ADK High Peaks 32-34/46, The Santanoni Range

Wowsers, life can change so much in one week. Last Saturday I awoke to a medical test result that will make a big change to my life, I was positive for the JC virus which is no big deal if you aren’t taking a drug like I am for MS, but my titer was high, I needed to come off Tysabri immediately to avoid the potential for PML. I met with my MS Specialist on Friday, and It is with cautious optimism that I will come off of Tysabri with ease and begin a new therapy, Kemsimpta. People with MS don’t really switch medicines, unless there current therapy isn’t working. I’m grateful for all the years of Tysabri helping me, and hopeful that I won’t rebound coming off of Tysabri and the delay of Kesimpta fulling engaging (about 3 months) will not cause any major impact. Now on to the story of yesterday, 15 Oct 2022, when we tackled … one of the muddiest, wettest ranges in the completion of the 46 peaks, The Santanoni Range.

It was another early start, as daylight is running short, and this is one of the most tedious ranges to navigate in the ADK. Adding on the factor that the area got a huge rain on Thursday->Friday morning, and we knew what we were facing (sort of). I texted Becky and Laura to be ready to embrace the mud and wet. Not sure any of us were quite prepared for the extent of what we were up against. Another 1am wakeup time and we rolled out from my casa at 2am, and begin hiking in the dark around 3:35 am. Santanoni Peak has an elevation of 4,607ft and is ranked 14th on the Adirondack 46er list. Panther Peak is ranked 18th with an elevation of 4,442ft. Couchsachraga Peak is the smallest of the Adirondack 46ers and it actually only comes in at 3,820ft. We originally planned on Santa first, Couchie, then Panther. We accidentally missed our turn due to the darkness and ended up doing the range with Panther->Couchie->Santa. We did get views of a beautiful sunrise on the way up Panther.

Once we got close to the summit of Panther, the wind began to shift, which was cool to see from the clouds but I started singing the Mr. Sun song to manifest it staying with us for the challenges that lay before us.

Next came the long talked about journey to the summit of Couchsachraga Peak, which is the 46th-highest of the Adirondack High Peaks, with an elevation of 3,820 ft. This mountain is pronounced “Kook-sa-KRA-ga,” and is an ancient Algonquin name that means “Dismal Wilderness.” The Algonquin used this name for the Adirondacks. Today, people refer to it as “Couch Mountain” (Couchie, pronounced “Coochie” for short. Couchsachraga Peak is an un-trailed peak and is fully lined with trees.Hikers should note that this hike requires traversing several swampy and muddy areas. Dress accordingly and be sure you have proper gear for such conditions. Thanks for that tip!

Couch is known for its bog and up and down in elevation. It also as referenced above isn’t actually 4,000 ft, which adds a little insult to injury. But you must do it to get all 46, so we did it! You could not turn without navigating water, mud so you just had to embrace it. I had extra socks but the juice wasn’t worth the squeeze to change them as this was nothing but sloptastic saturated conditions. Sadly, I still haven’t found great gaiters for me, so I had thin water resistant snow pants that kinda worked over my shoe. Not really though so I had wet feet from this point forward in the hike.

With all these challenges we were grateful for sunshine and being sheltered from any wind. We really lucked out on the weather even though we had the aftermath of maybe a little more water and mud on the trail. This range is notorious for being muddy, so it’s hard to say without have more data to compare it too, but I can promise I won’t be back. Life moments always lead my mind to song lyrics, so only appropriately did I think of the Meatstick while on Couchie,

https://phish.net/song/meatstick/lyrics

(Anastasio/Fishman/Gordon/McConnell/Marshall/Herman)
ï¿½ Who Is She? Music, Inc (BMI)

I’m trapped here as my senses bleed
I can’t recall which things I need
You show up late and stumble in
Unsure if you are still Corrine

My captive gaze inside your eyes
Reveal a thing you’ve tried to hide
Attempting to record this view
Reflections drive me out of you

Time for the meatstick,
Bury the meatstick,
Take out the meatstick time
Whoa, shocks my brain
Whoa, shocks my brain

But long before this scene concludes
The end I’m seeking still eludes
My every effort to apply
My will to moments passing by

But every time we say goodbye
The pain I can’t identify
Reveals to me the hidden door
That leads to several moments more

Time for the meatstick,
Bury the meatstick,
Take out the meatstick time
Whoa, shocks my brain
Whoa, shocks my brain

(Japanese lyrics)
Meetostikku jikan
Meetostikku kakushite
Meetostikku toridashite jikan
Tou tou atama ga shock
Tou tou atama ga shock

Couchie definitely shocked our brains, and provided us with enough mud to last a lifetime. We started making singing a new theme for the classic “Soul Train”, and would be the “Couch Train” and instead of solid gold dancers, we would have hikers with mud and wet clothes jamming along.

