Fall Fun: 2016

Somehow today is the first day of fall! It's certainly felt more like fall than summer over the past weeks, but September has been absolutely flying by. Since my lovely vacation at the beginning of the month, I've hardly had time to get outside and appreciate the changing of seasons. After the jam-packed summer I've had, I'm certainly looking forward to a quieter fall.  I recently read this lovely post about why Seattle natives welcome fall so enthusiastically, and I couldn't agree with the sentiment more. This summer in particular, any weekend I wasn't out hiking, I felt guilty - as if I were squandering the limited summer days. Now that temperatures are cooler and it's raining more often, I'll be happy to have a little more free time for last minute plans with friends and family, as well as quiet rainy Sundays at home curled up by a fire with a good book. Keep reading for few other things I'm looking forward to doing this fall!

Forage for one of my favorites fall foods: chanterelles, elderberries, or wild blueberries

Try a new soup recipe. Maybe something entirely new, or just a new version of an old favorite! 

Get a head start on all my Christmas knitting so I'll have time to make a new sweater for myself! If I can ever manage to choose between this one and this one...

Continue a new favorite tradition by going on another larch hike. 

Get outside for lunch or after work at least 3 days a week. As easy as it is to forget about it, I need that time outdoors!

 Bake a pie for no particular occasion and invite friends over to help eat it!

Get caught  up blogging about all the hiking we did this summer. I've got at least three trips to share!

Take a break from all the tempting new releases, and read one of the books that's been on my to-read list for years. Perhaps this one or this one...

Grilled cheese sandwiches cooked over a campfire were one of my favorite meals all summer

This little tent saw more use this summer than it has in the past 5 years combined!

If you're curious, here's how I fared on my summer list:

Sleep outside at least once a month. Between one car camping trip and three backpacking trips, I definitely had this one covered!

Take a random weekday off work to hike a popular trail I'd never consider visiting on a weekend. Sadly, I never got around to this. There's always next summer though!

Summit a mountain. Thanks to Alpine Trails Book Club, I summited Sauk Mountain this July.

Just like last summer: Spend time adventuring outdoors with both my nieces! No grand adventures, but I was able to get in some quality time outside with both nieces!

Learn a new practical skill: backcountry first aid, avalanche safety and the use of an ice axe, or navigation. I studied up on backcountry navigation. Now I just need to get some practice using that new knowledge!

Go crabbing, and enjoy the fresh caught crab immediately! The boat on Whidbey was not fully operational this summer, so we never got the chance for crabbing.

Try my hand at making my own freeze dried backpacking meals. I made a cous cous dinner and oatmeal packets and they both turned out great!

Eat at least one meal cooked over a campfire. Car camping provided plenty of opportunites for this!

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related posts

Summer Fun

My favorite summers are filled with tents, lakes, rivers, trails, and cold drinks in the sun. They are spent in the mountains and on Puget Sound, with friends and family. This summer will be busy with all the responsibilities of adult life (why is adulting so hard?), but I will try to fit in as much of the good stuff as I can. 

Remote campsite on the Deschutes River that was our first stop on a road trip last summer

Fremont IPA - totally worth carrying up to Blanca Lake!

Sleep outside at least once a month.

Take a random weekday off work to hike a popular trail I'd never consider visiting on a weekend.

Summit a mountain.

Just like last summer: Spend time adventuring outdoors with both my nieces!

Learn a new practical skill: backcountry first aid, avalanche safety and the use of an ice axe, or navigation.

Go crabbing, and enjoy the fresh caught crab immediately!

Try my hand at making my own freeze dried backpacking meals.

Eat at least one meal cooked over a campfire.

If you're curious, here's how I fared on my spring list:

Hike as much as possible while the wildflowers are blooming in the Cascades. We did make it to Teanaway Ridge for a pretty spectacular wildflower show - read more here!

Bake my all-time-favorite: strawberry rhubarb pie! I baked a delicious one for Easter!

Get out for a short, early-season backpacking trip to test out my new sleeping pad. We didn't actually test out our new sleeping pads on a backpacking trip, but we did get a good nights sleep on them camping with the WTA Trail Work Crew on Vashon. I definitely consider this one a success!

Go to the Farmer's Market at least once a month Just barely! I still wish I had time to go more often.

Go for a picnic It turns out my niece is just as obsessed with picnics as I am! We had an impromptu lunch picnic in Wenatchee early in the spring.

