Friendship Chronicle

Oi Vey! How did an entire week already go by?? It’s crazy! I feel like I just posted the backpacking tangent! And as I now wrack my brain for something to write about…is it bad that once again I turn to hiking? It is kind of consuming my thoughts right now as the weather improves and the days get longer, so yes this post will be hiking themed but I want to zero in on a specific part of what makes hiking a favorite pastime, and that is the two people I hike with the most (besides Daniel). You’ve all heard me mention Colin and Katie – Julianne even got to hike with us when she and Jackson visited in September. They are basically my second family out here – the people Dan and I spend weekends with, celebrate birthdays and holidays with, spend nights in playing Nintendo switch and drinking vino with, and of course exploring the great outdoors with. We really feel like a family because of all of this, and I know Colin and Katie would be there for me in any situation, offering me unconditional support. And just like a real family, we can get on each other’s nerves but I really love them and am so thankful we are able to have friends who I really care about when my entire family is across the country.

When they asked me to officiate - Harry's Ridge

So, how did this friendship begin? I met Colin at college during my Sophomore year. We were taking the same Animal Behavior class – and early on I kind of sensed he was weird in the way I was weird. Our first conversation involved talking about embalmed cats and those types of chats quickly progressed into really strange but hilarious talks that I can’t even manage to actually explain…we would just go off in texts making up stories about things. I think we were trying to one-up each other with how random and bizarre our minds could go? Maybe I can unearth some in the future going through my old phones. That would be interesting…

Backyard Chillin

But Colin and I were also very studious people – we would study together, we did a group project together about worms, and we had more classes intentionally together like Scientific Writing and a graduate Migratory Birds course. Looking back, we didn’t really cross over friend groups, he was a little bit more of a partier than me and was dedicated to his girlfriend at the time, but we would hang out periodically. Fast forward a yearish and he met Katie (his now fiancé) and we stayed friendly and celebrated some birthdays together. Then they moved to Seattle in 2014! It’s crazy how long they have been here!!

After they moved we kept in touch through video chats about twice a year. And although I knew he was living with Katie and I would give the occasional “Hello!” through the computer, I didn’t really know her as a person. Fast forward again! Now to August 2017, when Dan flies to Seattle for an interview. Dan and I were in our interesting “are we dating again??” phase after our breakup and I reached out to Colin – first, to update him on the status of my relationship and then to ask if he and Katie would be willing to host Dan for two nights. They immediately said yes, not even a hesitation! Lucky Dan then got to spend a really fun weekend with them while I was in RI. Obviously, Dan got that job, and I moved out with him in December 2017.

 

Now that I have chronicled my friendship with Colin and have not even mentioned hiking – let’s talk about hiking… but more importantly my friendship with Katie. I mentioned I didn’t really know Katie well until we moved out here. I had hung out with her, but her world seemed extremely different than mine. And besides Colin, we seemingly did not have many things in common. Looking back, I chalk that up to being young and our different backgrounds and now as adults, we have waaaaaay more commonalities. Through our backpacking trips we have bonded as a group, but I kind of feel like they have specifically connected Katie and me in a way we might not have been otherwise. Both being women on the trail, you deal with things that men just don’t have to and we have become closer from this. I think the other thing that has bonded Katie and me on the trail is when we started taking a series of shirtless peak pics at various summits. What do I mean by this? Glad you asked. Katie and I have taken about 5 or 6 shirtless pictures since last summer – don’t worry, our backs are to the camera. And these pictures are not only visually epic, but they are exhilarating to take and make us feel like real badasses.

Katie-Nicole Only Hike, Mailbox

I suppose this has been more of a friendship post than a hiking post, and I’m glad it turned out that way! I am also excited to expand my friend group in Seattle and have slowly but surely started hanging out with new friends, but it’s a slow process because I really only want to give time and energy into friendships that are genuine, meaningful, and natural. With family, that is such an easy thing to attain. Even though it can take work to mend and build relationships within a family, that unconditional love is steady and true. But over time and with the right people you can create a second little family – and I am very fortunate that Colin and Katie are in mine.

Hanford Reach

Love you all! Miss you dearly!