Elizabeth Erickson

#LadyAndEdelman wedding extravaganza!

28 August 2017

#LadyAndEdelman wedding extravaganza!

8/28/2017

I don’t normally post about non-adventure oriented travel, but this past weekend deserves a special note. I attended the wedding of my dear friend, Aaron Edelman. For those who may not know him, he is a vital component to my blogging life. Back in 2011, my final year of undergraduate college, Aaron and I decided to embark on a post-degree traveling adventure to South America. We bought one-way tickets to Ecuador and prepared to take life as it came. That journey led to the creation of a blog, “Not living in our parents’ basements.” In it I detailed all of Aaron’s and my adventures for a year of travel across Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. Aaron and I did not actually spend the whole together, we parted ways in Bolivia. We definitely were taking on life as it came. Later, in 2013, I transferred that blog to Blogger so I could continue sharing my adventures. In the spring of 2016, I again moved my blog to WordPress to better organize my traveling and research websites to a single location. As you may realize, WordPress is where this blog continues to reside. Long story short, this blog may never have existed without the companionship of my college friend on that South American adventure. Thank you Aaron!

Anyway, Aaron and I both attended Cornell College. We met the first week of college, living a few doors down the hall from each other. In fact, many of the wedding attendees were also members of our Pfeiffer second floor group. There are few opportunities to forge friendships like the ones formed in college, when everyone goes through similar life experiences together, and bonds are formed as a family. Sentimentalities aside, Aaron is a great human and friend. After traveling together and sharing combined altitude sickness with food poisoning while bedridden in a tiny bunk-bedded room with a paper thin wall to the bathroom, I feel like an authority on Aaron’s character. And through him I have had the pleasure of spending time with his equally wonderful family. Irv and Maggie generously hosted me twice in Steamboat when I ran the Steamboat Marathon and Run Rabbit Run 50 miler back in 2014.

I only have the best things to say about the Edelman family, so I was delighted to [re-]meet Arden. Arden also attended Cornell College while I was there, so I do remember her existence. But now I have had the chance to actually get to know her, which I look forward to continuing for the years of gatherings and reunions ahead. She is fantastic! I could not have imagined a more creative, fun-loving, and caring human to match the same qualities in Aaron. They are great together! Plus, I never thought it possible that someone else could match Aaron’s love of beer, desire to explore, attachment to nature, and ability to dance with uninhibitedness. I wish these two the absolute best!

Ellerbluth nuptials!

16 July 2017

After getting off Mount Massive, I drove north to Grand Lake where I will be camping at the Winding River Ranch for the Ellerbluth nuptials. I arrived early enough to shower and scrape most of the grime from my body, catch up with Elise, and present myself at a pre-wedding BBQ gathering in clean clothes.

Waking up Sunday morning, I realize that my whole week of climbing 14ers was all a warm up for the Ellerbluth wedding celebration. What a party! There was a lot of sweet dance moves, amazing food, a Colorado flag made up donuts, and great company to celebrate these two amazing people. Of course no one stole the scene quite like Becca and Evan. Established dancing prodigies, these two really strutted their stuff and were the classiest pair present.

I met Becca my first year in undergrad at Cornell College. We were group partners in Historical Geology. Oh yeah, did I mention Becca is a geologist? My undergrad would not have been as rich an experience without Becca’s lively presence. Obviously I wanted to be associated with such a cool person. But geology is only the tip of the iceberg. Becca is also one of the most creative and interesting people I know. She double-majored in Geology and Art. And it is clear that Becca’s talents came through in all the beautiful, creative, and fun decorations and food of this weekend. Evan also went to Cornell College, but I did not have the pleasure of meeting him until after we were all living in Colorado, post school. Evan is a professional philanthropist. For those who don’t understand what that means, he loves humanity. He is inherently generous with time, energy, and empathy for the sole purpose of bettering someone else’s well-being by getting to the root of quality of life. And if you have ever met this man, you know that he truly is the kindest and most engaging person you will ever meet. These two are a rare breed of amazing humans, and my faith in humanity is restored every time I am gifted with their presence. I could not be happier to celebrate their union. Congratulations Becca and Evan!

What a phenomenal way to end this trip to Colorado. If only all vacations were so filled with family, other loved ones, fun adventures, and celebrations!

Mount Massive (14,421′) peaks! Shot-gun peak bagging.

14 July 2017

Mount Massive is officially a single 14er, but it is truly a massive mountain, made up of multiple peaks all above fourteen thousand feet. It is the 2nd highest peak in Colorado (behind Mount Elbert (14,433′) – summited yesterday) and 3rd highest peak in the contiguous 48 states (behind Mount Whitney (14,505′), summit during PCT 2015 – day 37). This is truly a beast.

