some reviews on some spots (i.e. road-side rest areas): https://freecampsites.net/.

Ok so… if you’re in a bind, you can’t find any camp sites, RV parks or Harvest Hosts …. or if it’s late at night and you’re focused on driving big miles or maybe you just need to stop quick and get some rest— then what are the options?

Well as I’ve mentioned, “stealth camping” means your rig looks like just a vehicle (ie a van, unmarked, no indication humans/kids/dogs are living/sleeping in it) and you park it on a city street or in a neighborhood to rest. Personally this isn’t something I intend to try. The reason is simple: as a home owner, if someone drove onto my street after dark and parked a van outside, and I didn’t see anyone get out, and the van stayed there overnight, it would cause me concern. I don’t want to stress out another homeowner and I definitely don’t want to have the cops knocking on my van telling me to move in the middle of the night. I found more info HERE.

“Boondocking” or free camping/wild camping/dry camping, usually means off-grid, away from services, away from amenities, and often, removed from other humans. This is a hugely helpful place to start HERE.

Taken a step further and in moments of desperation where you don’t care WHERE you’re sleeping so long as you’re not going to get run off because it’s permissible— shops like WALMART and HOME DEPOT, and Cracker Barrel, to name a few, allow parking lot RV camping.

Walmart’s official policy: check with each store first. READ MORE HERE.

Google “what stores allow free camping” and you’ll find some results near you, such as:

Since I began my vanlife adventures in the midst of COVID, I also learned that some states have closed many of their road side rest areas (for example, NM, almost all of the west bound ones were closed on my most recent drive). Each state and recreation area has different restrictions and limitations from totally closed, to half capacity, to fully open. Some that used to take online campsite reservations are only doing day-of, on the spot pay to reserve a spot, and so those scenarios leave some unknowns up in the air- if you’re counting on that being your home for the night, but you can’t reserve it ahead, and it ends up being full when you arrive, be sure to have a plan B.

I had this experience recently. I was planning a bike ride and several other aspects of a trip around my ability to camp on a mountain where I wanted to ride -the spot was not currently taking online reservations however. So to be sure I wasn’t totally SOL when I got there, having to scrap my ride and plans totally, I located a nearby B&B and emailed the owner, asking, “if all else fails, could I pay you a few bucks to let me park my van in your parking lot tonight?” She emailed me back and very kindly said yes (and tried to talk me into reserving a room). I didn’t end up needing it as I nabbed a camp spot where I wanted to be -but given her reply and helpfulness, if I ever need a place to stay in that area again, she’ll definitely get my business.

Now of course— “TRUE” van life pursuit probably means wanting to go off-grid and go somewhere off the beaten path in some scenic spot totally removed from humanity. AWESOME goal and aspiration and IG is replete with vanlifers who find those spots and their photos are amazing. Also though, (for me at least being out there alone), I don’t want to get myself into a position where the van could get stuck, where if I have a van mechanical and don’t have cell signal I’m going to be in a spot of trouble, or where legit wildlife may be a concern. There is remote and removed from city noise, and then there is too remote/too distant for my liking. Each vanlifer has their own risk tolerances, experiences, van capabilities, etcetera to evaluate.

With the lack of cell signal being a possible issue, allow me to mention 2 products in this category worth exploring.

1— WE BOOST signal booster— the one most often recommended to me has been the $499 one HERE. I do not yet have one so I cannot speak to this personally but the guy I bought my van from had one and swore by it for working while on the road.

2— Garmin inreach mini. This i DO have. It’s a satellite -based walkie talkie of sorts, that allows for communication via one’s cell phone (or the Garmin) to call for help or send short texts to your contacts. NOTE: you do need to pay for a subscription service to activate it, so plan ahead. I haven’t had to use mine yet, as the times I’ve been without signal it’s been a GOOD thing, and I wanted that reprieve from connectedness. If you’re truly going to go out into the wild in your van, I think this is a great investment.

Finally— and it really does state the obvious, but to be able to stealth camp or boondock or setup camp in a Walmart, or even to stay at some of the Harvest Host sites, having one’s own bathroom setup is essential. If you’re in an RV it’s a nonissue but for most vanlifers, a built in restroom isn’t part of the equation.

I went with the Luggable Loo and accompanying bags. It has been a life saver more than once, and I can’t recommend this enough. When it’s empty/not in use it’s easy to stash in the back with the bikes. If it’s going to be an overnight somewhere, whether a campground far-away from the restrooms, or a stealth camp in a hotel parking lot, having this inside the van makes staying stealthy, possible.

