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Rim to Rim Hike: Trip Itinerary + Hiking Training

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In my first post in this Grand Canyon Rim to Rim Hike series I went over the basics of a Rim to Rim trip. If you’re interested in the basic information head over there.

Woman with backpack looking out on Grand Canyon rim to rim hike

The aim of this post is to take that basic information and get a little more granular so you can plan your own trip. Or if you’re not interested in figuring that part out, I’m going to list out our exact trip itinerary with mileage information and stopping points. I’m also going to outline the training schedule I’m using to get ready for our Rim to Rim.

Rim to Rim Hike: Day-By-Day Itinerary

Elevation map of Grand Canyon rim to rim hike

Day 1: Roaring Springs and Cottonwood Campground (descending ~6,000 feet)

Total mileage: 7.7 miles

  • 2 miles to Supai Tunnel (bathroom + water)
  • 3 miles to Roaring Springs Canyon (bathroom + water)
  • .3 mile (each way) side trip to Roaring Springs
  • .7 mile to Manzanita Resthouse (bathroom + water + ranger)
  • 1.4 miles to Cottonwood Campground (bathroom + water)

Day 2: Ribbon Falls and Phantom Ranch

Total mileage: 8 miles

  • 1.3 miles to Ribbon Falls Bridge
  • .3 mile (each way) side trip to Ribbon Falls
  • 4.7 miles to beginning of “The Box” (aka a SUPER hot spot you don’t want to be in the middle of the day)
  • .7 mile in “The Box”
  • .7 mile to Phantom Ranch

Day 3: Silver Bridge and Indian Garden

Total mileage: 5 miles

  • .2 mile to Bright Angel (bathroom + water)
  • .3 mile to Silver Bridge
  • 1.2 miles to River Resthouse (bathroom only)
  • 3.3 miles to Indian Garden (bathroom + water + ranger)

Day 4: The Big Climb + Resthouses (ascending ~4,500 feet)

Total mileage: 4.8

  • 1.7 miles to 3 Mile Resthouse (bathroom + water)
  • 1.5 miles to 1.5 Mile Resthouse (bathroom + water)
  • 1.6 miles to top

Two woman sitting on red rock, smiling and looking at the camera in Grand Canyon

Alternate Itineraries:

3-Day Itinerary

  • Day 1 – Hike ~7.7 miles North Rim to Cottonwood Campground
  • Day 2 – Hike ~8 miles to Cottonwood Campground to Phantom Ranch
  • Day 3 – Hike ~9.8 miles to Phantom Ranch to South Rim

2-Day Itinerary

  • Day 1 – Hike ~15.7 miles North Rim to Phantom Ranch
  • Day 2 – Hike ~9.8 miles Phantom Ranch to South Rim

Grand Canyon Rim to Rim Hike Training Schedule

I consider training for any hike a personal decision. Only you know your fitness level and the amount of time you’re willing to put into preparing for your big trip. If you head over to Pinterest you’ll find plenty of resources if you search “hiking training”. One of the best pins I found was of course from REI. It’s a simple infographic that perfectly describes how to train for a multi-day hike. Below this image you’ll find the exact plan I’m using to get ready for my rim to rim hike.

REI Get Fit for the Trail infographic 12 weeks of training to get ready for a big hike

Key Components to Creating a Training Plan

In order to start creating your training plan you need to know a couple numbers. These will allow you to create a plan that will get you ready for your specific hike.

  • Longest Mileage Day: Which day are you hiking the furthest and how far are you going?
  • Largest Elevation Gain: How many feet up are you hiking?
  • Pack Weight: Try to figure out roughly how much your pack is going to weigh. Remember you are going to be carrying this weight, so try to keep it low. I’m aiming for between 25-28lbs.

With those numbers mapped out you’re ready to create your training plan. As you can see in the table below I’m slowly adding mileage and elevation each week. Notice that each week has a mileage and an elevation goal. That’s a goal for the week, not per day.

In order to create your own training plan all you really need to know is your longest hiking day and your biggest elevation gain. From there you can use the template below to figure out how to plan your increases in mileage and elevation week over week.

Rim to Rim Hike: 12 Week Hiking Training Schedule

Twelve weeks of training might seem like a lot, I’m sure you could get away with ten weeks or eight if you were really in a pinch. Since I have twelve weeks to train I’m going to use every one.

Rim to Rim 12 week training program diagram

For those of you who read my Orangetheory for hiking training post you might recognize the color choices here. I straight up took them from the treadmill card I look at when I’m training there. To be clear I’m using Orangetheory as a component of my Rim to Rim hike training program. It’s a great way to build up stamina and a little muscle at the same time. Head over to this post if you want more information.

Okay, back to the chart and the colors. Think of the blue weeks as warm-up weeks. Green weeks are for building up mileage and elevation. Orange weeks are push weeks and red weeks are pretty much all out. Two weeks before your trip make sure you back off on the training in order to give your body a rest before the big trip.

To give you an even clearer idea how an individual week will look, I’ve outlined how the mileage and elevation gain will look spread out over training week 7.

