Jeremiah was a bullfrog

Hey folks! It’s been so fun to read about all your awesome summers! I’m writing from the comfort

of my fresh new dorm room. Here’s the summer recap: I spent most of June and July at home this

summer,  working at the same local restaurant as last summer and having an absolute blast with

most of the same great people as last summer. I cheffed up the fries, wings, chicken, salads, and

assembled a shit-ton of burgers. I also sliced innumerable pounds of bacon and onions and mastered

the art of speed cauliflower chopping. The most important exciting experience  of my employment

this summer came with an especially exhausting shift when my co-workers Max and Sam gave me a

little pre-workout to get me through the night. I was up until 2 AM with my eyes stuck WIDE open

and I’m pretty sure my fast twitch muscles were firing for about 6 hours straight.

The work squad along with some bacon chunks for your enjoyment.

During this time I was also training with a group of local college kids and some high school friends

from SMS as well. I got to spend time catching up with all my chums, cooking some great food and

generally being delinquents. Both my siblings were around as well and it was great to spend lots of

time with them            In my downtime, I continued to plot my much anticipated road trip scheduled for early August. I

initially intended to buy and convert an old van for this trip, but after tons of false leads and nearly

purchased plane tickets to North Carolina, I settled on the more realistic concept of a pickup truck.

The first one I visited in New York struck me as a pretty good option, and sick of chasing around

elusive and shifty vehicles, I bought it the very next day.

The new whip, christened Jeremiah, upon arrival at home.

On the way home from my somewhat impulsive purchase, I discovered a couple bonus features of

my charismatic automobile. The first was that the only perceivable function of the AC is to make an

alarming whistling noise, and second, turning the volume knob on the radio in one direction or the

other had no bearing on where the volume would end up. Finally, I concluded that it was a gorgeous

vehicle. I quickly lucked out and acquired a green truck cap from a kind fellow in Peru named Potter

for an absolute bargain and proceeded to exercise my limited carpentry abilities.

 

The progression of the bed construction with the result being a little more hippie that I would have

preferred but holding a full sized bed.

With the build finally complete, I set out in early August as planned with my final destination set for

Bailey’s house in Park City. I spent nights in Rhode Island, Ohio, Minnesota (with Chloe!), South

Dakota, South Dakota again, Wyoming, and then arrived in Utah on August 6th. The truck worked

flawlessly even as it approached 200,000 miles, and I got to cruise through some remarkable terrain

all while sweating my ass off thanks to the flawless performance of my AC. 

Rhode Island to Minnesota

Minnesota to Jackson

Once I got to Park City I was treated to some sweet peaks, amazing mountain biking, scrumptious

food (courtesy of Cindy Carmack), a strong dose of altitude, and a ton of fun. My western week

ended too quickly and I found myself once again behind Jeremiah’s wheel. Fortunately, I had Bailey

as my copilot for the drive home and we whizzed back across the country, stopping by Chloe’s again

and viewing a real butt load of corn before swinging through NYC and then home

Utah things + NYC fella

Arriving home on the 19th, I had 6 days to unpack, pack for a camping trip to NH with the frosh

(now sophs) + Sage, Tzevi, and our chum Henry, execute said camping trip, unpack from said

packing trip, then pack for school and move in on the 25th!

Another epic summer in the books!

     It feels like it was just yesterday that we all said goodbye and left to have our own epic summers. However, I have had some fun adventures while I’ve been away! As soon as I got home, I went down to southern Utah in Bryce Canyon with one of my friends Emily (freshman on the SLU team this year!!!) and we did some long runs, watercolored, went to the rodeo, and found an awesome rope swing into the reservoir.

Then in a rough turn of events, I got my wisdom teeth out and was super hangry for a couple of days while I couldn’t eat much.

But I recovered and had some calm summer days training and working and finding any sort of cold water I could. I trained with Soldier Hollow’s new PG group and it was pretty interesting. The coach told us that we couldn’t drink water and we did intervals every single day for 3 weeks. But then she toned it down and it was really fun to be back with some college kids and girls I skied in high school with!