It’s also saved me having to stop for fuel or a purchase I didn’t need to buy, just to use a gas station restroom. It’s been awesome if I’ve stopped for fuel and feel like the gas station or area is dodgy, and not a spot I want to go inside to patronize.

Perhaps TMI but then again, the #1 question I always get about my van is, “does it have a bathroom” and I can honestly answer YES now that I’ve got this very affordable option along for the ride. ;)

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Vans can provide one helleva bedroom window view when you can crack the door and see this from your pillow!

Bottom line- van life isn’t any kind of SHOULD… some days and nights will be pure bliss with full moons, quiet campsites, perfectly-executed plans. And some will be late, dark, cold, sleepy, perhaps lost, and yes, maybe spent in a paved parking lot. It is going to be both: perfection AND growth opportunities. I hope you’ll show yourself some grace as you figure it out. There is no “THE WAY” in vanlife (or in any kind of life!)…. have fun with it, be adventurous, and be safe too.

**remember, as an Amazon Associate, I may earn commissions from purchases if you use my links above!

I very much still consider myself a vanlife newbie, so if you have tips/tricks to share, or followup questions for me, or both, please comment below- I’d love to hear!

No Cell Signal & Boredom (the good kind)

I’ve been out in the van for the past several days and nights in a spot where there is no cell signal. To be candid, while the riding and hiking nearby is stellar, the absence of 📱 signal in this spot was the main feature I sought out. I know myself well enough to know that just picking up the phone to check a couple texts quickly degrades into checking emails, instagrams, andddddd down the rabbit hole. 🕳 Nothing can snap a person (me) out of zen wilderness headspace quicker or more abruptly than one negative email or comment on socials. 

So here I am in the space of no signal sitting and drinking my morning coffee and just relishing the quiet- the lack of things to “do,” and instead focusing on being. 

JUST. BEING. 

Having done a bit of journaling to start, I am in a headspace now to process and download some recent experiences and conversations. To ruminate and ponder them and extricate the lessons or the growth now that they’ve percolated; I am ready to see the teachings in them and to try in some respects to adopt them into my new and evolving mindset. 

That’s the thing with those magical pivotal moments/conversations/experiences. It takes some time to go back and review them in order to try and seal in their flavor for the long term if they are mindsets or patterns one wishes to adopt. I recently read somewhere the mind has decided on something up to 7 seconds ahead of us being aware of it. This is what makes reprogramming old patterns so incredibly difficult. Oh and also we’re often up against primal patterns ingrained in us on a cellular level passed down for many many years to help us stay alive. Yeah- competing with that hard wired biology can be tough. 

“Oh there’s that thing I do- what is that?,” I can ask with kind curiosity.

Here’s the thing... We all have trauma, pain, past experiences that we bring into our present and often times they are so ingrained into our neural patterns that they run us. Without us knowing. Without our permission. They lead to the same outcomes in conflict. The same breakdowns in partnerships. The same self loathing or self flagellation by our inner bullies. The cycles perpetuate.

Doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results is—as we all know— insane. 

Call it COVID slowing down the pace of life overall (and forcing the legal profession to change its approach/adopt virtual practices) + losing my dog and my grandmother during the holidays reminding me how short and precious life is + a very traumatic near death experience last October (a sobering reminder of how short MY life is and can be) + the van coming into my life unexpectedly and giving me this chance to explore and slow down in quiet sacred spaces like the one I’m presently in .... plus maybe the stage of life I’m in, not a mid-life crisis but more an arrival at “enoughness” and the privilege it’s affording me to be curious about what my life can mean and represent going forward. Call it whatever you like…

And, regardless, I know that I am exactly where I’m supposed to be 🙏🏼.

On this trip I had a couple guests joining me for the first two days and first night. It was fun to enjoy the van experience with cohorts out in the wild for the first time. Turns out I laugh a lot more when I’m not out here by myself ;) Laughter is sooo good for the soul.

We enjoyed wonderful bike rides, an incredible camp site dinner and breakfast, delicious van coffee (of course), ease in conversation & connection, and ample laughs. It was wonderful sharing this space with them. I was lonesome when they left. And now I am enjoying the quiet and solitude of being here alone. 

I loved having them here AND I love being here solo now. 

This is one of the biggest ah-has for me in the last year or so: using AND. My coach Shelley gets the biggest credit for teaching me this and really helping me rewrite my vernacular to use AND more and BUT less. (Read more about this concept HERE).

