The Neurotic Wanderer

Hanging Gardens (No Official Trail) I really tend to be a creature of habit. I often struggle to go outside of my comfort zone (part of that is fear which I will touch on in a later post). However, I know that variety is the spice to life so to speak and I'm grateful to have friends who challenge me to try new things. With that being said, I have create a list of trails that I would like to try this year, in addition to the trails I have found to be tried and true. New To Me Trails: Camelback Mountain (which I was lucky enough to complete with the family already) Wave Cave Trail- Superstition Mountains Hieroglyphic Trail- Superstition Wilderness Seven Falls Trail- Sabino Canyon Recreation Area Lava River Cave- Coconino National Forest Kendrick Mountain Southside Trail- Kendrick Mountain Wilderness Picacho Peak- Picacho Peak State Park Passage 1 of AZ Trail: Huachuca Mountains A lot of the trails mentioned I actually took from the 52 Hike Challenge Guide, so sho...

This past year, 2018, has been difficult to say the least. I am not the rigidly disciplined person I once was and while that may actually work to my favor, it just feels like complete loss of control and instability. It makes me feel even more insecure and stressed out. What this year lacked: Financial stability      This was of my own doing. I am usually a really great financial planner, but I seemed to have just reverted back into the poor habits of my teens. Medical Stability      I did not have health insurance this year and have also developed new ailments. Mental Stability      Aside from just the all consuming grief, I would appear that I just can't kick my anger. I have always been an angry person, but I feel as though I can't struggle to be around people without opening my mouth to engage in conflict. Physical Stability      I am most definitely not in the best shape of my life. While I have learned to accept...

Setting challenges and creating benchmarks, utilizing metrics is just a part of who I am, that “Type A” personality. Being able to analyze metrics is something that legitimately brings me joy. But I have found a balance between utilizing metrics and setting unrealistic expectations. With that being said, I have set up what I believe to be some realistic expectations for this year. Blogging My brother tried to use his blog as both a method to cope with his anxiety and depression, and he was able to make some really great connections that way. People he would have otherwise been able to meet. I would like to try and carry on that legacy my bringing awareness to mental health issues and document my own healing through outdoor activity. Live a More Cruelty Free Lifestyle While I’m not ready to go entirely vegetarian, I would like to go meatless at least three days a week. I am still working on being able to give up cheese and sour cream. But I think that this is a good star...

So I realize that we are half way through January, but I still wanted to get out my 2017 wrap up. This past year was the worst and most discouraging year I have ever experienced. My lost someone who I never thought I would be without and my career never really went anywhere. I started the year thinking that I knew that would happen and that things would just all fall into place; time kept moving forward but my plans did not. There were quite a few take aways from last year though and I think there was a fair share of growth. Books I met my book goal. My goal was to read 20 books and I completed that. I feel pretty good about the variety of books I read and part of that was thanks to the public library, I’m a sucker for all of those librarian recommendations. Here is the list of books that I read: A Case of Need- Michael Crichton The Martian-Any Weir Kite Runner-Khaled Housseini Fight Club-Chuck Palahniuk The Martian Chronicles-Ray Bradbury The Strain-G...

Was a huge success!     This was hike #25 of my 52 Hike Challenge  and I'm so glad that it was. I first attempted Mt. Humphrey's about two months ago and it was a bit of a disaster (more on that experience later). I hadn't done a hike that week and I could feel my moodiness returning to me, so I decided last minute to try this hike again. I did some research to better understand the hike and how best to prepare (last time I relied on the information of the other people in my group, which was a big mistake). My first attempt of the hike gave me some insight as to how the first, and easiest, leg of the hike was going to be, so I knew I just needed a bigger picture. View from "the saddle"     In my research I found that there were several "false peaks", meaning that you would look at a peak and think it was THE peak, only to get there and see more peaks beyond that. I would say that there were 4 to 5 of them in the last mile of the hike. That for...

    So, after the fiasco of my last hike, I knew that I had to get right back out there and work it out. Mend the relationship after an argument, so to speak. I've still been in a pretty bad head space and I can honestly say that I cried for like a solid mile out there, but the hike itself did what it needed to do. I felt better afterward and felt like I had created a plan to get me through my problems. It felt good to find a trail that was fairly challenging and required me to just focus the task at hand. Before I knew, my shoulders were no longer up near my ears, my face became less of a scowl and more at rest and my mind felt less restless. It felt good to be doing something where I had to push my body.     This was a hike that was 75% unfamiliar to me. I had hiked part of this trail before with my dog, so I knew the basics of the terrain. However, I went on a day where the day prior we had had some monumental monsoon storms, so I wasn't exactly sure what I ...