Roaming Nanny

24/04/2024

Lone Star Hiking Trail: Day 5
Start time 8:20am
End time 5:05pm
Distance 18 miles (stopped at mile 92.1)
Camping spot: Trailside by running water

Today was a super chill day and most of it was spent doing a walking meditation. I didn’t see anyone on trail today and the forest was incredibly peaceful.

At one point I took a 20 minute break and soaked my feet in a stream while I watched some squirrels play. This is the type of chill I strive for in real life, but can never truly reach with all the hustle and bustle.

Towards the end of the day I was fighting off mosquitos while attempting to find a flat spot to put my tent. There were so many I basically lived in my tent once it was set up.

My pinky toe is over this while hiking in the sand thing, and the tip of my fake banana that gave me. The next day it completely broke in half. 😭

As I was about to fall asleep I heard an animal walk within 5 feet of my tent, p*e, and walk away. Because of how quiet it was my best guess to what animal it was is a deer. 🦌 But we’ll never really know.

Lovely day for me, uneventful trail journal for you, sorry.

24/04/2024

A quick reminder to everyone that it’s still cold out in the backcountry at night despite warmer daytime temperatures. If you’re going out backpacking or hiking be prepared.

The rescuers found the hiker on an exposed ridge beyond the summit of Little Bigelow Mountain.

15/04/2024

I don’t hate this! 🤣

12/04/2024

Lone Star Hiking Trail: Day 4
Start time 8am
End time 6:05pm
Distance 19.6 miles (stopped at mile 74.1)
Camping spot: Flat spot close to trail

The morning started off with a peaceful jaunt through a quiet and still pine forest. I even found a bench out there that I stopped to have a snack on. for the win!

Then I started on my road walk. It was a combo of dirt back roads and big loud main roads.

The sun hit me hard not far into my walk and I rigged up my umbrella for some protection. I still haven’t gotten it to sit just right on my shoulder, but I’m getting better at it!

I had a straight stretch of road for a bit and I spotted some people sitting in the side of the road. When I got closer I realized it was backpackers. The first ones I’ve seen on trail! It was I met Brent and Mel from and we chatted and they kindly gave me some cheese! They have a whole video about their hike along the LSHT posted on their channel so go check it out!

Then I had another run in with a dog. Fortunately, a very nice man and his little grandson, were driving by in a truck with a horse trailer and drove next to me putting the truck between me and the dog. I’m so thankful for this man’s act of kindness.

I got hit once I transitioned to the main road and thankfully there was a friendly stop up ahead at the Evergreen Baptist Church. They allow hikers to stop and get water from the spigot behind the church. It had been a long stretch for me without grabbing any water so I was really grateful for it!

The next stretch of road was the longest I had been on a main road yet. There was no shoulder and the cars were going fast. It wasn’t exactly fun.

My last obstacle of the day was the San Jacinto River. There had been a bunch of rain before my hike so the river was high. Thankfully, not as high as it was the week before. I hung out, watching for alligators, just in case, but didn’t see anything. I hiked up my shorts and waded in. I was fine until the bank on the other side was so slippery I couldn’t climb out. I left the river with a bloody knee, wet butt, and wounded pride.

3 more miles and I made camp in a pine forest.

04/04/2024

Lone Star Hiking Trail: Day 3
Start time 7am
End time 4:30pm
Distance: 20 miles (stopped at mile 54.5)
Camping spot: Spot just off the trail heading into Big Woods

To say I was glad I stopped hiking earlier than I planned is an understatement. While my feet still had some issues they were feeling much better after that extra time not hiking.

Started off the day with a road walk, then some woods, then around road walk, then some more woods, then another road walk. Most of road walking was on roads that weren’t too busy or were forest roads, which was nice. It’s funny getting strange looks from people in cars confused as to why you’re walking in the middle of nowhere (or next to a highway).