Once we finally completed Couchie, we were on our way to the last peak of the day, Santanoni. We had some amazing views, from this adventure, but our feet were definitely squishy and we were getting tired physically and mentally from all the wet and mud. We made our 3rd summit, and then began our descent down the Santa Express.

The views were amazing on the descent. It did get a bit dicey at one slick slide, and this was a long arduous walk out, which was very hard on the knees, and required headlamps. We weren’t the only ones though which was nice. All in all- an intense mental and physical 16+ hour day in the ADK wilderness. I was so happy to take off the wet muddy shoes and socks, and enjoyed a steak dinner when arriving home. 12 more to go! Hike on, adventure on, ADK Tough.

31/46- ADK Adventure-The Dix Range

After missing so much of the ADK fall hiking opportunities being tied up with work in Ireland, I was eager to get back to this journey/ goal. The weather forecast was all over the place- I had taken Columbus Day off to either get these 5 peaks done, or recover. Today is recovery day!

We set out from my casa at 2am and were hiking by 3:23 am. Of course we started in headlamps and tackled this range counterclockwise, starting with the Macomb Slide. Unfortunately, the early morning clearness and the brilliant moon left us socked in with fog and clouds. By the way we were maybe just a few feet up the slide, I stopped, and asked my two awesome hiking partners if we should really continue the journey. It had began to mist and I knew as we gained elevation this would likely be snow or sleet. We made a group decision to keep on keeping on. We made to the top of Macomb, without those cool moments of actually seeing what you were going up the slide or that gorgeous view that so many had taken photos of looking back down over Elk Lake. Oh well! We made it safely anyway! I don’t really have any photos of going up the slide, as it was took dark and foggy. We did take a quick photo at the summit, then we were off to South Dix.

The journey to South Dix was relatively easy although the weather was continuing to worsen. We continued to move onward, and grabbed the summit easily, making the 2nd summit of the day, sadly with no views as we were still socked in.

Next up was Grace Peak, a huge significance in ADK history for women.

Grace Peak, formerly known as East Dix, is one of the 46 Adirondack High Peaks. Located in North Hudson, the mountain has an elevation of 4,012 feet.

The mountain was originally named “East Dix” after John A. Dix, who was the secretary of state in 1837 for Governor William Marcy. Dix later became Governor himself and was also a US Senator, Secretary of the Treasury, and a major general in the Civil War.

In June 2014, East Dix was renamed “Grace Peak” in honor of Grace Hudowalski. Hudowalski was just the 9th person to successfully summit all 46 High Peaks (thereby joining the Adirondack 46ers Club) and was the first woman to complete the feat. The name change was the result of a 12-year effort by the 46ers and other groups who were adamant that Hudowalski, a lifelong activist in the Adirondack Park, deserved a namesake. As we approached Grace, we asked for some sunshine. Only lasting about 5 minutes, we got some Vitamin D and lots of wind on Grace. What a beautiful peak, this whole range is supposed to have beautiful viewpoints. One day, but not all 5 in one day, I will re do some of them. Woman Power!

Next up on our 5 peak journey was Hough (pronounced Huff), Becky had a different name for it lol, it was a lot of up and down for elevation, and we were still socked in by cold, wet early winter weather. We didn’t have to use our spikes, but the conditions were less than desirable. We made it to Hough, our fourth peak of the day, and the wind and conditions were such that we didn’t even take a photo in front of the summit marker!

