When not on a mountain trail my new favorite place run is this winding road up into Pattee Canyon, east of town. It's a wooded valley tucked into the hills that feels like much further away from city life than it actually is. I can bike there easily from my house and it's where I hope I'll soon find myself living in a little red cabin with a big stack of wood outside and a window looking out into a stand of Ponderosas. One can dream, right? :)
THANK YOUto all who have sponsored me in the Climb for Peace with Justice! So far I have raised $926 of my $3,800 commitment. If you haven’t donated yet, now is the time! Why? Because the next $1,000 of donations will be matched, dollar-for-dollar, by a generous friend who I did some work for this winter. That means that your contribution will go twice as fartowards my climb and my goal!
"Fundraising $3,800 is a bear of a challenge... grrrr... bring it on!"
How can I donate, you ask? Simple! Donate online by clicking here. Or, mail a check to Lutheran Volunteer Corps to: Lutheran Volunteer Corps Attn: donation sponsoring Phillip 1226 Vermont Ave NW Washington, DC 20005 Thanks and "keep climbing!"
Phillip
Big thanks to Jesse Neve and family for making the $1,000 matching giving challenge possible! You're the best!
Hi everyone! Yesterday, in preparation for Mount Rainier and the Climb for Peace with Justice, I got out for some trail running - ok, jogging - alright jogging/walking/panting - up to Hayes Point on Blue Mountain, a recreation area just west of town.
It's a neck of the woods I haven't fully explored and was very pretty, with lush green grass and brilliant yellow wildflowers in the lower elevations and higher up a sweet view of Missoula and the Bitterroot valley.
Once again, I was able to record the route with the GPS on my phone, although I left it on by accident when I drove home... I was able to edit my drive out of the map, but not the elevation profile. No, I didn't actually jog for 13 miles. :)
There are so many places I want to go visit in Montana! This Matador article gave me some great backpacking ideas I plotted out on a map. Here's my visual bucket list for this summer...
Through the wonders of GPS technology I can now share my life with you as though I am living in a Family Circus cartoon...
...not that this has ever been an ambition of mine. But this is pretty cool - I went for a jog tonight up to "the big M" on Mount Sentinel to record my promo video (see last post)...
...AND I was able to document the trek with my smartphone:
I'm hoping to do more of this as I explore some scenic places in the coming weeks and try and toughen up for the Rainier climb in August.
Also, while on my jog I had a great phone conversation with my friend Erika from Minneapolis. If anyone else wants to cheer me on by being my virtual running buddy hit me up and I'll plug in my earbuds!
My hope is that this journal will motivate me in my preparations to climb Mount Rainier and in my fundraising for Lutheran Volunteer Corps while allowing YOU to be a part of the journey.
I have been informed that Rainier is a rather large mountain and that I should train. :) So... I'll be documenting my progress in that. My "training" will likely consist of some fun treks to beautiful places in Montana. I'd like to take you all along with photos and videos.
Most importantly - raising the big bucks to support Lutheran Volunteer Corps! It's the purpose of this climb. So far I have raised nearly $1,000 with $2,874 of my fundraising requirement left to go. THANK YOU to everyone who has contributed so generously already. I will be using this as a public place express my gratitude and encourage others to pitch in (here's the link to donate).
Finally, I have recently started making good on a long-time ambition to do some songwriting (thank you Jenn Adams for the inspiration!). A new desire of mine is to share some of my original music on this blog. By the end of the summer I hope to be able to thank everyone who donates by mailing you a homemade recording.
So this is the blog. Glad you found it. Please, share widely!
