planner girl / trail chaser / bird watcher
Today, Hudson and I checked off hike number four of eight for the Adirondack Gateway Challenge: Hadley Mountain. I’ll admit, I almost turned around a few times on the drive there. Dark, rain-filled clouds seemed to be following us the entire way, growing larger and more threatening with every mile.…
Technically, I started this challenge when Darby and I hiked Lake Bonita and Lake Ann last July. But after saying goodbye to Darby in October 2025 and welcoming Hudson into our lives in December, I decided to start over so that Hudson and I could both be official finishers. My…
Darby is now an almost 6 year old chocolate lab. She has been our wild mountain biking dog since 4 months old… sadly she’s got some arthritis issues that we’ve been working through – so biking is on the back burner (for now)…. Enter her HIKING era… This is our…
BIRDS HAVE COME… and I am thrilled. And also, I have no clue how this camera app works. It has been a little over two months since we hung the bird house (March 11, 2025) … and I received the first “security alert” that there was movement in the birdhouse…
I first came across the 4-3-2-1 Way Hiking Challenge back in 2017 and figured it would be a breeze to complete. After all, it only requires ten hikes total. Then life happened. Eight years later, I’m close—but still not quite finished. The challenge requires hikers to complete four easy-rated hikes,…
For my birthday last September, my in-laws gifted me this birdhouse with an inside camera, allowing you to watch what happens inside. I WAS SO EXCITED to put this out… and today was the day! You may be wondering why I waited until now (March) to put this up, seeing…
A few weeks ago, Josh found himself in urgent care after taking a spill on his bike. We left with 13 stitches, a lot of questions about how sitting was going to work for the next few days, and strict instructions from the doctor: no biking for 10 days. Fortunately,…
I love hiking. If you’ve spent any amount of time around me, that’s probably not a surprise. Give me a trail, a mountain, and an entire day to wander, and I’m perfectly happy. Josh, on the other hand, doesn’t quite share my enthusiasm for spending an entire day hiking. And…
The final hike of the day was Barker Pond. Getting there felt like an adventure all on its own. The trailhead is tucked well off the beaten path. To reach it, follow Flow Road off Route 28/30. The road is closed during the winter and is commonly used for logging…
Hike number three of the day brought us to Rock Pond, the longest hike on our itinerary and, ultimately, my favorite. When I first picked up the brochure for the 4-3-2-1 Way Challenge, I immediately noticed the beautiful wooden bridge featured on the cover. I wondered where it was located…