This is going to be a long post. Grab a beverage, a snack, or a maybe a lap cat to cuddle. In my last post I shared a few highlights from November – May, but there were a few things I missed. In an attempt to keep my online diary up to date I’m going to share a few more things. I hope to find a more consistent blogging schedule, but truth be told I will likely stick to writing whenever the mood strikes. Here are my adventure highlights of April, May, and June.
April
Duncan and I celebrate five years of shenanigans, and we went to our favorite little mountain town for an overnight. We went for a hike, we ate at a new hole in the wall diner, and I went for a 2 mile run along the river. We also of course walked around town and I got myself a cupcake. Any excuse to go to Leavenworth is a good excuse in my book.
This trip was right before I found out I was iron deficient. We had done this hike before, and it definitely felt much more difficult this time around. I was at the end of training for a half marathon, so it should not have been as difficult as it was, but that’s iron deficiency for ya! Either way, this hike is stunning every time we do it.
May
In May we went back to Leavenworth for my half marathon, which I have already shared. We also managed another hike, and this one was brutal. We’ve done this one many, many, maaannnyyy times. It’s not an easy hike by any means, but again, it should not have been this hard for me. I have been anything BUT patient with myself as I crawl my way out of being iron deficient, but I am working on it. This hike was so rough on my system I had a little cry.
Nothing like a summit snack to make me feel better though.
June
This one was a busy one. I got three hikes in, and one went so incredibly awful I wanted to scream and kick a concrete wall. The awful hike was the easiest hike I have done this year. We’ve done this one many times as well, but I felt so fatigued it was not a good time. Being at the top was nice, but I have had a hard time enjoying hiking this year so far because of my fatigue.
Didn’t I say I was sharing highlights? LOL.
Thankfully a couple weeks after this hike I was feeling a bit more energized, and I wrangled my pal Caitlin for a last minute trip to Mount Rainier. We typically go to Rainier in September, but decided to go earlier this year. There was still a ton of snow on the trail we hiked, so much that I got a wicked sunburn on my legs.
This was my second time hiking the Skyline Loop trail, and this time we went counterclockwise which was the move. Less people, and a more gradual incline. I will never make the dumb dumb mistake of skipping long pants when there is snow on the ground. A snow burn is no joke.
I am officially a member of the sun hoody club. I have been hiking in sun shirts for years, but this year I switched to sun shirts with hoods. I’m not playing around anymore with my sun exposure. Mountain Hardwear has the perfect sun hoodies for people with short torsos like me. I love a good “cropped” shirt and these are amazing.
Not sponsored, but it should be. I just love their stuff.
I also spent a week in June cat sitting two amazing, wonderful, adorable cats. I was devastated to find out a couple weeks ago that Scout, the grey cat had to be put down after he began having some health concerns. I met these cats in April, and cat sat them for a weekend then as well.
Collectively I spent so little time with them, but I was surprisingly very affected by the loss of Scout.
I am booked to spend Labor Day weekend with them, and now it will just be me and Suki. It’s amazing how quickly we can bond with animals, and while I am happy Scout is no longer suffering, I will miss him terribly when I go see Suki next month. Rest in peace sweet Scout.
Speaking of cats, my bionic man had a mini hiccup of what was likely an IBD type flare. He had a day of multiple pukes, but thankfully it was short lived. I gave him three days of meds to calm the fire, and we have officially started regular sub q fluids for him at home. His blood work showed his kidneys have actually slightly improved (still in stage 3 kidney disease, but improvement is amazing), and the bi weekly fluids should help keep the kidneys and even the digestive system happy.
I am forever finding the right cocktail to keep things humming.
Still reading?? Good, almost done.
Annnndd lastly, the final of the three hikes in June. Every single hike I have shared in this post I have done before. It was the season of repeats for me. I think I needed to know what I was getting myself into, although as I mentioned that didn’t help me much on some of them. The body is going to do what the body is going to do.