Example Workout Week:

Mileage Goal: 10 miles

Elevation Goal: 3500 feet

Pack Weight: 20-25lbs.

  • Workout 1: Walk 2 miles at 3-6% incline (treadmill or outdoor hike)
  • Workout 2: Orangetheory day (HIIT training)
  • Workout 3: Walk 6 miles outside on trail with elevation gain between 2500-3000 feet

As you can see this isn’t an exact science. Treadmills and Orangetheory aren’t the same as trails, but what you’re doing is working in some cardio a couple times a week to chip away at your mileage goal. As for figuring out your elevation gain, that’s tough. My work around for this is to include one longer hike each week (usually on the weekend) that has a significant climb. You can do all your workouts with a weighted pack or save that for your longer weekend hikes. Remember the more you train with a weighted pack the better.

If you have any questions on how to create your own training plan or want me to look over a plan you created for yourself leave me a comment. I’d love to take a look!

View of the Grand Canyon at sunset, orange rock and blue sky

Summing Up

Going through and figuring out our trip day by day was a great exercise in getting myself mentally prepared for this trip. I highly encourage you to do the same whether you’re hiking Rim to Rim or going on another fabulous adventure.

As for training, if I’m being completely honest I could probably do Rim to Rim tomorrow without any training, but it would be painful and most likely not fun at all. Even though I have a strong resistance to training, I know that if I do the work I’ll be more mentally and physically prepared to make my first multi-day backpacking trip a success.

If you want to know more about the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim Hike check out these posts:

Income & Traffic Report – April 2019

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April came and went REALLY quickly! Between prepping for our Ireland trip (more on that to come!) and being out of town the first two weeks of May this post kinda fell off the schedule until now. BUT here it is.

blog work this month

April Blog Posts

What I Worked On This Month

  • Honestly I was just keeping my head above water this month, which you can easily see from the small number of blog posts I managed to get together in April.

The Numbers

March 2019 Revenue Total: $1.97

  • Income Breakdown
    • Amazon Affiliate Income: $1.34
    • Awin Affiliate Income: $0.63

Monthly Blog Expenses Total: $57

**A note about the links below. Several of them are affiliate links. Which means I make a small commission if you make a purchase at no additional cost to you.

April Traffic Numbers

My page views went down a little bit this month compared to last month, but there’s nothing to worry about there. Traffic numbers ebb and flow, no need to get hung up on that.

Once again my best performing blog post was Perfect 7 Day Road Trip Itinerary: Grand Canyon Plus Zion National Park to Bryce Canyon . That’s four months in a row!

April on Social Media

Most Popular Instagram Post:

My top performing post had nothing to do with the outdoors…aside from keeping me warm outside. I have been working on this shawl for over a year and I FINALLY finished it just in time for our Ireland trip! Thank god! Turns out ya’ll were just as excited about this as I was so thank you so much for all your wonderful and kind comments.

Conclusions and Going Forward

I’ve pretty much come to terms with the fact that April and May aren’t going to be quite as productive as I would like. AND THERE’S NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT! This Indoorsy Camper thing is a hobby. Would I like it to be a money-making endeavor in the future? I’m not gonna lie to you, the answer is yes. BUT I recognize that it takes time to build something, and even more time to build something great. So I’m willing to take my time and slowly move forward with this little project.

Goals for May:

Who are we kidding! May is like 1 week away! No goals…just keep swimming!

Training for Hiking: An Orangetheory Review

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About a month ago after becoming a complete victim to strategic product placement I found myself attending my first Orangetheory class. Yes, I signed up for Orangetheory thanks to Queer Eye…and I’m fairly certain I’m not the only one. But I will say that it’s turned out to be the perfect workout for hiking training.

Season 3 episode 3 plopped into my world at the exact moment I was really struggling with doing formal gym type workouts (as opposed to the hiking I love doing). Gyms are sad, and full of meatheads and sometimes smelly people…and sometimes I’m the smelly person, hence I don’t want to go. BUT Catherine and I are hiking the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim this summer so there is also this voice in my head saying, “you better do some hiking training…because it’s a LONG haul outta that canyon!”.

And so I found myself standing in an orange and white Apple store, talking to a Ken doll (yes, he was that shiny and taught skinned, it was mesmerizing) waiting to go into a darkened room with orange mood lighting. This scenario might sound a little scary, but trust me, it’s not. Orangetheory is a VERY approachable workout for people at any level. Read more to find out what to expect and the ins and outs of the workout.

Rowing machines, treadmills and weights in an Orangetheory studio

What to Expect at an Orangetheory Class

Every Orangetheory has three stations; treadmills (which I dread), rowing machines and a weight room. Every workout will have different exercises, but they will all utilize high intensity interval training (HIIT). Basically they get your heart working hard, then give you a period of rest, then you work hard again. In my experience you won’t find annoying coaches, people yelling at you or making false promises that it’s your “last one”. Orangetheory is a lot like group training. You get great instructions, some gentle nudges when you need them and an experienced coach guiding you along the way.

