wildfire — Hannah Elise Schultz

Adventures in
Serendipity

— Hannah Schultz (biographical name): a Kentuckian, traveler, PhD student, hiker, environmentalist, and Great Pyrenees enthusiast

When despair grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting for their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

— Wendell Berry, The Peace of Wild Things

Lakes, Lakes, & More Lakes: Lofty Lake Loop (Kamas, UT)

During my trip out to Colorado last August, we decided to take a roadtrip to Salt Lake City, UT, for a couple days. I’d never been to Salt Lake before, and I was really excited to check out the city and get some cool hiking in. Enter: crazy wildfire season. Enter: pressure system over SLC. Literally the weekend we went to SLC, smoke from the California wildfires moved into the city due to high winds and something about the weather system that was in the area trapped the smoke in the city. In the city, you weren’t supposed to be outside for long periods, and the day we drove in, everything was coated in a orange haze, like some kind of Mad Max apocalyptic color-grading.

Hiking, TravelHannah SchultzAugust 13, 2022lofty lake loop, trail, hike, hiking, kamas, utah, salt lake city, lofty lake, alpine lake, wildfire, pass lake, kamas lake, scout lakeComment

Surrounded by Ancient Giants in Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park (Santa Cruz, CA)

When California was still part of Mexico, ranchos, or large land grants, were created. The park’s lands were purchased by industrialist Henry Cowell from the Rancho Cañada del Rincon en el Rio San Lorenzo in 1865. In the 1930, California’s Lieutenant Governor William Jeter approved efforts for the County of Santa Cruz to purchase and preserve the Redwood lands adjacent to Cowell’s. Finally, in 1954, Samuel Cowell (the last of the Cowell line) donated the rest of the park to the state under the condition that the county relinquish their land to the state as well, and Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park was born.

Dec 31, 2023

Photography and Video, Life

A Year in Pictures: 2023

It was a year of travel to new and old places, the year I started my dissertation, the year I hiked eight miles and up volcanic sands while pregnant, the year we bought a wagon to take Argos on adventures again, and most importantly, the year that I become a mom.

Oct 21, 2023

Travel With Me: Maui & Big Island, Hawai'i (Days Eight, Nine, & Ten)

Our final day on Maui was much more relaxed (at least for me) than the previous. While Ryan went on a scuba diving excursion to the Lahaina Cathedrals (which was one of his favorite parts of the whole trip), I got a prenatal massage at the spa at the neighboring hotel to ours and read a book on the balcony. We then spent the rest of the day lounging in the pool and enjoying some farmer’s market soursop (a fruit I’ve only ever had in Hawai’i and am obsessed with).

Maui, Hawai'i (Day Seven): Road to Hana & Wai’anapanapa State Park

Oct 14, 2023

Nature, Travel

Maui, Hawai'i (Day Seven): Road to Hana & Wai’anapanapa State Park

By far one of the most famous activities to do on Maui is to drive the Road to Hana, a 64-mile stretch of highway along the coast, connecting Kahului to Hana. While the drive technically only takes three hours, what’s special about it is the number of roadside stops to see waterfalls, buy fresh banana bread, and take dips in the ocean. so plan on spending much more than a few hours on this excursion. While ideally you would stay the night in Hana to maximize your time for pit stops, it is possible to hit some of the highlights in a single day.

Adventures inSerendipity

— Hannah Schultz (biographical name): a Kentuckian, traveler, PhD student, hiker, environmentalist, and Great Pyrenees enthusiast

Adventures in
Serendipity