Mount Massive (14,421′)
Massive Green (14,300′)
North Massive (14,340′)
South Massive (14,132′)

Sawatch Range
11.5 miles
5,500 feet elevation gain
North Halfmoon Creek TH – Southwest Slopes Route and traverse across
Class 2, Exposure 2 (and higher on traverse sections)

Yesterday I realized I was doubly fortunate to have my friend Blake join me for some hiking. Not to mention a side note about how badass he is. I found out Mount Elbert was his first major hike since a bad car wreck when he was hit by a drunk driver. In all his generosity he drove me out to the North Halfmoon Trailhead last night to camp so I could hike up a shorter route for an out-and-back traverse of the summits. And wow was that a good thing after finishing today!

I hit the trailhead at 4am and quickly made it to the trail junction where Mount Massive lies straight up in steep, boulder field switch-backs, and the N. Halfmoon Lakes continue on a gradual trail up the booming river. Almost right after heading up, I was startled by a jack rabbit who kept running up the trail in front of me, then I would catch up, then it would run up, and then I would catch it. It does’t sound as funny now, but I really felt like that rabbit probably thought I was chasing it down or something, like I could predict its getaway path.

As I noted earlier in the week, I am not really in peak physical condition, and I really felt that by the end of today. It felt like I took forever to make the saddle. And when I reached the top, somehow already filled with a group of young children wearing climbing helmets and having a reflection talk with their group leaders, I realized that was actually just a false summit. I quickly made it to the true summit but could still hear them chatting away, so I continued forward along the ridge line. My goal today was to traverse across all the peaks. There was a nice and easy down trail and climb back up Massive Green (14,300′). I was feeling good and made it across so quickly that I decided to continue all the way and then work my way back more slowly, enjoying the peaks as I returned. Leaving Massive Green, however, I realized I was going across a tricky, maybe class 3, ridge scramble. I think the traverse would have been super easy on the north side, it appeared to be nice easy scree, except it was still snow covered with a super slick hard shell of alpine ice. Instead I worked my way along the south face, which wasn’t super difficult, but was definitely dicey in a few places. Plus, here is where I felt my energy flagging from the week of hiking, of course. It was slow progress, but I eventually made it to North Massive (14,340′). I didn’t realize this until later, but I had meant to continue all the way to the “Far Northwest Massive,” but some confusion on my end with counting peaks leaves me one peak shy. I guess I will just have to summit Massive again someday to claim that final knob!

Anyway, that wasn’t the end of my efforts, you see. I then had to traverse back. The ridge the second time was a bit faster, but then all those easy downslope sections were steep straight up jaunts on the return. I should have eaten more snacks or something, but altitude really suppresses my hunger, so I ate some fruit snacks, sucked down water, and continued ahead. I did catch some great views back at Mount Massive along the ridge line from North Massive.

When I made it back to Mount Massive (14,421′), I was privy to the company of a marmot, posing for me on the highest rock at the peak. It so nicely stood its ground, preventing me from investigating the highest rocks as I began to search for the USGS marker. After literally 15-20 minutes of searching, I couldn’t find it. As a geologist, I feel like finding the markers is really important, but I searched everywhere. I crawled around the edges, tried flipping over a couple rocks. Nowhere! Giving up, I headed back to the false summit to prep for my last trek to South Massive. While eating a snack, two guys came up at the same time, both Coloradans. One had apparently been on Mount Elbert yesterday also. The other, a guy in his mid-to-late fifties, was summiting Massive for the ninth time, and was on his way over to Elbert for a second hike up. He has summited over 30 fourteeners for over 350 total 14er summits! Woah! I thought this guy was amazing! He claimed 14ers were nothing compared to me hiking the CT and PCT. We agreed to disagree. Since he had been up before, I instantly questioned his knowledge of the USGS marker. He claimed to know where it is, so I followed him back up to the peak. After an additional 10 minutes of chatting and searching, we both gave up, defeated. I guess it’s ok since I will have to come back some day for the missed peak to the farthest northwest.

Officially heading down to the south saddle to go up South Massive, I met a bunch of people finally on their ways up. At the lower saddle, I met these three Minnesotan guys out climbing 14ers for vacation. I chatted awhile and then set off. They continued up toward the main peak. I quickly reached what I decided was the highest spot on South Massive (14,132′). It felt like the easiest part of the whole hike so far. And then I headed back down the to lower saddle where I had met the Minnesotans. On my way up I eye-balled that saddle as a possible side trail to reconnect to the Southwest Slopes route to avoid climbing back up the ridge below the main peak. Unfortunately, in an effort to be a good trail visitor, I saw a sign that said that route was closed for restoration. Now I had been blazing my own trail the whole day pretty much, sticking to the main ridge line as much as possible, but I am also astutely conscious of the fact that this is a fragile alpine tundra. I always try to stay on the rocks as much as possible to prevent crushing of the thin vegetation that can take decades to recover. But when an active sign says not to go, I feel an overwhelming urge to obey the rules. So I climbed back up the ridge to the upper saddle. And to my surprise, I ran into the three Minnesotans. They were as surprised to see me as I was to see them. They had watched me head up the other peak, and I felt like I was moving so painfully slow, but I guess I was still moving pretty well. I passed them and made it to my trail connection, promised not to pass them again (they were feeling pretty sad about their pace to be beaten to the top twice, haha), and finally was on the route back down.

