Day Hiking Nevada’s Highest Mountain

  Nevada’s highest mountain, Boundary Peak, lies on its border with California in the White Mountains in the middle of the aptly named Boundary Peak Wilderness within Inyo National Forest. It’s elevation is 13,140 ft, depending on where you look, and it’s one of the more challenging peaks we’ve summitted so far. Not just physically, […]

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20+ Ways to Work Less This Year

  It’s not that Greg and I don’t like to work, it’s just that we want to work on our terms, in between big chunks of time off. Since 2013 we’ve averaged just 7.8 months of employment a year, and that’s including {{{shudder}}} an entire year working full time. Side note: In that year we […]

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Iceland on a Budget!

  Hahaha just kidding. Iceland is not a budget destination, so just put that out of your head now. But… there are ways around the high price tag if you’re flexible and have a sense of adventure! It’s ironic, you can fly on WOW air from the States for $99 each way, but you’ll pay $150/night […]

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Chicago: A Tale of Two Munchkins, part three

  Be sure to check out parts one and two first! The kids provided us a great day, but the weather was questionable for our third day in the city so we gave them the choice of the Museum of Science and Industry, the Field Museum of Natural History, or the Shedd Aquarium. They chose […]

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Chicago: A Tale of Two Munchkins, part two

In case you missed it, here’s part one. We turned (some) control over the kids and let them decide what we would do our second day, and gave them options to choose from. Mason claimed (falsely) he’d never been to a zoo before so we opted to take the bus to Lincoln Park Zoo, which […]

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Lizard Head Loop: Cirque of the Towers to Valentine Lake

Be sure to check out Part One first! Day 3: Day hike to Texas Pass and around Lonesome Lake, 5.72 miles We awoke our third day to brilliant blue skies. Seriously, we could not have paid for better weather. We made pancakes and bacon and drank our coffee and Earl Grey in the sun. We […]

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Lizard Head Loop: Big Sandy to Cirque of the Towers

My mother spent her formidable years in Wyoming, between Riverton and Dubois. If you’ve ever been to that part of the state you know how utterly gorgeous it is- rivers and buttes and peaks and grizzlies. Mom’s parents had a cabin built on the east side of the Wind River Range, with a picture window […]

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Mini Retirement 2016

  Time for the Warckens to move away from employment and onto their next adventure(s) (and for everyone to ask how the hell we can afford to do it). Greg’s dad told us we’re like a military family, only without the military. Gregory and I are like two peas in a pod. I’m so very […]

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Backpacking for Beginners: Clothing

  Clothing is obviously a very personal choice, so I’m just here to share what we wear and love. It doesn’t matter what the weather report says; if we’re going out for a night or more we pack clothes for all temperatures and conditions. The number one clothing item you pack should be a waterproof […]

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High Points: New York

  After conquering Vermont we hightailed it to New York’s Adirondack Park for her high point, Mount Marcy at 5,344 ft. It was dark by the time we got to the trailhead but we managed to find free camping on Meadows Road, along with about thirty other cars. I whipped us up our favorite pre- […]

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