Orangetheory Heart Rate Zones

Without getting too technical, Orangetheory uses 5 heart rate zones to get your body working at the right intensity. The science behind this workout is based on EPOC, excess post-exercise oxygen consumption. Basically this means that you work at a high intensity during your workout, causing your body to lose oxygen. Once you finish your workout your body continues working hard to recover that lost oxygen, causing you to continue to burn calories long after you walk out of the studio.

Orangetheory 5 heart rate zone chart for hiking training

As you progress through the workout you will spend some time in each zone. You will have a warmup to get your heart going and slowly build up intensity until you are in the uncomfortable “Orange Zone”.

What is the Orange Zone?

Staying in the Orange Zone is what will really help you with hiking training. So what is the Orange Zone? This number will be different based on your level of fitness, but basically it’s 84-91% of your max heart rate. Think of it as your uncomfortable zone. It’s that point where you’re hiking and can’t really talk to the person beside you. The goal of Orangetheory is to get you to this point for at least 12 minutes during your workout.

To add some fun (and take you back to your Nickelodeon days) they give you one “Splat Point” for every minute you are in the Orange Zone. I find this hilarious, and yet I am a total sucker and watch the screens to make sure my Splat Points are adding up to at least 12 per workout.

The Heart Rate Monitor

So how are they keeping track of all this heart rate information? The answer is simple. They strap a heart rate monitor on you. Your stats show up on screens inside the workout room which sounds scary, but honestly nobody’s paying attention to anyone but themselves. The real value in this is that you get to see which heart rate zone you’re in and see how many Splat Points you’ve earned during the workout. At the end of a workout you get an email with a report that you can use to track your progress over time.

Don’t Fear the Treadmill

For me, a fat bodied, running-hating person the treadmill was the scariest part of this whole endeavor. To be clear the only instance where you will EVER find me running is when there is imminent danger. I do not run for fun.

Enter the treadmill interval card. This was my favorite part of the pre-workout sch-peal. For the treadmill sections they give you three options; power walkers, joggers and runners. This is why I believe Orangetheory is truly for anyone, no matter what their fitness level is. This is also the reason I think it’s a great workout when you’re training for hiking.

As you can see in the chart below you can adjust your speed to increase your heart rate OR you can increase your incline. As someone who is only just coming back to this type of training I spend most of my workouts at 3.7-4.0mph and then adjust the incline according to what the Orangetheory coach says. My heart is doing some serious work and I’m increasing my stamina for the climbs I’m planning to do in my future hikes. I love that this part of the workout is so approachable for any fitness level.

Orange theory treadmill speed chart

Rowing Machines & the Weight Room

Aside from the treadmill you will also take turns on the rowing machines and in the weight room. I’ve always been a fan of the rowing machine. It’s one of those machines that’s deceptively easy until you make the effort to ramp up your intensity. I love that it incorporates your core and arms while taking some pressure off your knees. Honestly it’s one of my favorite parts of the workout. Like the treadmills, you will use varied intensity to keep your heart working at different rates during the rowing stations. Often there is a weight lifting component included in this station as well where you hop off the rower and do a minute of lifting before returning to the rower.

During the weight room station you will have several exercises that will be demoed by your coach. He or she will also give you modifications in order to make exercises more accessible. Don’t be afraid to do the modifications! I do them all the time. And if you need help your coach is around to correct form or give you additional modifications. I love that this workout has lots of different exercises. I’ve gone to Orangetheory for a little over a month and every workout has been different.

5 Reasons Orangetheory is a Great Way to Train for Hiking

  1. It’s a great weekday workout if you can’t get out on the trail until the weekend.
  2. The treadmill stations let you really work on incline walking.
  3. The rowers help build core and arm strength without added pressure on your knees.
  4. The coaches aren’t annoying and give just the right amount of encouragement.
  5. The weight room component helps strengthen your muscles and prepare you for backpacking.

Honestly I could go on way more about this workout. One month in and I’ve already found it’s made a big difference on my strength and stamina. It’s a really well rounded workout. If you have any particular questions or want additional information drop a comment or question below.

Sleep in a Spoon: NEMO Viola Sleeping Bag Review

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Attention side sleepers! I have the sleeping bag for you! This post will cover all the reasons I love my NEMO Viola 20 Sleeping Bag.

View looking out from a tent with sleeping bags looking at trees and mountains in the distance

I don’t do too many gear reviews, but this sleeping bag has really blown me away so I felt like I had to share it. Unsurprisingly, sleeping bags were some of the first pieces of gear Catherine and I bought when we set out on this crazy camping journey. We were able to borrow a tent, but felt a little weird about using someone else’s sleeping bag. So we took the plunge (and used our REI 20% coupons) to buy ourselves sleeping bags.

Choosing a sleeping bag can be tough, but one trip to an REI and you’ll probably be able to figure out what you like and what you don’t. Of course the REI staff are always there to help and in our case they offered some really great advice. After trying several sleeping bags I ended up purchasing the Nemo Viola 20, a spoon shaped sleeping bag that works great for side sleepers.

If you’re interested in all the technical specs and a video scroll down to the bottom of this post. If you want to know why I love this sleeping bag keep reading.

