So I’m pretty excited. Another year, another big trip around the corner. I’m trying to make this an annual ritual. It gives you something to look forward to, and a great excuse to mark off another item on the bucket list.

This time we’re heading to Aspen Colorado to put in a solid 25 miles around the beautiful Four Pass Loop. 14,000 foot tall peaks, glacier carved mountain top lakes, and blooming July meadows are baiting the hook. I’m biting.

The plan is to drive cross country for two days straight to Colorado. That’s a full  24 hours of road time with eight people in one van…I’ll leave that possibilities up to the imagination at this point.

The planning at this point is tricky, with the whole deciding how long to drive each day, where to stop, and weather or not to stop along the way to take in some local flavor.The primary objective of course is backpacking, but it wouldn’t hurt to stretch the legs in some strange exotic city along the way.

Whatever happens, we’re all very excited. I’ve traveled further, but never in a car, and certainly never in a mini van with 8 people. I’m sure by the end of it all I’ll feel like a soccer

mom who’s just climbed everest with the kids on her back, but I’ll be grinning the entire way.

I can’t wait to get back, and be sure I’ll have a detailed report when I get back.