Tag: Nature

• The Grotto

  Posted at 9:45 AM by Brittany, on January 26, 2016

  I’ve never been an overly religious person, but back in 2013 I was in need of something bigger than myself to help me through some hard times. I started going to church, and the feel good vibes I received helped me find peace in my tangled mind.

  

  Religious or not, I find the messages given in settings like a church to be messages I want to live by: treat others well, share what you have, help when you can, and trust in the universe. Whatever your thoughts on higher powers are, I believe everyone should find something to believe in that’s bigger than us.

  

  It was in this time that I discovered the power of positive thoughts. The moment I relinquished control over what was bothering me and trusted in the process was the moment I felt calm, and hopeful. This was years ago, but I have held onto this mindset and use it whenever I feel necessary. A calm mind is a happy mind.
  

  One of the places I find the most solitude and peace is in nature. I discovered a sense of who I was the last couple years after diving head first into many hiking adventures, some solo, most with friends. There is something powerful about observing nature for what it’s worth and appreciating the effort that went into its creation.

  

  On my recent trip to Portland, I found myself appreciating the beauty of nature from a religious standpoint while wandering around The Grotto. I was in absolute awe of the history here and the air around these trees felt lighter and full of life.

  

  

  Although I don’t identify myself as a Catholic, the work that went into preserving the peace within this area is enough for anyone to appreciate. No matter your beliefs, in the end as long as you live a life of integrity, honesty, helpfulness, and trust the process – life becomes much easier.

  

  I’ve been talking a lot about manifesting lately, and it’s something I’ve grown fond of. This universal practice of turning your thoughts into reality has been around for ages, and I’ve been putting all the things I want into the universe and slowly but surely the seeds I’m planting are starting to grow. As with most things, this takes time.

  I set a goal of honoring my thoughts more this year, and paying attention to the waves that flow through my brain space. I truly believe life is too short to have worry, fear, anxiety, distress, and discomfort. These emotions come when we set our focus on the future, or the past, both of which are irrelevant because all we have is now.

  

  My takeaway message is this: whatever you believe, you must believe in something. We are a much smaller piece of the worldly puzzle and having “something” to lean on when things get difficult helps make this life we create a much smoother ride.

  Find your “Being” and run with it. This is a constant work in progress as life is one big mind game, and only those who can complete their puzzle come out on top. 

  Q: Where do you go to find peace and solitude? The trees, always the trees. And sometimes a bakery… 😉

  

  | 91 Comments Tagged Explore, Nature, Portland

• Outdoor Ohio

  Posted at 9:20 AM by Brittany, on October 7, 2015

  It’s no secret I love being surrounded by trees. One of my favorite things about hiking is standing tall atop a mountain and admiring the world below me.

  A trip to The Holden Arboretum offered a hike like view, but with 1/20 the effort.

  

  

  120 ft into the sky, the emergent tower offered fantastic views of the trees.

  

  

  Up. up, up.

  

  Purdy little lady!

  

  I could have stared at those trees for hours.

  

  

  Even the bogs were pretty. So long as you don’t slather a Petri dish with its innards.

  

  

  I was able to explore the downtown Cleveland scene a few days after this country adventure, and the contrast between country and city life continues to fascinate me.

  

  

  I will always adore the beauty of unique buildings, and even admire the hustle and bustle of city life, but my heart will forever belong to the quite nature of the trees where time seems to stand still. It’s a much simpler life if you ask me.

  

  

  Royalty.

  I always enjoy seeing both the city and the country while visiting new places. I find it gives a solid balance of perspective, and it always confirms my love of nature.

  I’d like to experience the city life for a short time, but I don’t see myself living somewhere large for longer than a year. I much prefer the slow and quite life of the suburbs. Something tells me my running pants and socks with sandals wouldn’t fit in with the business suits and BMW’s of the city. 😉

  Q: Do you prefer country or city life?

  

  | 53 Comments Tagged Cleveland, Explore, Hike, Nature, Ohio, Vacation

• Quality Over Quantity

  Posted at 3:56 PM by Brittany, on August 13, 2014

  Over the last couple years I’ve become very content spending a lot of my time alone. This is nothing new, as I have been blogging about my solo adventures for quite some time now. To put it bluntly, I’ve found there are very few people I actually want to spend my time with.

  

  With that said, the rare times I do spend with other people I am very picky about who those people are. My time is valuable to me, and I don’t have the energy to spend time with people that don’t add anything beneficial to my life. We all deserve quality connections.

