The One Thing You Need Before Starting Any Adventure

Sponsored by Zappos

As you know, we LOVE being outside. We just returned home from a hiking trip to Colorado. We take a hiking trip each year and in between those trips we spend as much time as possible outside. Since we are in Georgia, we tend to avoid going outside much in the summer months since it’s extremely hot and humid but we hike and/or ski about nine months out of the year.

One of the most common questions we get is what do you wear while hiking, skiing, etc? It’s a complicated answer but rarely ever changes. That’s why we were both so excited when Zappos/Smartwool reached out to us regarding their #StepIntoComfort campaign.

The one thing you need before starting any adventure is the correct clothing. With the rise in the number of people who are interested in outdoor/adventure sports, we often see people on the trails who are not prepared at all for what is to come or what could come. There’s more than just seeing a picture online and driving to the trailhead. You must prepare for changing weather conditions (no, checking the weather app doesn’t count…mountains create their own weather!). Wearing the incorrect clothing can make what would have been an awesome adventure into a nightmare (believe me, we’ve been there!).

Simply put, we dress in layers or bring additional layers with us. Most of our base layer wardrobe is Smartwool. We have numerous socks, pants, tops, and gloves made by Smartwool. There’s nothing worse than being freezing while backpacking, especially when you are trying to fall asleep! For comfort and safety, layers are important. You want your clothing to be breathable, moisture wicking, odor resistant, quick drying, and non-itchy. Smartwool meets all of these requirements, plus more!

We were excited to both receive the Smartwool Mid 250 Zip Top in the mail. We didn’t have them on our trip to Colorado but once they arrived we put them to the test on one of our neighborhood trails. They are so soft and comfortable – and NOT itchy! The fit is fantastic and pretty true to size as well. These tops can be worn a single layer (like we are wearing in the pictures) in cool weather or as a base layer for cold weather (think layering for winter sports!). The Merino 250 is a 100% Merino wool base layer and Smartwool’s warmest weight fabric. One of my favorite features (besides the non-itchiness) is the flatlock seam that helps eliminate chafing.

To complete your base layer, pair either the 250 crew top or zip top with the 250 bottoms  and a pair of socks! Just find the right shoes and pack for you and you are all set (minus food and water but that’s a topic for another day!)!

While the clothing is amazing, you know we love companies who look beyond just creating a product and selling it. We were so happy to learn that they trace the wool to the farm and ensures that every farm takes care of its sheep, workers, and land!

Click here to check out the Smartwool Collection on Zappos!

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Life is Short Make it Count. #20

Climbing Mt LeConte in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Let's see, it's been more than a week since my last update. A few things have changed but most have remained the same. :) I start coaching (very part time) for an organization called Playball, which is a kids sports program. I'm LOVING it so far. I spend a few hours each week in daycares/pre-k teaching kids (2-8) movement and sports skills.

On the home front, we hired someone to come and "frame" our bathroom mirrors and extend our chair railing. I'm told it's pretty easy to frame mirrors yourself but we are not skilled in that area nor do we have any tools. We love the way it turned out. We are just waiting on painters to come out and paint the chair railing and our living room as an accent or we may end up doing it ourselves. Below is a picture of the guest bathroom. It's not a good picture because I just took it to send a friend but figured I would share it here also. We actually did make those shelves ourselves, I'll share that DIY tutorial soon!

We did do something that's a constant in our life though, we went hiking. Surprise! A few weekends ago (on August 5) we went back to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and hiked over 13 miles (again)! We just couldn't stay away with the amazing weather we've had. We wake up super early and drive over 2.5 hours each way in one day to hike. We climbed Mt LeConte which started out really foggy but made for some great pictures! The Mt LeConte hike is 11 miles and gaines over 2,700 ft in elevation! After lunch, we drove up to Clingmans Dome and did a few miles on the Appalachian Trail.

Climbing Mt LeConte in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Climbing Mt LeConte in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

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Workouts

I'm still going to boot camp with my neighbor and walking the hill in my neighborhood at least once a day. We've also started running more frequently, although it's so hard when it's hot and humid! My plan is to do boot camp until our hiking trip and then when we get back do the She Sweats 12- Week Run Builder program again.

Grocery Shopping/Food Prep

Visit this link for our shopping lists and this link for ways to save money grocery shopping.

I won't bore you with our food prep and grocery shopping because it's basically the same as it has been for the last six years. :) We did hit up Chipotle on Sunday (on our way to Costco, of course!). We haven't been there lately because we've been going to Moe's and trying to limit our dining out but we had a BOGO coupon so we used it! Some days we get a burrito and some days we get a burrito bowl. Sunday it was kind of a mix...did you know you can get tortilla(s) on the side? We do this and make our own sort of burrito or just put a lot of guacamole in it & eat it. ;-) Read our 5 Chipotle Hacks here.

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Until next week, have a good one! Let us know if you ever have any questions or comments! I've loved hearing from you about the updates! Click here to read all of our updates.

Life is Short Make it Count. #19

Hiking Andrews Bald in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Last Thursday I went tubing with Scott's sister, her daughter, and son. It was an inexpensive way to have a little fun before they went back to school! During the day Saturday, we took it easy so that I could get some work done and also finish up some things around the house. Saturday night we went to the pool to hang out with some of our neighbors. We had plans to go to bed early but ended up staying at our neighbors much later than expected. We almost didn't even get up to go hiking Sunday but I am so glad we did!

Sunday was a big day. We woke up around 6 AM and drove three hours to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The plan was to do Charlies Bunion and The Jumpoff. Then we were going to stop at Mellow Mushroom on the way home. The weather was so nice we decided to stay and hike more! We did Charlies Bunion and The Jumpoff, went to eat pizza (and a salad!) in Gatlinburg, and then wrapped up the day with Andrews Bald. It felt more like October than July and we definitely made the right decision to stay late! We ended up hiking over 12.5 miles with an elevation gain of over 3,000 feet.

Hiking Charlies Bunion in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

We always start off with a Greek salad (no olives!) at Mellow Mushroom. The dressing is amazing and we even dip our pizza in it!

On the way out of the park, after hiking Andrews Bald, we both ate our last piece of pizza, with a view! And, yes, the box does say something about "for your health's sake"... :-)

Be sure to follow us on the following social media accounts (and snapchat under hesheeatclean) and also sign up for our newsletter so you never miss anything!

Workouts:

Last week I continued with the She Sweats 12-Week Run Builder program. This week I actually joined a boot camp with one of my neighbors. They are having a six-week special which puts me right up until our trip so I figured I would give that a try! It's been good so far because we do things that I normally wouldn't do on my own. I don't think that this is something that I would do on a regular basis but it's good for a short period of time and will hopefully help with my speed and agility (for our hiking trip!). We are also walking/running the neighborhood almost every day. I'm trying to keep the same training schedule as the Run Builder but just substituting boot camp for some of the workouts.

Grocery Shopping/Food Prep

Visit this link for our shopping lists and this link for ways to save money grocery shopping.

Since we were at the park so late we didn't have time to prep much food but I did cook some bison meat and quinoa as soon as we got home Sunday night (around 9 PM). It took me about 10 minutes and at least gave us something for lunch on Monday! On Wednesday night Scott grilled some more food when he got home from work. We did the regular lean mean bison burgers and orange chicken.

Until next week, have a good one! Let us know if you ever have any questions or comments! I've loved hearing from you about the updates! Click here to read all of our updates.