Mailbox Peak

Tag: Mailbox Peak

Early Morning Confessions

Posted at 10:43 AM by Brittany, on August 25, 2014

1. I have fallen in love with smoothie bowls. Can’t stop, won’t stop.

2. One of my regular customers came in without his wallet last week. I told him breakfast was on me and not to worry about it (the perks of being a regular.) He insisted he would come back to pay, and sure enough he did. Along with paying for his coffee and lemon loaf he proceeded to buy a $20 gift card, and then gifted it to me. Humanity can be wonderful.

3. I also channeled my inner Pocahontas last week and canoed myself just around the river bend.

Or Lake Washington, same thing.

This is what I look like getting blown away.

4. I’m done with school for one month. I walked away from my summer biology class with a 4.0.

5. On Saturday I hiked Mailbox Peak again. I didn’t even wait a full 30 days before going back. It was even more brutal the second time. I won’t be hiking this one again for a while.

6. The day after the hike (yesterday) I had a Sunday long run. Ouch.

7. Roasted cabbage….that is all.

8. Looking for a good energy bite recipe? My coffee bites along with ten other recipes have been featured on Daily Burns “11 No-Bake Energy Bites” article!! So many good looking balls.

9. Speaking of balls…I’ve become obsessed with coffee tastings and parings. Like, it’s all I think about when I’m not thinking about running, eating, or breathing. Nothing says fall like Starbucks annual Anniversary Blend. I wanted to do a tasting to highlight the spice notes along with some maple and pumpkin oat flavors. So I made some Maple Pumpkin Pie Oat Bites.

Maple Pumpkin Pie Oat Bites

Ingredients

1 cup + 1 heaping tblsp uncooked oats
1/2 cup ground flax seed
1 tblsp cinnamon
1/4 cup creamy almond butter
1/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla
heaping tblsp raw pumpkin seeds

Directions

In a medium sized bowl combine oats, ground flax, and cinnamon. Mix well.
Stir in your remaining ingredients until well combined.
Place the mixture in the fridge for 15 minutes.
Roll the mixture into approximately 1 inch sized balls. Makes 10-12 bites.
Store in air tight container.

10. I then proceeded to bring these to work to have a coffee tasting with some of my coworkers.

It was a fun time.

Q: What’s your confession?

| 63 Comments Tagged Coffee, Coffee Tasting, Confessions, Hike, Mailbox Peak, Recipe, Run, Starbucks

Posted at 7:04 AM by Brittany, on August 1, 2014

Sometimes I wonder why I do things. Like why I choose to put myself through the torture of climbing 4000 ft in only 2.5 miles. If you do the math, that’s a whole lotta climb for not a lotta distance.

I successfully hiked solo, and by that I mean I actually felt solo this time. It was the perfect balance of people to where I felt safe, yet went multiple spans of time where I was all by myself.

If there is one thing I learned on this hike, it’s that people talk to you much more when you’re solo. Aside from the “hiker must” of saying hello, I had a couple people help me with direction, and even a group of guys trying to “holler” at me. Yeah…no.

Without the side conversations I would not have know to look for these white triangles while climbing through the forest. Oops, I missed that part when I skipped past the trail entrance notes.

Where’s Waldo…can you see the marker?

I have to say being alone in the woods was quite exhilarating. Despite my heart pounding out of my chest, and the sweat dripping from places I didn’t know possible this climb was amazing.

Once I found my way out of the woods (seriously it was total brain work) a nice Scottish gentleman & I crossed paths. He informed me I could continue on the trail path, or Billy goat my way on the rocks.

OK so he didn’t put it that way, but close. Guess which way I chose?

The rocks! I had some practice on this hike, so it was a no brainier.

The rocks gave a fantastic view of Mount Rainier, the neighboring hills, and some bodies of water. I was overwhelmed by all the beauty.

I managed to make it to the top in just under two hours. I sat, I stared, I ate, I rejoiced, and relished my accomplishment. Toughest climb yet.

What exactly is the highlight of this climb? There is a mailbox that someone brought to the top a while back (hence the name) and it’s caused this climb to be on many peoples bucket list. Myself included.