  I don’t say this to be harsh, I say it to be real.

  

  After visiting the Starbucks corporate office, my two gal pals and I headed North to hike Rattlesnake Ridge, a hike I’ve done multiple times now. Leave it to me to suggest a hike as part of our activities.

  

  I adore these girls to pieces, but they are both leaving me very soon. One is moving to another Starbucks about 15 miles away, and  the other is moving to another Starbucks (and school) in IDAHO! 😦

  

  

  I don’t have a lot of friends, but I have quality friends and that’s what matters most to me. The kind of friends that you can go months without seeing, and pick up right where you left off.

  It’s also necessary for me to spend my time with people that understand/accept my personality, and that share similar interests. Friendship is like dating – the ones that don’t mesh well, don’t evolve and end up in a split. It also helps when they’re equally as quirky.

  

  The point of this post was not to allow me to ramble, but simply to highlight the fact that like most things in life: quality over quantity.

  

  I am quite content with my balance between alone time and time spent with others. I wouldn’t change anything about where I’m at!

  

  You should totally click this to enlarge it.

  Q: Do you prefer spending your time in large groups with a lot of people, or being more selective on time spent with others? I don’t mean like a party, because that’s a different situation. Just in general everyday friendships.

  

  | 48 Comments Tagged Explore, Hike, Nature, Rattlesnake Ridge, Starbucks

• Granite Mountain – The Ten Essentials

  Posted at 5:12 AM by Brittany, on June 24, 2014

  Last week while exploring the mountains I got lost. Like, I actually got lost…no trail…no familiar sights…just….lost. In the midst of my life flashing before my eyes, I realized how under-prepared I was. It was on this hike I discovered the importance of  the ten essentials.

  

  Driving to the mountain, thick cloud cover…no bueno.

  

  

  Washington hasn’t been playing nice for my last couple hikes, and the fog/cloud covers have been intense. Normally this wouldn’t be an issue, but when a trail is new to you limited visibility isn’t ideal.

  

  

  For the first bit of this hike (on Granite Mountain) things were smooth. Visibility was limited, but the trail was easy enough to follow. It was when the snow hit things started to get sketchy.

  

  

  Climbing up to…blank space.

  

  Thanks to avalanche warnings (yeah, real talk) we took the rocks. Thank God I’ve been doing more yoga because I used my arms to climb like a sea turtle crawling back into the ocean.  A LOT of arms.

   

  

  

  Rock climbing like a boss.

  

  After finally making it to the top I enjoyed what I could see, despite being a bit bummed by the lack of view. I even made a new friend.

  

  I found it ironic that the photo in this hiking book looked exactly like the the foggy scene I was viewing in real life.

  

  Reading about more hiking…

  On the way down is when shit got real.

  Mistake number one: Venturing away from the snow line. There was a rock wall that hugged the snow path, but we veered too much to the right. Lack of visibility made this even worse.

  

  

  Down into the abyss!

  After a short while we were no longer in the right area. The drops got steep, and the path was non existent. Somehow we ventured so far to the right we were on a completely different mountain. A mountain with no paths. I about lost my marbles.

  

  Two hours of wandering, panicking, and contemplating whether I wanted my vegan ways to end due to eating my hiking partners leg.

  Mistake number two: Not enough food/water. Of all things for ME, a FOOD LOVER to fail at…not having enough food. I ate everything I brought by the time I hit the top. Never again…

  I literally had to grab onto deep rooted bushed to avoid falling down the vertical drop. My legs got cut up, and my mind began to wander.

  

  Mistake number 3,4,5,6,7…: No navigation/sunscreen/fire starters/insulation/illuminations…nothing! Just me myself and my empty pack. The goat poop I saw indicated someone was probably freshly hungry after emptying their breakfast, and I was on the menu.

  FINALLY, after somehow catching a connection via Google Earth on a cell phone, we figured out which way to go. GPS is SO necessary in a time like this. Ironically this is when the clouds started to break.

  Not that it helped, with no visuals to base our ascent on, the decent was just as foreign even with visibility.

  

  

  Here’s what I learned: NEVER hike under prepared. No matter HOW easy you think the climb will be. 7.5 hours and over 9 miles later we made it to the car, and I nearly cried. I was legit scared.

  I will be making another trip to REI (my fourth in less than two weeks) to grab some basic essentials to add to my pack. Looking back I can now laugh, & I also appreciate these photos – I think they are great.