The route down was better than moving up, but it was still a tough trail. This mountain doesn’t have the jagged ridges of some of Colorado’s other peaks, but this beast still demands respect. I count myself as a fortunate person to have seen the views from the top. And I am pretty sure these views were actually better than the views from Elbert. Not to mention that the valley down to Halfmoon Creek might be one of the most beautiful approach trails I have ever had for a 14er. Granted these mountains aren’t necessarily known for beauty as they are for challenge. I think many would argue that there are a lot nicer hikes on 13ers than many of the 14ers. But I was awed by the views from Mount Massive.

This was my final day for adventures. I really wanted to pack my time in CO with non-stop excitement, and it has been one challenging week. My legs still feel good, and I am exhausted, filthy, and smelly. I feel so rejuvenated! I needed a little time in the mountains to recoup and refresh my brain. And now I am ready to spend the rest of the weekend celebrating the Ellerbluth wedding in Grand Lake! #LuthOrDare

Mount Elbert (14,433′) and South Elbert (14,134′) and Mount Cosgriff (13,588′). Colorado’s highest peak.

13 July 2017

Today feels like a bigger success because I not only added two more 14er summits to my list, I also get Colorado’s highest peak. As you may remember, I am not only striding for all of Colorado’s 14ers (link here), including the unofficial peaks, but also the 50 US high Points (link here). And wow, was this worth the trek up! The views are incredible!

Summary of Mount Elbert, South Elbert, and Mt. Cosgriff:

14,433 feet Mount Elbert – 14,134 feet South Elbert – 13,588 feet Mount Cosgriff
10.5 miles
4,300 ft elevation gain
Sawatch Range
Loop from Mt Elbert TH – up old mine road and down East Ridge route
Class 2, Exposure 1

This was my target hike during my trip to Colorado. I really want to finish the CO 14ers so I can start on the CO 13ers. But as I am in California the next three years, I also want to start looking in my own neighborhood for great places to trek about. So I need to be deliberate about the hikes I make time for.

But first, a recap of yesterday. I woke up at 3am to thunder and rain. I checked the weather forecast and it said rain until 5am. So I went back to sleep. At 5am I checked the forecast again, it said no more rain or lightening until 10am. I thought maybe I should go for it. I contemplated hiking La Plata, the shortest of the remaining three on my agenda. But then it started raining lightly again, so I stalled. I spent a solid hour looking up all the forecast websites I could think of. They all said the same thing. I felt really ready to get up and go, but I also felt really ready to fall back to sleep. So I did what any self-respecting 28 year old would do when faced with risking life or sleeping in, I called my mom. I think subconsciously I knew she would agree I shouldn’t try a summit, but I needed to know that I wasn’t only being a lazy ass. She suggested I could start up one knowing I would turn back after an hour or two. That sounded like a tease of a summit, so instead I headed into Leadville for the day.

I went to City on a Hill Coffee and Espresso. This place was bomb! I ate a Southwest Burrito with spicy salsa and a hot drink. Amazing! Especially since my tent, the least water resistant tent still in use in the modern era, soaked through to almost everything roughing the floor. This is to say my jackets nicely stowed in a duffle by my bed to prevent dew collection, resulted in lighted wetted fabrics, and the foot of my bed had completed soaked through the blanket, first 3″ thick sleeping bag, and the outer fabric on the second 3″ sleeping bag. Considering this tent probably hasn’t been used since I last went to Girl Scout camp in middle school, I can’t really complain. I also don’t know if I can justify buying my parents a new tent when it would likely be an object sitting around for the next time I am too cheap to buy a checked bag.

Anyhow, I spent a good chunk of the morning working and finishing up a few things that had immediate deadlines, and just enjoyed the relaxation. When I felt like it was time to stop fiddling around on my computer, about 3pm, I walked over to High Mountain Pies and ate a good portion of a 12″ San Juan pizza. I drank a First Cast IPA, brewed by Elevation Beer Co. out of Poncha Springs, CO. Oh how I miss the abundance of IPA beer from Colorado microbreweries!! And then my friend, Blake, drove out with his dog, Jolene, to join me for the next day. This brings me back to today.

We woke up early but got a bit of a late start, 5am, because Blake has a fancy 4runner which we drove up the trailhead road to cut off 4 miles. This was a great choice, and really fun to take on a rough road knowing we could pretty much cross anything. This included a fast-moving river that crossed the road, which would have been much trickier to cross on foot. Once we reached the trailhead, we walked down the Continental Divide Trail to connect with an old mining road that switch-backed up the front of Mount Cosgriff. We weren’t quite up the first peak when the sun first peak above the horizon, but we definitely had a phenomenal view. Once at the mine, we picked our own trail up the rest of the slope to the top of Cosgriff. I recently decided to add Colorado’s 13ers to my ambitions, so I am going to start documenting those lesser known summits.

