Mom in the Mtns

It’s officially 2018, and I’m back up here in Alaska after a fun week home with my family.  I ended up getting stuck there a few extra days due to the crazy cold weather, but I didn’t even mind.  It was great to visit my family and friends that I haven’t seen in two years!

Honestly though, I’m glad to be back up here in Alaska.  For one, it’s a lot warmer here (it was 47 degrees last week!).  But also, I just love this place so much.  It’s great to be back in the mountains ready for my next adventure.  And now that 2017 is over, it’s time for me to start planning my adventures for the upcoming year!  Last year I made a bucket list for the year, and whenever I was feeling bored or uninspired I would take a look at the list and try to pick something off the list to do.  It ended up leading to some pretty cool adventures!  Here’s my bucket list for 2018:

• Climb Kilimanjaro.  Yep, this is happening in August!!!!  If you missed that news, go here!
• Hike Resurrection Pass.  This is a 40ish mile trail that goes from Hope to Cooper Landing.  I’ve got 3 cabins booked along the trail in early June and I can’t wait to finally cross this big adventure off my Alaskan bucket list.
• Backpack on Kesugi Ridge.  I’ll only do this one if it’s nice and sunny out because the views of Denali on a clear day are INSANE.  But I’m hoping we get at least one clear weekend this summer or fall where I can finally try this trail.
• Backpack or hike the Lost Lake Trail.  This is my favorite trail, but I didn’t get to make it down to Seward to do it last year.  I’m putting it on my list so that I have extra motivation to make time for it this year.
• Visit one US National Park.  Due to lack of vacation days and airline miles because of my Kili trip, this would probably be something up here in Alaska like Denali or Kenai Fjords, but Wrangell-St. Elias would be really cool too!
• Learn how to cross country ski.  I signed up for lessons in December, but they got cancelled due to lack of snow.  I’m going to reschedule them and make sure that I actually learn what I’m doing out there because I currently spend most of my time on the ground.
• Participate in a bike race.  The Alaska Bike for Women was amazing last year, and I’d love to try it again!
• Visit one new town in Alaska.  Last year I went to Juneau for the first time.  I’d love to continue going somewhere new every year so that I can slowly explore this gigantic and remote state.
• Solo camp or hike.  This was such an empowering experience last year and I’m really excited to do something like it again!
• Try one new thing that scares me.  I’m actually a pro at this (I have like 23947 hobbies and I’m terrible at all of them) but it’s always good to have it on my list!

My one big goal is to complete the 52 Hike Challenge Adventure Series (read about finishing the challenge in 2017 here).  But I’m going to take it one step further.  Last year, my goal was to do 52 unique hikes.  Sometimes I hiked a trail I’d already counted for the challenge, but because it wasn’t a new trail for 2017 I couldn’t officially count it again.  Which means I probably actually did about 60ish hikes total last year.  So this year, my goal is to go on 75 hikes!  I don’t care if I repeat hikes, I will count every time I get outside and hike more than a mile on a trail.  I’ll be keeping track like I did last year.  I’m really looking forward to this challenge!  I just went on hike #1 on Sunday and the views reminded me why this challenge is always a good idea.  If you want to do the 52 Hike Challenge with me, go here to sign up for free!

What’s on your bucket list for 2018?  Do you have any big goals or resolutions instead?  What are you most looking forward to in 2018?