2014 Retrospective

2014: The Sky As My Roof

2014 was filled with equal parts adventure and misadventure; and I don't strictly mean misadventure as "bad", though it is defined as a "mishap, unfortunate incident". Sometimes unfortunate incidents are good in the end... like the first time Adam & I hammock camped and the ropes snapped umpteen million times. That misadventure taught us not to undo knots with a multitool, as it causes minuscule frays in the line that snap under pressure. Speaking of camping, I have deemed 2014 as the year the sky was my roof. This year has been more focused on the outdoors, and actually being outdoors, not just wishing I was, than any other year so far. Here is my year in review:

Winter/Spring

Bushwhacking our way around Cannon - "Is it this way?"

The first day of 2014 was supposed to spent checking an "easy" 4,000 footer off of our list: Cannon Mountain. The trail was only 2 miles each way, it seemed like a no-brainer... but when we got on trail we quickly realized it was not going to be easy. It was so steep that it just didn't seem logical, and no matter how hard we tried to navigate with the map, guide, and our instinct, we couldn't figure it out. The weather started to turn and we called an audible, then spent the rest of the afternoon playing around in the woods. 

We were not discouraged, though, in fact we were on a high from our first "big" winter hike together, Mt. Liberty, the day before. This gave us the winter camping/hiking bug that would continue the whole year (and beyond!). Our next big adventure was to Mt. Monroe, and it proved to be the most extreme conditions of the year. Summit winds were 50mph, pushing the wind chill to about -40 degrees. It was our coldest hike of the year and incredibly strenuous, but well worth the effort and risk.

Frozen face

Clear sky's on Monroe

Ski day at Loon with the family

I skied for the first time ever in the winter/spring of '14. Now when people know I'm from New Hampshire and ask if I ski I can at least say "well, yes, I CAN ski." I spent all of my life responding with "no, I've never skied" and getting a look like 'wait... what? Are you sure? You're from New Hampshire, you know'. In my defense I was told I should never ski/snowboard because I have terrible knees, but my short ski season went really well. I only had one partial yard sale ("partial" because it was only one ski and I was only in a shallow ditch).

Adam and I made a trip to Michigan to his sister's house so he could finally meet his niece, Riley. We spent a few days hanging out with family, checking out the Detroit zoo, and visiting the Henry Ford Museum before heading back to Boston. It was around this time that I found out I got a job I applied for on a whim: teen trail crew leader with the AMC. I randomly applied on a day that I was bored at work. I despised my job at the college I was working at; it was decent money but painfully boring most of the time. My boss was great, though, so I stayed longer solely for that reason. The seasonal position with the AMC gave me a good excuse to leave for the summer. I had vague plans of going back there, but obviously my plans changed!

Adam and I wanted to get one more big hike in before I left for the summer, so we planned our first overnight together (we had been sleeping at the base of the mountain in the car for our other big hikes). We headed up towards Mt. Adams and Mt. Madison and set up the hammock at a tentsite. As I alluded to before, it was not a smooth process. One of the lines had been tied too tightly, so while I was cooking dinner Adam undid the line but had to use pliers to do what his cold hands could not. This caused the rope to snap 10 minutes in to us settling in for the night. Things could have gone much worse, though. It was an awesome hike.

Sign on Mt. Adams with loads of rime ice

Life hit the fast forward button and suddenly I had to get so many ducks in a row before I moved out to the Berkshires for 3 months. Adam and I had been working to meet a minimum fundraising goal to walk in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer to honor Adam's mom. Our lives were so hectic that fundraising became increasingly harder, and in the end we only raised enough for Adam to participate. It was an awesome experience for both us even though only he walked. I was able to cheer him on at the finish line.

39 miles in 2 days!

I thought my head was going to explode trying to navigate all of the things I had to do before I left. The biggest stressor was subletting my apartment in Brighton, which worked out at literally the last minute, I mean he actually moved in as I was moving the last of my things out. It was a risky move, I had no idea what kind of person he was, but thankfully it turned out okay. Off to the Berkshires!

Summer

My summer in the woods was easily the most unique slice of the 2014 pie. I left Eastern Mass for Western Mass not entirely sure what to expect. Despite spending lots of time on trails, I had never done trail maintenance or construction. I was confident in my leadership, teamwork, and teaching skills, but I was totally green at trail work. I fell in love with it quickly.