  

  Latest purchase, day hike trail shoes. They survived this glorious misadventure.

  

  Q: Have you ever been lost in the mountains before? Suddenly I am reconsidering my desire to thru-hike the PCT. Just kidding, this will happen..but I will be much more prepared, and maybe have a small army with me just to be safe. 

  

  | 61 Comments Tagged Explore, Granite Mountain, Hike, Nature, REI

• Mount Teneriffe – When Hiking Becomes Humbling

  Posted at 5:09 AM by Brittany, on June 16, 2014

  I don’t want to toot my own horn, but I think I’m in pretty good shape. I can easily crank out a 5-6 mile run, I attend multiple spin classes a week, and I’ve upped my yoga to daily sun salutations.

  I just like to keep moving.

  

  With that said, there are times when I am humbled by certain physical activities. Weights? Yea right…don’t even ask me to lift. Saturday I was humbled while on a hike, a hike that took a total of 6 hours.

  

  

  I don’t have many friends these days, by choice. I just don’t know many people that enjoy the activities that I enjoy, and life is too short to waste your time with people that don’t add any value to your life.

  I was fortunate enough to discover one of my old coworkers loves to hike as much as I do, so we’ve been hiking…a lot. I don’t dare go alone..

  

  

  Saturdays hike started out like any other, gradual climb with beautiful views. 3 miles in was a series of waterfalls,  the perfect “calm before the storm” of the climb to come. I had no idea what I was in store for.

  

  

  

  This is the spot most people turn around at. Well, I’m not most people and I wanted to see the top. Time to activate incline glutes. My hiking partner thought it would be a good idea to bring a 20+lb bag. I thought it would be a good idea to try and carry it. I lasted 10 min.

  

  Into the clouds we go.

  

  Bag of death.

  The straight up climb to the summit felt like it lasted for hours. It took us forever to get to the top because the pace was S.L.O.W. So steep. As with all climbs though, the accomplishment is indescribable.

  The view at the top was…well…white. We were legit inside of a cloud.

  

  

  A bit further down.

  I never doubted that I would make it to the top, but man was it tough!

  

  This was the first time I had hiked into the night, it was dark by the time we made it back to the car. I wasn’t too worried, I found a potential new house to live in when I move to the Seattle area.

  

  Who wants to throw a housewarming party in here?

  

  My neighbors house. Birds, or possibly a jackalope.

  Overall this hike was about 7.5 miles round trip, with an elevation of 4800ft. I think the fact it took 6 hours tells you enough in itself.

  

  What’d I learn this time? 20+ lb bags slow you down, and quitting is never an option. Unless you get eaten by a bear.

  

  

  Q: Do you like steep climbs, or gradual climbs? I like both…on the same hike. I want to feel the burn, get a small reprieve, THEN BURN AGAIN! 

  

  | 49 Comments Tagged Explore, Hike, Mount Teneriffe, Nature

• ob·ses·sion

  Posted at 6:19 AM by Brittany, on June 9, 2014

  ob·ses·sion

  : someone or something that a person thinks about constantly or frequently

  : an activity that someone is very interested in or spends a lot of time doing

  

  

  It’s safe to say I am officially obsessed with hiking. I think about it all the time, and I partake in it every weekend, usually twice. When I’m bored I look at photos of mountains, or browse REI for new gear.

  

  I hiked not one, not two, but three mountains this weekend. Two of them in one day, I just can’t get enough. Two of these hikes were new to me. The first one was the Rattlesnake Mtn Trail. Amazing.

  

  I continue to be in awe of each vantage point I come to.

  

  

  

  

  It’s amazing to me how at peace I feel when I am in the trees. I could literally sit atop a mountain like this for hours staring at one spot.

  

  The trifecta: Mountains, trees, and water.

  Rattlesnake was about 5 mi total, but I needed more. So I ventured over to Little Si, which is a smaller version of the hike I did last week.

  

  This trail was full of the most lush foliage I’ve ever seen.

  

  

  The view at the top was like a sea of trees.

  

  

  I have found my summer passion. I think it’s time to invest in some real hiking shoes, and camping gear. As if I needed another reason to love my time with nature, back to back hiking calls for epic refueling.