Thankfully this one wasn’t too brutal physically.
Mentally it was a bit tough for a moment. We saw a mama bear with two cubs right on the side of the trail. Just when we thought she was gone we kept going and BAM she was not gone. She was in fact closer to us and we stopped and walked the other way. Eventually a solo hiker visiting from the east coast caught up with us, and we hiked together to pass the spot where we saw the bear. The bear made her way into the brush and we didn’t see her again.
I am irrationally afraid of black bears, but any bear with cubs is a different story.
There we have it. I am writing this a month and a half after the last adventure, and thankfully starting to feel a bit better overall. My day to day life is much easier energy wise, but the bigger hikes and running are still wiping me out. I am slowly but surely trying to get back into a groove. I signed up for a relay race back in April before I knew any of this iron nonsense, so I am hopeful I can get into the groove enough to run a 10k with little repercussions.
The race is in one month. Wish me luck.
Q: Do you have any irrational fears? I don’t actually think being afraid of bears is irrational. I do however think being afraid of slugs is irrational. I am very much afraid of slugs.
Blissfulbritt 
38 thoughts on “April, May, June”
Roy McCarthy
No bears here so I can’t tell if I have a fear of them or not. Good to read your update with gorgeous pics as ever, and to know your overall health is improving – you’re determined to fight for it and stay active. Here in Jersey (CI) we have an annual Island Walk – 48 miles around the coastline, about half along cliff paths and trails. It’s an easy microcosm of the real thing but better than nothing.
Brittany
One of the many reasons to move back to certain areas of Europe…no bears! They are plentiful here in Washington state, but mostly black bears near me which are much less scary than a grizzly.
That island walk sounds amazing! Are you participating this year?
Roy McCarthy
It’s a great community event. I did it once but never motivated to do it again.
Brittany
Sometimes once is enough!
writersjourney2017
So glad you enjoyed Leavenworth, me, a long time ago, not so much.
Get Outlook for iOShttps://aka.ms/o0ukef ________________________________
Brittany
Ohhh no!!! Did something happen? We go once a year and I love it every time. I try to hit it during the off season. It’s still busy, but not nearly as chaotic as peak times.
I used to live in Bavaria, and it’s a little taste of Germany that brings me joy. 🤣
writersjourney2017
I was being coy I suppose, I didn’t think my response would draw a reply from you The good part is that I have been married 46 years, 3 kids and 6 grandkids, the not your typical place to meet your wife is: I met my wife in prison. (I passed through Leavenworth prison in 1973) Mary was a prison schoolteacher, (U. S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners, Springfield, MO.) who told me God could change me life. He did, and hers too. Hence the 46 years. I doubt you expected this response. YOUTUBEl I Met My Wife In Prison John and Mary tells the story. John C
Brittany
WOW! I just listened to the podcast, thank you for sharing. What an amazing testimony.
C.A. Peterson
1. Anita and I hiked once on Mount Jungfrau and I got a sunburn IN MY NOSE! Not on my nose as I had applied sunscreen, but INSIDE the ends of the nostrils!!
2. Save me about 83 of those “summit snacks” if we ever come to the mountains with you… although an eight mile hike in June pretty much made us faint!!!
3. A mama bear with her cubs is nothing to mess around with!!!!
❤️&🙏, c.a.
Brittany
INSIDE YOUR NOSE!? That’s insane. 🤣 One place I would never think to double down on with SPF.
C.A. Peterson
Well, you probably don’t have my European schnozz!!!😂
Rootchopper
Omg that breakfast is an iron bomb! Maybe you’re getting enough iron but you aren’t metabolizing it?
As for fears, heights give me the creeps.
Brittany
Well I failed to mention my ferritin (iron stores) did jump! So that’s good, but because I was deficient for a while it’s taking my body a bit to catch up. So I’m definitely metabolizing it, it’s just an annoyingly slow game.
