It is July and I am at the beginning of three whole months off!! My employer very generously offers a (mostly) paid sabbatical after you’ve worked there for seven years — so here I am at 8 years, actually, getting three months off. I’m not sad about having waited till 8 years, since I did take an informal and unpaid 3-month leave a few years ago while James and I biked across the country. So six months off plus all my generous vacation time in 8 years is pretty damn good. By American standards, anyway.
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(Fontanillis Lake in Desolation Wilderness, from an amazing 15ish mile trail run near Lake Tahoe:)
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I just got back to Portland after what I’ve been thinking of as “Phase 1” of sabbatical. This phase was a 9-day trip down to South Lake Tahoe — and, it turned out, a bonus long weekend in Yosemite National Park — to see my family and play in the place where I spent basically every single summer as a kiddo.
It was so good. There was so much good family time, cute niece time, chill time, swimming and paddleboarding time, just so, so much good adventure. Here is a sampling of the adventure in pictoral form:)
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(from a “slow slog up the mountains” with my brother — which was actually a hike + trail run too although I was a bit tired after my long and very hilly Desolation run:) This is coming down Freel Peak, on the way to Job’s Sister and Job. Like the plant nerd I am, I frequently pulled up short for flowers, much to my brother’s annoyance although I like to think it enriches both of our experiences;)
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(speaking of flowers:)
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(and more flowers:) I was glad not to have fully missed wildflower season)
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(James and I took a side jaunt to Mono Lake on our way from Tahoe to Yosemite. It was super cool! I remember having been here as a kid, but the brine shrimp is basically all I remembered:) South Tufa was definitely the coolest place)
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(I consider it a triumph that I swam every day, in many alpine lakes:) Aside from Lake Tahoe, which I jumped in every day we were there, I also jumped into Middle Velma Lake in Desolation Wilderness, and Elizabeth, Cascade, and Tenaya Lakes in Yosemite. This is Cascade Lake:)
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(Unfettered joy of a two-year-old jumping repeatedly into the Tuolumne River — picture by James:)
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(This one was THE BEST. I dropped my brother of for an adventure very early in the morning and then figured I’d do my own run before I wanted to be back at our campsite to help pack up and play with the nieces. It turned out the trail I chose was about 4 miles longer than I was expecting — 15 rather than 11ish miles — but I still managed to make it all the way up Cloud’s Rest and home by just a bit after 9am:) This was a totally epic 360-degree view of all of Yosemite)
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So, it’s been an awesome nine days. And that’s only Phase 1 of sabbatical! Phase 2, starting Wednesday, is a long bike ride/potential for backpacking/very unplanned solo bike adventure in the Canadian Rockies, with James coming to join me at the tail end for a week of joint play. And Phase 3 is a month of living and trail running in the French Alps, again with James joining me at the end. I am very excited for both of these:) (Oh, and there’s a bonus Phase 4, my good friend’s wedding, a sweet way to end sabbatical.)
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(Emerald Bay and Lake Tahoe from Maggie’s Peak)
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I feel like I should mention that I think everyone should get a sabbatical. This is such a good way to recharge and fill my soul and just generally step out of normal life for a sec without having to quit everything and start over afterward. I’m grateful to my colleagues who are holding down the fort for me while I’m gone, and I’m grateful to my employer for making it a priority to offer this recharge time.
I don’t imagine I will blog much from Canada, but think me happy thoughts!