https://www.skylightguiding.com/home daily 1.0 2021-09-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60300a7673049637e671031d/1614018300691-R7XUFWINMU91DS3VPFFW/Photo%2BAug%2B23%252C%2B2%2B34%2B29%2BPM.jpg Home - About Skylight Guiding Skylight Guiding was born out of feeling that I was held back from adventures due the absence of a hiking partner. I was uncomfortable seeking guiding services because I felt my goals were too modest. This led to me putting aside the first rule for women in the outdoors - “never hike alone.” I began pursuing most of my trips solo, which built my own self-confidence and knowledge to be safe and self-reliant while in the mountains. This was facilitated by a friend who was an expert guide, who provided the information and encouragement to move past my fears. This culminated in a “peak experience” during a climb up Mount Skylight, one of the most beautiful summits in the Adirondacks. When I shared this journey with others, it became apparent that many folks had similar concerns, and that the skills I had gained could help others pursue their goals in the outdoors. I wanted to take what my friend had provided me, and “pay it forward.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60300a7673049637e671031d/1614020173721-H45DBTKAJ37TPCZPQ4XP/IMG_8695.jpg Home - Guiding Options I provide consultation, in-person, and “virtual” guiding for beginner and intermediate hikers or paddlers in the Northern Adirondack and High Peaks regions. Spend less time researching, and more time enjoying your visit to this beautiful and unique place. I can recommend or accompany you on trips that are a good fit for you. I’m are licensed New York State Guides (#5987), up to date in DEC Regulations, certified in Wilderness First Aid and American Red-Cross CPR/AED, and trained in Leave No Trace. This site also provide curated list of podcast, app, and book recommendations inspiration while in the frontcountry. If you have recommendations, please email me at skylightguiding@gmail.com. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60300a7673049637e671031d/1614020372686-CT3GMNTNCLWAVCY41E5O/2020-10-04%2B12.02.34-1.jpg Home - The Adirondack Park Created in 1892 as one of the first Forever Wild Forest Preserves in the nation, the Adirondack Park is a unique wilderness area. At 6 million acres, it is the largest publicly protected area in the contiguous United States. The state of New York owns approximately 2.6 million acres, while the remaining 3.4 million acres are devoted to forestry, agriculture and open space recreation. The Adirondack Park is not a National Park - there's no fee to enter and the park doesn't close at night, nor is it a state park, a common misconception. It's also the largest National Historic Landmark, covering an area larger than Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Glacier, and the Great Smokies National Parks combined. The park offers opportunities for everyone from beginners to advanced outdoors people! (Visit Adirondacks) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60300a7673049637e671031d/1613764169663-YD2P2C8NN0DUK3JH24RQ/Combined+Logo.jpg Home https://www.skylightguiding.com/about-me daily 0.75 2021-09-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60300a7673049637e671031d/1613764808555-0E2KGWZXZ9ODF9VH430O/IMG_8999.JPG About Me - Elena Carol Lumby, DrPH, MPH Tobias Keene, D.D.S. Hailing from Richmond, Virginia, Dr. Tobias Keene brings a bit of unabashed Southern hospitality to all his patients. He moved to Washington, D.C. over thirty years ago as a freshman at Ivy College. Right after graduation, he attended World University’s School of Dentistry. Before opening Keene Dental in 1994, he worked for free clinics and some of the finest practices in the District. He is part of the 123 Dental Association and stays up-to-date on the latest dental discoveries. When not striving to keep his patients happy and healthy, he’s enjoys hiking with his family in Rock Creek Park. https://www.skylightguiding.com/podcasts daily 0.75 2021-08-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60300a7673049637e671031d/2309bba1-9173-4afb-96d2-9c05bc093638/She+Explores.png Podcasts Interviews, in-the-field recordings, and listener submissions make up a tapestry of episodes covering themes such as solo hiking and camping; entrepreneurship; aging; diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI); conservation; motherhood; chronic illness; and feminism as they intersect with outdoor experiences. Hosted by Gale Straub. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60300a7673049637e671031d/1614270575266-M20TR9KDVN30VLN82EM4/Nomads+at+the+Intersections.jfif Podcasts Host Noami Grevemberg and co-host Anaïs Monique dive deep into the stories of fellow road travelers and outdoorists, weaving through the challenges, journeys and inspirations of the diverse voices who, often unheard, make the outdoor community greater. On this show, you’ll hear from BIPOC, LGBTQIA+2S, disabled, and underrepresented travelers at the many crossroads of the modern-day nomadic movement. