August '24

Key Stats

On a scale of fist (aka 0) to 5, how high is the stoke level for trailer life? Back to a 5

Odometer reading? Start: 25,801 miles, End: 30,398 mi, Total: 4,597 mi

Which sports did we tackle? Rock climbing, via ferrata, SUPing canoeing, and hiking

What was the hardest thing this month? Dealing with simultaneous flat tires and Woodford eating raisins. Did you know as few as 2 raisins can kill a dog?

What was the most surprising thing this month? We didn't flip our canoe over 5 days and 42 miles of paddling!

Favorite memory or adventure? The solitude and beauty enjoyed during Woodford and Chloe's first multi-day canoe trip to the Boundary Waters

Any lessons learned? Always be flexible!

Favorite book/podcast? Titans of Nuclear

Musings

August was filled with both great new memories and lots of nostalgia. It's always enjoyable to return to places you know well, reliving old memories and making new ones. In particular, it was great to take a trip to some of Ben's childhood regulars with his parents, retelling old stories along the way. Revisiting our well travelled spots helps us reminisce on the past, while also appreciating the changes that have brought us to the present.

Beyond revisiting old favorites, we also ventured into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. This was Woodford's first time in a canoe, so we went in expecting it to either be epic or a complete disaster. Woodford again proved to be an excellent outdoor adventurer, and the trip was a resounding success!

The month ended back in Colorado, where the hot days, cold nights, and tall mountains were a welcome sight. We loved a lot of the places we visited, but at the end of the day, Colorado is still the place for us.

Education continued to take a back seat for Ben, as he had more than a dozen interviews to prep for and carry out. The main takeaway was how long the interview processes take, with multiple rounds of interviews and projects for each job in consideration. Chloe finished up her Biology course with flying colors, and continued broadening her understanding of economic and urban development.

We notionally set out for 11-12 months on the road, but are finding that we achieved what we set out to accomplish and are starting to consider wrapping things up. Among other things, time on the road has taught us that we will never be able to do everything we'd like to do, that we find purpose in contributing to society (be that work or volunteering), and being away from Palisade really hammers home the importance of community. Depending on the job situation, we expect to wrap things in October or November, about a month earlier than expected.

Trip Report

The nostalgia tour started the month in Ohio, with a few days in Columbus to check out an urban via ferrata (and for Ben to spend plenty of time at a coworking space interviewing) and a few days at our old stomping grounds in Cincinnati. Cincy remains one of our favorite cities; walkable, unique architecture, great food and beer, and a surprising number of outdoor recreation activities. We hit up all our old favorites, and explored some new spots. Highlights include Hoof Hearted Brewery, Knockback Nats for the world's best wings, and wandering the historic OTR neighborhood where we used to live in Cincy.

From there, it was up to Northern Minnesota to beat the heat. Growing up, Ben's family went to Voyagers National Park every year to kick back and relax on the lake. It's enjoyable to know a place so well that small changes are completely obvious. This year, the Park Service finally finished renovating Elsworth Rock Garden, and the fish were biting harder than they had in decades thanks to a mild winter.

Traditions continued as we headed back to the Twin Cities, where Ben grew up. The main attraction was the Renaissance Fest, another annual tradition which did not disappoint. We also drove by Ben's childhood home, tried some delicious new cocktail and food spots, and made an obligatory trip to the Mall of America.

From there, it was back to the Minnesota north woods for a week in the Boundary Waters. We completed an ambitious 5 day, 42 mile trip, with a brutal 1.25 miles portage. The work was well worth it for the beautiful scenery and isolation. The fish continued biting, with Chloe realing in two 20+ inch bass! Ben was not quite left empty handed, but only caught an 8 inch rock bass...

We finished the year returning to Colorado in preparation for an epic white water rafting trip in early September.

Gear Eval

We rocked the boundary waters with an old school Old Town canoe, clocking in at 73 lbs. While this made portaging considerably more challenging, there was an air of respect from other we met on the lake...every other group we saw had 35 lb kevlar canoes!

In case of Woodford induced capsizing, we also needed to add a very large 120L drybag to our arsenal. We went with a SealLine Pro, which had a proper backpacking suspension system. Even that was not enough for the 3 of us over a 5 day trip, so a 40L drybag was strapped to that.

Chloe's Kitchen


The fresh corn available over the summer was incredible! My favorite dish to work on iterating was a fresh corn chowder. While it is not the most visually appealing, it turned out to be the meal of the summer. 


We also experimented with cooking on metal grate stoves that were at each of the Boundary Water sites. Certainly a unique experience!