Day 2 of not seeing single person while I was hiking. I think I could used to this! I did however see a family of 4 with 2 little boys at the end of the day when I set up my tent. The younger of the 2 was very interested as to what I was doing and if I lived in my tent all the time. It was so cute!

The highlight of the day was walking through a pine forest and all I could hear was silence. I love when the woods are completely quiet. No, I don’t think it’s creepy at all.

The worst part of the day was when I charged by a very angry dog in a road walk. After hiking the AT and having too many negative interactions with dogs I’m afraid of dogs I don’t know. The dog bolted out of its yard, teeth bared. I hid my trekking poles because they make many dogs nervous and it followed me as I walked backwards down the road, speaking in a soothing friendly voice to the dog. That really sucked.

I ended up hiking further than I wanted to because I couldn’t find a spot to set up my tent. Outside of hunting season you can set up camp anywhere you want inside Sam Houston National Forest, which I did for all but 1 night of this trip.

Just after my last road walk I found a water source with a relatively flat spot nearby where I set up my camp. The sun was shining through the pines and it cooled off a bit, which was lovely. Food is my main source of morale and ending the day with chicken fajita bowl inside a tortilla with cheese really hit the spot.

02/04/2024

Lone Star Hiking Trail: Day 2
Start time 7:25am
End time 4:50pm
Distance 14.8 (stopped at mile 34.5)
Camp spot: stealth campsite a little before parking lot 7

Woke up to some rain and thunder rumbling in the distance, so I got to try out my UL umbrella for the first time. It took a little while to get used to, but it’s definitely a keeper! That baby will be coming with me on future hikes!

I didn’t see a single person all day. The trail was so quiet and peaceful.

The challenging part about today was how much my feet hurt. Walking through all the sand the day before killed me and gave me so many blisters. I took plenty of breaks today because there were points where I couldn’t take another step.

On the night side, I made friends with a cute box turtle. Unfortunately, he didn’t want to make friends with me. I took some pictures and videos, but since he seemed scared I went on my way pretty quickly.

There was a spillway I had to cross in the afternoon, but the water was moving so fast I was worried I’d slip and fall. Below the spillway there were some rocks, so I went down there and crossed. I saw a water moccasin hanging out in the rocks which scared the s**t out of me as I almost put my hand down next to it. Thankfully caught myself, didn’t fall backwards into the water, and made it across with only 1 wet foot.

The other foot didn’t stay dry for long as I entered an area that had muddy sand. I didn’t think that was possible, but it was so sticky the pine needles and the mud got stuck to the bottom of my shoes and made it next to impossible to walk without slipping. This made my feet feel even worse.

After that I was so done for the day. I had planned to do 5 more miles, but I was pi**ed off and in pain. Sometimes you just need to crawl into your tent and eat a Hershey bar with peanut on top.

29/03/2024

Lone Star Hiking Trail: Day 1
Start time 8:20am
End time 4:55pm
Distance 19.7 miles
Camping spot: Stubblefield Rec Area

dropped me off bright and early, so I had plenty of time to get to Stubblefield Rec Area for the night.

For me in my shorts and long sleeve the temperature was perfect! Mid-70s and moderate humidity.

The trail as a while is very flat, but I didn’t want to underestimate it like I did a few years ago on the Ocean to Lake Trail in Florida. Just because trail is flat doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy. And the Lone Star Hiking Trail definitely gave me some challenges today.

The previous weeks there was a bunch of rain so the trail was extra sandy and wet in parts. Because of this and the areas where there was mud I did a lot of sliding. This sliding caused my pinky toes to experience a lot of friction. Even with my toe sock liners and wool socks I got some pretty severe blisters very quickly. By the time I felt the blisters the damage was done and applying tape didn’t help much.

While there were 2 other women at parking lot 1 getting ready for a thru hike I didn’t see them once I left. In fact, I didn’t see another person until I hit the parking like at mile 16. After that I saw several people on trail that were in after work hikes.

I had a whole exchange with a guy hiking about how far I had hiked and he was shocked that I came from parking lot 1. I think I saw him around mile 18.