All this to say ... out here away from signals and socials, it’s a truly incredible space in which to look within, when the clutter and noise of normal daily life are stripped away and I’m left with a quiet van parked in the sun, a day without any agenda or schedule, when I am able to tap into the creativity that flows through me most strongly when I’m in Spartan-esque environments. 

Boredom begets creativity and brilliance IMHO. (And much smarter-than-me people agree). I think we don’t get nearly enough boredom-moments in normal life. I think clutter and distractions rob many of us of our truest brilliance because it (creativity) comes out only when we’re truly free to let the mind wander without being pulled multiple directions by life. 

“Exchange your cleverness for bewilderment.”

— Rumi

When is the last time your mind could truly and freely wander?

The book I’m reading on this trip is called The Minimalist Vegan.

There are so many compelling reasons to be animal product -free in both dietary decisions as well as lifestyle decisions. I won’t digress too much further into this topic in an already-too-long blog but the truth is that awareness in all areas of life demands that we be conscious consumers of everything that we eat and buy. Minimalism stands for only buying what we truly need and use and eliminating or not buying the rest. It stands also for less clutter and confusion - including in our socials, apps & emails, and items we own/insure/maintain. 

I have noticed a direct correlation for myself between the phases of life when I’m consuming (stuff, food, social media), and when I’m feeling most out of control in my life. 

When I’m seeking something to grab onto ... some guiding light or orientation- I often default to complication and more stuff. Anyone else?

The truth is that filling life with clutter & crap will never lead us to our truth, guiding light, intuition or knowingness. Nope... All we do is unconsciously distract ourselves right away from our inner voice of wisdom and from life’s most important things... love, health, being. 

Is your default, distraction? Mine can be. I’m working on that. 

Out here in the van I realize that I needed this reset - something deep inside me was drawn to take this trip because I knew I needed to be physically and mentally removed from the norm of day to day in order to hit that reset and get back to basics. Get back to what really makes me feel good & alive.... back to my knowingness.

Sending you love and light 💡 ☀️ from out here in no-signal-land nature and hoping you find some zen in your day or that can soon you escape to a place where it’s virtually guaranteed. 

Go... Find a place where you can be bored. ✨ 

This is the tea I keep in the van (shown in the top photo). I love it for the cool nights when it’s dark outside, but too early to go to sleep — it’s the perfect pairing to reading or journaling, and the detox-theme carries over to detox from noise, stimulation, social media, emails and junk food and goes within, thanks to the tea.

This is the wonderful book I reference above. You can order your copy on Amazon using this link:

*Reminder, I’m an Amazon Associate, I may earn commissions from purchases you make using my links to products above.

Lemmon & Dry Shampoo

In a nutshell, Lemmon lived up to its hype ...

That is the sweetest climb ever... one I will definitely come do again and one I recommend for every cyclist who loves to climb in the sunshine.... The gradient is gentle enough you can push the pedals and never have to stand due to steepness- the pavement is good, the bike lane/shoulder is pretty consistently present and wide-ish, and though there is steady car traffic, there are so many cyclists out that drivers seem to have an awareness and are more cautious driving around us (that’s how it felt but who knows?!). 

I parked a couple miles up from the bottom selecting my campsite for the night early into the ride. Then I rode up towards the top and once the temps stopped feeling warm and I started to see more snow and smaller shoulders, I decided to flip around.

Not really sure what the “top” of Lemmon technically is (ski resort? 🤷‍♀️), but since my goal was to 💯 % have fun, when it gets colder than I want to descend in warmth, I get to flip it.
So I rode back to the van, relocated it to my campsite, then descended all the way to the bottom where I spotted a cute coffee shop. I decided to “fuel up” on some delicacies- ie a croissant and a pastry with some black coffee, and then began the climb back up.

“Powered by pastries” should be a thing- I felt awesome. 💪🏼 🚀

The camp spot I chose featured spots well-distanced from one another and gorgeous views of the canyons and surrounding foothills-mountains. The AZT cuts right through here so after today’s ride, Ramsey and I hiked part of the AZT. Positively. Lovely. 

Even better ...

No cell signal here.
That’s right. That is still an actual thing. So this blog post was originally composed in my notes app and I did a considerable amount of journaling, making lists, and reading, from when our hike ended until it got dark. 

Honestly that’s some seriously glorious peace time. SPACIOUSNESS. It’s not often anymore we go places where we don’t have at least a HINT of a signal. But here - nope. And tonight I’m thankful for that. Ramsey and I are hanging at our camp spot in the near sunset hours, just chilling. I am so thankful I thought to bring my journal, and my Oak journal, and a book along for this trip. 

If one were to write a book, this would be the place and the way to do it ... coffee - morning run or ride — and then hunker down over an internet-less laptop and tap dance on the keyboard. $20/day till it’s done ;) Hmmmm 🤔 

When’s the last time you had four hours of absolute nothing from your last activity until bedtime ? I can tell you it’s been a minute for me. No tv. No laptop. Phone in use only for notes app. It is a forced pause and I’m super grateful for it. I see what all the hype about camping has been all these years when I was simply “too busy” to hear it. Grateful this van found me and that we’ve been able to do this now for a couple months. (Sheesh seriously the van only just turned two months old to me yesterday!).  
Ramsey is a huge fan of vanlife- and I can safely say it wouldn’t be nearly as fun if she weren’t along. I’m glad to have her as my copilot.

In other news since I’m dry camping out here — aka no showers or running water at this site — it presented the perfect opportunity to try dry shampoo for the first time ever. You have to understand I’m the girl who washes her hair at least once a day with bike rides, helmet hair, sweaty runs, bike commutes, etc. So this concept of using a powder to “wash” my hair has been one on my radar but not one I’ve been in a hurry to adopt.

Until now. Everything has its place, am I right ? 

So removing my hat from our sweaty hike post sweaty bike ride, I gave it a whirl. Sprinkle in, comb through.... I’ll say that yes it made my head feel better- drier & it smelled good ;) I’ll call that a win. Oh and ...be sure you don’t do this INSIDE your van ;) White powder = everywhere. Glad I did this outside !

All told, this trip cost me roughly one tank of gas, $20 cash for my first night at El Pais and $20 tonight for my campsite. Oh and $9 for coffee & pastries … So we’ll call it $80.

Now I fully realize there’s a large upfront cost to the van purchase, sales tax, licensing and insurance. I realize it’s a depreciating asset. But when I think about whether I would’ve come to Tucson in this covid-climate to do these rides and stay in hotels I think I can confidently say no I wouldn’t have. I also wouldn’t have wanted to drop $80-150/night on hotel rooms. And that assumes they’d let me bring Ramsey which is a deal breaker. The van allows us to be totally contained and self-sufficient. No unloading, etc. 

So far the van has been a Huge HELL YES for me — far more than I honestly expected. 

Here’s the quote that’s on my mind today:

“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says, ‘I will try again tomorrow.’”

— Mary Anne Radmacher 

Yes… I’m such a die-hard Bulletproof Coffee drinker that when it’s van-trip time, I pack the Instamix packets to stir into my morning coffee. It’s the best and easiest way to start my day Bulletproof without the mess.

Perfect Van Life Meals?

It can be really easy to pack a bunch of junk before hitting the road, since “junk” tends to last longer, have extended expiration dates, be easier to eat on the go out of the package, and require less work….

But I have been intentional that I don’t want van life to turn into “Megan eating junk” life.

So I’ve been on the lookout for good nutritious meals and meal replacement shakes, oatmeals, and soups to sustain me on the road while also fueling my runs and rides along the way.

I’ve mentioned these guys in my previous posts but they warrant additional followup mention here again: my friends Zora & Josh the Colorado husband-wife duo behind Wild Zora — they make soups, oatmeals, bars, dehydrated meals and so much more … and the ingredients are high quality - organic and intentionally chosen!

I recently brought their oatmeal along on a journey and was reminded again just how GOOD it is … you can make the oatmeal right in the bag and have ZERO dirty dishes to clean up — plus it REALLY fills you up.

=Powerful fuel for your adventures + supporting a CO based company owned and operated by a family I know and love. By the way- yeah- they gave me an affiliate code but I’d be proselytizing this product even without any kickback. Seriously it’s that good. Vegan options. Paleo options. Something for everyone.

Using my link below, you’ll save 15% on your Wild Zora orders and I’ll earn 15% commission. WIN WIN!

—-> Click HERE to order!

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As a second road trip-adventure fuel option, I began hunting for the ideal protein powder/complete meal replacement mix … something I can drink while driving ;) Something that will keep me awake while I’m driving and won’t send me into carb-sleepy-time.

Enter— HUEL.

HUEL’s product, label, and website is clean- the marketing and branding is genius. You get a free shaker & T-shirt with your first order too. The peanut butter protein mix is YUM. 😋 They also make a coffee-protein powder for a little energy boost. And low and behold, they not only make delicious protein powders, they also make savory meal mixes that only require hot water and are PACKED with loads of vitamins & minerals!

The spicy Indian curry is SO good —and it comes with a cup for mixing and eating, so all you have to do is add hot water ! 🍛

If you decide to try some HUEL, I would be delighted if you’d use my affiliate code/link here:

https://huel.mention-me.com/m/ol/pb5bo-megan-hottman

Christmas 🚐…

Tonight marks the second night in the van. The photos show the Instagram version. Gorgeous right? A friend suggested we set up camp for sunset and the overnight up on a semi-close mountain, overlooking the valley from about a mile-up. Sounded ideal. We had the place virtually to ourselves, it being a holiday at all.

Seemed like an awesome plan in theory.

Reality was something else. ;)
LESSONS:

1) don’t pack and leave quick after a big bike ride without eating something first. Or I’ll be hungry when I get where I’m going. Like. Real hungry.

That’s important for this point: 2) don’t ONLY pack foods that require hot water to consume. After driving quite a ways -including over tough gravel roads replete with washboards and such- (this drive wasn’t for the faint of heart), I arrived, -unpacked, -and set up camp ONLY to realize I could not get the stove to work AND all foods that I packed require hot water to eat (oatmeal, dehydrated meals, coffee, hot chocolate). Add this to my aforementioned hungry stomach, and it does NOT = a happy Megan. 😠

We (and by we, I mean me) learned: Always pack extra snacks that don’t need hot water. AND-Always check things like the stove BEFORE unloading everything and setting up camp. And don’t start an adventure on an empty stomach.

Ok so I loaded back up. Mad myself, you can be sure. Battled that doggone bumpy road back into a nearby town. Found a grocery store still open at 7pm on Xmas eve and bought myself a set of California rolls & a bubbly water dinner. Then I drove to a trailhead that is far off the beaten path and settled in …. Anddddd realized user error was the problem with the stove before. 🤦‍♀️… that’s right. I got it to work. Geez Louise. 🔥

So— I rehung the Xmas lights inside the van. 🎄 Made myself some hot chocolate. Settled in for an amazingly quiet and different kind of Xmas eve.

Solitude…. It’s a way to reframe being alone. Loneliness inherently carries negative connotations… Solitude is empowering IMHO. I can honestly say I enjoyed my solitude out there and did not feel the least bit lonely. Ramsey and I had a wonderful time.
It was so quiet.

“Loneliness is the poverty of self; solitude is the richness of self”

— May Sarton

And then- oh my gosh - Christmas morning …. what a view outside those 🚐bed windows …! We were gifted with an incredible sunrise. 🎁

I made coffee for the first time ever in the van … (could that be any more enjoyable ?! Life’s simplest pleasure and most divine!) … and then we got out on a nice early hike. A second coffee and some apple turnovers plus 9 miles of fresh air hiking & sunshine vibes made this one ideal Christmas morning. 🙏🏼 🌲 🌄 🌵 🐶 ☕️

Talk about a room with a view !

Thank you 🎅!

“I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude.”

— Henry David Thoreau

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Here are some photos from the very FIRST van overnight a few nights ago ….

I would love to say these beauties were taken at my campsite. But no. The truth is that the sunset that night was at 4:48pm and I wasn’t ready to stop driving. And so it came to be that I ended up parking in a Holiday Inn parking lot to sleep that night around 9pm. Not winning that’s for sure.

LESSON: That’s the night I learned to choose a spot that is NOT right off the main road.

yes—so many things to learn - that’s why I’m showing myself grace as I go. This is all a master class in life and I’m ready to soak it up.

Here’s the book I’m currently reading; it’s an ideal book to ponder while I’m out exploring and camping in the van. It’s a book I need to read slowly, not rush through, and really process. It’s been recommended to me so many times by so many people - and I’m really enjoying it so far.

*NOTE: As an Amazon Associate I earn commissions from qualifying purchases.

** Speaking of vanlife and healthy hot oatmeal to kick off my daily adventures on the road— allow me to introduce you to my friends over at Wild Zora! Founded by fellow EO members/husband-wife duo Josh and Zora up in Loveland, CO, these products are amazing and PERFECT for van life as well as healthy life in general.

Using my link below, you’ll save 15% and I’ll earn 15% commission. WIN WIN!

—-> Click HERE to order!