Columbia Mountain is evil.

Went on another hike yesterday. That made a total of 42 miles in one week for me. Whew! No wonder my legs feel like rubber today...

Kyle and I attempted to get to the top of Columbia Mountain, which is just outside Columbia Falls, which is the next town over. It sits between the town and Hungry Horse Reservoir, and is apparently one of the most strenuous day hikes around. Of course, we didn't find that out until after we suffered through it.

The trail is made up almost entirely of switchbacks. If I never encounter another switchback it will be too soon. (Okay, not really, but holy uphill there were a ton!) We trudged on for 3 hours going straight up, until our legs finally just gave up on us. That's like being on the stairmaster for 3 hours -- it sucked. We didn't quite make it to the top, but both of us were weighing the end and it just didn't seem to make up for the means, so we stopped and turned around. It was frustrating enough to keep seeing the ridge at the top but not feeling like you were getting any closer to it.

So what comes up must come down, and we certainly did. It only took us about 2 hours to get down but it felt like an eternity because our legs were already tired. We jogged quite a bit because it was easier than trying to slow ourselves down but the rock underfoot was loose so we slid several times. I was never happier to see my car at the end than at the bottom of the trail.

Check out the rest of the pictures here.

So how did we recover? With a fabulous meal on the patio at the Lodge, watching the sun set behind the lake, listening to some live music. Perfect way to end the day, even if we did just fall asleep as soon as we got home!

Today, we continued the recovery process by taking a dip in Murray Lake, just a few miles outside of town. What a gem of a spot! The water was deep and bright blue, pretty darn clear, and not nearly as cold as Whitefish Lake. Not to mention there were only a handful of people on the entire lake so it felt nice and secluded. Definitely going back on hot days to cool off and catch some sun.

Bakin' and bikin'

I'm spoiled.

I have a live-in chef. His name is Kyle. He makes pretty much all meals but breakfast and dessert (yes, dessert is considered a meal in this house; and both of those are my specialty).

And I love it.

But when I get a chance to shine I take full advantage.

The ever-popular berry tart, my new summer fave.

Lately I've gotten the baking bug. Luckily it has been unseasonably cool the past week or so, and so the oven has been runnin' full steam on my days off.

See, I have this list written down of things I want to do this year, and it's a reference for me when I'm sitting around saying "I'm bored" (I know, hard to believe that happens here where there are so many things to do, but sometimes I need a little reminder to get me off the couch...). On this list are a few foods that I wanted to hand-make instead of buy, like bread and jam. I made jam before and it was actually really fun and satisfying, AND I haven't had to buy the expensive all-natural, organic jam like I used to at the store since last fall -- even better!

So this week I decided to tackle high-altitude bread baking. Whitefish is at about 3,000 feet which is just at the cut-off for needing to adjust for altitude. So I found some recipes online and gave it a shot.

First attempt - ehh not entirely stoked at the final product. Especially since the loaf rolled off the counter onto the floor and just about busted into pieces (by some miracle it stayed together...) when I was dumping it out of the pan. The flavor was nice and nutty (100% whole wheat) but it didn't rise much so was really dense and short.

Second attempt - voila! More yeast and kneading and the thing rose to the heavens! AND the second recipe didn't have any oil so FAT FREE (though more honey next time, definitely more honey).

So of course I HAD to make some blackberry jam to go with this delicious bread. I found a recipe (by the way, the bread and jam came from http://highaltitudecooking.blogspot.com) that didn't require ANY sugar, just honey, berries and citrus, and used gelatin instead of pectin. Good and good for ya, even better!

AND to top it all off I made a zucchini and yellow squash quiche. My very first pie crust and very first quiche. Not too shabby, and quite tasty!

I don't know how long this kick will last, but both Kyle and I are enjoying it while it does, that's for sure.

And oh yes, I had a nice trail ride the other night and just wanted to share, once again, why I love Montana. (Though I could have done without the black and blue leg from tumbling end over end down the singletrack after attempting to go over a huge log...but that just comes with the territory and my penchant for hurting myself).