That breakfast was soooo good. And I am also afraid of heights. But that doesn’t seem irrational at all. You fall…you die. Very valid fear.
Liz H-H
I have a fear of needles in the eye, which is also not entirely rational, but there ya go!
I gotta say, reading your posts are like getting news from a favored niece!:Thanks for making my day. 😊🐈⬛
Brittany
Aww your comment made me smile. Thank you! Also…the idea of a needle in the eye makes me want to cry. That’s definitely a unique fear, but very scary should it ever occur!
Grace @ Cultural Life
Talking of needles in the eye, my fiancé has to get eye injections every 8 weeks. He claims they’re “not that bad”. I’m not sure I agree! But maybe, as with a lot of fears, the reality isn’t as bad as we anticipate.
Liz H-H
😯 (feeling woozy. Poor guy!)
Brittany
EYE INJECTIONS!? 😅😅 oh that poor man. I’m glad he doesn’t seem too worried about them, but my gosh that sounds horrific.
Grace @ Cultural Life
He is so stoic. Honestly, I don’t know how he does it. I have a tendency to stress and worry about things anyway, but Lewis seems to have super-human no-stress powers so that helps balance out my overthinking nature 😅
The doctors think he will be able to stop the injections soon. Fingers crossed! He had treatment for a really rare form of eye cancer a few years ago, and the injections are to help with the post-radiation side effects. The good news is that he’s all clear and kept his sight! 🙂
Brittany
Ohhhh my gosh!!! I’ve never known anyone who had eye cancer. What an awful thing to go through! I’m glad he was able to get treatment and has his full vision! Now he can continue to be your low stress balance. 🥰
Sheree
Glad to read you’re feeling more energised
Brittany
Thank you, me too. Slowly, but surely.
Rosie
I don’t think being afraid of an animal that could seriously injure, or in the worst case scenario kill, you is an irrational fear. I guess it’s about striking a balance between being mindful of the animals we share the trails with and respecting them, and not letting fear of them stop us from getting out there in the first place. Sounds like you’ve had a busy few months. Hope your energy levels continue to improve. I know the feeling of coming back from an iron deficiency – it really saps you!
Brittany
You are so right. I think my fear of bears sometimes takes over my brain and I’m hesitant to do certain activities. Then when I do them they turn out fine! It’s all about being smart usually.
I’m glad the iron is improving, but I’m ready to be fully on the other side!
Atheria
Here in NM we are having more and more DESPERATE bears coming into cities looking for food and water. A family of 4 were hit and killed on I-25 between ABQ and Santa Fe. 😦 Like WA, we have fires going on, which is making the drought desperate wild animals situation worse. My friend who lives north of me took pictures of a black bear in her tree this past week.
I’m sorry about beautiful Scout. 😦 Mizu gave me a scare this week with sudden major vomiting (not like him at all) and I got worried as part of the reason I lost Bleu and Chakra was severe vomiting that caused other problems (Bleu got very anemic from blood loss from barfing but Chakra also had cancer and kidney disease). You are such a devoted mommy to little Little. We should have a black cats club and Suki could join too. 🙂
I zoomed in on the volcanoes picture but don’t see 3. Where’s the middle one? LOL
I had hoped your iron issue was much better, but… 😦 Have they figured out what’s triggering it? Here’s to your next post saying, “My iron stores are so high I’m like Ironman!”
Brittany
The desperate animals make me really sad. I’ve been hearing this about bears in Colorado too. The fires have been awful, thankfully I’m not close to any of them, but they are devastating to see.
I’m glad Mizu is rebounding, these cats never give us much time to relax! I’ll never forget your journey with both Bleu and Chakra. Suki is SO sweet and has so much energy. I had forgotten what a young cat could be like.
The mountain picture is sooo hard to see Mount Baker which is the one in the middle. It’s closer to Adam’s than in the actual middle. I should have put arrows pointing to them LOL.