We topped Cosgriff, then pushed on for South Elbert peak. This is one of those unofficial 14ers, but it was really important to me to reach its summit. It was great to have Blake and Jolene join this hike. Jolene, a large Bloodhound mix, kept things interesting. I absolutely love dogs, and hope my sister or brother have a pet dog some day so I can be the best aunt to it. Anyway, on the far side of South Elbert we crossed paths with a group of camp counselors on their way up. We had finally made it to the main trail, and the final slog to the top. We hadn’t really seen people or heard them until reaching that saddle. But at the top of Mount Elbert, there were huge crowds of people. I am discovering more and more that I really don’t appreciate crowds that much, I also don’t enjoy the summits as much as I enjoy the challenges of getting there. So in many ways this was a moment of deep patience for me, as I tried my hardest to ignore everyone and pretend that I might have been up there alone. It didn’t really work, but I enjoyed the views anyway. Being Colorado’s highest peak, Elbert has some stunning views. I particularly enjoyed staring across the valley at Mount Massive, my mission for tomorrow!

After a while we headed down the East Ridge back to the Mt Elbert Trailhead. The trail was so nice I was able to temporarily feel like I had my hiker legs and charged down without much effort. I realize that I really need to put regular hiking and running back into my daily life. It is hard to be a desk jockey in grad school…

Final recap: great company with Blake and Jolene, stunning scenery, perfect weather, and beautiful sunrise shots. Today was a fantastic day!

Pikes Peak! The iconic 14er experience.

11 July 2017

Pikes Peak receives a lot of mixed feelings I would say. At least from my experience. You see, Colorado is famous for its multitude of mountain peaks above 14,000 feet. I too am a follower of the idea that Colorado, and all the Rockies states, are superior to the other states because they have such magnificent mountains. So naturally they are a checklist item for tourists to partake in the Colorado experience. The problem is that climbing a 14er is a pretty big deal. And if you have no experience with altitude, it could literally be life-threatening. To circumvent that, two of the 53 official fourteeners can be driven to the top. Mount Evans and Pikes Peak. I climbed Evans back in 2013 as training for the Colorado Trail. I remember not realizing there would be a road to the top. I was the first person in the Bierstadt parking lot one cold 4AM morning. I remember crossing the Sawtooth Ridge and suddenly feeling no longer alone but unable to see any other people around. And then I approached Mount Evans, and was suddenly slapped in the face with all this noise and movement and commotion. People were driving to the top and not even hiking that last little mound to the true summit. It was surreal. I was overwhelmed and felt cheated of my solitude. And since then, when I mention that I have been to the top of Mount Evans, there is always an unknown asterisk involved where I feel obligated to say that yes, I actually hiked it. So I thought about all of this as I decided I needed to take advantage of my visit with Elise and Phil to finally bag this peak. And since Pike’s Peak is smack at the edge of the Front Range, the tourist factor is doubled. But I have a goal to climb them all, so why not now? The difference is that the road up Pikes Peak parallels the trail in the last couple miles. Psychologically that fact can really drain your energy in those final stret

Summary of Pikes Peak:

Summit: 14,110 feet
Front Range
14.4 miles
4,436 feet of elevation gain
Crags Campground TH – Northwest Slopes route
Class 2, exposure 1

I decided that since I was in the Springs anyways, I should take advantage of finally checking Pikes Peak off my list. I think a lot of people hit the Front Range peaks early as they are so close, but I definitely preferred to drive into the mountains more while I lived in Colorado. I like the solidarity.

Last night I experienced true insomnia for the first time. I was not restless (no more than usual at least), I was tired, I was cozy in the back seat, but I could not fall asleep. The moon was super bright and I laid awake most of the night. I finally fell asleep in the wee hours, so I gave myself an extra 15 minutes of snooze time before getting up.

I was on trail by 4am. I moved pretty slow at first because I brilliantly forgot to change my light batteries, so occasionally had to shine my phone battery to decide a route and blinded myself each time in the process. When I finally hit the tree-line, there was enough light from the sunrise that I missed while dilly-dallying on the west side of the saddle, to easily move ahead. However, that is also when the trail is basically straight up. I felt like I was moving incredibly slow. But I reached the summit of Pikes Peak at 7:30am. I saw a guy returning to the parking lot right as I started, but I never saw him again, so I can only imagine he was camped out and leaving before sunrise for some reason. Besides him, I never saw another human on my way up. I was the first human at the summit, but I was beat there by a herd of 12 bighorn sheep. I wandered around the top for about 25 minutes because there is a lot to see up there. I didn’t know what to expect the cog railroad to look like, but there is a viewing platform, a large summit sign, and enormous building that I checked out. I also snapped a few shots of the sheep, who scared the breath out of me as I rounded the main building and sent a few bolting. They were all up there nosing around in the back of the garbage truck. As I was preparing to leave, a ranger drove up. She was very nice and saved my summit photo by showing me where the USGS marker was hidden. I had walked right by because it wasn’t really the highest area to my mind’s eye, plus those bighorn sheep distracted me.

