I’ve been lurking the website for about a year now and never introduced myself, so I thought it was about time to pop my head in and say hello!
I started spending time in the outdoors around 2009 after graduating from high school. A bit of an anomaly for the women in my family, but my brother is also a huge outdoors-person (currently an underwater cinematographer). Hiked around Bali and nearby islands for a couple of months in 2010, started visiting Yosemite the same year, worked in Colorado near the Wyoming border for a couple of summers and worked at a horse ranch in the Sonoran Desert in Mexico for a month (my time was unfortunately cut short), both of which allowed me to basically live in and explore some really beautiful and secluded areas. I’ve since done a few extended car camping trips and hiking trips abroad, but only (finally) got into backpacking last year. BPL has been a huge help as far as figuring out my own preferences, finding new routes, being able to afford gear (thank you, Gear Swap!!) and just learning more about the outdoors and backpacking in general.
I’m now preparing to hike the JMT in July from Happy Isles with a few good friends, and will be happily sleeping in my Moment DW and lugging around a 14lb baseweight (I know, not super-UL but it works for me) thanks to the tips and resources I’ve found here. Also, just wanted to say from what I’ve seen on the forums, there seems to be a really dedicated, supportive, and largely long-time community here, which has been really cool to see. Thanks everyone!
