For example….

On a late April evening, four of us took advantage of several inches of fresh, wet snow, to try and roll the biggest snowball that we could. It was perfect snow for snowballs, and we successfully rolled a five-foot tall beast. The snowball was so heavy at the end that with four of us pushing, we could barely move it. Bonus: as a funny joke, we left it in front of our neighbors’ front door. They were the talk of the neighborhood!

With four tiny snowmen on top.

Five days later, the snow was melted (but not the giant snowball, muahaha) and Seth and I were able to do some exploratory hiking down by the river in t-shirts. We discovered a new path and a beach that would be perfect on a warm summer evening, and a big ol’ drainpipe that empties into the river.

Two completely different adventures based on two completely different seasons, within one week.

Last week I knit myself a new pair of mittens, thinking that I could jinx the cold weather away. But it didn’t work. I’ve been wearing them every day. It’s a good thing they’re awesome.

Photo: Seth Iverson

I’ve been getting spring started indoors, growing plants for the vegetable garden. It seems that I’ve gone a bit overboard this year (I’m guessing I won’t need 30 tomato plants), but it’s fun as always, and every year my setup gets a little better.

I have six varieties of tomatoes, five varieties of peppers, two different kinds of kale, red cabbage, and lots of onions. If everything goes well, it will be a great garden.

Life is changing, and it’s good. My veggies are happily growing in the other room, I start a new job this week, and I see many more opportunities for adventures big and small in my future. To top it off, the weather folks say that spring will be arriving this weekend. For real this time.

First Outdoor Climbs of the Season:

Hiking in to the climbs

The hike in was still quite snowy, and a lot of it was just plain ice. We still had a little bit of snow in our backyard, so I’m not sure why this surprised me, but it did. The wall that’s dry is the wall with more difficult climbs on it, so it was more of a project day than a sending stuff day. We hung out and worked a few routes before heading to our campsite.

Excited to Climb!

Snowy Camping:

We chose a walk-in site at Frontenac State Park and realized very quickly that we were probably the first to camp there in quite a while. The trail and the sites all had probably 10″ of snow covering them, something I didn’t expect at all, although in retrospect it seems pretty obvious that snow would be a possibility. This is where the tiny adventure part of the trip begins. Believe it or not, I had never set up a tent in snow before!

The question turned out to be, how do we stake out the rain fly when the ground is frozen (That was my question, at least. Seth knew all about using deadman anchors, extending the anchors with rope, tying something to the end and covering it with snow to hold it in place)? Since we weren’t very worried about rain, and the design of the tent keeps the rainfly above the mesh at the top, we just let it flap in the wind. Problem solved.

Once the tent was set up, our next project was getting a fire going. Remember the snow in our campsite? There was also ice in the firepit. A big chunk of it. I wasn’t sure how that was going to work, either, but Seth was confident that it would all be ok.

Campfire on Ice

We stacked our firewood and kindling and got the fire going, but as the ice melted, it took the coals with it. We had picked up two bundles of firewood in town and quickly realized we would need more. As Seth went back into town for more firewood, I kept the fire going, bailing out water from the firepit as the ice melted.

Seth returned victoriously with more firewood, and by the end of the evening we had steamed all of the ice/water out and had a roaring fire going. We threw some hobo packs on the fire, filled with seasoned ground beef and lots of veggies, and had a delicious meal before heading to bed.

Our delicious meal

I loved that we were the only people out there, camping in the snow, making a fire on the ice, and making it work. I learned all about staking out a tent in the snow (even thought we didn’t actually do it) and the wonder of meat and veggies cooked in tinfoil. Another successful tiny adventure!

That is the first seed to sprout this year, and it’s a pretty one! A beautiful color of pink right from the start.

I have my little seed starting greenhouse up and running for the year. Planted so far are three varieties of tomatoes, five strains of peppers, red cabbage, and collard greens. Soon to be added to the fun are kale, onions, swiss chard, basil, and more tomatoes. The theme for the garden this year is more of less. We’re going with the basics, and we’re aiming for quantity.

There’s nothing quite like seeing that first sprout emerge from the soil. Despite the snow still on the ground, it is a sure sign that spring is near.

