travel

Hiking Mt Adams

Five years ago I was hiking Mt. Adams in the White Mountains, but I turned back about 60 feet from the summit because high winds made me struggle to stay upright. Those 60 feet mattered so I never checked it off the list in my attempt to climb all the 4,000-footers in New Hampshire.

Second Attempt Hiking Mt Adams

Recently I decided to try again. To make things interesting I opted to take King’s Ravine trail, known for being one of the more challenging trails in the White Mountains. It is on the Terrifying 25 list. That means it has slides, rock scrambles, and boulder caves. It sounded fun. Plus it had an option to detour onto a trail called the Subway which provided the opportunity to climb over rocks, squeeze through some tight tunnels, throw your pack up on a rock and spin around underneath it and pull yourself though and then grab your pack and continue on. We were all scrapped up after the Subway but smiling and pleased with ourselves.

Unusual Circumstances

That morning before we knew the fun of the rock tunnels, we were greeted at the trailhead by a legitimate-looking […]

Hiking Mt AdamsMaggie Downie2019-11-08T10:17:12-05:00

Travel Sites & Places to Visit

Movement is what enables us to do all the things we enjoy in life. Eating is movement. Breathing is movement. Talking is movement. For me, one of my favorite ways to move it to travel the globe. Here is a sampling of some of the travel sites that still make me smile when they cross my mind:

Favorite Trips:

Salt Flats in Bolivia:

Stand in the center of the salt flats and all you see is white to the horizon line. You can play games with perspective in pictures. I’d love to return in rainy season when the white salt with a layer of water reflects that sky and people upon it.

Hot Springs in Pamukale, Turkey:

As you approach the hot springs it looks like people are soaking in snowcapped inlets on a mountainside. The reality is more like hard baking soda surrounding warm blue baths. It’s quite unique. In Yellowstone there is a smaller version of something similar […]

Travel Sites & Places to VisitMaggie Downie2019-05-10T14:11:11-04:00

Travel Workout: Moving in Small Spaces

Plank in Bryce Canyon

Traveling is one of my favorite ways to spend time. But with the adventure of seeing the world comes a lot of small, confining spaces that force you into a seated position for hours on end. When you need to fly, drive, hop on a train, or find yourselves in a dirigible, how can you keep moving in tiny spaces?

Tips for Moving in Small Spaces

· Stop Caring:

I think a key factor in moving is not to worry about what other people think. When you travel whether you pull over at a gas station, find a corner of a busy airport, or head to the back of the plane to stretch, people are going to see you doing something most people don’t do. I always tell myself that I’m going to feel better than all the folks just sitting there. That’s how I get over it.

· […]

Travel Workout: Moving in Small SpacesMaggie Downie2019-04-25T17:45:26-04:00

Failure is the mother of success

Plank at sunset on Kili

While I can’t say I’m not bothered by failure, I can at least recognize that very often I get some of my best stories out of failures or at least times when things didn’t go as expected.

Still, failing is hard. It’s hard to accept. It’s hard to admit. It’s embarrassing. When I failed to summit Mt. Kilimanjaro those were a mixture of the emotions I experienced—embarrassment, frustration, sadness, disappointment, but also understanding and acceptance.

The moment I realized I wasn’t going to reach the top I started crying. I don’t cry that often so I’m not really used to it. And, normally if I need to cry in public I try not to. There was no holding back these tears. They just came. I’d exerted too much energy getting this far to utilize any effort holding back tears now. I’d lost control of my body, physically and emotionally. I basically cried myself down that mountain, doing the walk of shame as everyone heading up stepped aside to let me down.

They were letting me pass, but I had let myself down.

Failure is the mother of successMaggie Downie2018-02-14T16:12:52-05:00

Plank Story: Hiking Mt Kilimanjaro

We are currently standing on Mt. Kili with the peak behind us. That’s how big the mountain is.

Hiking Mt Kilimanjaro was a spectacularly grand adventure and simultaneously self-inflicted torture. On the first night I accidentally peed in my sleeping bag and broke my headlamp. The sleeping bag and headlamp were both much needed tools on the mountain.

That’s me and Matt sitting on the right in the orange jacket. Photo from ready_freddy_123 on Instagram

Day Three

On Day three I wrote in my journal: When you look back on this trip as a positive experience, remember it is not. You are miserable. This is terrible. You did this to yourself. Vacation normally flies by but if you want vacation to pass slowly hike Mt. Kilimanjaro.

That was a breaking point for me. I’d been up the first two nights shivering. Lack of sleep and freezing nighttime temperatures forced me to figure out how I needed to get by on the mountain. That night I put on nearly all my clothes and threw some heat warmers into my sleeping bag and finally slept. […]

Plank Story: Hiking Mt KilimanjaroMaggie Downie2018-02-14T16:29:26-05:00