I played hooky from writing for a couple of days to head into the backcountry with my trail crew girl – and what a blast!

Too much fun! (Photo: M.Kopp)

We hiked and talked and climbed and talked and worked (okay… all I had to do was belay her while she cleaned the backcountry cabin chimney, but I did carry the rope, harness, caribiners and climbing shoes!).

After the chimney we strolled up to the camping area, I watched as she cleaned the outhouse, checked the bear bins for stashes of garbage left by lazy hikers, and removed a couple of random firepits. She wouldn’t let me lift a finger.

We sat up at the lake and enjoyed the glow of evening light before heading back to the cabin, where she filled out the cabin log and I started jotting down a few blog/article ideas. Two pages later, I was done.

Playing hooky is positively inspiring!