The winds were picking up and so was the sleet. We met a few groups on our journey, one group had just came from our last peak to summit Dix, while others were in route. We saw two guys with adorable pups, a lady and gentleman who were rocking this hike pace wise. The lady coming from Dix, asked where we were heading and we told her Dix. She gave a strong look of concern and said, “be safe”. I looked at Becky and raised my eyebrows…

We made it past the Beckhorn, then on to Dix to complete the summit of 5 in one day. We saw the survey marker and at this point the weather was really turning, so we wasted no time in our attempt to descend. Hmmm, the Beckhorn. Now I had read some stories about this decent, it’s steep with a loss of 2500 ft of elevation in about 2 miles. However, of critical nature is to ensure you descend down the proper path. The wind and sleet were quite intense, and we got precariously off trail just slightly. This involved some major teamwork of my hiking partners and myself to get ourselves back on track. I think the last time I was concerned for my or the safety of my partners was back in Switzerland crossing a sliding scree field with snow up high on Mt. Pilatus. This teamwork made the dreamwork safely, as Becky boosted me back up the cliffs with Laura assisting to a safe place and then I could help pull Becky up to a safe place to get us back on trail.

Once we started our steep decent, we experienced Mother Nature providing us with rain for a while, then finally we got sunshine! We were able to see some views and color from a distance. It was what I had been waiting for all day- actual fall foliage hiking. The walk out was intense, as we all described our bodies as ‘wrecked’. I have done longer hikes with more elevation, but this one was definitely one for the books with the weather variables and a safety scare. Whew, once we made it to the car, it was a moment of joy for us all! Another ADK adventure in the books. 15 peaks to go before I have accomplished the goal! Grateful for great partners as I certainly could have injured myself yesterday. Hike on, adventure on! #ADK

The 2nd 14er of CO Vacation- Huron Peak

Reuniting with friends- is there anything quite like it? Definitely friends who have known each other for a very long time and can pick back up seamlessly even though you haven’t regularly spoken in a long while. That is a very special vibration of life. Life can also bring surprises in a great way. We were going through the small town of BV post lunch and saw our friends DPO were playing. Although we knew we had company and couldn’t catch their show we did get to eat dinner with them and catch up on life. Always a pleasure to see friends even if it’s just a short visit.

We spent Saturday evening catching up, playing games, watching the stars, and laughing. Sunday, sadly Jason, Alison, and Sky had to leave and get back to Boulder for work and school. After we had a great breakfast, we said our “until we see you on this trip later” farewells. As the weather was forecasted to be potential storms in the afternoon, we decided to make it a lazy Sunday and the forecast for Huron looked great for Monday. We headed to Salida, played in the river, shopped around and stocked up on supplies for Sarah and Ebin’s first 14er experience!

We left the house at 6am to ensure we got hiking by 7am. Due to a headache with Hertz rental car when we arrived (a sea of unhappy folks and a 2 hour wait), and the entire Seinfeld reference of “you know how to take a reservation you just don’t know how to hold a reservation, which is the most important part.” This meant instead of a proper 4WD or AWD vehicle, we had some dumpy Equinox Chevy SUV which was hardly an SUV, therefore we were forced to park at 2WD TH, adding distance up the road. We started out on our adventure, which ended up clocking in around 10.5-11 miles depending on device and 3600+ elevation gain.

Huron is a beautiful peak, we took it slow and saw marmots and wildflowers still along the way. We didn’t expect the best part though (minus all in our party safely summiting) and that was an awesome mountain goat to greet us at the top!

After we descended, and finally got back to our car, we were on to food and relaxing! Eating at a farm to table eatery that was still there we filled ourselves and then headed back for the last night at the ranch.

Chris and I had not made lodging arrangements, but decided to head to one of our favorite places in CO, Ouray, and challenge ourselves with an attempt at my first class 3 14er, Mt. Sneffels. Lodging reservations were complete. We spent the rest of the evening relaxing and laughing with Sarah and Ebin, then started our road trip the next day. Stay tuned for the next 14er adventure- Mt. Sneffels!

Back to Altitude!

Someone was going to turn 40, and it was time to get back to Colorado, where my husband has spent most of his life. I was fortunate enough that his childhood best friends and other friends could join us. I found an Airbnb just outside of Buena Vista at the base of Mount Princeton with gorgeous views with an Alpenglow each morning.

I was curious how my body would adjust to hiking at altitude. The weather was quite rainy the day we arrived, so we did a test hike of Ptarmigan lake trail.

It felt pretty good, so the next day while Chris and Jason went rafting, I decided to attempt my second solo 14er. I debated which 14er I wanted to try. There were many options available, but I decided to try Mt. Belford. It was a test to begin with in the trip for how my body would react to steep elevation gain at altitude, as the hike is 8 miles with 4500+ ft of gain. I had my Garmin In-Reach, tons of hydration and snacks, and off I went while friends rafted the Arkansas River, and some hung at the Airbnb ranch.

