planner girl / trail chaser / bird watcher
Hudson and I headed out to explore the Francis J. Dean Farm Heritage Trails today, and I have to admit that I vastly underestimated this trail system. Since it’s a historical and nature preserve area, I assumed the trails would be mostly flat and easy. While there certainly were some…
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…
This post was updated on 6/19/2026. 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…
Because I love hiking challenges, and because I once got Josh to agree to do the Fire Tower Challenge with me, we were able to squeeze Blue Mountain into our weekend while camping at Mason Lake. I was really excited for this one. I’ve driven by Blue Mountain countless times,…
Snowy Mountain is no joke. And please, for the love of all that is good, do not believe the guidebooks when they tell you it’s only three miles to the summit. Three miles? Maybe if you’re measuring as the crow flies. In reality, it felt much closer to four and…
Josh had hiked Chimney Mountain before, and I was excited that he wanted to share it with me. We were planning to camp at Mason Lake with friends that weekend, and decided to tackle this hike on our way there. Hike Report 7/27/2019 The day already felt packed. We had…
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,…
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…
This is one of my new favorite places—so peaceful, so beautiful, and so natural. Hike Report 7/11/2017 Today, we planned to complete the four “easy” hikes I needed for the 4-3-2-1 Way Challenge. The day before, we had hiked Buttermilk Falls, one of the easiest hikes on the list. Since…