The "I have to" things have a way of filling our time if we let them. We need to take time for our "I want to" things, too. :)

The views on the drive to Sweathouse Trailhead are gorgeous any time of year, but they are especially beautiful when the mountains have snow on them.

When we hiked up Sweathouse in the latter part of April this year, it was nice to finally be hiking on some bare ground again, as the trail was mostly clear of snow until shortly below the lower falls. We eventually ran into about 2-1/2 feet of snow hiding the trail above the upper falls on our way to our favorite rock area away from the trail.

We enjoyed a campfire lunch as planned, but we did shorten our stay a bit as we discovered too many ticks in that area. After all was said and done, we had encountered 17 ticks on that hike. We definitely had a good time, but 17 ticks is a few too many for my liking! We'll be back again after tick season is over for this year. :)

Middle of March and the weather forecast was predicting a sunny day on one of my days off from work. Getting out in the mountains to enjoy it was on the top of my list of things to do. But this time of year still means snow on most of our trails, and from early spring hikes in years past, I have discovered that some trails remain quite shadier and colder than others. We know that Ward Mountain gets sunshine, so that's where we decided to go. Since we were likely to need snowshoes at some point along the way, we strapped them to our packs and headed out for some afternoon fun on the mountain.

We checked the snow level at our break spot and found it to be about 3 feet deep at that point. It's funny how it doesn't seem like it when you are staying on top of it with skis or snowshoes. After a short break, we enjoyed zig-zagging our way back down the mountain on fresh snow without any tracks but the ones we were leaving behind us. The wind was a little chilly, but the sun balanced it out, and the views were beautiful. Oh, how I love being on the mountain! :)

I hope you enjoyed coming along on my mountain adventure. I'd love it if you would leave me a comment and hit the "like" button. See you in the next post. :)

Changes to my blog are in the works. I'm currently in a transition and am moving my fitness related posts to a whole new website dedicated to my fitness coaching. This blog will become focused on my mountain adventures and photography. The complete transition won't happen overnight, but will be a work in progress for a bit. I've got a lot more to come for both, so be sure to follow along. I'll post a link to my new fitness website soon. :)

Mid-winter, 4-mile hike up Bass Creek in the Bitterroot Mountains.
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The temp was a bit brisk, but overall not too bad. It felt great to be out hiking again, and as always, amazing to be in the mountains I so love. What a wonderful way to spend a couple of hours on a weekend afternoon. :)
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Wish things were different? Want to improve and grow?
Do you want to see some kind of change in your life?

Stop being comfortable and do the hard things.
Stop doing the minimum and go the extra mile.

There's no easy way around it; you've got to go through it.
But you can do it, if you want to. And yes, it's worth it. :)
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Today's blog post by Seth Godin is spot on...

Slow and steady
The hard part is "steady."
Anyone can go slow. It takes a special kind of commitment to do it steadily, drip after drip, until you get to where you're going.

You can do it. You just have to keep your eye on your goal, with a firm commitment to reach it no matter what it takes, and then keep plugging along step by step, celebrating those little milestones along the way. Don't give up. Just keep going; you'll get there. :)

A view of a small portion of the Bitterroot Valley and Sapphire Mountains to the east. I took this photo from the Bitterroot Mountains on the west side of the valley in February of 2016. I love living where I do and never tire of the endless amazing views. Enjoy! :)
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The key to making your dreams happen is to break them down into very small goals and create a habit of working on them regularly.
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