Spring: Season of Summer Planning
This year, snow levels were “snowmageddon” status in many areas. It will make for an interesting spring-summer. But don’t we always say that? As someone with a background in ecology. It makes me worry about the freshette. How will this spring and summer warm? Fast or slow? Will we see unprecedented stream outflow, flash floods, and mudslides, especially in fire-ridden areas, like the heavily disturbed Western States Trail?
This past year’s snowpack also left many scratching their heads as to how adventurous could one get without crossing a trigger line. Many dragons lay sleeping deeply within the snow layers, waiting to be awoken… Perhaps this spring, we may see them surface. For myself, it means to “chill” a little more, maybe wait another year, before attempting to pull off a mighty traverse.
In the meantime, I’m thinking ahead to the summer of 2023, and all my bucket list adventures I want to challenge. Often, I begin with reflecting on the past year(s) adventures. Which ones did I really enjoy? What excited me the most? Which areas, did I say “Oh I want to go back here, and go a little further”?
One way of doing this that I find helpful is looking at my past FATMAP adventures. The 3D map imagery is remarkable, and it truly takes you back to the day of feeling like a small ant. On the mobile platform, you can easily scroll through your accomplishments. If certain “adventures” stand out, you can publish them as a “route,” which others can see if they are reviewing an area.
If some of your top-notch shared routes are in a similar area, you can create a compilation or “guidebook”. It must go through a process where you fill out a form, which is reviewed before publication. Trust me, it’s very satisfying, like writing a book to share with others.
In my next blog post, I’ll share information on my first guidebook, Trail Running in the Kootenays of British Columbia.
Use this link for a free one-month membership to FATMAP Explore, where you can discover many hiking, biking, skiing, climbing, and trail running routes. You name it. It’s there in high-quality 3D imagery.