I worked in a physical therapy office in town at the front desk. I learned so much about insurance and how to interface with patients and insurance companies and the billing people. But when it was quiet up front, which it was most of the time, I went back with the physical therapists and shadowed them. The owner, Cara, took me under her wing and I got to see all sorts of interesting things such as taking care of women postpartum, concussion management, and of course, post-surgery rehab.

A highlight of the summer was definitely going down to Salt Lake to go swing dancing. It seems maybe a little funky to go swing dancing with all the BYU boys, but there were these random dudes that were professional swing dancers that came up to me and offered to teach me lifts. In a not creepy way - they were very nice. And so I fulfilled everybody’s dream of doing the Dirty Dancing Lift!!!!!!!!!!! (this picture isn’t it, but it's another cool one)

Then, I got to go up to Idaho and see LUCI! We had a wonderful long weekend and did an epic peak called Devil’s Bedstead West. It was gorgeous and so much fun! We had some nice river days, a little rollerski, and just spent time in Sun Valley together!

I took a quick trip up to Jackson with my mom and did a nice little peak before coming back to Park City. I went to Indiana to visit the grandparents and it was luckily a corn year. Corn years are so much better than soy years. Then, Chip got to my house! He had driven across the country in his cute little red truck and we spent time in Utah doing all the fun mountain things before driving back out East. We took 6 days and went to see Chloe in MN, saw Lake Michigan and Erie, and New York City! We then picked Chloe and our friend Henry (on XC running) up and went up to New Hampshire to (attempt) the Presi. It wasn’t good enough weather, but it was super fun to see everyone and camp together! 

Now, I’m back on campus doing Woolf leader training and am so, so, so psyched to see you all again!!! Much love to everyone and I can’t wait for hugs very soon!

Summer Adventures in Minnesota and Beyond!

(I had some delays in posting this blog so I'm actually already in Williamstown! But here is the blog I wrote a few days ago 😊)

Hello everyone!! I’m writing this blog from sunny Hanover, NH where I am hanging with my roomie Ann before we move in tomorrow to finish our WOOLF training. But before I traveled back out east, I spent most of my summer in my hometown of St. Paul MN! 

My journey home included a tightly packed minivan and running through the airport to make my flights!

After an eventful journey home, my summer started with many reunions with friends and family! Once I got settled in, I began my summer activities which included working at a small embroidery company called Classy Threads, coaching Minneapolis Ski Club, and skiing with Team Birkie! Not to mention some crazy dogsitting experiences (including caring for 4 dogs and 6 birds at once! I do not recommend this 😭). I was also visited briefly by Ben, who stopped by on his way out to Oregon!

First run with Hanna, Charlie, and Skida; Ben visit; Team Birkie gals

Another summer highlight included a family trip to Ouray, CO where we stayed with my uncle and did some awesome hiking!

This is from a beautiful hike on Red Mountains 1, 2, and 3 (which I discovered Steve has skied in the winter!!)

Hiking in the clouds on Cirque Mountain and a gorgeous view at Blue Lake!

After a brief stint back at home, my family went to northern MN to stay at a lake cabin! I got to try mountain biking for the first time at Cuyuna Mountain Bike Trails which was suuuper scary for me but also really fun. Chip also stopped by with his fancy truck on his way out to Utah, so Charlie and I got to follow him around on the trails. 

A few weekends after that, I drove up north again to visit my grandparents and went up to Grand Marais for the day to hang out with Olya! We rollerskied, explored town, and jumped off the breakwall (to the surprise of puffy coat wearing tourists). 

Near the end of my time at home, I was visited by Chip and Bailey on their way back out east! After some well deserved rest for the two of them, we explored the sights of Minneapolis (including important stops at the sculpture garden, Punch Pizza, and Trader Joes!). 

After seeing them off, my last day at home included a special visit to Minneapolis by Johannes Klaebo. Apparently his experience at the Wirth World Cup was soooo good that he just had to come back. We taught him how to play sharks and minnows, while he taught us some important core exercises and his hair routine. 

