2011 in review

Looking back, 2011 has been a great year, with plenty of adventures and great moments.

Starting with January/February, I went snowshoeing several times, once in Duluth, and the most special time had to have been at the Luminary Loppet, a large skiing/snowshoeing event on Lake of the Isles. It was a wonderful event for people of all ages and abilities. I played on a broomball team, which was a fun excuse to get outside on some cold nights. I also began indoor climbing, which is something I've continued to do. This was pretty significant, as it has become something I've done roughly 1-2 times per week since then.

Getting into March, I made a trip to San Diego, California. It was nice to go to a warmer climate and get a taste of Southern California. My favorite part was going on a run in Torrey Pines reserve. The weather was great and the trail i ran on definitely kept me on my toes. There were switchbacks, rocks, and many tree roots. I ran down to the ocean, touched it, and just took in the moment.

As the weather began to warm up in April and May, I began to run and bike outside, in addition to climbing indoors. I went on a couple of short camping trips, including Interstate State Park in Wisconsin.

Once the summer came along, I was busy trying out several ice cream shops in the twin cities (though I never did a formal review on here), which was a tasty challenge. I think I ended up trying 8 different shops over the course of the summer. I also spent a lot of time outside, including checking out Minnehaha falls. The most unique event I went to was the antiques roadshow, which will be airing on PBS in January. It fun to volunteer and see what goes into the production of a TV show.

Later into the summer was my biggest adventure of the year: Backpacking in Yosemite National Park. I really enjoyed the challenge, and the rewards were obvious. I am already very nostalgic for the trip, and hope to go back there again, even if it means taking a long road trip like we did this summer.

As the fall came around, I continued to get outside, making my way to a few state parks for day hikes, including spending a night at Frontenac State park. I did some pretty good running too, enjoying the twin cities ten miler, and even won a 5k race (1 second off my PR) that I ran in! That was a great feeling, as I've never won a race before.

Getting into the colder weather, I've tried to keep myself busy as to not get depressed by the long winter. I've been successful at going to the climbing gym more often, and even going on a few short runs. I went winter camping at Afton State Park as well, which was a good way to test out my winter gear, including a new pair of boots.

It has been a great year, with so many activities and adventures. Through all of my new adventures I have learned something, and I hope to have just as many great experiences in 2012! Happy holidays!

Winter camping in Afton state park

This past weekend, I spent a night outside in Afton state park. Afton state park is located near the st. Croix river, just east of the twin cities.

We headed over to the park in the early afternoon, when we found out we were te only ones camping in their backpaking campsites. We traveled about 3/4 mile from where we parked the car to our eventual campsite. This included going up a pretty big hill. Our site was great, and with no one else out there, we had the park to ourselves.

We set up camp, got a nice fire going, and cooked some good food as it got dark outside. It was a windy day, but not incredibly cold. By the time we went to bed, it was somewhere just under 20 degres, I believe. My sleeping bag is rated to 20 degrees, and even though I hd a sleeping pad and a small blanket underneath, I was still a little cold, mostly in my feet.
The next morning, we got the fire going, cooked some pancakes, packed our stuff up, and got out of the park. It would have been nice to check out some of the snowshoe trails,but I didn't have my snowshoes with, and there really wasn't much snow.

I recommend afton state park to anyone who wants to camp a little distance away from their vehicle, but not too far. There are some great views of the st croix river as well.