Jessica Aryn Berghoff - Salt Lake City, UT
Shortly after the last blog I posted, I went on a snowshoeing day trip, to return to the trailhead parking lot and find our car had been broken into, my purse and wallet stolen. This was all just days before I left for two weeks of training with the Utah Conservation Corps. It is because of my experiences with UCC that I have come to a place where I can talk about this experience in a less emotional way.
Last weekend while hiking up my first mountain I was forced to reassess my goals, establish new realities, and ....my confidence? clumsiness? ego? Well all of the above were pretty crushed. I appreciate my body and everything it can do. It’s not perfect, but it has been a long time since I have thought of it as weak.
The other day we needed to get out of the house - so I grabbed the camera, we laced up our hiking boots, and headed up the trail to Grandeur Peak. We only made it about halfway and stopped to watch the sunset.
Two weeks ago we left MPLS on a Tuesday morning to drive to SLC over two days - Daniel's little car towing a small hand built trailer that kept us checking the mirrors the entire drive. Two bikes on the rack on back of the trailer, two bikes on the top, stuffed trailer, stuffed car.
A couple days off and some last minute planning led me to Voyageurs National Park.
I am aiming for consistency. Planning out a schedule of exactly when//how often I will post a blog and actually remember to tell people about new work I am creating and what my life has become. I am also aiming for consistency in my everyday life tasks. Waking up consistently at 5am during the week, having a regular running schedule, having meals planned out, doing a 90 day sober challenge....all that crazy stuff.
I am on my summer vacation right now. I took a week off work and am temporarily residing in Tempe, AZ with my younger cousin who goes to school here at ASU. She is also a super strong and rad crossfit coach here! So I had to ask her to do a photoshoot and mini interview.
Brief summary - I worked a long night at my part time job then biked down to the river bottoms in the dark and put up a hammock amongst new friends! Here's some photographic evidence.
Promptly the day after my portfolio show I left with a small group of friends to go camping on the Wisconsin side of Interstate Park. I turned our trip into a photo adventure, bringing along my Polaroid camera and last two packs of film I had at the time.
Rolling through the desert with Johnny Cash in my head and a camera in my hand. I finally got to visit Southern Utah with my crew. Scroll through the photos here.