Southwest Colorado
Gap Year Program
Last semester I lived with a group of 14 other young adults on a mesa in the high desert of Southwestern Colorado. Together we worked on sustainable farms, danced, backpacked, and learned how to build a strong community. I got to climb the highest mountains that I’ve ever climbed, wander through deep canyons with pastel pink and yellow and blue and green rocks beneath my feet, and red walls stretching up to the sky. I hiked through miles of bright yellow aspens, swam across swift rivers, and slept outside during a wild minimalist survival challenge in Red Canyon, hunting a rabbit for dinner and sharing one sleeping bag with 9 other people. I felt more content than I ever have.
California
Solo Road Trip
One late fall day, I decided to drive south. I outfitted my little car to be a place for me to sleep and live for a few weeks, and headed down the coast alone. I drove miles and miles, just me, my car, music, podcasts, and some sweet silence. I walked through colorful, lively downtown Santa Cruz at night, and sat on the beach in the dark. I drove the PCH through the cliffs of Big Sur where I camped on a dirt road looking over the ocean, and spent hours lying staring at the water. I hiked in the redwoods, skated along boardwalks, surfed, wandered LA for a few days, and slept on top of my car in Joshua Tree where the winds were so wild that my pillow blew away in the night. Along the way I learned how to enjoy my own company in a way that I never had before. I learned how to take care of myself out in the world, and how to be kind to myself.
Indonesia
First Solo Adventure
When I was 19, I flew to Indonesia for my first totally solo travel experience. I spend 10 days on the small island of Bali, staying in a small city in the South, and a tiny village on the sea. I wandered the bustling, colorful markets in the city and learned to barter, I walked through rice fields, cycled through small villages, visited ornate temples, attended a traditional moon ceremony with locals, and swam in the warmest ocean that I have ever experienced. I learned to trust myself and I learned when to trust other people. I talked to people who lived lives so different from my own, and my perception of my own life was changed. At times I was scared, confused, and lonely, but overall I felt empowered and free.
Australia
Blue Moutains, Royal National Park, Sydney, Uluru
A 20 hour flight took me from my home in Washington, across the Pacific, and dropped in a small town outside of Sydney. It was a different season there, with different trees and birds and animals, and it was my first time traveling to another country alone. I lived with my parter there for a total of over four months, over the course of two different visits. Right behind the house I lived in was the Royal National Park, with over 37,000 acres of bush and costal trails and wilderness. I spent hours wandering among the gum trees, watching rock wallabies, backpacking along the coast, and paddling and swimming in the Hacking River. I also explored the beautiful Blue mountains, and traveled to see Uluru, in the dusty, red, flat, hot outback in the center of Australia.
Yosemite
Joie Armstrong Scholars Backpacking Trip
The summer I was 17 I went on a backpacking trip that changed my life. I ventured into the backcountry of Yosemite with 11 other teenage girls and 2 leaders and embarked on a 12 night trip, the longest backpacking trip that I had been on. Two weeks of alpine lakes, meadows, granite, and steep mountain passes. Together we learned to be more competent backpackers, better leaders, and stronger and more empowered women. We honored the life of a vivacious, kind, spirited young woman by dancing, singing, and hiking hard.
North Cascades & Olympic National Parks
Service and Study J-Term
One January I spend the month traveling around Washington State with a group from my high school, visiting each one of our incredible Washington national parks. Together we learned about the wild places around us, and did service work to better those places. From the icy, cold land and blue lakes of the Cascades to the damp, green Hoh Rain Forest and snowy Hurricane Ridge in the Olympics, to majestic Mount Rainer, I discovered the ecological diversity of the state I call home.
Passayten Wilderness Area
Early Backcountry Experience
I first visited this incredible spot in the cascades on one of my first backpacking trips when I was 14 years old. I’ve returned several times since, to hike though wildflowers, camp on grassy nulls, and swim in icy alpine lakes.
Olympic Peninsula
First Backpacking Trip
My introduction to the world of the backcountry came when I was 13 years old, with close family friends in the damp, green wilds of the Olympic Peninsula. I was excited about the rivers and moss draped trees and little hidden places to play. I was a slow hiker back then, and I remember having the concept of ‘miles per hour’ patiently explained to me by an adult who was probably tired of stopping every quarter mile to rest and play and look around. I remember looking over the mountaintops and feeling a sense of connection and awe that I had never felt before.
Vashon Island
Nature Immersion School
I developed a magical connection to the lush, green Eden of the Pacific Northwest as I played in the damp forest, and swam in the salty Sound. I hid silently among the sword ferns and mosses, face in the rich soil, watching the little insects in front of my nose. I gained a deep sense of place, half child, half wild creature.