By the time I got to the campground at Stubblefield Rec Area, my feet were killing me. Transitioning from a sandy trail to pavement really didn’t help either. I had to walk all the way to the entrance of the campground to self pay for my spot. Thankfully there was a spot close by and next to a water spigot so I didn’t have to walk very far.

I put up my tent, boiled water for my lasagna with meat sauce, ate, and climbed in my tent. Right as I got in it started to rain. Perfect timing!

21/03/2024

A little over a week ago I completed my thru hike of the Lone Star Hiking Trail in Texas!

It was 96.4 miles of quiet contemplation, being one with nature, living out of my backpack (again!), and seeing no more than 12 people over 6 days. Safe to say I loved it.

Check back in tomorrow when I’ll be sharing daily recaps in posts and stories from my hike! Let me know if you have any questions about this hike in the comments.

02/03/2024

Raise your hand if you AlWaYs buy waaayyyyyy too much food during a resupply. 🙋‍♀️ Oops!

No matter how many times I do this there is always too much food. I think I just get too excited in the grocery store. 🛒🍫🍬🍪

Who has some tips to share, cause I’m not getting any better at this.

27/02/2024

Getting ready for my next hike!

It’s been a hot minute since I’ve hiked (and posted) and I’m soooooooo ready to get out in the trail and re-connect with Ma Nature.

Next week I’m heading to Texas to jump on the 96 mile Lone Star Hiking Trail. AND to make things even better I get to see my amazing friend Megan!

The first thing I do when prepping for any hiking trip is treat my gear and clothes with Sawyer Products Permethrin. It helps keep me safe from insects like ticks and mosquitoes.

Do you treat your gear with Permethrin?

19/01/2024

1 year of marriage and 10 years of being together next month. I think we’re really crushing this relationship thing! ❤️

20/09/2023

All I want to do is go hiking and eat ice cream and drink coke. 🤷‍♀️

17/09/2023

I do my best thinking while hiking. Reflecting on life, coming up with ideas, and just being with myself alone in nature.

I’m currently in Luxembourg hiking the Mullerthal Trail. Stay tuned to learn more about my hike!

13/07/2023

If you know me, you know biking is not my thing. The number of times I’ve fallen off a bike is, well let’s not talk about it. 🤕

During my trip to Mongolia there were 3 days of biking. We usually did it for half a day and you could choose how much biking you did each day. 🚴

On the third day, the day all these photos were taken by the lovely , I pushed myself to go as far as I could. I rode a good portion of the day with which really helped me stay motivated.

A little over an hour in we saw a sand storm off in the distance and got the group members around us to stop and prepare for it to come our way. This might sound weird, but it was the coolest thing to be tucked down on the ground with my face covered waiting for the storm to pass.

Afterwards, we got back on our bikes and I rode a little further until the wind was just too much for me. My less were sore and I was tired.

That day I did 10 miles! 🎉 For most people that would be nothing, but for me, in loose sandy soil it was hard. But I DID IT!

I share this story to show that no matter how “outdoorsy” someone seems there are always going to be things that challenge them. We each have our own journeys in the outdoors and no matter what yours looks like it is 100% valid. Because the only thing you need to do to be outdoorsy is to go outdoors and challenge yourself to get out of your comfort zone!

17/04/2023

I've been deep into Disney planning lately and thought I'd whip together a glossary of al the Disney lingo I know to help others plan their next trip. Enjoy!

For those in the know, Disney lingo rolls off the tongue like a second language, which it basically is. For those who are new to the Disney realm, this glossary of terms, phrases, and abbreviations will help you place your Disney vacation.

03/04/2023

On this day in 2021 I hit the 100 mile mark of the Appalachian Trail. Little did I know this was the beginning of a journey I’m still on today. The more backpacking and long distance hiking I do that more I fall in the love with the world around me. The more faith I have in humanity. The more I love the person I’ve become.