Here are two of my most recent tiny adventures:

Cross-Country Skiing by Headlamp

It’s been a snowy end to winter here in Minnesota. Last week’s snowstorm dumped close to 9 inches of fresh, beautiful snow on top of a solid snowpack. One of the many things I love about the Twin Cities is that the golf courses turn to cross-country ski courses in the wintertime. Some are groomed, some are not. Either way, it’s pretty awesome. After last week’s snow, Seth and I donned our headlamps and headed out after dark for a little headlamp skiing adventure. There were only a few skiers scattered around the golf course, and we felt like we were removed from the city, even though we were right in the middle of it. It was a fun way to spend the evening.

Repairing my Laptop

My laptop has had something weird going on with the screen for a while. It started out as an annoyance and has progressed to just being plain broken. I did some research and suspected the problem was a pinched cable. So, I ordered the part, printed out repair instructions, took a deep breath, and started disassembling my computer. Three hours later, the cable was replaced and my computer still worked! Unfortunately it didn’t fix my screen problem, but that’s what external monitors are for, right? There’s no rule saying that tiny adventures have to be 100% successful.

What sorts of tiny adventures have you found yourself doing lately? What made them feel adventurous to you?

I mean, everyone else is, right? That person is traveling across the world, this person’s going on a sweet climbing trip, over there is someone who just quit their job and bought a van in which to go galavanting around the country. Eventually, in my brain, all of those separate people doing their individual awesome things start to meld together into one giant Twitter Hive Person; an aggregate of everyone I follow. And that person is AWESOME. The Twitter Hive Person is traveling, adventuring, helping people, making delicious, healthy food, scaling mountains, exercising religiously, pressing 24kg kettlebells while standing on one leg, and having fun dinner parties every single night.

I’m not a crazy adventurous *do cool stuff all the time* person. But, sometimes I feel like I *should* be. Maybe I’m too busy comparing myself to the Twitter Hive Person. Maybe I don’t have quite the right balance of normal vs. adventure worked out in my own day-to-day. But, whatever the reason, I sometimes hear a little voice in my head that says “you should be doing more awesome stuff all the time.” And then I feel bad.

I pretty much didn’t do anything extraordinarily cool or adventurous all winter. December was a sad and heavy month. I spent a lot of time with family, and I barely got outside other than to walk to and from the bus stop. January and February weren’t much different. After a few months of laying low, the pendulum is now swinging the other way. This week, Minneapolis got 9″ of fresh, lovely snow added to our snowpack. After months of just wanting to sit on the couch and knit, I suddenly had the urge for a little adventure. So, my husband and I got out the cross-country skis and headlamps and did some night skiing. We liked it so much that we went out the following evening as well.

One of my favorite little books, “The Tao of Pooh,” speaks about the importance of recognizing one’s true nature. For example, birds fly really well, but most aren’t that great at swimming or jumping. They’re just not built that way. I like going on big trips and climbing mountains, and I also like long stretches of time firmly ensconced in a routine at home. Recognizing and accepting my own nature, and not thinking I *should* be some other way than how I am, removes an incredible amount of pressure. And with all of that energy not going into trying to be someone I’m not, I have a lot more to put into who I actually am.

So, it’s OK to not be doing crazy awesome things all the time. In fact, it’s probably good. It is for me, at least. If you find yourself comparing yourself to an impossible-to-keep-up-with Twitter Hive Person, take a deep breath, step back, and don’t judge yourself. Take away inspiration from what others are doing, and then integrate that into your life in a way that honors your own true nature.

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  Photo: Seth Iverson

  Climb: When I was a kid I could always be found up in the sycamore tree in our backyard. There was a perfect spot to hang out and read a book, or look out around the neighborhood. Now I’m climbing rock (and plastic) instead. Climbing is fun, it’s challenging, and it keeps me growing as a person. It takes me to beautiful places, both locally and around the country, and I’ve met some great people. Climbing has changed me for the better.

• Play in a professional orchestra: I studied bassoon seriously for a good portion of my life. I’ve performed with full orchestras, chamber groups, and in solo recitals, and worked freelance on a semi-professional level for several years. One of the high points was playing a few concerts with the Akron Symphony Orchestra in Akron, OH. I got to play some of my favorite repertoire with a fantastic group of musicians. It was magical.

