Dude, it's OK to just walk on a bum ankle. Not that I'm nearly as active as you, but baby that shit now or pay for it in 20 years with extra aches ;)
Good stuff as always.
Puffer jacket in July! Sounds like one of Dante's Circles of Hell to me. LOL.
Just curious, you write now and then about how much you loved the comradery of your outdoor life in CO. While I have zero desire to ever go to NH, isn't there almost as much outdoor "stuff" to do there? Maybe just kinda obvious outside looking in, but that life from Colorado looks available there -- just not quite the same elevation? Could see you leading Thoreau-style retreats through Narnia, combining self-discovery and sweating.
You raise a lot of fair points good sir! I’ve been working my way back to normal activity levels with my ankle, but it definitely started with a fair bit of rest and a whole lot of walking.
As for the rocky mountain west compared to new england… the word that comes to mind is “expanse.” It’s just enormously different. That said, you’re not wrong in pointing out the similarities. I think a lot of my attachment to the mountains out there probably has to do with the other things going on in my life at the time. They offered a much needed change of pace and a whole lot of escapism. But, yes, much of what I loved to do there can be recreated here. And so goes the work of accepting that; beyond logically being able to explain it lol
From a vague geography recollection, I want to say the Alleghanies, Poconos, whatever you got up there in NH, Shenandoah are all old and worn down; while the Rockies are new (relatively speaking). Only have ever flown over the Rockies, but totally get what you're saying about expanse.
I've been on South "Mountain" in Maryland during my various Civil War battlefield drives and it's just a 20 mile long tallish hill :)
The thing about recreation though is if you don't feel it you don't feel it, but figuring out if it's the new location itself or nostalgia for the past . . . don't envy you parsing that out!
Though I think I might just think of you now as Thoreau with skis :) (NH, Massachusetts; I'm from the south and it's all just one state up there anyway!)
Thoreau on Skis sounds like the musical i never knew i needed! And also a tremendous compliment lol.
When I first moved back to Vermont from Wyoming I wrestled with that “if you don’t feel it, you don’t feel it” thing quite a bit. You’re right on the money there!
There are some differences between states up here, obviously, but things are similar enough that I usually just say New England.
Also— your idea about Thoreau-style retreats with self-discovery and sweating has been rattling around my brain… you might be onto something!
I lived in Ft Collins, Colorado, and around CO for twenty five years and worked in Cheyenne for one of those years. Wyoming is a beautiful place. It has amazing energy. And all these pictures are making me miss mountain biking! I live in Georgia now and miss those mountains every day!
Colorado is gorgeous! Something about the Rocky Mountain West taps a sense of wonder in me that I don’t find anywhere else. Cheers to a fellow daydreamer on the east coast!
Dude, it's OK to just walk on a bum ankle. Not that I'm nearly as active as you, but baby that shit now or pay for it in 20 years with extra aches ;)
Good stuff as always.
Puffer jacket in July! Sounds like one of Dante's Circles of Hell to me. LOL.
Just curious, you write now and then about how much you loved the comradery of your outdoor life in CO. While I have zero desire to ever go to NH, isn't there almost as much outdoor "stuff" to do there? Maybe just kinda obvious outside looking in, but that life from Colorado looks available there -- just not quite the same elevation? Could see you leading Thoreau-style retreats through Narnia, combining self-discovery and sweating.
You raise a lot of fair points good sir! I’ve been working my way back to normal activity levels with my ankle, but it definitely started with a fair bit of rest and a whole lot of walking.
As for the rocky mountain west compared to new england… the word that comes to mind is “expanse.” It’s just enormously different. That said, you’re not wrong in pointing out the similarities. I think a lot of my attachment to the mountains out there probably has to do with the other things going on in my life at the time. They offered a much needed change of pace and a whole lot of escapism. But, yes, much of what I loved to do there can be recreated here. And so goes the work of accepting that; beyond logically being able to explain it lol
From a vague geography recollection, I want to say the Alleghanies, Poconos, whatever you got up there in NH, Shenandoah are all old and worn down; while the Rockies are new (relatively speaking). Only have ever flown over the Rockies, but totally get what you're saying about expanse.
I've been on South "Mountain" in Maryland during my various Civil War battlefield drives and it's just a 20 mile long tallish hill :)
The thing about recreation though is if you don't feel it you don't feel it, but figuring out if it's the new location itself or nostalgia for the past . . . don't envy you parsing that out!
Though I think I might just think of you now as Thoreau with skis :) (NH, Massachusetts; I'm from the south and it's all just one state up there anyway!)
Thoreau on Skis sounds like the musical i never knew i needed! And also a tremendous compliment lol.
When I first moved back to Vermont from Wyoming I wrestled with that “if you don’t feel it, you don’t feel it” thing quite a bit. You’re right on the money there!
There are some differences between states up here, obviously, but things are similar enough that I usually just say New England.
Also— your idea about Thoreau-style retreats with self-discovery and sweating has been rattling around my brain… you might be onto something!
I lived in Ft Collins, Colorado, and around CO for twenty five years and worked in Cheyenne for one of those years. Wyoming is a beautiful place. It has amazing energy. And all these pictures are making me miss mountain biking! I live in Georgia now and miss those mountains every day!
Colorado is gorgeous! Something about the Rocky Mountain West taps a sense of wonder in me that I don’t find anywhere else. Cheers to a fellow daydreamer on the east coast!