I started Belford a little later than intended, and began hiking around 7:00am. I met up with some folks that lived in Denver, and they made me start mentally doubting my choice. “You’re doing Belford, ugh, that’s a horrible one up and down, especially from sea level”. Although I had the seed of doubt, I kept going for it, stopping and taking breaks as many times as my body told me to do so. I found the hike beautiful, and the trail so easy compared to the ADK. Once I turned the corner and could see the summit I felt so fulfilled with joy!

The walk out was so nice and easy! Although I know to complete the 14ers at sometime in this life, I will have to walk this way once again to grab Missouri and Oxford, so we’ve not seen the last of each other! Stay tuned for the next part of the Colorado adventure, Huron Peak…

14 Aug 2022- Prioritization and Determination! ADK 25, 26/46- Cliff and Redfield

Finding hiking openings to continue the journey to 46 presented some challenges from a scheduling perspective. When you have a goal, sometimes you are willing to sacrifice other things to make it happen! I had a work event which required a six hour + drive to make this a possibility, and I’m so happy this adventure included two bad ass wonderful ladies, Becky and Laura. Knowing I had a 3am wake up for travel on Monday 15 Aug, we started out from Saratoga super early, departing my casa at 2 am and began our 18+ mile journey at 3:45 am from Upper Works Trail System.

Beginning with headlamps, we kept a good pace for the hike in heading to Cliff first. Our strategy is always the same, knock the more technical/difficult out on fresh legs as long as you can! The journey up Cliff was a good adventure, unfortunately, the trek into the cliffs of “Cliff” were as advertised and we were in pretty decent ADK mud. We navigated our way up and reached the summit successfully. These two peaks have a somewhat of a negative reputation due to no summit views, but I found the views along the way to be very pleasant (sans bogs naturally).

We reached the summit after some tricky sections. There are some work arounds, which we did utilize due to the mud causing slightly sketchy conditions. However, we all managed just fine, and hit the summit of Cliff to check this peak off the list.

Descending was deliberate and careful. I always say, I can’t get out of an ADK high peak hiking day without a little blood, bruising, and of course mud. Cliff delivered all of this for me, and on to Redfield we went. These two peaks are herd paths, so not maintained, but pretty well defined.

Ahh, Redfield, a very pleasant but up and up you go beside a gorgeous river, that I dunked my head in. Tela would not have been able to manage Cliff, but she would have loved the hike up Redfield! Steep rocky terrain, with plenty of water all along the trail.

We finally hit the summit of Redfield and enjoyed a moment of refueling and celebration of our last peak of the day, now to descend and start the typical long ADK hike out!

And so, we completed our 13 hour day in time to be home at a reasonable hour, wrapping up August’s ADK high peak adventures for 2022 for me. Looking forward to the next challenges of exploring CO again this week and what adventures the next weeks will bring my way! Hike on, adventure on!

Traverse Adventure in the ADK

This trip was going to be extra special. Becky had come up with an idea to do a traverse, which completely was brilliant as we both have to drive seperate cars to the ADK. We would leave one car just outside AMR at Roaring Brook Trail overnight and get an early start from the Garden Parking area.

We began hiking at 4:29 am. It was forecasted to be pretty warm, so I knew I had some personal challenges to overcome. Heat and MS= nothing good can come from this, add actively hiking, scrambling up granite, and gaining almost 5K of elevation… so I was mentally prepping. Focus. Hydration and refueling were key things to keep in mind throughout the journey.

So off we went on a Traverse from the garden, up Gothics cable route-> Pyramid Peak->Sawteeth-> Rainbow Falls->Indian Head then back out via Lake Road/AMR/ Roaring Creek to Becky’s car.

It’s funny what you recall and what you don’t. I had completely forgotten about all the ladders to Gothics. But we were reminded 😂. Pictured below was 1/3 of the section of ladder.

Of the 46ers I have summited thus far, my favorite one has been Gothics. However, we didn’t fully enjoy the famous cable route during our initial ascent, because we did Gothics a bit by ear, and had Tela with us, so she needed help. If you look in the second photo, that is me navigating this scramble with focus. So much fun and enjoyable! Up the cables we went and then veered towards Pyramid Peak.