• Get paid to travel: While playing bassoon, I got paid to play in orchestras in the Cayman Islands and Monterrey, Mexico. All travel expenses included.

• Move across the country on my own: I moved to Minnesota, leaving friends and family behind, and not knowing a soul in my new home. It was scary, but I did it, and now I feel that I could move anywhere and be ok (although Minnesota is pretty rad, so no immediate plans).

• Build my own bicycle: With some help, I took my dad’s old steel ten-speed, stripped it down to the frame, repainted it, and rebuilt it as a single speed. I love this bike, and I love it even more knowing that I built it myself. I now can do most repairs on my own when I need to. Fun fact: my bike was recently used in a Columbia Sportswear photo shoot.

• Take a trapeze lesson: I had a day on my own in L.A. a few years back, and decided to take a flying trapeze lesson on the Santa Monica Pier. Lots of fun.

She flies through the air….

• Learn to garden: My mom has a green thumb, which I did not inherit. But, the past few years I’ve been experimenting with growing my own vegetables. There have been successes and miserable failures, but each year I learn a little bit more. Last year I started some seeds indoors and grew my own seedlings to plant outside! It’s great fun, and I have big plans, already, for the upcoming season.

• Climb a mountain: Actually climb, with ropes and equipment. I climbed the Grand Teton with my husband this past summer and it was so very, very cool. Definitely one of my life’s highlights to date.

Nearing the summit of the Grand Teton. Photo: Greg Duncan

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  My hand-knit hiking sweater

  Knit a sweater: I learned to knit about five years ago from a good friend, and before I knew it I was beyond hats and on to knitting socks that I actually wear on my feet. I’ve knit myself a hiking sweater and a vest that I wear constantly, and right now I’m in the midst of knitting a kick-ass sweater for my husband. I’m ridiculously proud to be able to say that I knit things like sweaters.

• Drive a Tractor: I was on a farm, there was a tractor, and I ended up driving it. True story

• Be physically strong: After four years of climbing and two years of consistent kettlebell training, I can say that I am strong. I can snatch a 16kg kettlebell and climbed across the ceiling again last night at the gym. I’ve learned to do pull-ups this year, and am working up to 3000 pull-ups with my husband.  Ladies, if you’ve never done any strength training, I highly recommend it. The feeling of strength is empowering (and you don’t have the testosterone in your body to get bulky).

• Bike through Yellowstone: Seth and I rented bikes and rode 34 miles round trip to Old Faithful and back to our car. We cautiously passed a herd of buffalo standing at the side of the road, complete with frolicking baby buffalo.
  

  A cold ride through the plains of Yellowstone.

• Overcome my fear of flying: I once got to a flight gate, turned around, and went back home, because I couldn’t will myself to get on the airplane. While I still have to use some tricks, I can fly when I need to and not have it completely ruin my day. I love to travel, so it’s something I’m glad I’ve been able to deal with!

• Learn to Cross-Country Ski: Minnesota has taught me that when the winters are long and cold, it’s best not to stay locked indoors. When I get out and enjoy the snow, my sanity remains intact.

• Write on the interwebs: This blog is small, and it has a only a modest amount of readers, but I know that some of my posts have had positive effects on people. Whether it’s inspiration, or just creating stoke for their own adventures, I love to be able to connect with people, even if in a small way. Here are some of my favorite posts.

• Have a fairy tale relationship: A little sap to throw in here…. I got married in my 30s, so I went through enough relationships that didn’t quite work to realize what a gem I have now (turns out love is *not* all you need. Sorry, Beatles). My husband is the kind of man I’ve always dreamed of having in my life, and I am thankful for him every day. Not only do I have a great man in my life, but together we make a great team. I couldn’t ask for anything more.

• Learn to play in the outdoors: I have *always* wanted to go camping and hiking and frolic in the great outdoors. But, for some reason, it just never quite happened. I blame the many hours a day chained to a practice room in my former life, but the truth is I just never made it happen. In the past few years, I’ve camped and hiked more than I had probably in my entire life before that, and I love it. Love it, love it, love it.

That was a fun exercise! Thanks to Katie for the idea. What’s on *your* reverse bucket list?

