Why I Started Adventure Traveling

 

For years, I traveled for work. All the airports, conference rooms, hotel breakfasts started to seem the same. Trips started to blur together and there are a few places that I have to think really hard on if I have been there or not, for example, I have been to Kansas City but not sure if it's Kansas City Missouri or Kansas City, Kansas! There was a semester of work when I was home three weekends from January to May. I was always on the move, but rarely exploring. I had the privilege of visiting new places and being hosted by groups, but the schedule rarely allowed me to look beyond the walls of wherever I was working.

Yet even then, the pull toward the outdoors had already been planted. When I lived in North Carolina, hiking became part of my rhythm. I spent weekends wandering trails in the Carolinas, Virginia, and Tennessee. Those miles were grounding, but I didn’t fully understand what adventure travel could be for me until I moved back to Minnesota.

That’s when everything quietly shifted.

A friend and I decided to go on a weekend getaway, nothing extravagant, just a chance to get away and hang out. He wanted to hike, and and I wanted to hang out with him and since I already loved being on the trails, it was an easy yes. But the real impact of that trip still inspires me to explore new places, try new things, and adventure when I can.

It was the experience itself. It's how I felt then and since then, how I feel every time I am adventuring. With the towering walls of Zion, to wearing my YakTrax while sliding down the Wiggles of Angel's Landing, to the hoodoos of Bryce Canyon, to the feeling of standing in landscapes so grand they made me feel both small and limitless at once. Those trails awakened something in me. They reignited a deeper passion for adventure and reminded me of how alive and grounded I felt in nature.

And I didn’t stop there.

Since then, adventure travel has become part of who I am. I’ve hiked internationally in Iceland and Costa Rica, and across North America in Montana, Banff, New Mexico, California, and Washington. Each destination has carved its own place in my story, and none of them have quieted my desire to keep pushing forward. Recently it was Whistler, Canada and later this year is Germany, and maybe wrapping up the year in Norway. I can hear the trails already calling my name.

Adventure travel fills my soul in ways that are difficult to describe. It stretches me, physically, mentally, and emotionally. It teaches me what I’m capable of, often in moments when I least expect it. I truly believe these trips make me a better person. I’ve met countless people on the trail, exchanged smiles and hellos, and even walked through the Tetons with strangers after a bear crossed right in front of me. You don’t forget moments like that. I will always remember the guys that spent their night celebrating my birthday with me in Costa Rica. We drank wine, played coaster (a game we made up but I took the championship) and smoked a corn cobbed looking pipe to the mom and son who let me tag along down the mountain and gondola on our way back to Whistler village after bobsledding on the only track open to the public. (It also happens to be the fastest and highest in the world.)

And yes, before anyone thinks I’m only about the mountains which I absolutely love and tattooed them to me, I do love the water and a beautiful beach day. There’s something magical about being surrounded by humpback whales and calves in the oceans of Hawaii on a kayak, free swimming with sharks near Waikiki Beach or only having to worry about putting on my bikini instead of choosing which wool socks to pack. But the trails are where I find peace. The mountains are where I find clarity. And somehow, every time I step into nature, I find myself again.

Adventure travel isn’t just something I do anymore. It’s becoming part of who I am, shaped by each trail, every summit, and those moments that take my breath away. I’m incredibly grateful for the experiences that have brought me here, and I have no intention of slowing down anytime soon.

Enjoy some pictures from Angel's Landing in Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park!