Pyramid had fantastic views, as described, this peak does not disappoint!

Next stop Sawteeth! We managed some nice wet scrambles which were much easier descending than expected. Views along this traverse were pretty nice, and had quite of a bit of forest shade taboot!

Next stop as the day begin to get warmer was Rainbow Falls! We decided to soak our feet and refuel and put on fresh socks. Ahh, a little baptism of the feet. We had the waterfall all to ourselves with the exception of one couple. It was divine!

I dipped my head and wet my insect repellant headband, and off to our next stop, Indian Head we went. On the way there, we met a few younger ladies. One had a smaller identical colored Osprey backpack, headband and braid. Just as we parted, her friend told her, “that’s you in the future”. LMAO. I’m not sure if that was a compliment or insult, but yep, I’m 46, working on my 46er, and I feel just fine about that.

Indian Head did not disappoint! The picture is iconic for a reason.

We refueled and then began our descent. Becky turned and realized she had accidentally left her car keys in my car at the Garden (about 10 minutes away by car). We clocked in 15+ miles, but thankful that was all. Very thankful for Neil, the awesome ADK ranger at the AMR who gave us a lift back to my car at the Garden, we learned a lot in that 10 minutes. Support your rangers and the ADK! They save a lot of lives out there everyday! Another adventure in the books, with great company to ease the worries of the world right now. Peace, love and hike on!

The ADK 46er journey continues…Colvin->Blake->back up and over Colvin-> Nippletop->Dial->Bear Den

It was going to be a big day! I didn’t know starting exactly how long that day would actually be though! We woke up at 4 am, and begin to hike around 5:15 am. We didn’t stop hiking until about 8:30pm..so 14 hours of hiking in the amazing wilderness of the ADK was simply perfection, exhausting, exhilarating, and a big self challenge, this one goes to 11! I knew Tela would not be suited for this journey, due to elevation gain (~7000ft) and length 18+ ADK miles.

We watched a bit of the sunrise on our walk in for my first time through the AMR. The hike up Colvin was slow to begin with, as I was really adjusting to my new pack and the extra weight. We made it to the windy summit, but hey, we therefore had no bugs or black flies abound, ate a sandwich, drank some electrolytes and took in the view we would get twice on this hike. Not a bad view to have to earn twice.

Next we began our way to Blake. Blake has a negative reputation as an ADK 46er. I found the trail to Blake nice as you can still have views around you. The summit however, compared with the other peaks we hiked this day offered no views.

The worst part of Blake, however is the fact you have to re-hike back up and over Colvin. What goes down, must go back up! Once we hit the summit of Colvin again, we refueled and took some Advil, and started our way to Nippletop.

Nippletop was one of the more technical peaks we did this date. It consisted of many steep rock scrambles, but we navigated the narrows and hit our (technically 4th summit of the day). We were at the summit eating and enjoy the amazing views, and heard a grandmother and her two grandchildren behind us. They had just came from Dial, where we were heading next. They were super kind, and we took each others photos, and we saw them again when we got to our cars at 830 that night!

After resting a bit on the summit, we made onward way to Dial. This was one of the easier hikes of the day, and I was happy we had chose the route we did to tackle these amazing peaks. We summited Dial with a victory selfie and started our descent out.

That indeed was a super long descent. It was a little up and down so just when you thought you should be lowering in elevation you would climb a bit. We finally hit Bear Den, but sadly saw no bears. Ahh the joy to our feet to arrive at Lake Rd no more rocks soft flat surfaces! Becky asked me if I had looked at the time lately, and I couldn’t believe when she told me it was 8pm. As we were heading out of the AMR gate and trail sign in, the ranger came out and talked with us, asking us basically what didn’t you hike today 😂. He commended us on a job well done, and we made it back to our cars. It was such a good feeling to be able to take my shoes off. When I arrived home, I was greeted with a meal at 10pm of steak, potatoes and brussels. Thank you to my dear husband!

14/46 complete. Our next adventure is on Sunday! Hike on! Opt outside, wilderness therapy for the win!

New experiences in Switzerland, That’s Life…One more Saturday Night

Time flies, and life has been moving at its usual lightning fast pace. Since we have relocated to Switzerland, we have not been to the movies. I was a frequent movie goer in my younger years, and have always enjoyed a trip to the movies. We started last Saturday evening on a double date with an American colleague and his wife, driving just south of Bern to a huge theater complex.