Here are my THREE favorite features of the NEMO Viola Sleeping Bag:

1. The Spoon™ Shape: According to NEMO’s website 70% of people sleep on their sides, and I’m one of them. During our testing phase I tried out two mummy bags and knew without a doubt that I would feel way to claustrophobic in a bag that shape. The Viola is kind of a hybrid between a traditional rectangle bag and a mummy bag. Which basically amounts to more room at the elbows and knees so you can sleep on your side with your knees or arms bent without feeling compressed inside the bag. For me it’s the perfect shape. I never feel like I don’t have enough room to move around and I can move from side to side easily.

2. The Blanket Fold™ : The first couple times I used my Viola I had no idea what to do with this silly flap of comfort. Since I was sleeping in warmer temperatures I just left it outside the bag or tucked it in depending on how hot or warm I was…which is actually the purpose of the fold.

It was during our Joshua Tree camping trip that I really figured out the value of the Blanket Fold™. Even though Joshua Tree is a desert there had been a freak snow storm before we arrived. At night the temperatures fell to 36 degrees Fahrenheit. This might seem tame to seasoned campers, but we had never camped in weather that cold. The Blanket Fold™ was perfect! I tucked it into the bag for added warmth and if I felt like my face was getting cold I used it to cover up a bit more. Even though it was 36 degrees Fahrenheit I felt warm and cozy and had no trouble sleeping. In fact, it was one of the best nights sleep I’ve had on a camping trip.

3. The Thermo Gills: This feature was one of the main selling points brought up by the REI staff member who sold me the bag. Basically the Viola has two extra zippers that run along the top of the bag. When opened these gills release heat, allowing you to regulate your temperature a little better. If it’s cold you can keep them closed to keep cold air out. As a mostly Southern California camper I usually keep these gills open and have found they really help to keep me from getting too warm inside the bag.

Bonus Favorite: Integrated pillow pocket!

It’s only recently that I purchased a camping pillow so before now I had no need for this feature. With our Rim to Rim backpacking trip coming up I decided to go ahead and purchase a Sea to Summit Aeros Pillow to actually put in this pillow pocket. I’m excited to try it out mostly because it means my pillow will stay in place all night. I won’t have to deal with it sliding out from under my head!

NEMO Viola Full Features Video

Specs & Material

  • Minimum Weight: 2lb, 11oz
  • Packed Size: 12.0 x 8.0 in diameter
  • Temperature Rating: 20 degrees
  • Fill Type: Synthetic
  • Shell Material: 40D Nylon Ripstop w/ DWR
  • Lining Material: 40D Nylon Taffeta w/ DWR

For a full list of product specs, sizing and materials head over to NEMO’s product page.

More Posts Like Sleep in a Spoon: NEMO Viola Sleeping Bag Review:

Grand Canyon Rim to Rim Hike: Planning Stage

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Several years ago when Catherine and I went on our first trip to the Grand Canyon we hiked 3 miles down Bright Angel Trail. As we staggered back up we kept running into this couple who were on the same break schedule as us. In an effort to prolong our break time we started chatting. Turned out they had hiked about 11 miles down into the canyon to stay at Phantom Ranch, one of the hardest National Park lodge reservations to snag. They went on to tell us about crazy people who hike from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon to the South Rim (Rim to Rim hikers). This was an idea that I didn’t even know was possible. It was in that moment that we decided we were going to do that hike someday.

Well, someday turned into this summer. Yep, you heard me right. This summer Catherine and I are going to do the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim hike. Since it’s a little difficult to navigate and plan I thought I’d write a post each month until August (our hike month!) to give you all the details on the trip, the planning, and our training. First things first.

Woman wearing hat and backpack looking out on the Grand Canyon text overlay says Grand Canyon Rim to Rim Hike Planner

What is the Rim to Rim hike?

For me, it’s a bucket list hike. I know it’s not going to be easy, and quite frankly I’m pretty freaked out by it, but we have committed to doing it. One thing I’ve taken comfort in so far is the fact that it’s been completed by kids, young adults, people my age, and many elderly hikers. With planning and some training anyone can create a hike on these trails that will work for them.

How Long is Rim to Rim?

24 miles (one-way). I say one way because there are people even crazier than us who do the Rim to Rim to Rim hike. Yes, that’s right they go there and back again…sometimes in one day!

Level of Rim to Rim

Most hikers know that trails or long distance hikes come with a difficulty rating. Rim to Rim is rated as strenuous. Not too surprising, right?

Recommended Route

North Kaibab Trail to Bright Angel Trail
This is the first option for most hikers for several reasons. Starting at the North Rim means you hike downward for 6,000 feet, cross the canyon, and then climb out 4,500 feet. Looking at those numbers it seems obvious why most people go from North to South. In addition, Bright Angel Trail has several water stops, rest areas, bathrooms, a ranger station and some shade. This is super important because the climb out is going to be the toughest park of the whole hike.