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60300a7673049637e671031d/a0251f8d-90e3-46bb-9855-cec75881886a/Wild+Ideas.jpg Podcasts Conversations with people who took the path less traveled and brought their wildest ideas to life. Includes topics and guests featuring women, BIPOC, and LGBTQIA+ stories. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60300a7673049637e671031d/808aaff9-c7c7-4c6c-88ea-ffcfa1a72a35/The+Wild.png Podcasts THE WILD with Chris Morgan explores how nature survives and thrives alongside (and often despite) humans. Taking listeners across the Pacific Northwest and around the world, host Chris Morgan explores wildlife and the complex web of ecosystems they inhabit. He also tells the stories of people working in and protecting the wild around us. https://www.skylightguiding.com/books daily 0.75 2021-08-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60300a7673049637e671031d/b6fb5ac7-f832-4c9a-8ea4-82e82621250c/Braiding+Sweetgrass.jpg Books Beautifully written book that changed the way I see the place of human beings within the natural world. Description: Drawing on her life as an indigenous scientist, and as a woman, Kimmerer shows how other living beings--asters and goldenrod, strawberries and squash, salamanders, algae, and sweetgrass--offer us gifts and lessons, even if we've forgotten how to hear their voices. In reflections that range from the creation of Turtle Island to the forces that threaten its flourishing today, she circles toward a central argument: that the awakening of ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgment and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. For only when we can hear the languages of other beings will we be capable of understanding the generosity of the earth, and learn to give our own gifts in return. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60300a7673049637e671031d/5d492fbc-0b0c-45c0-a3b8-dd1d28368bd4/Ada+Blackjack.jpg Books If you were a 25 year old Inupiaq woman, would you agree to guide five white men to a remote island? I wouldn't. Ada did. Story of how a tough woman survived for six months alone after her party died. Description: In September 1921, four young men and Ada Blackjack, a diminutive 25-year-old Eskimo woman, ventured deep into the Arctic in a secret attempt to colonize desolate Wrangel Island for Great Britain. Two years later, Ada Blackjack emerged as the sole survivor of this ambitious polar expedition. This young, unskilled woman--who had headed to the Arctic in search of money and a husband--conquered the seemingly unconquerable north and survived all alone after her male companions had perished. Following her triumphant return to civilization, the international press proclaimed her the female Robinson Crusoe. But whatever stories the press turned out came from the imaginations of reporters: Ada Blackjack refused to speak to anyone about her horrific two years in the Arctic. Only on one occasion--after charges were published falsely accusing her of causing the death of one her companions--did she speak up for herself. Jennifer Niven has created an absorbing, compelling history of this remarkable woman, taking full advantage of the wealth of first-hand resources about Ada that exist, including her never-before-seen diaries, the unpublished diaries from other primary characters, and interviews with Ada's surviving son. Ada Blackjack is more than a rugged tale of a woman battling the elements to survive in the frozen north--it is the story of a hero. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60300a7673049637e671031d/fa14edad-1ff6-4c82-ad41-98b753369bb9/Mother+Tree.jpg Books Before this book I often looked at trees as individuals - but now I see them as a community with families, relationships, and personalities - with the citations to support it. You might never see the woods the same way again! Description: Suzanne Simard is a pioneer on the frontier of plant communication and intelligence; she's been compared to Rachel Carson, hailed as a scientist who conveys complex, technical ideas in a way that is dazzling and profound. Her work has influenced filmmakers (the Tree of Souls of James Cameron's Avatar) and her TED talks have been viewed by more than 10 million people worldwide. Now, in her first book, Simard brings us into her world, the intimate world of the trees, in which she brilliantly illuminates the fascinating and vital truths--that trees are not simply the source of timber or pulp, but are a complicated, interdependent circle of life; that forests are social, cooperative creatures connected through underground networks by which trees communicate their vitality and vulnerabilities with communal lives not that different from our own. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60300a7673049637e671031d/84ff88b3-1157-4a10-b4cf-80b2bbce644f/Woods+Woman.jfif Books The inspiration for getting my guiding license! A woman bouncing back from divorce to live her best life in the Adirondacks. Description: Ecologist Anne LaBastille created the life that many people dream about. When she and her husband divorced, she needed a place to live. Through luck and perseverance, she found the ideal spot: a 20-acre parcel of land in the Adirondack mountains, where she built the cozy, primitive log cabin that became her permanent home. Miles from the nearest town, LaBastille had to depend on her wits, ingenuity, and the help of generous neighbors for her survival. In precise, poetic language, she chronicles her adventures on Black Bear Lake, capturing the power of the landscape, the rhythms of the changing seasons, and the beauty of nature’s many creatures. Most of all, she captures the struggle to balance her need for companionship and love with her desire for independence and solitude. Woodswoman is not simply a book about living in the wilderness, it is a book about living that contains a lesson for us all. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60300a7673049637e671031d/ee1ea3b8-0e81-4b3c-a401-a5ded9ae9e6b/This+Much+Country.jpg Books I spent some time in Alaska, and love memoirs of tough female adventurers like Kristin. This book was so beautifully written I didn't want it to end. Highly recommend the audiobook version. Description: A memoir of heartbreak, thousand-mile races, the endless Alaskan wilderness and many, many dogs from one of only a handful of women to have completed both the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60300a7673049637e671031d/8095c829-91c6-4fe7-b5dd-8089e8fb195e/Spell+of+the+Sensuous.jpg Books Although the richness and density of the book means my burned out mind can only read small snippets, it is always worth it. A new way of seeing things. Description: Animal tracks, word magic, the speech of stones, the power of letters, and the taste of the wind all figure prominently in this intellectual tour de force that returns us to our senses and to the sensuous terrain that sustains us. This major work of ecological philosophy startles the senses out of habitual ways of perception. For a thousand generations, human beings viewed themselves as part of the wider community of nature, and they carried on active relationships not only with other people with other animals, plants, and natural objects (including mountains, rivers, winds, and weather patters) that we have only lately come to think of as "inanimate." How, then, did humans come to sever their ancient reciprocity with the natural world? What will it take for us to recover a sustaining relation with the breathing earth? In The Spell of the Sensuous David Abram draws on sources as diverse as the philosophy of Merleau-Ponty, Balinese shamanism, Apache storytelling, and his own experience as an accomplished sleight-of-hand of magician to reveal the subtle dependence of human cognition on the natural environment. He explores the character of perception and excavates the sensual foundations of language, which--even at its most abstract--echoes the calls and cries of the earth. On every page of this lyrical work, Abram weaves his arguments with a passion, a precision, and an intellectual daring that recall such writers as Loren Eisleley, Annie Dillard, and Barry Lopez. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60300a7673049637e671031d/c66e6483-68a5-4818-948c-0a9638341bb1/Alone+in+Antarctica.jpg Books Get spooked being alone in the wilderness, or just in general? If Felicity could manage solitude as she skied across Antarctica, you can too! When I don't want to get up - I remember her mantra - Just Get Out of the Tent Description: Felicity Aston, physicist and meteorologist, took two months off from all human contact as she became the first woman -- and only the third person in history - to ski across the entire continent of Antarctica alone. Aston's journey across the ice at the bottom of the world asked of her the extremes in terms of mental and physical bravery, as she faced the risks of unseen cracks buried in the snow so large they might engulf her and hypothermia due to brutalizing weather. She had to deal, too, with her emotional vulnerability in face of the constant bombardment of hallucinations brought on by the vast sea of whiteness, the lack of stimulation to her senses as she faced what is tantamount to a form of solitary confinement. Like Cheryl Strayed's Wild, Felicity Aston's Alone in Antarctica becomes an inspirational saga of one woman's battle through fear and loneliness as she honestly confronts both the physical challenges of her adventure, as well as her own human vulnerabilities. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60300a7673049637e671031d/88ae7a1d-80d3-4709-9338-fd05dbecc112/Words+of+Wisdom.jpg Books While not a book specifically about nature per se - but it is about living in a way where respecting the natural environment is fundamental to the culture. It is embedded within all of the lessons. A great read when I was in Alaska and trying to understand those whose homeland I was occupying, while not being invasive. Description: This bilingual volume focuses on the teachings, experiences, and practical wisdom of expert Native orators as they instruct a younger generation about their place in the world. In carefully crafted presentations, Yup’ik elders speak about their “rules for right living”—values, beliefs, and practices—which illuminate the enduring and still-relevant foundations of their culture today. While the companion volume, Wise Words of the Yup’ik Peopleweaves together hundreds of statements by Yup’ik elders on the values that guide human relationships, Yup’ik Words of Wisdom, highlights the words of expert orators and focuses on key conversations that took place among elders and younger community members as the elders presented their perspectives on the moral underpinnings of Yup’ik social relations. The orators in this volume—including Frank Andrew from Kwigillingok, David Martin from Kipnuk, and Nelson Island elders Paul John and Thersea Moses—were raised in isolated Yup’ik communities in Alaska and were educated much like their parents and grandparents. Translated, edited, and organized for a general audience, this bilingual edition is for those who want to know not only what the elders have to say but also how they say it. A new introduction explores this book’s impact over the past decade. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60300a7673049637e671031d/05c78d5f-e617-434c-a9f0-94219967cd20/Deep+Creek.jpg Books A book so wonderfully written that I have read it three times. If you have ever wanted to run off and live out West - or make another drastic change - this book will show you it's possible. Description: On her 120-acre homestead high in the Colorado Rockies, beloved writer Pam Houston learns what it means to care for a piece of land and the creatures on it. Elk calves and bluebirds mark the changing seasons, winter temperatures drop to 35 below, and lightning sparks a 110,000-acre wildfire, threatening her century-old barn and all its inhabitants. Through her travels from the Gulf of Mexico to Alaska, she explores what ties her to the earth, the ranch most of all. Alongside her devoted Irish wolfhounds and a spirited troupe of horses, donkeys, and Icelandic sheep, the ranch becomes Houston’s sanctuary, a place where she discovers how the natural world has mothered and healed her after a childhood of horrific parental abuse and neglect. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60300a7673049637e671031d/5cf41d7d-2451-441d-92f6-cbab43037267/Winter+Pasture.jfif Books I had the privilege of spending time with nomadic Kazakh herders in Mongolia for two weeks - so I was thrilled when this book came out that provides further insight into their lives and culture. Description: Li Juan and her mother own a small convenience store in the Altai Mountains in Northwestern China, where she writes about her life among grasslands and snowy peaks. To her neighbors' surprise, Li decides to join a family of Kazakh herders as they take their thirty boisterous camels, 500 sheep and over 100 cattle and horses to pasture for the winter. The so-called "winter pasture" occurs in a remote region that stretches from the Ulungur River to the Heavenly Mountains. As she journeys across the vast, seemingly endless sand dunes, she helps herd sheep, rides horses, chases after camels, builds an underground home using manure, gathers snow for water, and more. With a keen eye for the understated elegance of the natural world, and a healthy dose of self-deprecating humor, Li vividly captures both the extraordinary hardships and the ordinary preoccupations of the day-to-day of the men and women struggling to get by in this desolate landscape. Her companions include Cuma, the often drunk but mostly responsible father; his teenage daughter, Kama, who feels the burden of the world on her shoulders and dreams of going to college; his reticent wife, a paragon of decorum against all odds, who is simply known as "sister-in-law." https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60300a7673049637e671031d/8ed548c7-0ba7-49de-b0f0-11be26bfc925/Sun+is+a+Compass.jpg Books Another book of adventure, beauty, and a trip I cannot imagine packing for! Description: For fans of Cheryl Strayed, the gripping story of a biologist's human-powered journey from the Pacific Northwest to the Arctic to rediscover her love of birds, nature, and adventure. During graduate school, as she conducted experiments on the peculiarly misshapen beaks of chickadees, ornithologist Caroline Van Hemert began to feel stifled in the isolated, sterile environment of the lab. Worried that she was losing her passion for the scientific research she once loved, she was compelled to experience wildness again, to be guided by the sounds of birds and to follow the trails of animals. In March of 2012, she and her husband set off on a 4,000-mile wilderness journey from the Pacific rainforest to the Alaskan Arctic, traveling by rowboat, ski, foot, raft, and canoe. Together, they survived harrowing dangers while also experiencing incredible moments of joy and grace -- migrating birds silhouetted against the moon, the steamy breath of caribou, and the bond that comes from sharing such experiences. A unique blend of science, adventure, and personal narrative, The Sun is a Compass explores the bounds of the physical body and the tenuousness of life in the company of the creatures who make their homes in the wildest places left in North America. Inspiring and beautifully written, this love letter to nature is a lyrical testament to the resilience of the human spirit. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60300a7673049637e671031d/f7409926-75f9-480b-b708-fcc921015a09/Icebound.jpg Books I have a love for stories of community - and the arctic. This brings together both! Much of the book is spent describing daily life at the South Pole, followed by Dr. Nielsen's experience treating herself for cancer. Description: Jerri Nielsen was a forty-six-year-old doctor working in Ohio when she made the decision to take a year's sabbatical at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station on Antarctica, the most remote and perilous place on Earth. The "Polies," as they are known, live in almost total darkness for six months of the year, in winter temperatures as low as 100 degrees below zero--with no way in or out before the spring. During the long winter of 1999, Dr. Nielsen, solely responsible for the mental and physical fitness of a team of researchers, construction workers, and support staff, discovered a lump in her breast. Consulting via email with doctors in the United States, she performed a biopsy on herself, and in July began chemotherapy treatments to ensure her survival until condition permitted her rescue in October. A daring rescue by the Air National Guard ensued, who landed, dropped off a replacement physician, and minutes later took off with Dr. Nielsen. This is Dr. Nielsen's own account of her experience at the Pole, the sea change as she becomes "of the Ice," and her realization that as she would rather be on Antarctica than anywhere else on earth. It is also a thrilling adventure of researchers and scientists embattled by a hostile environment; a penetrating exploration of the dynamics of an isolated, intensely connected community faced with adversity; and, at its core, a powerfully moving drama of love and loss, of one woman's voyage of self-discovery through an extraordinary struggle for survival. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60300a7673049637e671031d/c7388505-f53a-47c3-ac34-e1512dffc25f/Epic+Solitude.jpg Books More dogsledding! Another story of tragedy - and the healing power of dogs + wilderness. Description: All her life, Katherine Keith has hungered for remote, wild places that fill her soul with freedom and peace. Her travels take her across America, but it is in the vast and rugged landscape of Alaska that she finds her true home. Alaska is known as a place where people disappear--at least a couple thousand go missing each year. But the same vast and rugged landscape that contributed to so many people being lost is precisely what has gotten her found. She and her husband build a log cabin miles away from the nearest road and create a life of love. An idyllic existence, but with isolation and brutal living conditions can also come heartbreak. Chopping wood and hauling water are not just parts of a Zen proverb but a requirement for survival. Keith experiences tragic loss and must push on, with her infant daughter, alone in the Alaskan backcountry. Long-distance dog sledding opens a door to a new existence. Racing across the state of Alaska offers the best of all worlds by combining raw wilderness with solitude and athleticism. The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, the "Last Great Race on Earth," remains a true test of character and offers the opportunity to intimately explore the frontier that she has come to love. With every thousand miles of winter trail traversed in total solitude, she confronts challenges that awaken internal demons, summoning all the inner grief and rage that lies dormant. In the tradition of Cheryl Strayed's Wild and John Krakauer's Into the Wild, Epic Solitude is the powerful and touching story of how one woman found her way--both despite and because of--the difficulties of living and racing in the remote wilderness. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60300a7673049637e671031d/3baa7648-53fc-4749-9c77-ffc016ef2480/Tracks.jpg Books I binge listened to this one. An account of Robyn's trek across Australia that does not romanticize the journey - nor diminish what she accomplished. Might learn a thing or two about training camels while reading. Description: Robyn Davidson's opens the memoir of her perilous journey across 1,700 miles of hostile Australian desert to the sea with only four camels and a dog for company with the following words: “I experienced that sinking feeling you get when you know you have conned yourself into doing something difficult and there's no going back." Enduring sweltering heat, fending off poisonous snakes and lecherous men, chasing her camels when they get skittish and nursing them when they are injured, Davidson emerges as an extraordinarily courageous heroine driven by a love of Australia's landscape, an empathy for its indigenous people, and a willingness to cast away the trappings of her former identity. Tracks is the compelling, candid story of her odyssey of discovery and transformation. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60300a7673049637e671031d/850c523a-7ee1-4403-b54c-73e02ce1449d/Hearing+Birds+Fly.jpg Books Read this prior to my trip to Mongolia. Provides a little glimpse into rural life in Mongolia, although most of her time is spent in town. Description: A passionately written account of Louisa's time in a remote Mongolian village. Frustrated by the increasingly bland character of the capital city of Ulan Bator, she yearned for the real Mongolia and got the chance when she was summoned by the village head to go to Tsengel far away in the west, near the Kazakh border. Her story completely transports the reader to feel the glacial cold and to see the wonders of the Seven Kings as they steadily emerge from the horizon. Through her we sense their trials as well as their joys, rivalries and even hostilities, many of which the author shared or knew about. Her time in the village was marked by coming to terms with the harshness of climate and also by how she faced up to new feelings towards the treatment of animals, death, solitude and real loneliness, and the constant struggle to censor her reactions as an outsider. Above all, Louisa Waugh involves us with the locals' lives in such a way that we come to know them and care for their fates. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60300a7673049637e671031d/f7ba4adf-29ab-4ec5-bfb8-8f2c21ab5eab/Find+a+Way.jpg Books When I heard that the 64 year old bad ass woman who swam from Cuba to Florida despite box jellyfish stings wrote a book, I knew I had to check it out. Glad I did! Description: On September 2, 2013, at the age of sixty-four, Diana Nyad emerged onto the sands of Key West after swimming 111 miles, nation to nation, Cuba to Florida, in an epic feat of both endurance and human will, in fifty-three hours. Diana carried three poignant messages on her way across this stretch of shark-infested waters, and she spoke them to the crowd in her moment of final triumph: 1. Never, ever give up. 2. You’re never too old to chase your dreams. 3. It looks like a solitary sport, but it’s a Team. Millions of people around the world cheered this maverick on, moved by her undeniable tenacity to be the first to make the historic crossing without the aid of a shark cage. At the end of her magnificent journey, after thirty-five years and four crushing failures, the public found hope in Diana’s perseverance. They were inspired by her mantra—find a way—that led her to realize a dream in her sixties that had eluded her as a young champion in peak form. In Find a Way, Diana engages us with a unique, passionate story of this heroic adventure and the extraordinary life experiences that have served to carve her unwavering spirit. Diana was a world champion in her twenties, setting the record for swimming around Manhattan Island, along with other ocean-swim achievements, all of which rendered her a star at the time. Back then, she made the first attempt at the Mount Everest of swims, the Cuba Swim, but after forty-two hours and seventy-nine miles she was blown desperately off course. Her dream unfulfilled, she didn’t swim another stroke for three decades. Why, at sixty-four, was she able to achieve what she could not at thirty? How did her dramatic failures push her to success? What inner resources did Diana draw on during her long days and nights of training, and how did the power of the human spirit trump both the limitations of the body and the forces of nature across this vast, dangerous wilderness? This is the gripping story of an athlete, of a hero, of a bold mind. This is a galvanizing meditation on facing fears, engaging in our lives full throttle, and living each day with no regrets. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60300a7673049637e671031d/4da42109-7f69-483b-adb9-345cb4900a4a/Singular+Woman.jpg Books Calling Obama's mom a "white woman from Kansas" was one heck of an understatement. Couldn't get enough of this book - and how cool Stanley Ann Dunham was. Description: The New York Times bestseller-an unprecedented look into the life and character of the woman who raised a president. Barack Obama has written extensively about his father but credited his mother for "what is best in me." Still, little is known about this fiercely independent, spirited woman who raised the man who became the first biracial president of the United States. This book is that story. In A Singular Woman, award-winning New York Times reporter Janny Scott tells the story of this unique woman, Stanley Ann Dunham, who broke many of the rules of her time, and shows how her fierce example helped influence the future president-and can serve as an inspiration to us all. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60300a7673049637e671031d/ad257f47-9d13-470b-ba3f-63a5fa09b76f/Go+Find.jpg Books I don't think there can be anything more badass than being a female-K9 search and rescue team. This was a great one to binge on audio. Description: Somewhere between hunting for gold in Latin America as a geologist and getting married to a new husband, thirty-three-year-old Susan Purvis loses her way. Susan comes to believe that a puppy and working on ski patrol at the last great ski town in Colorado will improve her life. When she learns about avalanches that bury people without warning, she challenges herself: "What if I teach a dog to save lives?" This quest propels her to train the best possible search dog, vowing to never leave anyone behind. With no clue how to care for a houseplant, let alone a dog, she chooses a five-week-old Labrador retriever, Tasha. With the face of a baby bear and the temperament of an NFL linebacker, Tasha constantly tests Susan's determination to transform her into a rescue dog. Susan and Tasha jockey for alpha position as they pursue certification in avalanche, water, and wilderness recovery. Susan eventually learns to truly communicate with Tasha by seeing the world through her dog's nose. As the first female team in a male-dominated search-and-rescue community, they face resistance at every turn. They won't get paid even a bag of kibble for their efforts, yet they launch dozens of missions to rescue the missing or recover the remains of victims of nature and crime. Training with Tasha in the field to find, recover, and rescue the lost became Susan's passion. But it was also her circumstance--she was in many ways as lost as anyone she ever pulled out of an avalanche or found huddled in the woods. "Lostness" doesn't only apply to losing the trail. People can get lost in a relationship, a business, or a life. Susan was convinced that only happened to other people, until Tasha and a life in the mountains taught her otherwise. https://www.skylightguiding.com/apps daily 0.75 2021-08-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60300a7673049637e671031d/b1fa01ed-4c7d-44cc-b116-2356d6849b09/Sky+Guide.png Apps Skyguide - Oh this is such a good app. Use it to identify stars, constellations, and planets in real time. Use the calendar function to see what astronomical events are coming up each month. You can also see when and where rockets, satellites, and space debris will fly over. iOS only. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60300a7673049637e671031d/b861b36b-af6c-4abe-897c-fc8e8609a64c/Merlin.png Apps Merlin Bird ID - What was that bird!? What was that call?? Merlin Bird App by Cornell is fabulous. Give it a few characteristics of who just flew by, and it can generate a list of likely candidates. Even cooler - use the sound identification feature to id birds by their song. It's like Shazam for birds! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60300a7673049637e671031d/4b7bb1e2-d475-423d-b958-7dd282fef3f3/ISS+Spotter.png Apps ISS Spotter - I love the International Space Station, and I do not want to ruin the mystery of why. Makes an exciting event for you and your group to look forward to during you campfire. The app will tell you where and when to see it, as well as the quality of the view. You can even set an alarm to remind you to look up! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60300a7673049637e671031d/932eb33b-d3ee-477d-baeb-1e2c7af4ec38/Peak+Finder.png Apps Peak Finder - What mountain is that? Is that Marcy? Amaze others on the summit by identifying them all! A great app to learn or confirm your mountain knowledge. Just don't let anyone see you using it ;) https://www.skylightguiding.com/learn-more daily 0.75 2021-09-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60300a7673049637e671031d/1628102826811-W9M5G016RI5ONZH5PH15/IMG_1262.jpg Learn More Overlook at the Adirondack Mountain Reserve https://www.skylightguiding.com/before-you-go daily 0.75 2021-08-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60300a7673049637e671031d/1628103881538-8BIDP1502WMR6PNUQL17/10+Essentials Before You Go - Bring the Right Gear Although you are eager to get on the trail, bringing the right gear is critical for your safety, as well as having fun. The 10 Essentials is a great way to make sure you have all the things! When I’m tempted to leave the raincoat or extra layer behind to save on weight, I remind myself that if I bring it, I won’t need it, but if I leave it, I will! Here are a few things to take along. Two headlamps. This is an easy one to forget. Cellphones have convenient flashlights, but phone batteries often run out while they search for service. Seems like every week someone ends up in the Ranger Report for not having a headlamp. Even if you are going on a short hike, just keep it in your bag. There is always the possibility that something