The set-up was impressive, yet of course carrying the CHF price you must accept for living here. First off, there was the movie theater…so maybe in big cities in the USA this type of movie theater setup could be commonplace, and living in the small town of Steamboat Springs has left me a bit in the dark. With that being said, I was overwhelmed by the concessions, it was all there for the taking, from the usual wares of candy, real food offerings, beer and wine, complete with real wine glasses, and of course as Swiss culture would require it a place to recycle or return your wine glasses.

The theater had several floors including a bar/bowling alley, a birch tree filled restaurant which had a great valued meal, burgers, vegan burgers, or specialty burgers with your choice of bread, salad, or several different pomme frites. The birch tree eatery, also reminded me of just how small this world is, after all. When we entered this eatery, for a pre-movie snack, our waitress advised she was going to be studying next semester at my graduate school alma mater, Appalachian State University in Boone, NC! I gave a few exchanges about how special the place is, my love for the Blue Ridge Mountains, Boone and the Parkway, and left with a big smile and reservations later for a full dinner.

Because I am always a kid at heart one of my favorite bonuses of this theater was the tunnel slide to descend from the upper floor to the lower floor. Another huge plus to movies in Switzerland- there is a 10 minute intermission. So if you usually are holding your bladder, like me and don’t want to get up to miss a minute of what you have paid for, not a problem. Indeed this set-up made me very happy.

We had heard lots of chatter about the movie “Joker”, but also had been careful to avoid any spoilers. I must say I am thrilled we were able to experience seeing this film in IMAX. You may ask why I was hesitant to see a movie abroad? I worried I would be distracted due to the French and German subtitles. Not only did I find this completely non-distracting, I found myself reading the German and picking out phrases that we have been studying in our lessons. Double win!

So I won’t give any spoilers, about “Joker” but I will give my opinion. If Joaquin Phoenix doesn’t receive an Oscar for that performance, I’m certain that I will lose faith in that organization too. This film although very dark, and disturbing, exhibited some of the best cinematography, character development, and evoked a deep connection and perspective for the origin of the Joker. Anytime a movie is on my mind longer than a day post watching, that says something. I’m not sure I would ever need or want to watch it again, but it was truly a work of art.

Otherwise, life is as good as you choose to make it, so much has happened, and so many exciting things are in front of me before the close of 2019: work trips to the Netherlands, Norway, and then a long Christmas and New Years holiday in Spain.

We have enjoyed a wonderful fall season and Halloween celebrating with friends and neighbors. I am super grateful that for the past few months I have been running quite religiously early in the mornings with Tela and averaging around 20 miles per week. Keep smiling and shining for the world!

Honoring my Granny’s black cat decoration

“You will always be remembered… Even life itself”

My last few days in the United States on this trip were filled with great times with family, friends and colleagues. It was a time where although I was missing my husband, I was enjoying the time of all the familiar things and easy life of my homeland.

Tuesday evening, I got more “mexican” cuisine with friends and colleagues. Aaron and I shared the parrillada, it’s a mexican bbq of meat! Jalapeno Margaritas to fight the summer heat were a must.

Thursday and Friday were Swiss holidays so I had worked Monday-Wednesday after the Blue Ridge Father’s Day Adventure, and then on Wednesday night, I spent my evening in complete Self-Care mode. One of my dear friends, and former massage therapist, the talented beautiful Esther Rodgers and I enjoyed an evening of catching up, massage (she is undoubtedly in tune with my body), and gave me the best massage as usual. Highly recommend her to all my friends and family. We shared a post massage dinner at our former stomping grounds but sadly the short ribs recipe, although still good had less red wine and more gravy, which let it in a state of less than the best short ribs I’ve ever tasted. I missed seeing the owner, Jeff apparently just by a few minutes. I’m always wishing him and his family the best though! The store (which is known as the five star gas station), is still a warm place in my heart. I was able to get my favorite Big Spoon products to carry back for my husband to enjoy as well! Sometimes, you don’t know what you miss until you relive it. I miss my Esther!