Receiving, restoring, hanging, and caring for my axe all season gave me a love of traditional hand tools, something I never thought I would care much about. My axe came with me every single day, it was as much a part of my pack as any gear loop or zipper. 

End of staff training

We had a quirky, outgoing, ridiculous staff in the Berkshires, and it made for a rambunctious summer. For better or for worse, there was never a dull moment when we were all together. I think it was for better. My days were long and very physically demanding. There were times I wanted to just go back to my tent, put in my headphones, and sleep for 15 hours. Many days were mentally and emotionally draining as well, since crew leaders are never "off". We were "on" from the moment the first kid arrived until the moment the last one left. As tough as it was, I wouldn't change any part of it. Not only did I get (excuse my French) fucking ripped, but it was probably the most rewarding work I've done. I cherish the people I met and memories that we made, but for the rest I will defer to my earlier post saying goodbye to my summer in the woods.

                                                     

Fall/Winter

POW POW!

 Adam picked me up from the Berkshires at the end of August and we made the ~7 hour drive to his grandparent's house in Pennsylvania. It was a trip of firsts for me; I met more of Adam's family, I visited PA for the first time, and I shot a gun. That's right folks, I grew up in New Hampshire and it took me 24 years to shoot my first gun. Can you believe it? It was exhilarating and terrifying... mostly terrifying, actually.

After our mini-vacation ended we headed back to Boston to end the longest hiatus I have had from the city in 6 years. It was a period of big changes for me. We moved to a nice apartment building in Newton, and since I was away all summer I saw the apartment for the first time as we moved our things into it.

I didn't have much time to settle in, because a week into September I had to begin training and orientation for my new position with MassLIFT-AmeriCorps. I was introduced to the program by Collin, who kindly let me use his computer and pick his brain during the application process this summer. I was somewhat familiar with the positions and program through Collin, but my position was entirely new. There are other Community Engagement Coordinators in the program, but this was the first time AMC was hosting an AmeriCorps member outside of the Berkshires. It took a while to get settled in, but I'm in more of a groove now. A lot of my job involves walking around the woods, how bad can that be?

I think she liked it

Emma turned 6 this year, which is absolutely mind-boggling for me. Every year we say "I can't believe she's -insert age-", but this one seems more monumental because she's in 1st grade. She rides the bus, for goodness sake!

Fall seemed incredibly short between the move, new job, and generally adjusting back to Boston life. I have notoriously loved summer much more than winter almost my whole life, but last winter was so fun that I was ready for snow to fall. I wanted to get back to the mountains for skiing, hiking, and camping. Thankfully, we were able to squeeze in a few trips including an overnight in the hammock and a 2-day trip to Killington. 

Hammock camping

Ski trip to Killington

The holidays were spent with my family, though they didn't seem to last long enough. When do they ever? Adam had to work until 8:00pm on Christmas Eve, so our usual festivities that night were cut short. It was a fantastic Christmas nonetheless. My mom told us that if she didn't have our Christmas lists by Thanksgiving she was giving Adam a bedazzled pair of briefs... and she ACTUALLY DELIVERED ON THAT PROMISE. My mom often says ridiculous things like that in passing, so "in passing" that you forget she said it until you open a box with bedazzled underwear in them. 

Stylin'

We spent New Year's in the Whites and brought in 2015 on a positive note. This year was a rollercoaster to say the least. Just as I got settled into something I had to uproot and move again. That's not necessarily a complaint, but it did make for a lot of challenging transitions. I can definitely say that those changes got me to a much more positive place by the end of 2014. I started the year splitting my time between REI (a job I like but don't necessarily want to be full time at) and the college (a job I wholeheartedly despised). Now I'm in a position with an organization I love, and while I may not want to be in this specific role forever it is giving me great experience. My year isn't just measured in what job I had/have, but also in the times I've spent with loved ones, new friends, old friends, family, etc. I got to spend more time in the mountains and became a much stronger hiker/climber. It has allowed me to take on bigger challenges and enjoy my time outdoors. 2014 was truly a year with the sky as my roof.