Happy 10th Re-Birthday to Me!

Happy 10th Re-Birthday to Me! 

Wow, it's been a decade! 

Ten years ago today, I quit my job and began living my new semi-retired life. The last decade has been chock-full of experiences: travels, adventures, and new connections all over the world. Looking back, I feel as though I sleepwalked through the first three and a half decades of my life. With my re-birth, I woke from the slumber and began to live deliberately. Living intentionaly has made it feel as though I've packed numerous lives into the last decade.

Backpacking the Teton Crest Trail: A Photo Journal

I had biked through Grand Teton and neighboring Yellowstone National Parks on numerous occasions — once on a solo trip and three times leading trips for Adventure Cycling. I felt as though I knew The Tetons fairly well. And I did, as well as one can from the seat of a bicycle. But never had I ventured beyond where my steel steed could take me. So when my adventure partner, Alan, asked whether I'd be interested in backpacking the Teton Crest Trail, I gave him a hearty affirmative. "Sure thing, Alan!" It would, after all, be a pleasure to experience the Tetons from within the crest rather than gawking up at them from 4000 feet below.

The Teton Crest Trail.

The Teton Crest is often considered one of the top backpacking trails in the United States. More than 40 miles in length, the trail traverses the Grand Teton National Park, Jedidiah Smith Wilderness, and Bridger-Teton and Caribou Targhee National Forests. The route offers a lovely array of jaw-drop vistas, from granite peaks and wide-open meadows to aquamarine lakes and magnificent evergreens. To top it off, The Teton Crest would be painted in a rich palette of autumn colors when we planned to backpack the trail at the end of September. Yup, I'd be up for that!

A Surgery, the C-Word, and a Book

Three weeks ago, I had a thyroidectomy. 

Me after my thyroidectomy.

The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland located at the base of the front of the neck. The gland is responsible for producing hormones that control nearly every function in the body: metabolism, cardiovascular, and reproductive, to name a few. I've had thyroid issues, namely Hashimoto's (an autoimmune disease) and hypothyroidism, for more than twenty years. For the most part, I've been able to address these issues by swallowing a daily pill containing hormone replacement. Alas, a time arrived when I could no longer control my thyroid with medication.