And so our next adventure begins…

I will always feel the adventure truly begins from the moment you say yes to doing it.

From there until the big travel day, it’s almost as if you leave it is like an app running in the background waiting to launch.

I started this past week by packing ahead Wednesday before I left, only to need to unpack Friday, given the bags are overweight while still trying to ensure I have the essentials for the trip. I was required to take a COVID-19 test on Thursday and aimed to take another on Friday before traveling as every country is slightly different from their travel requirements. All the places I have traveled have required the COVID test within 72 hours of boarding the first leg of an itinerary. The first stop on the journey, Chile, requires that the COVID test be within 72 hours of boarding the last Plane before landing in Chile. That flight will not be my SLC flight but my ATL flight, so I grabbed another COVID test to make sure I am within the range of that country’s requirements.

Also, Chile has a mobility passport component that has to be filled out within 48 hours of landing in Chile. The details are necessary, especially with international travel for any adventure, whether leisure or climb. Either way, I am just grateful it can still happen with the ever-changing requirements and restrictions of the pandemic.

We celebrated a beautiful Christmas on Saturday at our house and an early birthday celebration with the twins before my trip. Both were being celebrated in a lighter format on their respective days, but grateful I was still a part of the main events. It was significant and fun to celebrate early this year and remember that the feeling of Christmas is more important than the date of Christmas. Not to mention the fact that celebrating one’s life should never be confined to one day a year; life in itself is a daily celebration!

Even though I often travel, especially for my climbs, I am conditioned to expect things to go wrong during travel. When they go as smoothly as they did this morning, I can feel myself not trusting it and questioning where any mistake may be and how I will manage and mitigate it. What a valuable life lesson to realize before I even leave for the airport…

Let go of the past, do not manifest drama, and allow new ways of being to unfold. Also, treat each day as new with opportunities while not letting the past destroy the present or worrying about the future rob your peace.

When traveling, I often aim to break my trip into manageable pieces to not seem or appear overwhelming for me. For example, 4 is a small enough number; therefore, I know I will be home in 4 weeks. I hold onto the number 4 because it feels longer when I try to approach the thought of 28 days.

I love being a mom as much as I love mountaineering, and the gift of both is knowing they are always a part of me. It brings me to the present moment when doing either of them. I am a better mom because I know the mountains will cause me to miss moments in their lives, and I am better in the mountains because I want to come home to little people that call me mom. It is all truly a blessing to lead the life I live.

I was delayed in Atlanta before officially landing in Santiago, Chile. From here, I will be taking COVID tests every day till I leave for the ice, which will be on 12/18. While missed my connection flight once arriving in Chile, due to the COVID processes, I had to wait until the next flight available, given they do not automatically book your next flight once your connecting is missed. First hiccup in the journey, but nothing I cannot give myself a little grace and patience. While I wait for the next leg of the journey I am growing more excited the closer to get to the ice and Mount Tyree!

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