Melissa, Oh!

Category: Assorted

  • On training bras and doing whatever your friends tell you to do

    It’s 1980-something and I’m in the back of mom’s station wagon, sitting on blue vinyl with my neighbor Lauren sitting across from me, and we’re on the way to school. Jenny and Kevin are in the car as well. Lauren says to me, “Why don’t you ask your mom if the tooth fairy is real?” It’s…

  • You are what you carry in your pack

    Chris B. asked me last week to write a gear list regarding what I took, should have taken, and shouldn’t have taken on my recent trip to Mount Mitchell for winter camping. So, without further adieu, here it is: Head to toe Here’s what I wore on my trip: Balaclava – I fought against one…

  • An exboyfriend, some fake boobs and a stalker

    There was something about Jason* that caught my eye the moment I saw him. I was working as the receptionist at the Jeep dealership, and he was a Jeep owner. And when Jason’s ice-blue eyes looked into mine and he told me he was bartending at a restaurant in Fort Mill and that I should come…

  • (Mountain) lions and clowns and bears, oh my!

    Things I learned on this camping trip: – I burned more calories backpacking last weekend than I did running the marathon last month. – Chris is terrified of clowns. – Bears do come out in the winter, and when there is snow on the ground they leave the tracks to prove it. – The guys all knew…

  • I’m so hydrated you can’t even see my pee

    Gear I would not do this trip again without: In addition to the usual stuff, of course … – Yaktrax – attaches to your hiking boots to make them easy to walk in snow/ice – Toe Warmers – I used to think they were a luxury. In this weather, they were a necessity. Next time, I will…

  • calorie burn challenge week 6

    So I thought I’d log my weekly calories during the 6-week calorie burn challenge TrySports is hosting, that I first mentioned here. Week 1 results are here, Week 2 is here, Week 3 here, Week 4 here, and Week 5 here. If you haven’t already, come out and do the challenge with us – all you need…

  • Cold feet. 30 extra pounds. Questions of survival.

    Quotes from the trip: Me: We saw some tracks that looked like a cat. Would that be a bear? A mountain lion? Andrew: No, that’d be a cat. Chris: I’m gonna get one of those at some point (spoken every time someone showed him a piece of gear. Any gear.) Chadd: I hate rabbits (spoken every time…

  • 9 people. 4 degrees. 3 nights in the snow.

    Destination: Mount Mitchell Elevation: 6,684 feet to summit Total miles I hiked: 10.5 Number of hikers in our group: 8 9 (apparently I can’t count) Number of female hikers in our group: 1 Degrees (low) that we saw on our thermometer: 4 Feet of snow on the ground: About 2 Number of animals seen: 2…

  • So, I had this whole post in mind …

    … about my hiking trip this weekend. I was going to photograph all my new gear and tell you all about it. However, I packed my gear in my pack last night and hell if I’m going to pull it back out now! So, I’ll show it to you when I get back. It’s time…