Okay, okay, I'll update, sheesh.

Since the (nearly) entire family from California (mom's side) just finished their visit to Whitefish and I've had a chance to catch up on some sleep, I suppose it's about time to update this blog. Their visit, by the way, was absolutely fabulous and so much fun. I couldn't have asked for a better week. Okay, maybe not having to work all week would have been kinda nice... but it was still a blast.

Summer is in full blast. 90 degrees and not a cloud in the sky today. I had intended on spending a lot of time in the park this summer, but so far I've only been one time other than the 2 hikes I did with the family this week. Kinda pathetic. But I've been keeping myself pretty busy with all the other stuff I've been learning, not to mention the stuff I already do like bike and hike and kayak. I tried my hand at wakeboarding a couple weekends ago, and even learned to man the oars of a raft down rapids. Not gonna lie, I'm pretty good at it! I might have missed my calling as a river guide.

Kyle has been booking some music shows lately and I'm enjoying being his biggest fan/groupie/road crew. Might even do a duet with him one of these times, you never know!

I kind of don't think I'll ever run out of new things to do or try here. Just when I think I'm getting bored, something pops up and renews my energy. I just love it!

Photos from Ninko Cabin - finally!

My friend Sarah put some photos of our trip to Ninko Cabin earlier this year up so I snagged a bunch of shots. I didn't take my camera so I didn't get any pictures but she managed to snap several so I'm going to share with you. Enjoy!

Dear Bikes,

I've missed you two.

Took my bikes out for the first time this week after having them tuned up at the shop. I gave in this year and got them professionally looked at since I've been doing my own repairs/tunes for the last 3 years. I figured it was about time; I don't need my bike falling apart on me in the middle of a ride. I do enough damage to myself as it is...I don't need the added risk.

It felt SO good to be riding again! The stationary bike just doesn't cut it. The cool thing is that I went on one of the uphill rides I did last summer and felt 10 times better doing it this time than when I did it last year, so that's promising. Mountain bike race league starts up in July and I want to race in the sport class this time, not beginner. Gotta get those legs and lungs ready for it. The nice thing is that I've been living at this elevation (about 3,000') for a year now so I'm finally acclimated enough that it doesn't burn when I do things anymore. This should be a good summer!

Smells like summer.

This week has been amazing. Sunny, warm, and beautiful. I haven't felt this good in weeks! There's just something about the smell of warm grass and bark that gives me such a good energy...I just can't explain it.

Kyle came over after work last night, and after barraging him with all sorts of thoughts going through my head, he finally said, "Is this how it's going to be all summer?"

Me: "What do you mean?"

K: "I mean you, being all giddy."

I guess I get a little excited about being outside on gorgeous days like yesterday and today...

I took the kayaks out for the first time yesterday. Ben and I wheeled them down to the beach, hopped in and paddled down the river to the park down town and then back. I wasn't expecting the water to be as not-frigid as it was, though I certainly didn't test it by getting in... It's pretty low though, so unless we get some good precipitation between now and July it won't take long until it's swim-able. Oh man, I can't wait.

Oh, and I took the road bike out for it's first ride of the season. Already averaging 15-16 mph, which is significantly faster than last year at this time. Triathlon, here I come!

Oh the weather outside is... confusing??

Welcome to Montana, where if you don't like the weather, stick around for 5 minutes. No, literally, that's how quick things change around here.

It's spring, which apparently means sunshine and blue skies one minute, clouds and bean-sized hail the next. Take this afternoon, for instance. Here's what it looked like about 20 minutes ago:

And here's what it looked like about 10 minutes ago:

This will go on all day, too. I just can't keep up! Puts a damper on my outdoor exercise plans. Just when you get think you can get ready to go out and take a run, it clouds up and you're stuck inside. Such is life, though. The good news is that summer completely makes up for it -- weeks of sunshine at a time, I can't wait!