Other Option – North Kaibab Trail to South Kaibab Trail
A second North to South option is to hike back up on the South Kaibab Trail. While this route is shorter than the Bright Angel Trail route it has no water stops and very little shade. I’ll take shade and water in exchange for a little longer hike.

How Long does Rim to Rim Take?

The answer to that my friend is completely up to you and how prepared you are. If you can’t be bothered with booking Phantom Ranch and patiently waiting for a backcountry permit, you can hike Rim to Rim in one day. As long as you’re in and out in one day none of that paperwork is necessary.

Catherine and I will be hiking Rim to Rim over 4 days. So from here on out I’ll be describing the trip we’ve planned.

Planning Our Rim to Rim Hike

Where to start:

If I were to tell someone how to go about planning this trip I would say start with the hardest reservation to get, Phantom Ranch. Reservations for Phantom Ranch open up 13 months in advance (yep!), so if you have a date in mind make sure you’re online or on the phone when the reservation lines open.

For more information on Phantom Ranch check out this post I wrote about all the Grand Canyon Lodges (scroll down to the bottom for Phantom Ranch). You can also check out the reservation page for Phantom Ranch to enter the lottery or you can call 888-29-PARKS.

Snagging this reservation can be tough, but if you have some flexibility in your dates that can really help. Truth be told I didn’t get my first choice date, but when I called there were two other days open so I grabbed one. Being flexible will help you a lot as you plan this trip.

Phantom Ranch Grand Canyon
Planning the rest of the trip:

With your Phantom Ranch reservation booked you can start building out the rest of your trip. If it’s possible financially, I highly encourage you to book your other hotel stays at the same time as your Phantom Ranch booking. This can get expensive pretty fast, but lodging options inside the Grand Canyon Village and at the North Rim fill up fast. If you want to stay at National Park properties book as soon as you can.

We knew that we wanted to start our hike from the North Rim. Since we’ve never been there we thought it would be fun to stay one night in the Grand Canyon Lodge at the North Rim. This was the next reservation we booked. This meant we had the night before we left arranged and one night in the canyon. We also went ahead and made a reservation at El Tovar for the night we made it out of the canyon. I’m pretty sure we will be clamboring for a shower by that point so I wanted a place right on the rim.

While it’s best to book everything at once I totally understand that that’s not possible for everyone. I had to spread out these bookings in order to afford them. I booked Phantom Ranch first, then a couple months later the North Rim and several months after that El Tovar. We were lucky to get all the dates and locations we wanted. All this is to say book early if possible, be flexible and you can spread out the expense if need be, it’s gonna be okay.

Backcountry permits:

I know it seems like all of the reservations should be done by now, but sadly they’re not. We wanted to spend several days down in the canyon and take our Rim to Rim hike slow (we’ll be averaging 6-7 miles per day). That might seem ridiculous to you, but we figured that we wanted to have lots of time to enjoy the trip, explore, take in the views and not be rushed. If you want to get things done faster you can completely skip this step.

BUT if you want to camp in the Grand Canyon you are going to need a backcountry permit. Applications for backcountry permits need to be submitted 4 months prior to the month you plan to hike. So, for example, we’re going to hike in August, so our application was due April 1st. For a list of application dates relative to your start date head over to the Backcountry Permit page and scroll down to the bottom.

I highly advise that you add a reminder to your calendar to alert you to apply for the backcountry permit. I thought I’d done this. Maybe I put in the wrong date or the information didn’t transfer over when I got a new phone. This meant that I faxed off our application for a backcountry permit on April 8th. Cue the sad Charlie Brown music. Yes, after all of my planning and reservation making I missed this crucial deadline. I’ll find out in the next couple weeks whether or not we got a permit. If you could keep everything crossed for us it would be most appreciated.

Summing Up

I think that’s enough information about Rim to Rim for now. I said at the beginning of this post that it’s an involved process. So far we’ve covered the length of the hike, the recommended route, my recommended order for making reservations and how to get a backcountry permit.

What’s next in the series

  1. Training for a big hike
  2. Gearing up for Rim to Rim
  3. What do do right before you set out on your big adventure

More Posts Like Grand Canyon Rim to Rim Hike: Planning Stage

Income & Traffic Report – March 2019

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Text overlay March 2019 Income and Traffic Report and a bar graph

I’m hoping that by now you know what this post is about, but if not I’ll give ya the quick version. I’ve decided to spend this year consistently showing up. Part of that process includes me taking a little time each month to review how the previous one went. It’s not always a fun post for me to write, but it is a good way to keep track of my accomplishments, things I need to work on and remind me that showing up pays off. So without further ado, here’s how March went.

blog work this month

March Blog Posts

What I Worked On This Month

  • Figuring out how to get ahead on this whole one post per week thing. I’ve come up with a system to batch create posts in a way that works for me. Don’t worry I’ll share my system soon, but I still have to iron out the kinks. As you can see from the list above it’s already paying off. I managed to publish a lot of content in March and I’m hoping to keep this gravy train going in April.
  • I started incorporating one of my big scary goals into the content of this blog to keep me accountable. My secret dream is that one day a pattern I design will show up on your water bottle or your favorite piece of hiking gear.
  • I worked through another module of Irresistible Email and made some changes to my newsletter format.
  • I went back and did some SEO optimization on this post and this one too!

