Falling in love with winter hiking

Also: my upcoming Iceland trip, favorite hiking snacks, a reading update and more

🌋 An ancient collapsed volcano in New Hampshire

A couple of weeks ago, I visited my friend who lives in New Hampshire and we went on a beautiful winter hike. We climbed Mount Major, which overlooks Lake Winnipesaukee, and pretty much the entire trail was a thick sheet of ice. I’m so glad we all had micro spikes with us, although mine were not the best quality and kept falling off my feet… I immediately ordered better ones when I got home. The weather was chilly but we had blue skies and it was gorgeous every step of the way! I also freaked out a few times at cool rocks (of course), like this igneous dike we saw at the summit:

I also was super excited because at the summit the view not only overlooks Lake Winnipesaukee, but you can see one of the planet’s largest calderas at almost 10 miles wide. The Ossipee Caldera formed when a (potentially ~10,0000 foot tall) volcano collapsed in on itself roughly 122 million years ago. Today you can’t really tell it’s a huge crater because, over millions of years, much of it has been eroded away. Also, younger rocks have begun to fill it in and there have been tectonic events that altered the shape of the caldera (it looks kinda wrinkly now). ⁠

But if you look at the mountain range on topographic map, you can see that it makes an almost perfect circle, with a mostly flat area near the middle. The caldera has been preserved enough that we can still (sort of) see where the volcano once stood! Since so much has been eroded in the last 122 million years, the flat-ish area in the middle is believed to have been the bottom of the magma chamber that fed this volcano. 😱⁠

Topographic map of the Ossipee Mountains today in New Hampshire. You can see the almost perfect circular shape of the ancient caldera.

🏔️ Winter Weekend in the Mountains

Early last month I took a trip to the southern Adirondacks with my boyfriend. We stayed at this beautiful cabin at Camp Hudson Pines, located right on the shore of the upper Hudson River. The owners graciously hosted us for the weekend and we loved staying there! If you’re planning on being in the area soon, you can use my code GEOBECK15 to get 15% off any stay, valid until the end of June.

We went on a hike at a nearby state park, and it was that one weirdly warm day in early February. We got to the top and enjoyed our snacks while soaking in the warm sun on our faces, until we started hearing THUNDER (?!) and essentially jogged down back to the car so we didn’t get as wet when it inevitably started raining 5 minutes before we got to the car. On this hike, I got to see my favorite kind of rock that also happens to kind of look like a tree limb. Check out this video to find out why I was so excited to see it!

This was the first time wearing my Alder Apparel overalls while hiking, and I was super cozy and comfortable the whole time :) (Discount code below)

🍊Hiking snacks

I’ve really been loving my hiking snack choices lately. I feel like this winter has been a very successful hiking snack season. Here are my favorites:

• Sumo Citrus mandarins: I just tried Sumo Citrus for the first time this winter and they are so good, even better on a hike (as long as it’s not freezing and windy)

• Chomps jerkey sticks: I physically feel my body come back to life after I have some protein on a hike, and I really like the taste of these

• Macro Bars: I love the peanut butter chocolate flavor, I just don’t recommend bringing this on a super cold hike because it will be like biting into a brick (speaking from experience)

• PB and J: I don’t even eat PB&J in my everyday life at home, but for some reason whenever I eat one on a hike it becomes the most delicious gourmet meal. I like it on sourdough bread, and sometimes I add some extra chopped peanuts. 😋

• Hot chocolate in a Hydroflask: having something warm to drink on a winter hike is the best feeling ever

• Liquid IV: Helps with hydration and I also just love their flavors (Guava, Passionfruit, and their new Pear flavor are my faves) Use code geobeckly for 20% off (affiliate link)

• Dried mango: the one from Trader Joe’s is my favorite

• Brought an apple cider muffin on a hike with my friend to celebrate her birthday (I also tried to light a candle but the lighter was not happy in the wind and cold so we pretended). We split it and it was so delicious 🍎

Don’t forget to follow Leave No Trace principles and take all your trash (including fruit peels) with you when you leave!

✈️ My Iceland Trip

I’m going on my very first trip to Iceland at the end of this month and words cannot even express how excited I am! When I was younger, my dad and stepmom adopted an Icelandic horse, and I remember us all watching a video about Iceland’s history and natural beauty so that we could learn more about where he came from. Ever since then, I’ve been enamored with the idea of visiting this magical place. You can imagine that this only became stronger once I started studying geology and realized just how magical it would be to visit and learn all about the incredible geologic forces that made (and continue to make) its otherworldly landscapes and rocky features. Here are a few places I’m planning to visit and hopefully make some fun content about:

• Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach

• Gullfoss Falls

• Jökulsárlón (Glacier Lagoon) - We’re taking an ice cave tour and glacier hike here!

• Skógafoss

• Seljalandsfoss

• Hiking to the March 2021 eruption site

Stay tuned for an update on how my trip went, and of course lots of fun content on social media! Also, I just found out that the music video for Holocene by Bon Iver was filmed in Iceland and I love it so much 🥹

🌸New Alder Apparel Launch

One of my favorite outdoor apparel brands, Alder Apparel, just launched their new collection today in collaboration with Chaco! They were kind enough to send me a set and I already know I’m going to be wearing this outfit all summer long. 🌞 I’m also excited to mix and match everything to make a bunch of different warm weather outfits! This is also my first pair of Chacos and I’m excited to have hiking sandals with nice arch support. 🥾

I got everything in the 'orchid' color but there are 2 more really lovely color options as well

I’m an ambassador for Alder Apparel and I own several of their pieces, and genuinely love each of them (right now my favorite is the take a hike cargo pants). I love that Alder is a size inclusive brand (sizes XS to 6XL) and how committed they are to producing ethically and sustainably made apparel. It doesn’t hurt that I also feel more confident whenever I wear something of theirs. 🥰 Use my code BECKYN15 to get 15% off your order! (affiliate link)

What I’ve been reading

Since the year began, I’ve been reading quite a bit - a good chunk of that being audio books. (Yes audio books count as reading and I will die on that hill) Here’s what I’ve read since the New Year and what I rated each one:

• The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller ⭐⭐⭐

• Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead by Emily R. Austin ⭐⭐⭐

• The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston ⭐⭐⭐

• A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas ⭐⭐⭐

• The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cizin ⭐⭐⭐⭐

• Down the Drain by Julia Fox ⭐⭐⭐⭐

• Recursion by Blake Crouch ⭐⭐⭐⭐

• My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell ⭐⭐⭐⭐

• Burial Rites by Hannah Kent ⭐⭐⭐⭐

• Currently Reading:

  • The Maidens by Alex Michaelides (physical book)

  • People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry (audio book)

✏️ Join me in the comments!

Please answer any/all questions in the comments, or just add your own thoughts.

1. Have you been to Iceland before? If so, what was your favorite part?

2. Do you prefer audio books or physical books and why?

3. Have you read any books on the list above, or are any of them on your TBR? 👀

4. Please share any recipes or ideas for hiking snacks you may have, I’m always looking for new ideas! On a recent hike I saw someone who made a cup of ramen using hot water they brought in a thermos - genius. 🤯

5. Chacos or Tevas? 🤔