Anyway, I headed back down just before 8am and reached my vehicle just after 10am. At just over 6 hours, and 5.5 hours of “moving” time, I feel pretty good about my effort.

I crammed my face full of snacks and hit the road for Twin Lakes. That last drop down from the front range looking across at the Sawatch is such a beautiful view! As I drove in I saw a CT hiker walking the road, I picked her up and took her to Twin Lakes. There I found a whole slew of CT’ers. I barely saw any CT hikers when I hiked it back in 2013, so I didn’t think they could all be in one place like that! Anyway, I had been hoping to find CT and CDT hikers. I had cold soda and a variety of candy to deal out. I gave another hiker a ride and then sat at a spot where the CT crosses a dirt road at the far end of the lake. None of those hikers had stopped in town and were so delighted for a cold drink. It feels really good to mingle with hikers, even if I am not actually on trail with them. And it feels great to provide some magic!

I set up camp at Lakeview Campground and have a stunning view down on the lakes shadowed by the Collegiate Peaks. Plus the CT runs about ten feet below, so I am hoping to provide more treats the next couple days. Also, I am in a ridiculous camp setup. Since I flew in, I borrowed a vehicle and all their 1980 gear. So I have a 7-foot tall tent that isn’t waterproof, two big beefy sleeping bags that roll up to the size of pony kegs, and so much space I set up a chair next to my bed inside the tent. I literally had to hang a towel across the ceiling because the afternoon rains were dripping through while I was lounging and working on my computer. My final glamorous asset is a cooler. Boom! I will likely drive into Leadville each evening to work on my computer, but I am going super cheap for breaky, lunch, and snacks. And I will have the luxury of instant ‘cold’ food! It doesn’t get any more luxurious than the plush life of car camping!

Acclimating with the Manitou Incline

10 July 2017

I drove out to Colorado Springs last night from my parents’ in Kansas, and am staying with my good friends Elise and Phil. So happy to have a moment to catch up! Elise and I go way back to our first adventures on San Salvador Island in the Bahamas during our undergrad time at Cornell College. I knew then that I had been missing her quirky humor in my life. We have been friends ever since. I was so excited to learn that she would have some time off this week for a hike!

Today we climbed up the beast of the Manitou Incline. This is a popular trail near Manitou Springs where people train for bigger and tougher trails and others take on for a proper butt-kicking. It is a 2000 foot climb for one mile on the old remains of the cog railway that went up to Manitou Mountain. Imagine large wood stairs wedged into the slope at an average grade of 45 degrees, and 68 degrees at its steepest. That is the Incline for a whole mile! It is no small feat.

Elise and I killed it up the Incline. About 2.5 hours round trip including all breaks and a snack stop at the top. My lungs felt great and my body felt pumped! Any nerves I had about hiking this week were settled after this little jaunt.

For anyone familiar with this trail, you know that the locals are passionate about this route. The last time I climbed it, in 2012, I met this 65 year old woman crushing it to the top. As I was talking with her and younger man came running, yes running, by. She said that was her son. Five days a week they would go out together. Her hiking once up while he would run up twice. And I would say that is not an uncommon activity. It is like the daily run around the park in other cities. There is literally the Incline 500 Club, whose members have to climb the Incline 500 times within 365 days to be a member, and there are about ten members. So I would be amiss if I didn’t give a little back history. The incline was built in 1907 as a water tram to carry water from the Pikes Peak side of the mountain over to Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs. A short while after that it was turned into a tourist attraction touting itself as the highest train in the world. After decades of erosion and a final washout destroying much of the tracks, it was closed in 1990. And that is when a small group of hikers began illegally climbing the trail. They called themselves the Incline Club, and the trail began to gain popularity. And that is when it really took off as a destination for adventure tourism. By the early 2010’s, there was so much regular traffic that the trail either needed to be made legal or actually shut down. Former President Barrack Obama signed the bill that legalized the Incline in 2013. And since then it has been going through a series of repairs. In 2014, new retaining walls and water culverts were installed. Then the Barr Trail was updated. The most recent update finished in December 2016, with newly installed rip-rap and updates to many of the old railroad ties and walkway “rails.”

Manitou Incline summary:

3.6 miles
2000 feet elevation gain
2.5 hours total

Elise and I spent the afternoon wandering around CO Springs after a well-deserved lunch. She talked wedding plans and then I hit the road. This was my first time, in memory at least, that I have driven over the Front Range on Hwy 24. It is a beautiful drive. And I had great views of Pikes and what I will see tomorrow.