The reason why climbing and kettlebells have stuck with me is because they’re just plain fun. Yeah, they both present challenges, and they’ve gotten me into the best shape of my life, but I wouldn’t have stuck with them in the first place if they were monotonous or just something I knew was good for me.

Our pullup tally. Lookin’ good!

See the chart on the right? That’s a pullup tally for Seth and me. Every time either of us does a pullup, we make a mark on the tally sheet. Together, as a team, we’re seeing how long it takes us to get to 3000. Fun, right? We started on Dec. 5, and as of the writing of this post, we’re at 935.

Why 3000? I have no idea. It’s just the number we came up with. It’s high enough to keep us interested for a while, but not so high that it doesn’t feel attainable.

Here’s why I’m loving our household fitness challenge:

• There’s a lot of motivation in doing the challenge together. We have a common goal, so we cheer each other on and get excited about our progress. It’s a great boost for morale, and not bad for our relationship, either.
• Since our pullup abilities are not equal, working as a team has eliminated feelings of inequality. We’re both contributing towards the same goal, so it doesn’t matter that he’s able to put in twice as many pullups as I can. No biggie. What matters is that we’re doing pullups!
• There’s something really rewarding about ticking off tally marks and watching them grow each day.
• It’s healthier than an ice-cream challenge

Just doing a few pullups as I walk by

You can do a team fitness challenge, too! Just find a partner, or partners, and choose a goal. Make it something specific and measurable such as number of pushups, miles run, burpees, rows, whatever. Make a tally sheet, shake on it, and go! It’s fun. You’ll probably think so, too. And if you decide to do one, let me know in the comments. I’ll cheer you on.

Seth and I enjoying the beautiful scenery

A short drive out of Las Vegas is Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. Wanting to squeeze in a quick climbing trip before winter set in, four of us booked plane tickets and a condo and headed out for a whirlwind four days of climbing. The area is known for its long, moderate trad routes. So, naturally, we stuck to sport climbing.

Red Rock climbing buddies

I had come down with a pretty bad cold the day before the trip, but my partners were feeling strong and picked up my slack. Despite being sick, I was able to enjoy being out in the desert, being with a great bunch of people, and even got on a few routes while I was at it.

We also took one day and drove up to Zion to climb a really fun and beautiful route. If you didn’t see that report, you can find it here. The pictures alone are worth the click.

I digress. Back to Vegas. We spent three days in Red Rocks, and stayed mostly in the second pullout. Here are the areas where we climbed:

Black Corridor

Black Corridor: This area is basically an outdoor climbing gym. The approach is short, and the walls are bolted on both sides of a narrow corridor. We were fortunate that it wasn’t too busy while we were there, but I can see how it could get pretty cramped. We spent a good portion of our time here ticking off routes. When the midday sun got hot, the shade of the corridor was a welcome relief.

My favorite routes were the ones with giant huecos on the lower level, right side, such as Need to Rest (5.10b/c). Even being sick, I was able to lead a few 5.9s, and get on some 10s, thanks to my rope gun buddies.

Paul on Crude Street Blues (5.9+)

Marianna on Need to Rest (5.10 b/c), Seth on Dancin’ with a God (5.10a)

Me on L2 (5.9) (I think)

We hit a lot of routes in the Black Corridor. There is a concentration of moderates in the Upper Level, past the giant rock pile. In the Lower Level are the hueco’d routes, and quite a few steeper grades. My climbing buds really enjoyed Vagabonds (5.10a), Nightmare on Crude Street (5.10d), and Need to Rest (5.10a) in the Lower Level. In the Upper Level, 757 2×4 (5.7) is a nice mellow warm-up. Lewd, Crude, and Misconstrued (5.9+) is a lot of fun, mostly because it involves climbing under and around a large, overhanging rock.

A word of caution: The first few routes on the left in the Lower Level are different on Mountain Project than they are in the guidebook. According to Mountain Project, two routes have been added between The CEL and Bonaire. So if you’re looking to climb Bonaire, as I was, it’s probably the fourth route on the left, not the second (or the first, as it once was, long ago).

The Great Red Book: There are two long, exposed moderate sport routes on this wall. Even though the wall is visible from the parking lot, the approach is not a short one. We spent a morning there and climbed Dangling Participles (5.8) and Subject Verb Agreement (5.8), both 90′ sport routes.

