• John Muir Trail
  • High Sierra Trail
  • About
  • Flickr
Thoughtfully Awesome logoThoughtfully Awesome logo
  • John Muir Trail
  • High Sierra Trail
  • About
  • Flickr
Day Hikes

Ice Lake Basin,
San Juan Mountains, CO

Bison Peak
Lost Creek Wilderness, CO

Grass Mountain,
Los Padres National Forest, CA

Picket Wire Canyon,
Comanche National Grassland, CO

Winter on the Abyss Trail,
Mount Evans Wilderness, CO

White Rock Loop,
Red Rock Canyon, NV

Turtlehead Peak,
Red Rock Canyon NCA

Winter on the Chicago Lakes Trail

Crater Lakes,
Indian Peaks Wilderness, CO

A Failed Summit of Mt. Audubon

James Peak
James Peak Wilderness, CO

Roadtrip to the JMT Part 2: Moab and Onward

Blue Lake,
Indian Peaks Wilderness, CO

Giant Trees, High Deserts, and Deep Canyons
Heading home – Part 1

  1. 1
  2. 2
Search

Categories

  • Backpacking
  • Day Hikes
  • Hiking
  • The High Sierra Trail
  • The John Muir Trail
  • Travel

The Latest

  • Santa Rosa Island,
    Channel Islands National Park, CA     March 13, 2017
  • The High Sierra Trail:
    Day 6     July 23, 2016
  • The High Sierra Trail:
    Day 5     July 22, 2016
  • The High Sierra Trail:
    Day 4     July 21, 2016
  • The High Sierra Trail:
    Day 3     July 20, 2016

Instagram

Oh, gosh. Just stop with the cute already! 🤎 #e Oh, gosh. Just stop with the cute already! 🤎 #elkcalf #babyelk
Do not fret, there are still pristine special plac Do not fret, there are still pristine special places that social media has not ruined. Places that are not overrun and overused, places where you can still find solitude on a Saturday, places where humans are still quiet guests on the landscape, where animals still live and die on their own terms, where wildflowers can still shock and awe. 💛 #COLORado
THIS IS TOO COOL! I have never been so excited to THIS IS TOO COOL! I have never been so excited to see a beaver! You might wondering what is so particularly cool about this little beaver? It’s cool because I spotted him/her in the Colorado River in Rocky Mountain National Park - and beavers are super-duper rare in the park. They used to call both sides of the park (and nearly all of Colorado) home, but after extensive fur trapping in the 1800’s they were nearly entirely wiped out. They have somewhat recovered in some areas of CO - but they never really returned to the park. Think of all the places in the park with “Beaver” in their name…this is because they used to be prolific here! From what I have read, it seems this is due to the overgrazing of elk in the park on willows and aspen…the beavers just can’t sustain themselves on what is left behind. And this is another wonderful argument for bringing the wolves home - these guys could possibly return home too. Unfortunately where I spotted this beaver was definitely not beaver habitat, so she was probably passing through, but I hope she finds somewhere in the park to settle! If you love these engineers like I do, check out the book Eager - it’s a fascinating read. @rockynps @rmconservancy #beaver #rockymountainnationalpark #rmnp
I hope I never grow tired of seeking out small, qu I hope I never grow tired of seeking out small, quiet, wild, moments. Trying my best to capture them, bottle them up and put them on a shelf, hoping maybe the person that wasn’t even there can still hear the quiet splashes and tiny sips 🧡
Fiona’s scruffy spring headshot 🧡. Foxes alwa Fiona’s scruffy spring headshot 🧡. Foxes always look so scrappy and skinny in June as they lose their winter coat. When she loses all of it I’ll share a great comparison with her winter coat because it’s so dramatic! #FionatheFox
4 weeks post-op today. On one hand, healing is on 4 weeks post-op today. On one hand, healing is on track and I’m super happy to be starting to get more back to normalcy. I’m back to work, up to 5+ miles a day flat hiking, and 5 miles a day on my stationary bike, and have been cleared today to start doing some easy PT-supervised strength training everyday. Thats good stuff! On the other hand, my latest MRI shows I do need the second neck surgery that insurance originally denied me. And, surprise surprise, I have to jump through a bunch of hoops to try and get insurance to approve it, that will probably drag this out for months. BUT, I’m feeling surprisingly positive and hopeful right now, because regardless how tedious, and slow, and frustrating this whole process has been over the past 7 months…there is actual forward progress. Yes, I do wish United Healthcare to fall into the pits of hell for continually denying me what I need and dragging this out. Yet, my intuition tells me everything will all work out, probably not on my ideal timeline, but one day this will be behind me. My body will be healed and strong, pain-free, vertigo-free (which happily I believe this surgery already fixed!), and I can set big goals again for long trails, and tall mountains and all of the things that fill my soul. Overall, I’m doing my best to take it day by day (and blow by blow) and not let it get the best of me - because it’s summer and the wildflowers are blooming and it feels nearly impossible to be pessimistic this time of year. 🌱🌸🌼🌱 (Also love that these rays of sunlight in this photo just happened to be shining down my back - maybe that’s a sign) #spinesurgery #healingjourney
Vultures are so damn cool. I was super excited whe Vultures are so damn cool. I was super excited when I stumbled upon a whole squad of them eating a hearty lunch. After evaluating my surroundings for possible camouflaged company (🐱/🐻), and the potential for ambush, I snapped some photos of these important scavengers and turned around so as not to risk running into the fella that originally took down their meal. #vulture
Another baby sighting. All legs and tinyness 🤎 Another baby sighting. All legs and tinyness 🤎 #babymoose
Load More... Follow on Instagram
All content and images © Erica Ruch 1993-Infinity | Site by Erica Ruch Studios