The Numbers

March 2019 Revenue Total: $1.38

  • Income Breakdown
    • Amazon Affiliate Income: $1.38
    • Awin Affiliate Income: $0.00

Monthly Blog Expenses Total: $57

**A note about the links below. Several of them are affiliate links. Which means I make a small commission if you make a purchase at no additional cost to you.

I you remember (and I hope you don’t), I lost $1.30 last month…so technically I’m up eight whole cents in March!

March Traffic Numbers

march traffic report google analytics graph

March seems to have been a good month for the blog. My pageviews went from 918 last month to 1313 in March. Not a huge jump, but I’ll take it! I had a pretty major spike on March 18th and I can’t quite figure it out. If anyone knows how to I’d appreciate the help.

Once again my best performing blog post was Perfect 7 Day Road Trip Itinerary: Grand Canyon Plus Zion National Park to Bryce Canyon . That’s three months in a row!

March on Social Media

Most Popular Instagram Post:

woman dancing in living room

The wheels really fell off on Instagram for me this month. I posted a mere 7 times in the feed…and way fewer Stories than usual. AND YET my engagement rate was higher this month than in the past….it’s perplexing.

My top performing post was this one where I danced like a fool out of sheer joy. Thank you to everyone who kindly double tapped or wrote a comment. Ya’ll are the best.

Conclusions and Going Forward

Well I didn’t quite meet all of my March goals, but I did work through several things on my list. I managed to hit publish many more times than last month, I SEO-ed two old posts and I worked my way through another module of Irresistible Email.

The place where I fell short was on the Instagram front. I posted more sporadically than usual and didn’t even manage to meet my 3 posts in the feed per week baseline. I could get really down on this, but quite frankly I’m not going to bother. This thing is always going to ebb and flow. Some months you win and some months you lose.

Goals for April:

  • Continue publishing 1 post per week.
  • Reach the point where I have one month’s worth of posts ready to publish.
  • Instagram was on the back burner in March, and it may well be the same in April. I’m trying to come up with a IG plan at the moment. BUT until that comes to fruition, I’m gonna just keep trying to do my best.
  • Participate in at least 1 collaborative post.
  • Go back and update SEO on 1 post.

9 Podcast Recommendations for Indoorsy & Outdoorsy Listeners

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You might have caught my post last month called 15 Outdoor Podcasts to Listen to Between Adventures. I love each and every one of those shows and listen to them as often as I can. BUT I also like to listen to other stuff…like some of the favorite feminist podcast recommendations, podcasts about design, podcasts food and body image and podcasts about other things I’m curious about. This is a list of those podcasts.

microphone with text overlay 9 podcast recommendations you don't wanna miss

Podcasts I’m Loving:

favorite feminist podcast recommendations

Favorite Feminist Podcast Recommendations

Unladylike

I warned you that I enjoy listening to several feminist podcasts. This one is probably my favorite…aside from The Waves. Cristen and Caroline are hilarious, fun, sensitive and amazing storytellers. They’ve opened my eyes to all kinds of things I had never thought about. If you love them like me you might also want to check out their book, Unladylike: A Field Guide to Smashing the Patriarchy and Claiming Your Space.

Hosts Cristen Conger and Caroline Ervin investigate how sisters are doin’ it for themselves in spite of all those unwritten but all-too-real bullsh*t expectations of how we should live our lives. Each episode starts with a question that C&C tackle through their trademark obsessive research, stories from rule-breakin’ ladies and a solid dose of delightful feminist rage. 

The Waves

I listen to these ladies weekly and am rarely disappointed. Each week they cover three topics about gender, politics, pop culture and tons of other topics where gender comes into play. You can also look forward to their recommendations which have brought me to all sorts of great things.

The Waves, formerly known as the Double X Gabfest, is a weekly conversation about news and culture examined through the lens of gender and feminism. Every Thursday, join the hosts—including Invisibilia co-host Hanna Rosin, New York magazine’s Noreen Malone, Slate Podcasts’ June Thomas, Slate staff writer Christina Cauterucci, Marcia Chatelain of Georgetown University, and Thirst Aid Kit’s Nichole Perkins—for frank discussions about the ways gender shapes everything. Our new name reflects generations of women from the various waves of feminism, the sound waves that carry us to your ears, and the waves we intend to make.

food, body image and bravery podcasts

Podcasts about Food, Body Image & Bravery

Love Food

If you struggle with food and body issues like so many of us I highly recommend this podcast. Julie Duffy Dillon approaches food and our complicated relationship with food, body image and trauma in a kind, thoughtful way. She offers great advice and brings on guests to cover hard topics in a way that is gentle and helpful.

What if you could write a letter to Food? Pen to paper, you hash out the love/hate relationship and Food’s undeserving power. Details go back years, to your first childhood diet trying to fit in. In this letter, you examine your dusty Food beliefs and wonder which go in the trash, are for others, and which remain in your heart. What if you wrote this all down and Food wrote you back? This is Love, Food. It’s a weekly podcast series for those with a complicated relationship with Food hoping to rewrite their fate.