I was thrilled to have one last chance on the trip to see my family, and eat at our favorite local BBQ place, Stephenson’s BBQ near where I grew up. This place has fond family memories, as a child and adult. As a child, I used to play and climb under the tables as both my Granny and Mama were waitresses. The owner, Mr. Paul Stephenson (RIP) knowing my Mama was a single mom, would allow me to come after school and play in the office or chat with the diners while my Mama worked. What I continue to love about the establishment is the people are REAL. There is no sense of pretentiousness, just down-home good people. The art on the walls remain the same, the interior although totally dated is still just what I recall as a child. The food is still the same as it ever was, delicious. It gave me a chance to see all my aunts on my mother’s side minus one who we missed, and a few of my cousins! My childhood best friend and I got three chances to be together on my trip back, which was much needed therapeutic enjoyment. Again, I miss her so much.

After a delicious meal and great time at Stephenson’s I began my journey to the western part of the state, Asheville. I had rented an Airbnb in West Asheville, that looked super cool. My friend Lulu, was kind enough to drive from Nashville to come and visit and spend the night with me. We laughed, shopped around downtown Asheville, and discussed life, love and culture. We ate at one of my favorite restaurants which I have been going to for over 20 years, the Laughing Seed Cafe. While I am far from vegetarian, the establishment has grown significantly and expanded with fresh paint, art and additions, but the food quality has gotten even better! I don’t like beer, but I love Ginger Beer. We found a Ginger Beer Brewery, and had some samples to determine our favorite. My winner was the limited edition Serrano Lime Agave- fiery, made with Serrano Peppers and blended with Lime Agave. For me- magic. So at the old age of 43, I bought MY first ever growler. I have gotten growlers for others, but this was my first!

Minus a few encounters with some spiders in the AirBnB, Lulu and I had such a hilarious time together. Laughter indeed is a key medicine.

We slept through the night, dreams of black widows in our heads, and woke on the Summer Solstice morning quite early. We were to meet her friend Stacy for breakfast at Biscuit Head! Stacy came over to our Airbnb and we enjoyed the outdoor swing, and endless hammock options.

The day began super relaxed, but unfortunately for me took on a dose of shock and surprise. I received a text from my husband that he had been in a terrible cycling accident with a truck and I was distracted from everything for several hours. Thankfully he was managing this situation alone quite well, but I was able to secure assistance if needed from a colleague in case he needed help until I could get home. The outcome was no surgery and he would be released from the hospital, with a broken scapula and quite beat up and in some shock. Oh hi reality! As I was off in my tiny little corner I was swung back to how fragile this life really is. I was so super grateful the injury wasn’t worse, and this too shall be navigated.

After we had a path forward for the short term for Chris, I could somewhat emotionally come back to a wonderful moment in time, the opportunity to meet my friends Isadora and Yuri’s sweet newborn, Iris and lion poodles Hugo and Sagan :). Although I was a bit still in shock over my husband’s accident and concerned, I was able to enjoy some moments of this special time.

The final journey of my experience on this US trip was quite special, as I was going to be able to see one my favorite live musical acts for the 206th time, Phish. My friend and colleague Aaron would join me, and my friend Esther and others for a much need healing musical journey. We arrived to the lot around 1600, and we walked around checking out some of the finest people watching around. I saw really positive things, the most spectacular were two guys operating the Big Green Eggs and cooking local steak and brisket. Ok, this brisket, may have been one the most succulent pieces of meat I have ever enjoyed. The best part was these guys were not charging any money, nor would they accept any money. They just wanted to see people smile. This was a special reminder of how giving this community really can be, and again, I miss being a routine part of that living abroad. We walked around avoiding the sun and seeking shade where possible. For dinner I ate the bacon grill cheese with Sriracha, amazing. We met up with my good friend Chad, who was kind enough to arrange face value tickets for some pavilion seats.

And then finally the time was near, we entered the venue and found our place and lots of ice as the sun was still beating down. I had asked a favor for a Tweezer inspired show since I don’t know when I will get to see Phish live again. The setlist was amazing, hitting all the feels I needed, and a blissful time ensued.

I definitely felt the feeling I forgot, left my new life behind for a while, and stepped into the freezer, and encoring with “More”(which for those who don’t know inspired the title of my blog followed by Tweeprize, the night ended in a special way. Oh what pure joy, release and bliss dancing again to my favorite :). Thank you #phish and all the friends who helped me enjoy myself!

