It is officially pumpkin spice latte season. If you live in the Midwest region of the United States like I do, fall is the time of year when the leaves start to change, the weather is cooler, the air is crisp, and the apple orchards are packed with people longing for warm delicious cinnamon sugar donuts.

Just last week, my dad and I left to go on my first backpacking trip. This trip was planned over the last year, and he drove all the way from Michigan to meet me—needless to say, we were pumped. We mapped out the four-pass loop in Maroon Bells, Aspen, Colorado; a twenty-eight mile journey through one of the most photographed locations in the U.S.

I’ve always been a pretty fantastic storyteller. Although my mother would probably call it “embellisher” or “drama-queen” or something like that, but I prefer storyteller- it sounds more legitimate. Even when I was just a little nugget, I had a knack for making up elaborate stories