~*~ About Me ~*~

Who am I? I’m just a girl, standing before a trail, waiting to hike it. I guess I should have warned you about how stinking eloquent I can be. Okay, truth be told, I am far from eloquent. I can be a sarcastic little twit and will rip your head off for a Reese’s Peanut Butter Egg. My sense of humor is quirky, I am overly enthusiastic about backpacking and life, and I like to socialize. I have no doubt that my writing style alone will portray all of that. I’d apologize but it’s probably already too late.

So here I go…I’m 35 and currently living in Kalispell, Montana. I used to work as an Administrative Director in school districts for a private management company. I did this for 9 years (2 different companies, 3 districts in 3 states) in all but had enough a couple of years ago and walked away. I had a nice salary, cushy work schedule (Monday – Friday, no weekends, no holidays) and was 100% miserable. I discovered that sometimes, it’s not enough to be able to say you are successful. Either that or I redefined successful and realized that it did not match what was going on in my life. After an attempt to hike the Appalachian Trail in 2006, I hiked the Long Trail in VT. I was living in New Jersey working as a Government Affairs Specialist and happily left it all behind for the love of my life.

I was born in Connecticut, where I lived with my mom and dad until I was four years old. When my parents divorced, my mom and I moved to Vermont where we lived with my grandmother and great-grandmother. We used to call ourselves the “4-G’s” as in “four generations”. My wanderlust began at a young age and I never really looked back. Who knows why. During the summers, I was rarely at home. Whether I was in Connecticut with my Dad, at summer camp, or our family’s cottage in Maine…I was always on the go.

My first really big trip happened when I was 13 and went on an “Alaskan Caravan” with the summer camp I went to. Thirteen kids and two adults loaded into a van and drove across the U.S., up the Alaskan Highway and then back across Canada, seeing and visiting everything in between, including a 5 days backpacking adventure on the Chilkoot Trail. Since then, I’ve spent time living in a couple other countries, as well as traveling whenever and wherever I can, as cheaply as possible. Sometimes cheap is bad (just ask Matt & Sara about the Buckingham Wing in our Chicago hotel). I’ve bounced around quite a bit since high school living in Miami, Vermont, Harrisburg PA, and now NJ.

I have met some extraordinary people through backpacking. I have found them to be some of the kindest, most helpful and interesting people that I have ever met. We all go out of our way to look out for each other and generally treat each other like family (right down to the teasing, hair-pulling and name-calling). We come from all walks of life, we are all ages and abilities, we are single, married, divorced, with and without children. The instant we meet though, nothing else matters because we share a love of the outdoors and backpacking. Connections are almost instantaneous and in many cases, lifelong friendships and relationships are formed. It’s a remarkable group of people that I’ve met and am proud to call them my friends.

For the past couple of years, I have had one light in my life and a source of happiness that kept me smiling and kept me going. He reminded me and showed me how great life is, can be and will be. Since meeting him almost two years ago, he has been a happy piece of my life and we finally figured out that there is a reason for that and realized how happy we make each other. If ever there were two peas in a pod, it’s us. For the first time in my life, I know where I belong and I know who I belong with. I am looking forward to starting the next part of my life and sharing it with someone who knows me, loves me and gets me. He brings out the best in me and makes me want to be the best I can be for him. Not a day goes by that he doesn’t make me smile and laugh. Never were two people more perfectly suited for each other as he & I.

On my birthday, I got the best present I could have ever asked for. Brad asked me to marry him. Of course…I said yes…well, I didn’t actually say anything. I was crying and nodding though! We are also expecting our first little bundle of joy in September. I’ve never been more nervous or excited in my entire life. We don’t know yet if it’s a boy or girl…but we are so excited to find out! Most days that go by, I can’t help but be in awe of my life. So much has changed in such a short period of time and I never imagined being as happy as I am right now. I can hardly believe that it’s real.

Happy Trails!

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