I began the guiding season the second week in May almost immediately after finals were over. Thankfully the weather was good my first trip and I made it to the summit on May 17th, but the next three trips we were hit hard with wind, blowing snow, rain and super cold temps. Not summer by any means.
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| 100% summit! We had the perfect weather window. |
After the five trips on Mt Rainier and a thorough a** kicking I ran off with my tail between my legs for a few days away from Mother natures wrath. As usual Josh and I packed up the car with climbing gear, running shoes, biking equipment, fishing gear and anything else we might need for an adventure. Turns out no where west of Boulder Colorado is having good weather right now, so we hunkered down in Missoula.
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| Web Cam from Paradise on Mt Rainier - This is 40 degrees and Raining. |
For an outdoorsy girl its hard to wrap my head around cold rainy weather. I just don't know what to do with myself. So as the rain continued I summoned my mother and sisters creative side. I decided I would do some art projects and spend some time in the kitchen baking my favorite recipes.
I had a few ideas thanks to Pintrest on what I wanted to create. I was going to make a piece for my room, something colorful but my style.
To the left is the finished project.
I started by painting each canvas a different color ( blue, purple, yellow, and Green). Then I picked and pressed leaves from the yard. I pressed them for 24 hours so they would lay flat when I pinned them to the colored canvas and covered them with spray paint. When I pulled the plants off the canvas I was left with these wonderful images and a set of four to hang in my room.
Once I felt successful and content with my art project I moved on to another activity that I'm a bit more comfortable with. Baking.
I get my love of baking from my mother. I grew up helping make 11ish Thanksgiving pies every year, we made everything from apple and blueberry to chocolate cream and of course pumpkin. Baking hundreds of Christmas cookies, birthday cakes for anyone, and anything else I could think of. Baking has become one of my favorite DE-stress activities over the years. After a hard exam or stressful climb I like to come home whip up a batch of cookies or muffins and then go for a long run.
Our week is coming to an end and we Head back to Ashford Washington Today. after 6 whole days the weather wasn't all bad. we had a few moments of sun and we made the most of them. We got to go fishing in Glacier on the South fork of the Flathead river, we went for a bike ride into Glacier National park, and I snuck in a few good trail runs and Mountain bike rides here in Missoula.
The week was a great way to rejuvenate before we head back up on Rainier.