I don’t have a root cause for the iron issues, but I suspect inflammation just from everyday life with an autoimmune disease and high impact activities like running. Both can cause iron issues. So I will be mindful going forward to be more on top of things if I start feeling off.
Peg
Good to see you back posting an update! So sorry you are having problems with iron deficiency, but hopefully you are coming out the other side of it.
What was the name of the little diner you ate at in Leavenworth? We are always looking for new places to eat there. We go every June for a couple days for my birthday. This last trip we ate at a sports bar called The Loft, and it happened to be the night the US was playing Bosnia-Herzegovina in the World Cup., so it was a lot of fun.
Glad to hear your Black Cat Ninja is doing better, but sorry to hear about Scout. I think we find it so easy to bond with animals because they are not judgmental, like humans are.
Anyway, great catch-up blog!
Brittany
The diner we ate was called “Take-a-break Cafe.” My coworker (who just turned 75!) grew up going to that area and he is always giving me new places to try. He suggested this one. The food was good! It’s small, usually one server it seems, but worth the stop. It’s on the way towards Cashmere just outside of Leavenworth.
We will have to look into The Loft for our next trip!
I absolutely agree about animals. It doesn’t take long for them to wiggle deep into our hearts.
MaryBeth
I know that I live where Leavenworth probably drew inspection from, but I still want to visit! The hike y’all did there was beautiful, it actually reminded me a bit of a hike I did in Austria. I definitely have respect for bears and I’ve only ever had one encounter with a mama and her cubs on a hike, but my irrational fear would be getting stung. I’ve only ever been stung once by a hornet as a kid and now I’m just terrified that I’ll get stung by a bee or wasp and find out I’m allergic. I’m trying to remedy this by watching beekeeping videos. 😂
MaryBeth
definitely meant inspiration but I guess autocorrect had other plans.
Brittany
When we first did the hike near Leavenworth a couple years ago it felt sooo European to me. Like something from the UK. It’s such a beautiful area.
Bee stings are a legit fear. I’m laughing at the idea of you watching videos to help. I could never watch videos of slugs. 🤣
Phil Lengthorn
Photos look incredible!
Brittany
Thank you! The landscape is just breathtaking.
Grace @ Cultural Life
Belated happy 5 years to you and Duncan! 😊 The trip to Leavenworth sounds like it was the perfect way to celebrate. That hike looks gorgeous. Those views! 😍
Good luck for the race! I hope your iron levels continue to increase and you keep feeling better.
I used to be really afraid of getting stuck in a lift (elevator, as you say across the pond)! When I was a child, I was terrified of that possibility. Now as an adult I can rationalise it and know I wouldn’t be stuck in there forever 😂
Brittany
Honestly…every single time I’m in a lift/elevator I have a split second thought about it getting stuck. So I totally get it. I will often take stairs if there are stairs. 🤣
Grace @ Cultural Life
I do the same! I will always choose stairs over an elevator 🙂
Duncan
That Cashmere hike may not be the most scenic but I can never picture it getting old, its so peaceful and worth every step
Poor Scout seemed like a lovely kitty, and I’m sure it would warm his owners heart to know how hard you took his loss as well.
The effect that the fluids have had on our old man is amazing, he deserves to spend his golden days in comfort, although he could be a bit less picky about his food!
And as for you, navigating the issues you face with your health has been inspiring, truly. I enjoy nothing more than accompanying you on adventures and seizing the most of the summer. I have no doubt given time, that you can push past the iron deficiency and get back to running and maintaining energy during the day.
XOXO
Brittany
Whaaaat!? That Cashmere hike IS scenic! It’s one of my favorite hikes I think. Looking forward to doing it again (still need to take Caitlin.)
Thank you for always helping me with the fluids. I can’t imagine how I’d manage without you.
Looking forward to never being iron deficient again. Thanks for all your continued patience.
XxOo