   

  

  

  

  Q: Where do you feel most alive? Next to chocolate cake, and in the forest. 

  
  | 57 Comments Tagged Explore, Hiking, Little Si, Mountain, Nature, Pizza, Rattlesnake Ridge, Vegan

• Mount Si – How Hiking Relates to Life

  Posted at 7:50 AM by Brittany, on June 2, 2014

  I’m not sure where my running bug went, but I don’t care to find it anytime soon. OK, so that’s not entirely true. I still think about running all the time, I just don’t DO IT all the time. Instead I have been filling my soul with the trees and rocks of mountains.

  

  OH HEY that’s me! Standing on a mountain and stuff.

  I’ve always been able to relate my running endeavors to life, and in all reality any difficult physical activity can probably relate to life in a round about way. Since hiking is my adventure of choice these days it just seems fitting to reflect on how a difficult climb can mean so much.

  

  Mt. Si –  4 miles up, 4 miles down. Beautiful 8 mile hike.

  

  Last Thursday I made my way to a new hiking location, which will be a common theme on the blog during the summer months. I’ve been lucky enough to find a couple friends that are willing to hike weekly.

  Life Lesson One: Conquering a new mountain is like letting new and exciting changes occur in your everyday life. Getting out of your comfort zone is good for the mind, body, AND soul.

  

  

  These woods were quiet, peaceful, and aside from conversation with my hiking partner, they offered alone time with thoughts.

  Life Lesson Two: Quieting the outside world, and learning to quiet the mind is powerful. Chaos internally causes chaos externally.

  

  

  Sometimes the climb gets tough, this one was moderate, and while my heart-rate spiked I never felt like I needed to stop. Keep moving.

  Life Lesson Three: Pushing through tough times often leads to beautiful things, or views. Don’t give into the desire to quit.

  

  

  

  Life Lesson Four: Sometimes making new friends happens when you least expect it. Embrace and delight in those around you everyday.

  

  

  

  I was so scared…

  Life Lesson Five: Curve-balls are common, and being mentally prepared to handle them confidently will make a world of difference. You cannot prepare for everything. Things like changes at work, or a ballsy bird trying to steal your well deserved sandwich.

  

  Quick side note/story. That bird ^^^^ legit tried to steal my sandwich and scared me so hard I almost fell. I was in such a zone of pure bliss due to finding the peak/eating that I didn’t even see it coming.

  

  Life Lesson Six: Perspective is everything. Change your mind, change your life. Sometimes it’s not what you see, but how you see it.

  

  Life Lesson Seven: In the end, after fighting and climbing to the top of the hike or closing the page of a difficult chapter, you reward yourself, because you’re worth every slice of chocolate cake and tofu stir fry. You’re tougher and stronger than you first might think.

  

  

  I actually ate this BEFORE the hike, because obviously cake and coffee is the right choice for fueling…

  Life Lesson Eight: Never.Give.Up. Never stop exploring, and never stop growing. Fight until you reach the top, and life will find a way of sparkling and gleaming in a way you’d never expected.

  Lately my days have looked like a unicorn sharted glitter all over me.

  Q: How does hiking/running/swimming/anything physical (keep it PG guys) relate to life for you?

  

  | 56 Comments Tagged Explore, Hike, Hiking, Life, Mount Si, Mountain, Nature

• Poo Poo Point

  Posted at 7:13 AM by Brittany, on April 16, 2014

  Hi, my name is Brittany, and I am 25 going on 12.

  

  When I first heard about the poo poo point trail, I wanted to hike it simply because of the name. I knew nothing about this hike other than the fact that it had “poo” in its title.

  

  Much to my surprise, this was not only a legit climb, but it had one of the best vantage points of any of the hikes I’ve done. Yeah, that’s a big deal. The journey to the top had some photo worthy scenery as well. I was very impressed with this trail!

  

  

  

  I was able to wrangle a fellow nature lover along for the ride. This meant I was finally able to see what I look like in my natural habitat – aka taking photos of nature.

  

  So serious.

  Round trip this hike was about 7.5-8 miles, and the vegan scone I had tucked safely in my Camelbak kept me moving on the way up. Despite my heart feeling like it was going to burst a few times, I didn’t dare stop moving.

  

  I lasted all of 30 seconds at the top for a photo before digging into my scone.

  

  

  Remember that time I ventured to Seattle and missed my chance for a vegan scone? I made sure to get one this time…and nearly bought 10 things. SWOON. Made my world. Ironically, I also got a free piece of chocolate from the same chocolate shop I wandered into after missing out on my scone last time. Originally $2.25 for the chocolate, I got fo free.