could happen, and the feeling of being without a light as the sun sets is not a good one. It also gets dark in the mountains sooner than out in the open. This also means one is not enough! Make sure your group has a spare. An added bonus, if you run into someone who is wandering in the dark, you can give it to them and be a hero. Raincoat. Rain seems to come out of nowhere in the Adirondacks. It often is not even in the forecast. You will be on a gorgeous summit on a bluebird day - then see an ominous curtain of rain heading your way. Being damp and cold is a great way to punch all your fun tickets. Bring it along so you can focus on having a good time. They also work well as windbreakers, or to insulate you if you get cold. Map and Compass. Purists are against Alltrails or other navigation apps. I like them - they are great for planning, trail condition updates, and knowing how much longer until the summit. However, they need to supplement a map, not be the map. Again, phone batteries die. Some of the mapping data is not correct. Buy a map in advance, or when you arrive at an outdoors store or bookshop. National Geographic covers the entire park, and the Adirondack Mountain Club High Peaks map features the herd paths for the unmaintained trails. Extra Food. The hikes here are steep, and one granola bar rarely cuts it. Being hungry is a surefire way to put a damper on your day. It is important to bring extra in case you get lost, injured, or encounter someone who forgot their sandwich. It is better to be the one helping than the one to need help. Picking out gear can be overwhelming. Try going to an outdoors store and talking to an associate. They can seem intimidating, but they are nice folks who love the outdoors, and are happy to help! If you are brand new to hiking, just let them know, and they will walk you through what you need. Added bonus is they will narrow down the options to save you time sifting through online reviews. It is also helpful to try clothes on in the store. Several brands, which will remain nameless, do not fit women with a “sturdy” frame like mine. Some stores offer special classes on selecting and packing gear. I really like REI, The Mountaineer in Keene Valley, and High Peaks Cyclery in Lake Placid. Attending REI’s women specific events on backpacking and tent camping helped me pick the perfect pack and tent. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60300a7673049637e671031d/1628105082019-CLJUKXYEJA4CYTQT3XS3/Love-Your-ADK.jpg Before You Go - Leave No Trace Being in six million acres of park can make it easy to forget that small damages can do harm. Following the Seven Leave No Trace Principles can help you preserve the park for yourself and others. Click the button below to learn more. However, while I find the principles to be helpful, I think it is a little hard to translate them to the Adirondacks. Here are a few ADK specific applications! Take all food waste back home. We can think we are doing nature a favor by leaving orange peels, peanut shells, and apple cores behind because they are ordinarily biodegradable. However, due to the unique attributes of the Adirondack climate and ecology, they are often not! You can often see little orange peel mummies on summits, and little puddles of pistachio shells from years gone by. An additional concern is attracting animals, such as chipmunks, who can become extremely pushy to get a handout. As in climb in your pack and nibble your fingers pushy. Please pack everything out and compost it at home. It’s nice to bring a little bag for trash so your pack doesn’t get sticky. Be mindful with the bathroom. With six million acres, why do you need to worry when you have to “see a man about a horse?” It’s because a lot of people visit, and it can get gross! To keep things clean try to use the restroom before you go. On the trail try to wait until you get to a privy - they’re marked on the map. If one is not around, using a trail shovel (available at outdoors stores) to dig a hole 6-8 inches deep, and 70 big steps off the trail. Be patient - it can be hard to break through the mossy and rooty soil. However, keeping the trail nice is worth your effort! Pack out your toilet paper (dog poop bags work well) since it tends to magically emerge from the hole and blow away, giving a mushroom hunter an unfortunate surprise. Let the bluetooth speaker hang out at home. I admit I’ll put in headphones when I’m tired and need a distraction. Or the sun is going down and every snapping twig is freaking me out. But please, leave the bluetooth speaker at home. For whatever reason this is becoming more common. While it could seem fun to make your hike feel like a party, it is extremely disruptive for your experience, others, and wildlife who do not share your taste. Less than 5 percent of the United States remains as wilderness, making the natural soundscape a rare resource. Try learning bird calls, chatting with your companions, or using headphones. https://www.skylightguiding.com/donate daily 0.75 2025-05-12