I am camped at Crags Campground, just a skip up the road from the trailhead. I fixed up a cozy bed in the backseat, organized my gear for the morning, ate a delicious supper of cobb salad and maple-glazed donut, and then worked on my research for a bit. I arrived to the campground just as the sky started a gentle sprinkle. Since I am heading out so early in the morning, and driving over to Twin Lakes/Leadville tomorrow, I decided a backseat bed was the most efficient setup. There were several tents in the campground, but the light rain kept things quiet and nicely cooled the air after a hot mid-90’s day. I am comfortably lounging with my feet propped up and planning to attempt some shut-eye soon. It is difficult for me to sleep while still light out, but I hope that even just resting my body will help me feel rejuvenated in the morning.

I am so thankful to be back in this beautiful state. I have missed Colorado more than I realized. As Muir has brilliantly been quoted, “The mountains call to me, and I must go to them.” It will be with a heavy heart that I return to the coastal paradise of southern California. At least I have this glorious week to play in the mountains.

Upcoming Colorado adventures in July!

28 June 2017

I will be heading to Kansas in early July to celebrate my father’s retirement. One week later I will be in Colorado to celebrate the wedding of my two friends, Becca and Evan. I am so excited to be present for both of these events. And the timing was perfect to afford me some extra time in Colorado to play in the mountains!

I have an ambitious plan for about five days that need to be split between adventures and research. Yes, that pesky PhD degree does still need my devotion. So my tentative agenda, weather permitting, is as follows:

Visit my good friends Elise and Phil in Colorado Springs. Then climb the Incline the next day with Elise as an easy acclimation hike. Let my body adjust to the time change and early wake up.
Camp at the base of Pikes Peak for an early summit of that fourteener the next morning. Hoping that despite the summer season, my week day hikes will remain relatively quiet!
Post up camping in the greater Leadville area. Summit Mount Elbert and South Elbert. Then take on Mount Massive, South Massive, Massive Green, and North Massive. And hit La Plata Peak on the last day.
Drive over to Grand Lake for the wedding celebration of the amazing Becca and Evan. Gather with good people, eat food, relax in the beautiful mountain town, and celebrate.
A final night in Boulder with Andrew and Emma, before flying back to California.

It will be an action-packed, whirlwind of a trip. But I am so excited for celebrations, catching up with friends, and getting outside!

If you are around and want to meet up, let me know! I won’t have a lot of free time, but am always down to have adventure partners to meet up with!

Financial advice for budding travelers.

26 June 2017

“An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.”
-Benjamin Franklin

There is no time like the present to prepare for your financial future. I will not pretend to be a financial expert, and I know I make my own share of financial faux pas. But more and more I see ambitious young people setting themselves up poorly for the future. I am not a trust funder, no one handed me a golden ticket, and I am definitely not earning big money. But somehow I still manage to go places, do things, and travel frequently. My secret is to live as frugally as possible, save money starting at a young age, and never turn down an opportunity to earn extra cash. There are three main factors to think about: time, how much to save, and where to save it.

Time:

This is a really simple statistic that I think most financial investors try to get across to people. The more you put away and the sooner you put it away, the more money you will have later. This is the longest game. And it is the most rewarding game. Here is the simple math in three scenarios:

Michael is 35 years old. He starts saving $1,000 per year for the next 30 years at a 5% interest. He started with $0 in savings. At the age of 65, Michael will have deposited $30,000. Interest, however, will have earned off itself. So the account will have $72,053.64. That’s $42,053.64 of free money! Pretty nice.
Joanna is 25 years old. She starts saving $1,000 per year for 10 years only, then lets her account sit. Her money also grows at 5% compound interest and began at $0. At the age of 65, Joanna will have deposited $10,000. The account will have $60,576.05. That’s $50,576.05 of free money! Yes, Joanna’s account has $11,477.59 less in it, but she also contributed $20,000 less overall and made $8,522.41 more in interest. That means Joanna increased her earnings by $28,522.41 compared to Michael.
Kimie is a baby. Her parents set aside $50 per month until Kimie was 18 years old. At that time the account sat with no further additions. Kimie’s parents contributed $10,800. When Kimie turns 65, her account will have $182,946.54. That’s $172,146.54 in free money!

I think you can hopefully see the power of time and compound interest. The key here is to start saving today. Are you already 35 and haven’t saved anything? It’s ok. You will still be better off if you start putting away money now than if you wait. If you wait, you will have nothing.

