The Rundown on Trail Mix

My new weekly(ish) newsletter full of stories about life and running, dispatches from the wilderness, and essays about how it all collides.

A weekly(ish) newsletter full of stories about life and running, dispatches from the wilderness, and essays about how it all collides.

The outdoors is where I find all of my best stories: the terrifying and thrilling cougar encouter while running around Mount Adams, meeting my boyfriend while skiing through a backcountry blizzard, and eight days and 460 miles worth of highs and lows and everything in-between during my run across the Oregon PCT.

But, more importantly, so many of these treks into the wilderness inspire a greater reflection into the human experience that’s worth sharing or discussing with friends and folks on the internet. Running and moving through the outdoors unlocks so many new ideas and different ways to think about things like mental health, relationships, athletic pursuits and goals, emotional everything, grief and loss, and so many other parts of this very hard and very beautiful life.

This kind of story collecting is the foundation for most of my writing. I hope to write stories that give people connection, that help you better understand or think about important aspects of your own life or the experience of others, and that fuel camp-fireside chats about shit that matters for all of us - as humans and athletes and big fans of the outdoors. And I love to do it through fun and exciting and page-scrolling running and adventure stories.

It’s this type of storytelling that’s been the inspiration for most of what I write and publish on the internet for outlets like The Guardian and Salon:

• a long run with an incarcerated individual on the day of his release from a maximum-security prison

• a ski up and down a volcano that challenged me to rethink my perception of masculinity

• a jaunt around an alpine lake that helped me find self compassion during a bout of depression

And this variety of storytelling will be the foundation for the words I want to share in weekly(ish) stories through this Trail Mix newsletter. And coming off a year that’s included a 460 mile run across Oregon, inspired by the loss of my mother, I’ve got a lot of thoughts and stories to share. I’m also working on some exciting new creative projects and hope this venue will be a platform to share some work-in-progress and creative updates along the way.

True to its name, you’ll find a mix of things through Trail Mix: nail-biting or side-splitting adventure stories, musings on life inspired by long days in the wilderness or short jaunts around town, training updates and the occasional haiku, and honest thoughts on grief and loss. (And plenty of photos of my pandemic puppy Dilly.) Some of the pieces will be about the real hard shit, and some will be lighthearted and humorous, and lots will be a mix. Because that’s how life works, too.

We can’t draw a tidy line that separates grief from joy, or extract all courage from fear, or divide every ounce of pain and suffering from the fun and invigorating times. It all happens in tandem and it all is part of this one life we get to live. And it will all be part of this Trail Mix thing.

Above all else, I hope these stories offer connection, comfort, or conversation kindling about the stuff that matters most in life.

About Me

I live in Eugene, Oregon, in a cozy barn, with six delightfully acrobatic goats in the backyard and a Dilly puppy chewing up every sock inside the walls. I can generally be found collecting stories on trails and mountains around the Pacific Northwest and oversharing my adventures and misadventures on the internet. My favorite color is neon and I’m a big fan of well-stocked chip aisles, women doing badass shit, and juicy ridgeline trails.

Some of my most notable outdoor shenanigans include setting the overall FKT on the 460 mile strech of the Oregon PCT, running (/“running”) five 100 milers, and skiing every calendar month for the last two years (and counting!). Some of my least impressive outdoor adventures include running into a blackberry bush while checking twitter for election updates and showing up for a 27 mile trail run with two left shoes.

My writing has been featured in publications including The Guardian, Salon, Huffington Post, and Ravishly. I can also be found on the internet at @emilysweats on both twitter and instagram.

Subscibe now and cozy up the virtual campfire for all kinds of story sharing.

And if you know someone who might be interested in these words, share away!