Paul lowering off of Subject Verb Agreement (5.8)

Climb on!

We had the wall to ourselves and cell phone reception, so there was some music and funny dancing going on. We know how to party! This wall gets full sun, so make sure to hit it in the morning before the day gets too hot.

Someday, when we’re trad savvy, Seth and I plan on heading back to this wall to climb its namesake, The Great Red Book (5.8), a 270′, two pitch route that works its way up an inside corner on the left side of the wall. It’s quite beautiful.

The Great Red Book (5.8). Isn’t it pretty?

Magic Bus: This is another wall in the second pullout with a few moderate sport climbs. I really enjoyed the moves on Neon Sunset (5.8) and thought this wall was a nice way to start the day before heading to some more challenging territory.

Sweet Pain Wall: My rope-gun friends gave this area a go on our last day, before heading back to the airport. The climbing looked challenging, but fun. Paul finished his trip on a note of awesome when he put a rope up on Glitter Gulch (5.11a). Seth and Marianna gave it a go as well before we all sullenly headed to the airport.

Heading back to the car

Next time we head to Red Rocks, I want to be leading trad so that we can get on some of the moderate multi-pitch routes. The sport climbing was fun, and it was an easy trip to make when the weather had turned too cold in Minnesota to venture out on the rock. But, the sport climbing is only a sliver of what this park has to offer.  I’m looking forward to getting out there for some further exploration.

Thanks to my awesome climbing crew for a great trip, and for being my rope guns when I was too sick to do it myself.

The whole crew

Instead, something wonderful has happened. I actually *want* to eat whole, unprocessed, nutrient-dense food. A plate of protein, sweet potato, and veggies is a delicious meal. And I don’t really *want* milk in my coffee. I’m not lying.

Baked sweet potato, steak, and veggies

The Whole 30 challenge is 30 days of eating whole, unprocessed foods. Protein, veggies, fruits, nuts, healthy fats, and spices. All the good stuff. 30 days of making good food choices, with no cheating. That’s right, no cheating. No 80/20 rule. Why? Because the purpose is to form new habits and recalibrate the body’s hormones and taste buds. It worked. Somewhere around week 3 I had a tangerine, and it was heavenly. I didn’t need anything sweeter.

By the end of the 30 days, I felt pretty darned good. Not magical, as some proclaim happens, but good. I was sleeping through the night, every night. My mid-day slumps had disappeared, and even though I didn’t suddenly transform into a morning person, my period of grogginess once I was up was much, much shorter. Both my husband and I are more lean than when we started, and we learned to cook things that we really like.

On the flip side of that, this program was hard at times. It made me downright grumpy a few days. I’d say 30 days was about my limit as far as the no cheating rule went. Mentally, the strict rules are unsustainable for a long period of time. But, after my first week back to ‘normal,’ I can very clearly feel how my food choices affect my body, which makes it much easier to make good choices. And, I haven’t felt the urge to binge. I’ve had a dessert here, some wine there, a burger and fries with friends. But when I’m home and at work I return to our Whole 30 way of eating. I’m not craving sugar, grains, or cheese, and I know that the milk in a latte is going to make my stomach queasy and make me feel ridiculously tired. I suddenly have a clear picture of how my food choices make me feel, and I have control over bad food habits that I didn’t even know I needed to break.

Veggie and sausage hash

More than ten of my friends and family agreed to take on this challenge with me, including my husband. We set up a little support group online and shared our experiences, recipes, tips, tricks, etc. It was a great way to do the challenge, and really helpful.

Overall, this was a good experience, and I’m really glad I did it. It’s changed the way we eat at home, and it’s given me good insight into my own relationship with food. My husband says that, for him, it’s clarified the difference between eating for sustenance and recreational eating. I can say the same for me. I’ve also learned how to cook without a recipe; something I never, ever thought would happen.

If you’re interested in learning more about the Whole 30, check out the book “It Starts With Food.” It’s a great source of information on how our bodies handle the food we eat, with an explanation of the challenge and the science behind it. Even if you don’t plan on doing a Whole 30 challenge, I recommend reading this book. I found it quite interesting and informative. For a more general overview without the science, the official Whole 30 website is here.

A very happy New Year to you all!