The next day, I left Minnesota to return out east. I was picked up by Chip, Bailey, and our cross country friend Henry from the Albany Airport. We stayed at Chip’s house for a night before heading to NH to attempt the Prezi traverse in the White Mountains with Ann, Ben, Sage, and Tzevi! Sadly the weather was not cooperative, and we had to turn back after the first hut. Rain, wind, and cold made the rocks super slippery and it was pretty slow going. Seeing as I never actually got to see the White Mountains due to cloud coverage, I can’t wait to come back and finish the trail!

Great company but less than ideal weather!

That's about it for my summer full of fun adventures! I’m so excited to return to campus tomorrow and can’t wait to see the rest of the team as everyone begins returning to Williamstown :)

Love,

Chloe

A Maine Skier’s Summer Snow Search - A Daring Expedition in the name of Roller Skiing Avoidance

 To Read, To Skim, or To just look at the pictures ‘cause as a rule of thumb that’s the only interesting part of most blogs… 

The Blog-

Skiing is quite fundamentally a snow sport; it takes place on little ice crystals often created via a calculated combination of water and air, a skier wears an eighth-inch of fabric when they’re prescribed a workout, and its in the same Olympic Games as Ice hockey which has its championships indoor in June… How far the sport has come! Far from the days of slogging through deep powder on wide wooden boards as a sole means of winter transportation, with human ingenuity the ancient practice no longer bows its head to the whims of mother nature. 

Enter Snowmaking— If a crisp winter ski was a fresh glass of Sweet Rowan Farmstead whole milk, then skiing on man made snow is akin to finding a half-full carton of old 1% in the back of the fridge. It’ll do, but its not what you were hoping for. Enter Rollerskiing— The powdered milk of the nordic world, only the most dedicated of master blasters and aspiring athletes dare brave the constant threat of cars and pavement for the feeble promise of a few seconds, months in the future. 

As a born and raised New England skier, I’m well acquainted with the early season snow dances, the mid season thaw, and the final ski in not-so-late March. Come summer, snow is as rare as a mosquito in January. The year round snow patches of the West Coast was a fairy tale to the black and white seasons of the east. The allure of skiing instead of sweating it out on hot pavement was too much to resist, especially if I could find a valid excuse to make a cross country trip, in two different definitions of the word. And so, as a self-acclaimed connoisseur of snow, I set off with the one and only Ellis Slover on a cross country adventure. 

The East flew by in a mad westerly push, and after a few side quests in South Dakota, we found ourselves zooming across Wyoming (though not as fast as a certain McLaren). A solid day of driving later, we arrived at the Grand Teton National Park. Thus begins the first expedition…

June 12th - The Tetons

 

How one should ski the Tetons:

So as we pulled into the parking lot, making note of the post-six o’clock arrival time— PM, not AM just to clarify. After some convincing on my part, Ellis and I strapped boots onto our packs, and with ski bag in hand began the trek. Not two minutes up the trail a snazzy looking dude with some snow-melted skis informed us that the hike to snow was actually eleven miles round trip. Apparently we had quite the hike ahead of us. Hoping we’d find something a little closer, we trekked on, quickly passing the 90 minute turn around threshold, and reaching snow as predicted, five-ish miles into the hike. 

As we strapped on our skate skis the sun sank further below the mountain peak and we started the trek up. The rustiness of the initial turns gave way to the polished sending of stuff meant for a proper backcountry setup. For a Mainer, the sheer quantity of snow in mid June was astounding; we figured the West was pretty cool after all. 

A striking sunset graced the skies as we scampered down the mountain, arriving to the car revitalized by our encounter with the white drug and wondering where the heck we’d find a campsite at 10:30 at night…

The rest of the westward drive was almost entirely devoid of snow except for a sighting or two in Montana and some flakes and additional sightings in Washington, neither of which were able to salsify the thirst of a Nordic skier…

July 6th - Mt. Bachelor

    Bend is famous for its late season skiing. Even as the arid town is roasting in the triple digits, mountains such as The Sisters, Jackson, and Hood grasp tight their white mantles as the summer months progress. The nordic center calls itself home to members of US ski team into mid June while the rest of the nation’s skiers resort to roller skiing. As chance would have it, during a short stint in Bend with family, my second chance at slushy relief presented itself. The car’s thermometer was reading high eighties as the large Mt. Bachelor Ski Area sign rose into view. 