Harder to Kill Radio with Steph Gaudreau

My sister recommended this one and over the last month it’s become one of my favorites. In particular I love this episode titled Dealing with Negative Body Image w/ Beauty Redefined – Harder to Kill Radio 183.

Steph Gaudreau from Stupid Easy Paleo interviews the best experts in fitness, nutrition, sleep, and mindset so you can apply their lessons to optimizing your own health and wellness. Discover how to improve your health using a multi-faceted, holistic approach so you can spend more time doing the things you enjoy in life instead of being a slave to diet and exercise. Steph weaves her science teaching experience with her holistic nutritionist training and years as a competitive athlete into a rich tapestry supplemented by the experiences of her expert guests to bring you a useful show. Topics range from paleo, primal, real food nutrition, weightlifting, CrossFit, mobility, interval training, fitness, personal development, mindset work, meditation, sleep, stress management and more to help you dial in your lifestyle.

Do it scared with Ruth Soukup

I’ve been trying to stay away from blogger/entreprenwur podcasts lately mostly because they were stressing me out. Ruth covers business, blogging, life struggles and all kinds of topics and situations where you can use your bravery to push you forward. Her book of the same name comes out in May.
Do It Scared: Finding the Courage to Face Your Fears, Overcome Adversity, and Create a Life You Love

Do It Scared™ with Ruth Soukup is the podcast created to help you face your fears, overcome adversity, and create a life you LOVE. Each week you’ll discover actionable strategies for greater productivity, motivation, entrepreneurship, creativity, fulfillment, success, and happiness, along with the motivation and encouragement to actually start making real changes that lead to big results. Each week we’ll address topics that delve into those things that we are so afraid of, and how it holds us back in our day to day lives—then focus on easy-to-implement advice for how we can face our fears and overcome adversity in order to create a life we truly love. The podcast will also feature bi-weekly interviews with authors, influencers, and other notable guests who have dared to do it scared in their own lives.

creative, mystical and curious podcast recommendations

Creative, Mystical and Curious Podcasts

99% Invisible

This is the podcast for people who are curious about the world around them. My current favorite episode is The Secret Lives of Color, but that will probably change next week.

99% Invisible is about all the thought that goes into the things we don’t think about — the unnoticed architecture and design that shape our world. With over 250 million downloads, 99% Invisible is one of the most popular podcasts on iTunes and is available on RadioPublic, via RSS and through other apps.

Tarot for the Wild Soul

If you follow me on Instagram or subscribe to my Schmoozletter you already know that I recently signed up for an eight week tarot course called Tarot for the Wild Soul. This podcast is by Lindsay Mack, the teacher of that course.

Hosted by Lindsay Mack, Tarot for the Wild Soul is a weekly podcast that looks at Tarot as medicine, exploring it from a soul centered lens.

It is a weaving of unique tarot lessons, Ask Lindsay episodes, intuitively channeled downloads for the month ahead, and medicine interviews with folx who embody the essence of certain Tarot cards, or live in alignment with the Tarot in their lives.

Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness

Have you been watching Queer Eye? If you haven’t you should leave this blog post immediately. Jonathan Van Ness hosts this eclectic podcast that answers questions about anything and everything.

A weekly exploration of all the things Jonathan Van Ness (Queer Eye, Gay of Thrones) is curious about. Come on a journey with Jonathan and experts in their respective fields as they get curious about anything and everything under the sun.

weekly must listen podcast political gabfest

Weekly Must Listen

Slate Political Gabfest

I have zero interest in making this blog political, but I had to include this podcast because some weeks it’s the only thing I listen to. Funny enough none of these amazing writers work for Slate anymore, but they still come together weekly to discuss the weeks news and events. It’s my must listen every week.

A favorite of Stephen Colbert, which should be a good enough endorsement for this podcast! Each week the Slate Gabfest Team of Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson and David Plotz focus their attention on the week’s high profile political developments with their trademark banter, incisive analysis of the important issues of the day, plus a nugget of fun water cooler conversation. Enjoy this entertaining and hugely informative podcast on demand.

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Life Experiment: Surface Pattern Design

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I live in a world filled with surface pattern design. Some people go for solid colors, muted colors, or subtle textures.

Not me.

I go for big bold graphic surface pattern designs. I’ve been this way since I can remember. Gravitating towards a Minnie Mouse red and white polka dot, picking up the striped t-shirt instead of the solid and drooling over Marimekko fabrics.

Pictures of sketches, sketchbooks and colored pencils with text overlay saying Life Experiment; Creating My First Surface Pattern Designs

You might not know this about me, but I work full time as a book conservator (a weird very niche career that I love). But before I went to grad school to study this tiny weird morsel of the world I worked as a graphic designer. I did this for what I now consider a blip of time. I worked for a special collections library (which is where I found out about book conservation) and I also worked for an online marketing company. Sadly, both of these jobs were very dissatisfying from a design point of view. I was very constricted in my work and spent a lot of time explaining why every design element didn’t need to be shiny and rounded.

