Excuses, Excuses

I can always invent at least a dozen reasons why I shouldn’t do something. The logical, practical side of me tries to beat out the free-spirited, adventurous part that thinks waking up at 4:30am to go climb a mountain or skip cleaning the house to spend a day on the river is great idea.

Living with the mindset that you won’t live in whatever place you’re at forever is very important. It makes you choose a hike over cleaning the kitchen. An evening with friends at your favorite brewery over getting your errands accomplished. A huddle on a rooftop in the middle of the night trying to catch a meteor shower over getting ‘adequate’ sleep.

Live a better story.
Every.
Single.
Day.

Reason #42 to Love My Job

I’m moving from Emigration Canyon in May and so I’ve started the arduous process of de-cluttering my life. Digging through my closet, I found a stack of expensive, tailored pants from a former life when I acted as a fancy marketing professional. After a brief moment of sentimentality and panic about getting rid of expensive clothes, I added seven new items to the donate pile.

Not only has working in the outdoor industry, and specifically working with people with disabilities, caused me to reevaluate my priorities, but it has also caused me to eliminate ‘excess’, whether in the form of gadgets, clothes or my social calendar.

One of the great things about the outdoor industry is the shared passion for the outdoors and the casual work environment. And when I say casual, I mean ‘wear the pants you climbed in with coworkers that morning and hope you have extra deodorant in your desk’ kind of casual. I once skyped an old work friend that I was wearing jeans, no shoes and a braid in my hair… at the office.

To that end, I’ve recently found myself addicted to the perfect work/play company in the outdoor industry: Mountain Khakis. I snagged a plaid shirt of theirs at the Outdoor Retailer Show and it quickly became my go-to, how-is-it-dirty-again, favorite shirt. The best part about their clothes, aside from durability and attractiveness, is that they allow you to go from the base of the crag to a business meeting with no regrets.

I recently did a quick review for their uber fantastic Mountain Denim shirt, check it out: CLICK

The Mountain Khakis Mountain Denim Shirt

I have worn the shirt twice a week for the last few months, on both indoor and outdoor activities. It has seen the inside of board rooms, ski resorts and climbing gyms.

Likes: The absolute best part about it is that I can wear it for professional meetings at the State Capital to immediately running up Big Cottonwood Canyon to shoot a video in a blizzard without blinking an eye.

• Fit: The fantastic part is that it doesn’t get stretched out after one use like a lot of other clothing does. I have worn it four times in a row without worrying. The fit is quite flattering and you can tell it was designed for a woman instead of falling victim to ‘shrink and pink’.
• Durability: It is incredibly durable and has that sturdy, thick feel to it.
• Design: I got so many compliments on the design, to the point where my roommate said, “I’m getting one. That’s not a problem, right?” The pearl snaps are the icing on the cake – taking it from a plain shirt to the favorite item in my closet. The sleeves roll up and stay up, a feature not common with button up shirts.

Dislikes: The only thing I could possibly say about this shirt that I don’t love is that it doesn’t seem as true to size I was expecting. I own the Peak Flannel Shirt in a small and it is quite roomy, whereas the Mountain Denim is a bit snug. I’m sure it is just the matter of material used, but I was hoping it would fit a little bit more similar to the Peak Flannel.

Overall: You must own this shirt.

Letting Go

With my half marathon and Splore’s big fundraiser behind me, I have been able to spend every free moment with friends in the outdoors. We were able to go outdoor climbing two nights this week and skiing in fresh snow the other night. Needless to say, it’s been fantastic and life-giving.

One of the outdoor climbing expeditions took us to Little Cottonwood Canyon in search of a semi-empty crag. Obviously, we are dreamers. Our search led us to a lesser-known crag with a large, maze-like approach. Of course, we got lost and ended up bushwhacking for a few hours before we finally stumbled upon the climb, breathless and scraped up from scrambling through brush and snowy, boulder fields for two hours.

Strangely enough, I found the hours of scrambling and getting muddy to be really enjoyable and equally as adventurous as the climb itself. My coworker kept laughing that I was never going to climb with him again and that I really must be miserable. Quite the opposite. I’ve always heard stories of people who do the Inca Trail hike to Machu Picchu instead of just busing to the entrance and their experience at the city is completely different. You appreciate an experience so much more fully when it takes pain, blood, sweat or tears to get there.

This year has been an excellent experience in learning to let go. Learning that everything doesn’t have to be perfect, especially me. Yes, I should have gone home and done laundry, cleaned, unpacked from the weekend, etc., but the choice has to be made about what will make you happy and what you’ll remember years from now. I think I’ll remember the golden sunset in the canyon, the thrilling repel in pure darkness and glorious feeling of letting go. I choose to be free.

Winter Playground

If you have to fill your free time with excruciating, long runs, then you miles well look good doing it. Thanks to my friends at YMX by Yellowman, I now own the best running jacket out there. The beauty and design aside, this gem is perfect for seasonal runs where you just don’t know how the weather is going to act. I’ve worn it on warm, windy days with a simple tank top underneath as well as blizzard conditions with a mid-layer underneath and it has kept me warm and dry.

Get out there, my friends. And stay classy doin’ it.

Siblings

“Sibling relationships outlast marriages, survive the death of parents, resurface after quarrels that would sink any friendship. They flourish in a thousand incarnations of closeness and distance, warmth, loyalty and trust.” -Erica Goode

The result of a 2am food break during an Underworld marathon with my bro. Wouldn’t trade this time for the world.

The Start of a Dream List

I realized recently that I don’t have any life dreams. There are things I love doing, people I love being with and places I love discovering, but I don’t have a master list that I’m working off. Instead, I kind of let life take me where it will and enjoy the ride and experiences I encounter. I’ve been feeling like I should create a master list of dreams, even silly ones, so that I can live more intentionally instead of simply reacting. 

Do you have life dreams? What are they? How did you come to them? How do you go about accomplishing them?

Here are a few off the cuff… more to come:

1. Kayak in bioluminescence
2. See the Northern Lights in a big way
3. Experience the crazy firefly phenomenon in Tennessee
4. Climb a tower in the Moab desert
5. Run a triathlon (even if it’s a sprint)
6. Shave my head

I’ll think more about this and complete the list soon. Stay tuned (and share your ideas!). 

Lindz

Decide

It seems so simple, so straightforward. How do you decide?

This one time I lived up Emigration Canyon…

… and my commute looked like this. Seriously unbelievable. The Wasatch Mountains are so beautiful.

Back in the Saddle

It’s been a while since I hit the trails in the Wasatch. Unbelievable. Landed from a week in Vegas for a trade show and decided it was high time I changed that.

I’ve also been testing out some gear from YMX, which I happen to now be in love with. Here is a sneak peek into my test of the Infinite Tribal racing shorts…

The best part of these shorts, aside from how unique and stellar the design is, is that they literally are the most comfortable running short I have ever worn. The waistband doesn’t include that horrifying feeling of being cut in half and they are snug enough that they don’t fall down (which I’m sure the bikers on the trail appreciated). They do ride up a tad, so make sure you’ve got your bikini line ready for swim season, if you know what I mean. Otherwise, this short wins the best running short of the year award.