How much to save:

The above example is great, but let’s think seriously about retirement. There are several factors involved. When do you want to retire? The legal age may go up, but that doesn’t mean you want to actually work that long. Let’s use 65 for this example. How much do you need to live each year? Let’s go with the idealized $30,000 per year. Though personally I think that is way too high. How many years will you need to support yourself for retirement? Another 20-30 years maybe? Let’s go with 95. At $30,000 per year, for 30 years, you need $900,000 in retirement savings. And that is only for one person. You may still have children to support during that time, big expenses to pay off, and unforeseen health expenses. So let’s add another $100,000 of cushion. Now, for some, this might not seem too unfeasible yet. But there is also the important detail of inflation. How will the cost of living change from now until you retire, and from when you retire to when you will die? Inflation goes up about 1.9% each year (based on averages since 1914). Based on current projections, if I live on $30,000 per year now at the age of 28, and I want to continue that lifestyle until I die at age 95, then I should expect to spend about $89,000 per year in 2053, and be spending about $218,000 per year by the time I die in 2083. I don’t know enough to do this math off the top of my brain, but that puts the required amount of savings required to actually support yourself in retirement at a significantly higher amount. I will ballpark at $4.4 million dollars! That begins to seem impossible even with savings. But would having a nice nest egg do any harm? I think not. And if you re-evaluate how much money you actually need each year, that amount can significantly come down. Not to mention that as I put money away now, that beautiful compound interest can help pad the rest.

So I won’t tell you what amount you should aim for. But you can check out this nifty Vanguard tool for your Retirement Income Calculator. Everyone’s needs are different. I try to save as much as I possibly can. It never hurts to have more money building that sweet sweet compound interest for you.

Where to save it:

I personally like to spread my money out in a few options. I have a Whole Life plan through New York Life. This is a life insurance plan coupled with retirement plan. I will not argue for nor against the higher rates I pay. That is the company I went with when I turned 23, and that is the company I will probably stay with. I also opened a Roth IRA and made regular monthly payments. I prefer Roth IRA’s and any investment plan that is post-tax money, because the amount I watch grow is the amount I will someday have all to myself. Though there are a lot of benefits to pre-tax money investment, I do not actually see the advantage. When I am older I can only assume I will be making more money and be earning off my smart investing, so I will be in a much higher tax bracket. That means that when I do finally withdrawal the Traditional IRA monies, they will also be taxed at that higher bracket. Whereas all the money I take post tax now, while I am poor and in a really low bracket, will not be taxed later. Both will be subject to the magic on compound interest, but in my mind the post-tax money will result in higher payouts longterm. When I worked for three years, my company had a 401(k) plan with matching. I obviously took advantage of that free money. And when I left that company in 2015 to come back to graduate school, I rolled over the account into a Traditional IRA. I could transfer that account into a Roth at some point, but for now I am happy where it is. I still make regular payments to my Roth IRA. And like any insurance, that also is paid on a monthly basis. But I view both of these accounts as “bills,” so I never really think about my building nest egg. I see it as money not available to me now, so it fleetingly leaves my psyche and I live within what remains.

Those are all retirement accounts though, and tied to being mostly inaccessible until reaching a certain age. I also have money in an S&P 500 account with Betterment (wikipedia link and personal link). (Disclaimer: For each person who signs up with Betterment through my personal link, I receive 30 days without service fees and you receive 90 days without service fees. If three people sign up, I will receive one year without service fees. This is not a special deal to me. I am not paid by, sponsored through, or receive any royalties from Betterment. This is a standard deal offered to all customers of the company. That is, they give a nice perk for free publicizing.) Since I have had a good experience so far, I am happy to publicize of my own volition. I found Betterment through the wisdom of Mr. Money Mustache, a financial blogger I occasionally pour over enviously as I near the age 30 and wonder why I am not about to retire… He has a lot to say about Betterment (MMM post here, with an update here), as well as the stock company, Vanguard (MMM post here). I could rave about how interesting I find this blog and rantings of Mr. Money Mustache, but I will let you come to your own opinion. I will correct myself here though (**literally an update 29 June 2017**), I actually found Betterment through a podcast I greatly enjoy: Planet Money. I have been listening to this podcast for the past couple years. And they advertise Betterment on almost every episode. But, unlike a blog, hearing information about a company sort of flows out the other side because I cannot visually see it. Another textbook example of how powerful website advertisement is! Anyways, the combination of reading about Betterment on Mr. Money Mustache and having that reinforced by Planet Money, I felt confident in researching the company seriously.

But I thought this was about financial advice to travel more!

I will add that I observe MMM’s advice pragmatically to fit my desires of travel. It is never too late to save for retirement, but I also spoon off some of the fatty cream to finance my travels. The concepts are the same. I will not retire at 30 because of my meager student income savings, and the fact that 50% of those savings go directly into my travel fund. But that is the lifestyle I require to function happily. I also seek out opportunities for travel where some or all of the cost is covered. Though this will typically result in me not having a choice in where my vacation takes place. But isn’t all travel worth it? I think so!

