2013 - Resolutions and the Great Outdoors

2013 is now underway and I've been starting to think about what do I want to do this year.  No, I didn't make any resolutions on New Year's Eve, but I have ideas in my head of some of the things I want to accomplish this year and here's to hoping I can make them work out.

Doing Good for a Cause - Big City Mountaineers

In 2012 I was determined to give back more which I did, but not as much as I wanted.  So in 2013 - I've committed myself to Summit for Someone and doing a benefit climb with them and Backpacker Magazine to support Big City Mountaineers.  I'll be raising $4,000 to help out some well deserved at-risk youth gain opportunities to have a one-on-one mentoring experience in a wilderness experience.  In my opinion, it's two-fold, not only will these kids come out with an experience that will provide them some great skills to help them get through school and become leaders to their peers, they'll also get a great experience in the wilderness, which is something I hold close to my heart.

And in return as I'm doing this through Summit for Someone, I'm going to get to climb Mt. Whitney, the highest point in the contiguous 48 states, meet some new people and hopefully make some new life long friends.

Summit For Someone

More Training - Wilderness First Responder

Last year - I invested time into becoming Wilderness First Aid certified to make myself more readily available when I'm out in wilderness settings.  It made me feel more confident to take other people out hiking and camping and getting them to experience what I really love.  This year I plan to take it another step further and get the Wilderness First Responder certification.

Why?  Because I really love being in the back country and experiencing life unlike the majority of the people I know.  And I would really love to take some of the people who want to see this part of the country / world with me.  But doing so requires me to be prepared to take care of not only myself, but those who have placed their trust in me as well.  By getting certified - I get trained on standards and protocols to follow to ensure that if someone gets hurt, they'll be in good hands until I can get them out or get emergency personnel in.

Driftless Area - Wisconsin

Yes - I do have more to explore.  In 2012 I found the Black River State Forest where you can go backpacking.  I hiked a few trails in the forest, but didn't get time to go back and do any backpacking.  In 2013, I'm determined to get back there and take the dogs on a weekend backpack trip in the forest.

And I would like to go back to the Kickapoo River Valley area and do some backpacking on the trails along the river.  This was probably the most magical of the Driftless area I found in 2012.  It was just amazing.

Kickapoo River Valley area.  Wisconsin's "mountains".

So I'm extending an offer to anyone who reads this to join me in 2013 to visit one of these area's with me.  Don't worry if you don't have the gear - I know where we can get it.

Exploring Beyond Wisconsin

I have a few ideas of ideas I would like to explore in 2013 beyond Mt Whitney (not sure what, if anything I'll actually get to do yet).  

• A trip back out to Colorado and Utah to do some mountain biking, climbing and backpacking.  Specifically I would like to get out to SW Utah and check out Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks.
• Head back out east to explore - haven't gone in that direction in a number of years.  West Virginia's Dolly Sods Wilderness, the White Mountains of New Hampshire or something else.

That should keep me busy most of the year beyond camping in and around Wisconsin's State Parks.  And exploring my own backyard in Milwaukee.  Looking forward to a good 2013.  Join me if you want.  

2012 - A Year Outdoors

Great Outdoors

Never realized when I titled my blog the Great Outdoors that literally I'd be spending so much time in the outdoors.  And 2012 has proven to be just a bunch of experiences enjoying life outside.  I'm so glad I have the ability and opportunities to experience what I do and look forward to doing more of it in 2013 and bringing more people along for the hike.

Mt Kilimanjaro

January and February, I trained, trained and trained some more as I got ready to tackle one of the seven summits - Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa.  It was quite an experience.  To not only climb 19,340 ft (5895 m), but to meet some great people, experience a different culture and throw in a safari to boot.  

Uhuru Peak - Mt Kilimanjaro

42 Nights of Camping

Yes, 42 nights - that's a lot (12% of nights in 2012).  I beat 2011 by 2 nights.  I don't intend to beat 42 in 2013.  Some experiences were great, some ok and some stressful (when you lose your phone).  The majority of the best nights in a tent came with a backpacking experience.  But also - a few camping experiences allowed me to get people out camping with me and help them (or most of them) gain an appreciation of the outdoors.  And finally I got to explore a lot more of the Driftless Area of Wisconsin.  Hiking and camping in state parks I'd never been to.  I think I now have the entire driftless area covered for state parks.

Backpacking

The first night in a tent came back in February 2012 with a snowshoe trip up in the Kettle Crest Range in northern Washington.  Hanging out up in the mountains overnight in the winter was incredible.  Not only was I the first one to sign in to the log book on Wapaloosie Mountain for 2012, but from the top we could also see into Canada.  

View from camp in the Kettle Range Mountains of Washington 

Other memorable backpacking experiences of 2012:

• Yellow River State Forest in Iowa - the hilly area of Iowa.  Very pretty, quiet.  May 2012
• Superior Trail in northern Minnesota - what a beautiful area.  Need to get back here again.  Labor Day weekend.
• Kokanee Glacier National Park in British Columbia, Canada.  Beautiful and quiet in mid-September.  But sad to see the glacier is receding.  Hopefully they get a lot of snow pack this year to help build it back up.

Other Great Experiences

View from Mt Kit Carson, Spokane, WA

• Timms Hill - Wisconsin's highest point.  Not quite the same as Kilimanjaro, but still another one of the USA's 50 highest points picked off.  (1500+ ft)
• Christmas in Washington - got to visit my brother in Newman Lake and take in some great hikes and snowshoeing in the area.  Finally got to go to Mt Spokane State Park and get to the top of Mt Kit Carson via snowshoe.  (And had the peak to myself)
• Dogs - Jasmine and Wailea made it another year - ableit a few surgeries to fix a torn ACL (Wailea) and remove a ~7 lb tumor and her spleen (Jasmine).  The dogs managed to get in 33 nights in a tent and traveled to 6 states.  Hopefully both remain healthy enough to continue in 2013.  

Backpacker Magazine, Mt Whitney and 2013

Mid-year 2012 I found out Backpacker Magazine was offering up to its readers an opportunity to climb Mt Whitney with their editor, Jon Dorn.  So in July, I wrote and submitted an essay, wrote my "I Want to Climb Mt Whitney" blog post and had wonderful friends support me via posts to it to try and get to selected to join Backpacker in their Mt Whitney summit attempt.  

After what seemed like forever, I got a response.  I was lucky enough to be selected to join Backpacker Magazine to climb Mt Whitney and support a great organization - Big City Mountaineers via Summit for Someone.  

Which brings me to 2013.  This climb is in April 2013, but I've started training and am really looking forward to this opportunity.  I'll get to the highest point in the contiguous 48 states (and highest point in CA), experience mountaineering, meet new people and make new friends, help some under-privileged youth get a great experience as well and finally get to the Sierra Nevada's.  I can't wait.  I'm sure this will be one of my highlights for 2013.

Special Thanks

Thank you to everyone who has joined me and supported me in all the adventures of 2012.  And if you didn't join me - feel free to join me in 2013.