dreaming over the ocean

Its pretty hard to believe that I have lived in Squamish for 8 months!  We seem like such new residents, and it is so strange to continually have conversations about "how long have you been here, wow! ok!"  There is no question in my mind that this was a bad decision.  However, lets talk about the good and the bad. The Good: Mountains.  We see lots of animals: bears, salmon, bald eagles, deer, mysterious animals in the forest that you cant see, birds, snakes.  There is so much to do!  Being outside is Squawesome, and it is so much fun to learn new things.  Mountain biking is great, and challenging. Trail running is way better than road running.  I want to paddle board, I want to get back into camping. Our neighbourhood is awesome.  Almost like the condo community in Vancouver, but with yards houses.  Good Facebook group, lovely conversations while walking the trails around our house. Farmers markets, and craft markets.  Suc...

It seems as if this is a little "out of date" now, since SO MANY things have happened in the past few weeks.  That being so, the trip was so epic, and I loved it so much, and haven't talked about about it yet.  And, I tend to suspect that there are a few people who would appreciate a post on it! --------------------- A couple months ago, when my friend Kevin Shon brought forward the idea of climbing Mt. Rainier, I was a little skeptical, and VERY excited.  Would there possibly be the chance that "fate" would work out that a number of my friends from West Virginia would have the same period of time off, that we could engage in an epic adventure?  I knew that there was a small chance.  but, small is better than no-chance.  And, to increase the chances, it would be for me to say "yes." I knew for sure it would be something I would love to do. and, it came together.  5 Friends: myself from vancouver, Sam and Gretchen from Alaska, Kevin from.... every...

I love mountains.  there is just something about them that makes my heart happy, serene, and peaceful.  I love them anywhere... From the mighty Denali , to the rolling hills of West Virginia  and Vermont , to the mountains in Petra, Jordan , to the close to home Rockies.   There is just something about them that makes my heart happy.  oh right.  I already said that. so, when I found out that Malawi has the highest peak in central Africa, south of those famous ones up in tanzania and kenya, and North of the Drakensberg's, I was thrilled.   Mount Mulanje   hits a maximum peak of 3002m (9850ft), which, for those of you who need reference points:  Blackcomb mountain is 1609m, Mt Edith Cavell  3363 m  & Mt Robson is 3959m.   this " monadnock " is situated about 2hrs away (ish) (on minibus time) from Blantyre.  Long story short, I arranged with a new Australian friend of mine, that we would be able to hit up th...