Soak up the longer days by getting outside after work at least three days a week I think I managed at least two days a week, but not three.

Plan and host an afternoon tea I completely forgot about this!

Forage for morels We looked for them while we were in Teanaway, but sadly saw none. Maybe next year!

Sign up for a trail work party with the Washington Trails Association. We did two this spring! Read a little about them here and here.

Read Tolkien in the Tolkien room at the Sylvia Beach Hotel The Hobbit, and it was just as wonderful as I remembered.

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RELATED POSTS

Spring Fun

Spring is nearly here, and to me that means meadows filled with wildflowers, farmers markets packed with delicious seasonal produce, picnics, and pies. Once the weather starts to warm and the days grow longer, I get impatient for the mountain snow to magically disappear so I can hike to my hearts content. I dream of all the epic trails I'll be able to hike in just a few more months, then feel disappointed by the limited options accessible right now. Often, instead of getting outside and hiking where I can, I spend too much of the spring on my couch, knitting, reading, and binge-watching The Office for the thousandth time. By the time summer rolls around, I'm too out of shape for all the adventures I planned in the spring. This year, I'm determined to not let that happen. 

Hike as much as possible while the wildflowers are blooming in the Cascades. Specifically, catch the bear grass on Bandera Mountain, the balsamroot on Teanaway Ridge, or the entire spectrum of wildflowers in Spray Park. I'd love to hear your recommendations for excellent wildflower trails too!

Bake my all-time-favorite: strawberry rhubarb pie!

Get out for a short, early-season backpacking trip to test out my new sleeping pad. Compared to my old 4' long self inflating pad, I think it will make a huge difference in how well I sleep when camping!

Go to the Farmer's Market at least once a month

Go for a picnic

Soak up the longer days by getting outside after work at least three days a week

Plan and host an afternoon tea

Forage for morels

Sign up for a trail work party with the Washington Trails Association. If I feel like being an overachiever, I might be able to earn my own hard hat by summer!

Read Tolkien in the Tolkien room at the Sylvia Beach Hotel 

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recent posts

Winter Fun

It feels like I was just writing my fall list yesterday, and now we're already well in to winter! I've always had a time with winter. I love the snow, but it's usually hours away in the mountains, and from the dreary grey views outside my window at home, I find it far too easy to stay warm at inside on my couch, doing nothing. Then, once spring comes around, I regret being so inactive for so many months. Here's a list of things I hope will keep me out of my post-Christmas, pre-spring gloom!

Snowshoeing in Paradise

Hoping for some snow in Redmond this winter!

Get off the couch for at least one hike or snowshoe each month. I did terribly on this over the fall - no hiking in either November or December! 

Also, go for more walks. It's hard since I get home after dark, but the days are growing longer again so soon I won't have that as an excuse!  

Host a soup swap. 

Get a good start on my goal to read 42 books in 2016 by reading at least 3 books a month.  

Try cooking something new - maybe gnocchi or steamed pork buns (char sui bao)?  

 Buy a new houseplant to bring some green indoors. 

Plan a trip. I love planning travel, whether it's a big trip or a small one. Maybe this will finally be the year I convince Andy to go here?

Knit a new hat for Andy. The one I made him last year is looking pretty ragged!

Light candles, string up christmas lights, anything to bring a little more light into the long dark days to come!

Fall fun

Fall is here!  My absolute favorite time of year. The crisp cool air and more frequent rain are especially welcome after the summer we had. The cooler weather makes many of my favorite things much more comfortable - knitting, hiking, drinking tea, baking, cooking up giant batches of soup. 

Most of the things on this list are the things I would want to do every year. None of them would be much of a challenge on their own, but making time for all of them will be!

Pressing cider is a Norsen family fall tradition 

Definitely hope to see golden larches again

Make soup. So much soup. All the soup. Possibly get tired of soup.

Continue the trend from summer and go hiking at least once a month. 

Mushroom hunting.

Try making something with fresh apple cider- cider cream pie or cider caramels? 

Go for a walk in the rain.

Spend a rainy day curled up with a good book. There are so many good options. 

Knit some cozy wool  socks to keep my feet warm for the winter. Also, get an early start on my Christmas knitting. 

Go snowshoeing as early as possible.

Make a giant batch of fresh tomato sauce with the last tomatoes of summer.