Looking back now I realize that I didn’t like working as a graphic designer because I didn’t love what I was creating. I loved surface pattern design. I went through a period where I designed weird wrapping papers and shopping bags. I dreamed of somehow turning those designs into real rolls of gift wrap, but alas it was the early 2000’s and there was no Society6, Spoonflower or REDBUBBLE to upload my work to and share it with the world. So I went to graduate school and left that whole surface pattern design idea behind.

Until now that is.

I’ve been telling myself for years that I was going to get back to that eventually…I know we’ve all been there.

Well, this year I decided to bring that goal towards the front of the queue. I started doodling more, creative journaling, and listening to some pretty amazing ladies.

It was one of those ladies that led me to start a “life experiment”.

What the hell is a life experiment?

Well according to Sarajane Case it’s “30 days of small intentional action that builds or breaks a habit. I’ve decided to think of my life experiments as a way to slowly build the bridge to creating surface pattern designs. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to go from doing zero drawing to creating a surface pattern. For me that was way too big a jump. So I’ve been slowly working to build up the drawing habit to bring me closer to creating a pattern. Here’s a little glimpse on the experiments I’ve done so far this year.

Small sketchbook with drawing of arugula leaves surrounded by dots

February Life Experiment: Journaling & Doodling

So in February I started doing some creative journaling. I used journal prompts to get myself thinking about a topic or a feeling and once I was done writing I drew whatever came to mind. One day that was Ariel from The Little Mermaid, another it was arugula leaves and dots. To me it didn’t matter what I drew or wrote, so long as I kept doing it.

That concentrated week of journaling led me to start keeping a bullet journal. Now, don’t get me wrong. I don’t have one of those incredibly beautiful bullet journals filled with elaborate drawings and meticulously drawn out spreads. I have a bullet journal that meets my needs. Which for me means it’s simple, tracks what I want tracked, and gets me to sit down once a day and write a journal entry. I’ve been keeping this practice for several weeks now and have found that I really love it.

Sketchbook filled with small drawings of nature patterns in pen.

March Life Experiment: Draw in 5 Boxes

This month I decided my task would be to draw in five boxes three times a week. Sometimes an entire piece of paper can be really intimidating, so to get over that I break it up into smaller chunks. The five boxes can be any size or shape and I can fill them with whatever I want. Some days I take pictures of things I want to draw later. Other days I sit and draw while I wait for Catherine to get off work. If I’m being completely honest none of these little box drawings are all that impressive, many of them are super simple and uninteresting.

BUT what I love about filling the 5 boxes is there’s no pressure. I don’t feel pressure to create a composition or a polished finished product. All I’m trying to do is create a habit and get my pen or pencil moving on the page. I have one more week of this drawing in five boxes habit before I move on to my April experiment.

I’ll be super honest with you and say that I haven’t met my three a week quota every week, BUT I’ve come close. Quite frankly I don’t care that I didn’t hit the exact number of boxes I was supposed to. What matters to me is that I’ve drawn WAY more this month than I have in many other recent months. To me that’s progress and that’s all that matters.

A sheet of blank white paper surrounded by pens, pencils, markers and an apple pencil

April Life Experiment: Pen & Ink to Apple Pencil

In my research on how to become a surface pattern designer all arrows seem to point to a tablet and an Apple Pencil. Basically you need a way for your drawing to go from pen and paper to mouse and screen. The simplest way forward that I’ve found is an Apple Pencil. The old Kristi would have needed to buy a brand new top of the line tablet and the newest generation of Apple Pencil plus Apple Care before she could get started. Why bother otherwise?

Luckily the 2019 version of me knew that right now is not the time to throw down a bunch of money on a new supercharged tablet. Instead I opted to buy a 1st generation Apple Pencil to go with my perfectly adequate old tablet. So on Sunday I handed over just over $100 instead of giving away a month’s pay and I’m ready for my April life experiment.

In April I’m going to spend some time figuring out how to use Procreate (thank you Skillshare!) and take a few of my drawings and get them ready to turn into patterns.

My impulse is to jump ahead and say I’m going to create several patterns in April, but I know myself and sticking will these smaller goals will mean I get closer to achieving the ACTUAL big goal. So I stand by my statement. My plan for April is to continue drawing twice a week and spend some time learning Procreate. Drawings can be in my sketchbook or on the tablet, either way seems fun to me.

Summing Up

I realize this is a weird off topic post for this outdoorsy blog. Most people who come by my little corner of the internet are much more interested in my perfect road trip recommendations or what I thought about a campsite.

But I am called the indoorsy camper so you can also find out about books I love and why I think creativity should be part of your life. You can expect updates on this life experiment at the end of each month. It’s like my monthly income & traffic reports…but way more fun.

I also encourage you to start a life experiment of your own. In my humble opinion they’re way better than a New Year’s Resolution (which I’ve already established that I hate). If you do decide to start your own experiment let me know about it in the comments. Sometimes telling one person about your little adventure can make you feel more accountable, which is essentially why I’ve written this post. I’m happy to do the same for you.

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