There is something magical about pitching a tent in the wilderness and spending a night outside, miles away from the comforts of home. The air is filled with the scent of pine needles, you are tuned in to every sound around you, and the sunlight streaming into your tent early in the morning will wake you much, much earlier than you had planned. There’s even a certain heaviness to the type of sleep that you experience when you are out in the backcountry – if you can fall asleep and stay asleep that is. I’ve had some of the deepest, restorative slumbers swaddled in a sleeping bag, but also some of my most restless nights. Flashback to July […]

It had become an evening ritual – setting everything up the night before so that I could be efficient in the morning and not waste a moment of daylight. An alarm set to wake me before sunrise? Check. A full tank of gas? Check. Almond butter and jelly sandwich in the fridge? Check. Two liters of water in my Camelback? Check. Deciding on how many layers to wear and setting my hiking boots by the front door? Check. All my other gear neatly shoved into my pack? Check. A post-it note on my backpack to remind me to take that sandwich out of the fridge and pack it? Check. Over the past three months, I willingly lugged […]