Get Outside!
Welcome to summer! ☀️🌈🫐
Here in New Hampshire we’ve got a few more weeks until school is officially out for the summer, but the weather is certainly not letting us forget it! As we approach the first official day of summer on June 21st, I encourage you to keep in mind those intentions we set back in January. Ooooh, I bet you thought I forgot about those! Let’s take a moment and reflect on how the growing season has been treating us. Personally, I can feel the growth within myself. How do I know? I’m completely exhausted. No matter how long or well I sleep, it just doesn’t seem to be enough. Recently, I’ve had a lot of opportunities to practice the skills I’ve been building on in the last few years. And, honestly, I want to take a moment to be grateful for that! The ability to reframe my mindset surrounding these challenges has left me feeling like my feet are more firmly planted on the ground and I have a foundation that supports the direction I want to go.
As I look forward to the summer, I’m excited about the opportunities that await! Summer is obviously the time of vacations, beach days, camping, hiking, and relaxing in the sun. What trips do you have planned? And what trips do you find yourself saying “oh we should do that” about but never seem to find the time or the money to do it? Is there another way you can approach it? That reframing your mindset approach works in more ways than one. I personally love to go camping and opt to sleep in a tent wherever and whenever I can. Now, I’ll acknowledge the cost to get all the supplies can add up, but once you have them, camping becomes an extremely accessible option for a quick and easy trip. There are plenty of ways to find campsites to fit your budget and amenity needs! One site I find extremely helpful is Hip Camp. This is basically Air B&B but for camping! Works the same way, you just enter the dates, the location, the number of guests and the website generates a list of sites including tent camping, cabins, and RVs.
Another way I really like to spend time outside is going hiking! And oh boy, is New England the place to be!! Most recently, my roommate and I went to Andover, NH to hike Mountain Brook Trail to an absolutely stunning waterfall! Like, absolutely insane!! We hiked about a mile and a half into the woods and stumbled across this beauty!!! Check it out:
Best part? We only saw 2 other people the entire time we were there! We got the entire waterfall experience to ourselves!! How did we find this trail? Another great resource website for getting outdoors, All Trails! Similarly to Hip Camp, All Trails allows you to search for trails in your area by entering a city or town name, park, or even the name of the trail (if you happen to know it). If you create an account, you get the added bonus of creating lists of trails you might be interested in. Then, when you’re ready to go hiking, all you have to do is check out your list and pick a spot. It really can be that simple!
Speaking of hiking in New England, I have a trip to Acadia National Park planned for the end of the month and I couldn’t be more excited! We’ll be camping for several days (yay!) and seeing some absolutely breathtaking views along the way. I’ll share some photos of my Acadia trips in years past for travel inspiration!
I hope that these photos inspire you to plan some outdoor activities this summer. We waited all winter for these days to arrive! And I encourage you to continue to check in with your intentions for the year as you do so. How can you honor your growth? Maybe you intended to move your body more this year or spend more time being present with yourself or your family. A weekend trip with your family or a solo afternoon hike might be a great way to support your transformation! And if that’s not quite so accessible for you, maybe you can call up a friend and invite them over for coffee on the porch or host a backyard gathering. If you’re feeling adventurous, maybe your coffee get together happens at one of the thousands of scenic overlooks in New England! For example, Isles of Shoals in Rye, NH. Get outside, folks! Summer is here!!
Author: Kelly Weaver, MT-BC