Ways to have your travel paid for:

Work in the outdoors or in a high travel field or abroad: National Park System, land surveyor, landscape architect, archaeology crews, pest management technician, termite technician, environmental scientist, construction mason, outdoor instructor, camp recreation, trail crew, au pair, English/ESL teacher in foreign countries, wildlife management, nature photographer, National Geographic Explorer, island caretaker, park ranger, forest firefighter, guiding, freelance writer/photographer, travel agent, tour guide, travel nurse/doctor, WWOOFing, flight attendant, airline ready reserve agent, pilot, missionary, diplomat, importer/exporter, Peace Corps volunteer, Busker, cruise ship gigs, yacht sailor, Navy sailor, yoga instructor, and the list goes on. You can even look for non-outdoor employment abroad.
Become a professional adventurer/traveler/explorer. This is not very realistic. But if you think it is for you. Do your research and get out there. The pros are experts at what they do.
Look for unique volunteer positions that can lead to paid positions and resume bolstering. For example, if you know a camp that needs a cook. Volunteer to cook for free. If they like you, they may hire you back. The better option is to find a program through a university, school, church, that takes people/children out on trips. They often pay meager sums, but cover all your expenses. If you do a good job, you are more likely to be invited back, as well as word of mouth for other more exciting opportunities. I used cooking as an example, but this also works for guiding/trip leaders, musicians, travel companions, and others.
Odd jobs to earn extra cash: lawn maintenance, Airbnb, Uber/Lyft, Turo, ToursByLocals, general labor, personal assistant, house cleaning, pet sitting, child sitting, house sitting, errand runner, personal shopper, yoga instructor. My tip is to never turn down an odd job. They are a great reference for future opportunities.

Feel free to comment below for other opportunities, advice, or suggestions!

APECS Polar Week Photo Contest

5 April 2017

A couple weeks ago was the APECS International Polar Week conference (link here), and I submitted two photos to the Photo Contest Spring 2017. Turns out I won first prize in the “PolarPeople at home” category.

You can check it out here: www.apecs.is

And photo below:

Caption: Ross Sea Ice Shelf, Antarctica, 1 November 2016. “Enjoying a snack break and rest after cutting ice blocks to build the kitchen walls. Antarctic home life.”

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My other photo was in the “PolarPeople in action” category:

Caption: Lillie Hills, Antarctica, 8 December 2016. “Mesmerizing view while hiking up a mountain during geology fieldwork.”

The end of a great trip

6 January 2017

1/6/2017
The end of a great trip

This morning I took my bicycle to a bike shop. I bent my derailer and apparently have been causing the slow demise to my shifters myself. Somehow I hadn’t caught on that my bottle cage and front gears were competing for the same space. The shifters were in the lead to begin with but the bottle cage won the long game. Overall pretty easy fixes. The problem was that I am out of time. I could possibly have put myself into super gear and powered to Christchurch. But it felt right to stop. And truly the cosmos was backing that decision. As if on cue, heavy rains started in Dunedin shortly after finishing up at the bike shop. I booked another night at On Top Backpackers, stowed my things in the storage closet, and spent the day on foot seeing the city.

It was a relaxing day. I walked around the Dunedin Chinese Garden. I seriously want a traditional Chinese garden inspired space someday. Then I wandered around the Toitu Otago Settlers Museum, which is completely free and well worth the look around. It ranged from the early indigenous cultures through the arrival of European peoples, and then New Zealand modern history through the 1900’s with a special exhibit on the famous Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, or Dunedin Longitudinal Study, where 1037 people born in 1972-73 were studied at certain age intervals. The study continues. These people are brought back to Dunedin periodically to be assessed in a number of categories from health, lifestyles, behaviours, and attitudes. Really neat to see.

I wandered around the city and relaxed the rest of the day. After loitering too long at a pizza pub for supper (to use their free internet!), I went to the movies! I can’t remember when I went to the movies last. I saw La La Land, starring Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling. So good! I already love musicals, they are not a dying pleasure in my life, but I think even the non-musical addict can enjoy this film. It definitely brings me back to my childhood dream of being a triple threat: singer, dancer, actress. Back at the hostel I was ready for an early night in to catch my early bus the next morning. While enjoying a tea before bed, I had the great fortune to chat with Peter Gazzard. He is from South Africa and is currently a couple years into cycling around the world! Check him out on Facebook (Gazzie on Tour) and if you are feeling generous, consider donating to his cause (http://www.givengain.com/a/pedallingpete/). He is cycling to support the Qhubeka initiative in raising money to provide bicycles for the needy children in South Africa. A very interesting and kind man.

Early the next morning I went to the Taieri Gorge Railway. This is where I caught the bus to Oamaru. The rains hadn’t let up yet. In fact they continued all the way to Oamaru. My plan had been to spend the day venturing around Oamaru before catching an evening bus the rest of the way to Christchurch. Due to the heavy rain, I did not wander around too much.

The bus that evening took me into Christchurch. I stayed with an AirBnb and had a really nice sleep. It was a hard sleep, just a good sleep, and long. I woke up feeling like I hadn’t slept that well in a long time. The day was rainy but I spent most of it inside catching up on posts and emails. I retrieved my baggage from the CDC, took apart my bike, and packed up for the long flights back.

This trip is finally over. Glad I had the opportunity to explore a place so different as Antarctica. And I am thankful I was able to spend time riding my bike around New Zealand.

Life in Motion

Time:

How much to save: