Do you ever feel like you aren’t doing enough?
I often feel like I’m not doing enough of the things I want to do. I’m not hiking enough. Not camping enough. Not running enough. Not traveling enough. Not adventuring enough. Not exploring enough.
I think a lot of us feel this way about one thing or another, so it’s interesting to reflect on. And for me, that reflection always brings me back to times when I’m not able to be out doing what I want to do because of my Crohn’s or my ostomy. Because I’ve spent what adds up to years of my life recovering from illness/surgery, I constantly feel the need to be doing. For example, last Summer, I was recovering from surgery, so since I’m feeling well this Summer, I feel that I should be going hard every weekend.
And this is highlighted even more when I run into people I haven’t talked to in a while. They want to know what I’ve been up to this Summer.
And for some reason, I don’t feel like I went on any grand adventures this Summer because of work and rain and out of state travel. But that’s not really the truth. This Summer was full of many adventures, no matter how small.
So, for anyone else who feels that they’re not doing enough. Or not pushing their limits all the time. Or not doing as much as others.
Stop.
And reflect.
And think about what you have accomplished this year, this month, or even this week. I bet you’ve been doing more than you think!
So, here’s my reminder for myself of a few things I accomplished this Summer with my new happy healthy ostomy a year out from surgery:
Backpacking Caine’s Head
I headed out to Caine’s Head with friends for an overnight trip one weekend. Caine’s Head has been a classic springtime trip for me and I was sad to miss it last year. This year was very relaxing with time to read on the beach while we waited for the tide to change before hiking back to Seward the next day.
Coastal Trail/Earthquake Park Runs
I had an “aha” moment this year where I recognized that I often miss the beach, but I don’t take advantage of the small beach right near my house. This led me to many trail runs along the beach this Summer as well as in the Earthquake Park trails near my house. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to run the long distances that I ran this summer, so it was exciting to push myself and work up to running a half marathon pace again.
Bikepacking Eklutna
In this Spring, we did an overnight bike packing trip out to the end of Eklutna. Biking used to be my main activity when I was in college/grad school, but for some reason I don’t get out biking as much as I used to. It was fun to get all the gear together for an overnight with friends.
Indianhouse Peak
There are still many peaks in the Chugach which I haven’t sumitted or even attempted. Indianhouse was on the list of “haven’t attempted yet.” It felt like early season and there was still quite a bit of snow in the main gulley, but we had a fun time picking our way up to the summit in a mix of rain/snow.
Early Season Rabbit Lakes Run/Hike
As I started to increase my running distances in the early Summer, it was a struggle to find dry trails to run on. Early season Rabbit Lakes was a mix of a lot of snow and mud, so I ended up mostly walking out to the lakes. But it was a good reminder of the easy access to beautiful terrain in the Anchorage area.
Hope Point
Hope Point has been on my “attempted but not summited” list for a while. I was feeling really antsy knowing that I had to work many weekends this Summer, so I did a quick one nighter trip to Hope, camped in my car, hiked the peak, and drove back to Anchorage for work the next day. It was fun to work on my downhill running technique on a well defined trail.
Pinnel Mountain Trail
Pinnell Mountain Trail was probably one of my most adventurous solo trips this Summer. And I think it satisfied my need to travel somewhere new in Alaska. I had never been that far north on the Steese Highway, so it was fun to get away for a quick weekend trip. I started hiking around 8:30pm on Friday and it was the peak of the Summer, so it was still light out when I arrived at my first campsite around 11pm. The hiking was beautiful with rolling interior hills all around. I enjoyed chatting with a few other people on the trail and then biked back to my car the next day. The biking took a lot out of me after hiking 25 miles in less than 24 hours. By the end of the biking portion, I was slogging through mud on my cyclocross bike, cursing my choice of bike, riding for 2 min and walking for 5 min until I stopped feeling sorry for myself and biked all the way back to the car. I then spent an enjoyable day road tripping back down to Anchorage.
Family time in New Hampshire and New York
In June, Tyler and I visited our families in New York and New Hampshire. I did not take many photos on that trip and enjoyed the quality time.
Trip to Colorado
In July, I visited Jeanine at her new home in Buena Vista. We drove over to Crested Butte for a day of biking, backpacked for 3 days on the Colorado Trail, biked the local trails and B.V., and spent quite a bit of time rafting on the Arkansas River.
Bomber Traverse Variation
In July, Tyler and I backpacked a variation of the Bomber Traverse in Hatcher. I wanted to add something new to the traverse that I’ve done quite a few times now, so we hiked up and over an additional pass on our first day which led us to some fun snow climbing.
Penguin Ridge Traverse
Shelley and I tested our mountain running skills on the Penguin Ridge Traverse. We also tested the weather, but ended up with a pretty nice day (other than the fact that we were in the clouds the whole time).
Resurrection Bay Kayaking
Toward the end of July, we spent a lovely weekend at a cabin across Resurrection Bay from Seward. We were able to get out on some paddleboards and kayaks and it was even warm enough for a dip in the ocean!
White Mountain Presidential Traverse
Jeanine and I hiked the Presidential Traverse in New Hampshire while home with the family in August. We had a perfect day enjoying the mountains where we grew up.
New Hampshire Family Time
I went home for a family trip in August, and spent the time doing all of my favorite NH things!
Blackstone Bay Vista
Tyler and I spent our last weekend of August hiking up above Blackstone Bay out of Whittier. We intended on backpacking, but it was way too windy, so we headed back to town after exploring Whittier and Portage Valley.
