Lake City Winter
In fall I was contemplating a few winter options:
Do I hike the Arizona Trail SoBo? Because I would need to hike the Grand Canyon portion before the north rim becomes too snowy.
Do I drive south to the Baja peninsula and explore that area with my puppies? Mmm…exploring places via car is just not the same as bike or foot.
Do I packraft the Rio Grande to Texas, paddling 20 miles per day into warmer weather? Yikes, the Taos section is class IV and what if the puppies fall out, will they become hypothermic? I don’t want to skip a section.
Do I experience my first Lake City winter? The locals say it’s their favorite. Will I become depressed being stuck indoors? That is quite likely. Perhaps I’ll take up ice climbing. I do love endless amounts of contemplation time. Does this go against my nomadic/expeditionary identity? Am I becoming soft? I CANNOT become a comfort creature.
My first time experiencing the Lake City ice wall!
Well, it’s February, I leave for Australia in March, and I’m nearing the end of my first Lake City winter. For the record, I did try ice climbing. I did love my endless amounts of contemplation time. I did NOT become depressed. Lake City was not too cold, nor too snowy. And…the verdict is still out on my identity.
Actually, what came of my quiet, contemplative, and reflective Lake City winter was a plethora of solo holidays, deepening relationships with friends, a new BE shop, and 41 New Year Resolutions dominated by The Great Outdoors.
My cozy, wintery space.
All holidays this winter - Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas, my 41st birthday, New Years Eve, and New Years Day - were spent with me, myself, and the puppies. And though many could question whether or not that “aloneness” would make me sad (understandably so), I assure you that my recluse/hermit/introverted/semi-anti-social side carried me through victoriously! The 2025 holiday season was quite possibly the most relaxing holiday season I’ve ever had.
In addition to waking up at 4:00am each morning to read and attempting to weave running into my afternoon routine, I also made time for one solid, lengthy, meaningful FaceTime per day. So bedding down this Lake City winter allowed three specific long-distance friendships to deepen which I’ve found to be a beautiful outcome.
Angela & JoJo on the Gunnison River. Jo loves packrafting; Nells not so much.
My friendship with Angela from Minnesota State University has always been strong as we worked together at MNSU, biked the Natchez Trace, hiked the Ouachita Trail, and played in the Utah canyons. But in addition to our weekly FaceTime calls this Lake City winter, we packrafted a section of the Gunnison River! We walked the last mile due to a gnarly wind advisory that made paddling impossible, but none-the-less, we got on the river and that is a win!
Sonia on the Bali bus valuing sleep like me.
Sonia from San Antonio who I met all those years ago via IG, received weekly FaceTimes this Lake City winter about money, men, book clubs, work/life boundaries, and toxic friendships. Oh…and sleep. The other evening, I FaceTimed Sonia and she answered the phone with “Megan, are you okay?”
It was 7:27pm MST.
This is why she’s my sister from another mister. My Sonia was already tucked in bed.
And, there are only a few people in the entire world that I would run 30 miles for and this Lake City winter, Sonia and I - while struggling to find the motivation to run just one mile -signed up for a 50k in June at Bears Ears National Monument.
Doran and I leaving our backcountry yurt in Lake City.
Lastly…this guy. My Lake City winter provided alllllllllllllll the time in the world to get to know Doran, who is quite literally a godsend of a human being. And I don’t think I’ve ever used that word before. If you follow my socials, you probably saw Doran high up on the LC ice wall, bundled up ice fishing, or stoking the fire in our backcountry yurt. In a couple weeks, we’re taking total advantage of ColoRADo’s abnormally warm and dry winter to go mountain biking during the day and hot springing at night. But outdoor adventures aside, I’m simply grateful this current life chapter offers me long, leisure winters to spend with my favorite people. Even if from a distance.
“Distance doesn’t ruin a relationship - silence does.”
F. Ibrahim
The new BE shop!
December brought me a new BE shop, which was totally unexpected, and I’m super stoked! I was just chillin’ in my office one Lake City winter night watching my 100th Daniel Day-Lewis movie when a knock at my door presented the opportunity to rent a storefront on our main drag - Gunnison Ave - which I took. I’m not super pro paying rent because I’d rather pay into land, but I believe this strategic move will teach me whether or not I want to own property in Lake City. The rad chance at the new BE shop reminds me of a quote that reads:
“If you’re looking for a certain opportunity, you must place yourself in that environment.”
When I guided in Torrey, Utah this past year, I learned of a yurt for rent from a flyer posted at the animal shelter. When I lived in Salida, I learned of land for sale by seller only every Thursday night as a bunch of locals and I packed food bags for our local communities. Now that I live in Lake City, I only learn about property for sale here. The point being, the new BE shop presented itself because I was here and nowhere else. Have goals this year? I recommend placing yourself in that environment.
The Great Outdoors for the overwhelming win this year!
My 2026 New Year’s Resolutions.
Speaking of goals, the entire point of this blog was to share my resolutions per usual. My contemplative Lake City winter fostered 41 New Year’s Resolutions quite easily! And as always I invite you to steal them, modify them, or simply hold me accountable for them.
I’ve mentioned before how much I loved my 2018 winter spent in a wood-stove-heated cabin in northern Maine just reading and contemplating life as it pertained to my PhD, and I must say that my Lake City winter might top it.
The quietude, location isolation, contemplation or pursuit of betterment in a small, simple space, and the meaningful conversations with very few people… I mean, I really do think I could have been a monk as long as I was monk boss.
BE Outside, BE Simple, BE In Pursuit.
BE You, Better.
Cheers from my cont. Lake City Winter,
~ Belay
