Summit For Wellness

12/02/2025

After spending some time in Katmai National Park last summer, I have a new appreciation for the life bears can live and how the park system has created procedures for humans and bears to be so close without having conflict.

For this Giving Tuesday, I'm choosing to support the Katmai Conservancy and the Otis Fund to help keep the park wild, improve research on the bears and other wildlife, and allow the bears to live amazing lives with bellies full of salmon!

We still have a few calendars left with bear photos from our trip. All the profits from these calendars are going directly to the Otis Fund. But for Giving Tuesday, I will match every dollar spent on these calendars! If you are looking for gifts this season, this is a great way to also give back to charitable organizations supporting our wildlife and national parks!

You can order your calendar at https://summitforwellness.com/2026-calendar

10/15/2025

Every year we've been trying to explore more of the Washington coast, and on this trip we went from Rialto Beach to Cedar Creek. It's about a 10 mile hike along the beach to get there.

But beach walking is a lot different than mountain walking. On paper it looks pretty easy but between the slick seaweed-covered rocks and me mis-timing the tide charts, it was way more difficult than it should've been 😂

10/08/2025

I've had the Alpine Lakes High Route on my list of loops to complete for years now, so when we had the chance to do it, we decided to add on La Bohn Lakes and Mt Hinman as well (cuz why not?). Well, the heat absolutely wiped me out on day 1 which made me think I wasn't going to be able to complete the loop.

Luckily the second day we woke up to fog which helped to keep me cool while we did Hinman, and after that we were pretty much halfway through the loop already so we decided to push on and complete the loop. I'm so glad we did, the route was stunning the entire time and there are so many lakes to enjoy!

05/01/2025

Alright hikers, we have a challenge for you this summer! The goal is to get you out exploring harder to reach areas while we raise money to support our local trails association, the Washington Trails Association!

The goal is to hike over 50,000 feet of elevation gain between now and September 2nd. Can you pull it off??

For joining our challenge, you'll receive a t-shirt and you'll be supporting the WTA. Each month we will also be doing gear giveaways so every time you submit your elevation gain for the month, you'll automatically be entered into the giveaways.

So what do you say, are you ready to attempt this challenge?! Learn more at:
https://join.summitforwellness.com/50k-of-gain-hiking-challenge/

11/22/2024

On our last day in Glacier National Park, we found the brightest blue lake I have ever seen. The hike wasn't too challenging either, about 12 miles roundtrip with a couple thousand feet of elevation gain. The winds is what was challenging, we had over 50mph sustained winds with gusts over 65mph. At the lake we all were getting blown around like we were nothing!

The photo of the larger lake is Lake Sherburne and those waves were massive! I never knew how windy Glacier can get, but I'll tell you that if you backpack there, make sure you have a very sturdy tent....

06/26/2024

I am giving away 2 pairs of the new Skyline Trail Jogger hiking pants from Outdoor Vitals! There are 2 different ways to join in the giveaway, you can see all the details on Youtube. Join me live for your chance to win the Skyline Trail Joggers!

12/07/2023

After 7+ years of using the Hyperlite Mountain Gear Ultamid 2 tent, we have finally put our thoughts together on what we have loved about that tent, and what we would love to see changed in the future.

This tent has been on a lot of adventures, and overall it has been a beast in crazy weather. Will we continue using this tent in the future, or are we changing to something different? You'll find out in this video! https://youtu.be/S0sOTK-SrMk

11/22/2023

As the main backpacking season wraps up for 2023, we reflected on different pieces of gear that we really enjoy having on our trips. Some gear we've had for nearly a decade and is still going strong, while others have been new additions to our kit.

Head over to our Youtube Channel and see which backpacking items made it into our favorites list!

At the end of every hiking season, we reflect on the backpacking gear we have loved over the season. Some gear is new, while others are long time reliable fa...

07/20/2023

A couple days ago I did a solo climb up Cashmere Mountain, which was a 20 mile day with 6200' of elevation gain. I messed up big time on my hydration game which really impacted me on the way back down, but otherwise my legs felt fantastic the entire climb.

You can check out the video and full trip report including what I should've done instead to stay ahead of my hydration game!

This 20 mile hike is located near the Enchantments in Washington State

06/22/2023

Last week I packrafted the prettiest river in Washington that I have been on so far! We were on the Dosewallips River and did about a 7 mile section. The rain we had that morning helped improve the water levels so we could actually run the river.

About halfway through the trip, an elk herd crossed the river right in front of us! It was cool to see but also was a great demonstration on how shallow the river is right now. Overall though the run was pretty clear of wood and debris so if you are looking to do it, do it soon before water levels get too low.

06/09/2023

A couple weeks ago we were down in the Palm Desert and had 1 day to explore Joshua Tree National Park. It was our goal to try and knock out as many hikes as we can before it got too hot for us.

Most people check out this park in the cooler months because the sun can get really intense, so if you go in winter time you'll probably be able to do a little more. One nice thing about the heat though is a lot of the wildlife comes out to bask in the sun which was fun to see!

You can watch the video from Joshua Tree here: https://youtu.be/n4swg7zge60

If you've been to Joshua Tree, what are some of your favorite hikes there??