  Good things come to those who wait.

  Q: Anyone else chuckle at the name of this trail….please tell me I’m not alone. 

  

  | 60 Comments Tagged Adventure, Explore, Hiking, Nature, Vegan

• Nourishing my Soul

  Posted at 10:51 AM by Brittany, on March 24, 2014

  Nature nourishes my soul. Fresh air, big trees, empty trails, all of it. Green is my favorite color, and the Washington mountains just so happen to flourishing with mossy green trees.

  

  One final hurrah before my vacation to the east coast included an 8.6 mile hike through the Washington trees. Best idea ever. I’ve hiked this trail over 10 times now, but each time I go I find something new that captures my soul and takes my breath away.

  

  

  This was just the adventure I needed to counteract all the baking I’ve been doing. For multiple reasons, one being justification. I completely justified eating cupcakes and cookies this past weekend! It’s all about balance, I like to earn my treats.

  

  Conquering a mountain gives me a sense of accomplishment, like I’ve earned the body I have so graciously been given to live in. Also, nothing beats the view from the top.

  

  

  Awkward hand placement…haha.

  To go along with the the nature theme, when I came home I ate the most epic meal out of the bowl I painted a couple weeks ago. It’s the perfect size, and I love it!

  

  

  Did I mention I have a thing for trees..? 😉

  Q: What nourishes your soul? Food and the great outdoors! 

  

  | 44 Comments Tagged Balance, Cupcake, Green Mountain, Hiking, Mountain, Nature, Vegan

• Heart Breaker Half…errr…10K

  Posted at 3:55 AM by Brittany, on February 24, 2014

  While searching for the race I wanted to run for my birthday, the heart breaker half was the first to jump out at me. Close to home, but far enough away to feel like I was traveling.

  

  The only problem was that I hadn’t run more than 2-3 miles since December. While I knew I could do it, I didn’t know if I wanted to suffer through the pain of pushing myself in a race that I hadn’t trained for. Lucky for me, this race also had a 10K option. Perfect.

  

  

  The race started right outside of Liberty High School in Hillsboro, Oregon. I was so thankful the gym was open for everyone to wait in, because it was so unbelievable cold I began to question why I ever signed up for races in the winter. My entire body hurt.

  

  After waiting for what felt like an eternity in the frozen tundra of Antarctica, we finally started the race. My legs were so heavy, and my fingers were numb. I was convinced I was just going to run this 10K with the hopes of not wanting to die. I had no intention to “race.”

  This was hands down THE most gorgeous course I have ever run. Rolling hills of farm lands, pigs and cows, and amazing trees welcoming the sun on the horizon. I didn’t stop to take any photos (sadly), but it was sort of like this.

  

  

  

  

  Actual photo from the race I found on IG! This lady was great.

  The course was enough to make standing in the cold worth it, and I was quickly reminded of why I decided to run. The joy I get from discovering new areas on foot is indescribable. I found myself comfortably running about a 9:30-9:50 pace and decided I was going to try and beat my previous 10K time. I decided I was going to “race” instead of just run.

  

  I’m growing another human out of my neck, to keep warm in winter.

  I beat my previous time by 1 minute and 28 seconds. Every second counts, if you’re a runner you will know what I mean. I was FOUR seconds away from getting UNDER an hour, but was still more than happy with my end time of 1:00:04. I stopped for about 10 seconds at mile 4 to get a drink…those damn 10 seconds..

  

  The race was amazing, but my favorite part was moments after I crossed the finish line. A woman came up to me and thanked me, I had unknowingly paced her the entire time. This was her first 10K, and the excitement just poured out of her. She thanked me over and over for helping her complete this race, and told me my pace was amazing.

  

  We matched..how cute.

  I am by no means a fast runner, but to know that my 9:41 pace inspired someone else to push it to the end was something I’ll remember for a while. She made my race complete. Needless to say, I was on a runners high the remainder of that day.

  

  One of the best medals I’ve received!

  

  Q: What’s your ideal scenery for a run? Or bike ride? Definitely this.

  

  | 49 Comments Tagged 10K, Nature, Portland, Run Happy, Running

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• BRITTANY- Self proclaimed minimalist "granola" striving to maintain a balanced, healthy life with good food, long hikes, strong relationships, exploration, lots of broccoli, and laughing like it's my J.O.B. Currently living and working in Germany, join me on my adventures abroad!
• Contact: blissfulbritt@yahoo.com

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