Sadly, I had waited too long to explore the nordic skiing trails so the time tested practice of norpining once again came to use. The snow was only a fifteen minute run up from the parking lot, and the top a further ninety of herringboning (bounding poles are a far cry from a skate pole replacement). The view was spectacular, and even better was the fact that I wasn’t roasting down below in the hottest temps I and my Mainer disposition had ever experienced. 

Then, amidst my sloppy, slushy, and not so smooth turns down the mountain, I experienced what many sauna-ists have been continually chasing: instead of having to switch between a hot and cold environments, I had both at the same time. My legs were freezing with the instant evaporation of the snow spray and my upper body on fire because of the hundred degree temperatures. I can now write off midsummer trips to Bend as a health treatment. 

A few falls but many hoots and hollers  later, I was at the bottom and starting to really question why I didn’t live in this place with July snow…

July 17th - Mt. Hood 

    The jewel of the West Coast, I’d first seen the mountain during a stint in Portland. I’d asked my host, “Isn’t Mt. Hood supposed to be ‘out’ some days and visible looming over the city?” I’d apparently yet to look up since following his finger was a mountain so large I was sure I’d just been transported to the Himalayas. At one point a mused about adventure, the ascent of this mountain in some form shot to the top of the Oregonian bucket list. Three weeks later I was sat in my Uncles’ mountaineering friend’s car, driving up to the access road of the famous Timberline lodge (filming location of the Shining), ready to try my hand at the legendary mountain.

 Many hours of hiking, skinning, and gasping for air later, we’d made it to illumination rock, looking down over the fields of snow and one of the southern most glaciers in North America. 

 

The first twenty turns were so good we had to hike up and do them again. What preceded was closer to dancing a ballet down the mountain than simply skiing. Carving large turns across the glacier we enjoyed the mid July snow and finished up… in a terrain park. We'd ended up in the alpine ski area with those who chose to ride the lift as their way of enjoying the summer.

July 28th - Specimen Mountain

    At last the time to leave the snow capped beauties behind was at hand. And so were the hopes of skiing. Meandering down through California, it seemed like a day below a hundred was something enjoyed only by the lucky Canadians. All hope of more snow was lost. The last holdout was a drive through the grand Rocky Mountain National Park, home to one of the highest paved roads in the US, topping 12,200 feet. A nerve-racking, half hour 5 am wait in line to sneak into the park just over 100 seconds before they started requiring reservations had us (The return drive featured the company of my friend Caden) cruising on a gorgeous access road peering into the mountains with hopes of something white. By the time we’d reached the Alpine Ranger Station, it wasn’t a matter of if, but where. The ranger humorously told us that we were four weeks late and there wasn’t any skiing to be had. Staying true to the crafty college kid ethos of the trip, we picked the biggest patch of snow and started bushwhacking up to it. 

The Bighorn Sheep threatened to foil our plans but following the aforementioned theme, we noticed the sign said “above” this point as opposed to the feared mission-terminating “beyond”. Consequently, a faint path staying at the same elevation revealed we weren’t the only ones to have the crafty idea.

A mile of circumnavigation later and our skis were making their way up a steep quarter mile of snow averaging just under forty degrees. One run quickly turned into two and likely would have been three if my binding hadn’t given out during the course of a gnarly telly-turn. With wet feet, an unsure path, yet some good views, we cruised down the mountain landing back at the car and concluding the successful summer season of snow searching. 

    Two and a half days later we returned to the East Coast where I can attest there has been no snow to be had and roller skiing continues to reign king until I can find myself a shady stretch of grass covered with the heaviest of frosts in the waning days of October.  

a shady stretch of grass coated with a heavy October frost.

If you’ve made it this far, thanks for sticking with me - to say it grew a little long wouldn’t give the quality of ramble enough credit.