Adventure of a Lifetime ✔️

Hi everyone,

In the words of Samwise: Well, I’m back (from America). And obviously just over a month away is faaaar too long to condense into an email. I barely know where to start. But here’s my best shot.

Quick Stats for the John Muir Trail:

• How far did you walk? ~250 miles total

• How many passes? 6 or 7 I think

• Whitney? Hell yes (just)

• Sketchy river crossings? A bajillion

• Wild fires: 2

• Resupply stops: 3

• Snow-free days: 0

• I took the Piute Pass detour for the broken bridge

• Days getting into camp with dry feet: 1

• Days of rain: 0

Highlights:

• Crossing the “impossible” Forrester Pass

• Trail magic and campfire below Kersage Pass

• Every person I met on trail :)

• Every person I didn’t meet, whose footsteps made the snow easier

Lowlights:

• Waist deep suncups

• Endless steep slushy snow, from 11am onwards

• Any river crossing that involved wading

After the JMT:

• Yosemite was amazing, I could live there

• It was so much fun recreating photos taken 30 years ago. Especially seeing what was behind the original photo.

• I’m so glad I did this trip now, not wait until later

Basically, there is a lot to say and I’m already working on a set of blog posts to tell the story of this trip. It was not really what I’d expected or wanted (I spent a lot of time alone on the JMT, though not all) but it did answer some questions and I’m so glad I did it.

Writing

A quick note for clients - I know some of you are on here. As I’m sure you can imagine I have literally a thousand emails to sieve through from while I was away. I will get back to you, but please bear with me! There is a lot of noise to get through.

For any readers interested in the art of writing… I’ve decided I’d like to occasionally go off on one about the writing process, story structure, plot construction etc etc. A lot of this is too far into the weeds for my blog and links more to my fiction writing than adventure. So if you’re interested in that sort of thing - whether you’re writing fiction, non-fiction narratives or just curious - you are welcome to sign up at epwoodhouse.substack.com It’s barely created and I’ve got no idea how often I’ll post. But if and when I have something to say, I shall say it! All updates about my writing projects will stay on this newsletter.

A Quote for the Month

“Happiness is like a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.”

Speak soon,

Emily