PNC MUSIC PAVILION Charlotte, NC

SET 1: Have Mercy, Gotta Jibboo, Free > Ginseng Sullivan > Tweezer -> Passing Through, Ya Mar, Mercury > Tweezer > Say it to Me S.A.N.T.O.S.

SET 2: Runaway Jim > Scents and Subtle Sounds^[1] > Tweezer -> Sand, Lifeboy > A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing > Taste, Twenty Years Later > Possum

ENCORE: More > Tweezer Reprise[1] No intro.
This show was webcast via Live Phish. The first Tweezer included Walk This Way teases from Trey. Trey teased Mercury in the second Tweezer. Scents and Subtle Sounds did not have the intro. Trey teased If I Only Had a Brain and Mike teased Gotta Jibboo in A Song I Heard the Ocean Sing. Taste included a Scents and Subtle Sounds tease from Trey. Have Mercy was quoted in Possum. The Final Hurrah was quoted at the end of Tweezer Reprise. Source: http://www.Phish.net

The day after, Aaron and I grabbed lunch at one of my last NC favorites, Tupelo Honey Cafe. So let me tell you about a southern delicacy I forgot I missed, fried green tomatoes, and their famous goat cheese grits!

I was able to share some Olive Oil from Tuscany, and some Swiss chocolates with Chad, and then off to the flight! My time on this trip in the US was up. I must admit I was eager to get back to my husband, sleep in my own bed, but this trip was a healing process for me. A rebirth of inner awareness and strength. The next chapter once home meant trying to help my husband find the best path to recovery for his injury, dealing with a week long Swiss heat wave and infusion weekend- but more to come on that later. For now, it’s nice to bask in the memories of the last couple of weeks.

Returning to America…“It’s a funny thing about coming home. Looks the same, smells the same, feels the same. You’ll realize what’s changed is you.”

Last July, I left the US with my husband, off on our new adventure to Switzerland. We left with hopes high professionally for me, and personally as a couple to adjust and adapt to our new lifestyle. We both had goals to adventure, travel and see as much as we possibly could manage.

As usual, life throw it’s curveballs our way, and we fight to overcome them. What I realized is although you may take on the physical challenges and prevail, if you don’t pause to assess the impact on your emotional well being, you could be left with a void if you don’t address the elephant in the room.

Coming back to my home country, I realized many things quickly. I really miss my closest friends, who are primarily in North Carolina. My desire to move past the last six months has prevented me from being real with myself about my emotions. After a conversation where my husband gave some direct feedback on the process, I realized I had indeed lost some of my self-love along the way of my journey. It won’t be an easy process, but I am committed to rediscovering who I am and redirecting my journey, body, mind and spirit back on the pathway to find happiness.

Undecided, undefined
Undisturbed yet undermined
Relocated not retired
Reprimanded and rewired
Mystified and misshapen
Misinformed but not mistaken
Reinvented, redefined
Rearranged but not refined
Unrelenting, understroked
Undeterred yet unprovoked
Reinvented, redefined
Rearranged but not refined
Mystified and misshapen
Misinformed but not mistaken
Undecided, undefined

One place I can go to get grounded, and find my inner strength, is the beautiful area of Boone, and the Blue Ridge Mountains. No, they aren’t the Alps, they aren’t the Rockies, or big 14ers of Colorado; but there is something about the energy of this area that grounds my soul every time I visit. There is no doubt, in my mind that I will spend my last days retiring in a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains, hopefully hiking my life away. From the sunrises over my favorite overlooks, hiking peacefully through the forests on trails I have hiked over a 100 times after nearly 20 years on the same trail, it was clear to me, this doesn’t get old.

I am grateful this year that I was blessed to have my mother and niece visit me for Mother’s Day, and that I was able to spend Father’s Day in the Blue Ridge with my parent’s and my niece, who is more like my little sister. I’m so proud of her and her accomplishments. A parent’s love is unconditional and timeless. It’s difficult to watch our parent’s age, to experience the aging process ourselves. This is why once again, we must take every breath and every moment and LIVE.

Embrace life, those you love, and tell them. The past months of challenges have taught me who will be there for me, and who will not. Most importantly, I am trying to fully embrace, and hold close to me this quote-

The journey in the US is not complete yet, I have one more day of work, then some family and travel time, visiting with those who I have not seen in ages, and the chance to dance, indeed it sparks the feeling I forgot!