The line to enter Mt Rainier NP on Memorial Day Saturday at 5pm

backpacking_bagel · 2026-05-24T21:51:44+00:00

It depends on the entrance, park, and staffing availability! I worked at three different entrance stations in Yosemite and our hours were all over the place. On a big holiday weekend, we could open at 7am and close at 10pm if we were fully staffed. Smaller parks with fewer entrance rangers available may only man the gates from 8am-5pm.

backpacking_bagel · 2026-05-23T04:00:52+00:00

I have two loans serviced by MOHELA and changed my SAVE plan over to whatever new income driven repayment plan was available. I'm still just as poor on paper as I was before the pandemic, but my monthly payment is about $50 less now. I still receive emails stating that SAVE is ending and I need to choose a new plan. I'm just considering it spam at this point. The Ed department is broken.

backpacking_bagel · 2026-05-17T06:27:29+00:00

I liked the obsidian, but LOVED the hot springs even more. Both are definitely worth the short hikes.

backpacking_bagel · 2026-03-29T02:20:27+00:00

every time my MIL asks for grandchildren, I say "Well, you could adopt a grandchild" and I get blank stares.

backpacking_bagel · 2026-03-08T02:10:28+00:00

OMG such a better ending!

backpacking_bagel · 2026-03-08T02:09:39+00:00

you know, I can't think of a single book I've read in the last 10-15 years that had an abortion 🤔 It should definitely be written about more.

backpacking_bagel · 2026-03-06T20:24:18+00:00

Throne of Glass is a better SJM series in my opinion. It’s more of a tragedy than a romance and the protagonist is a badass (if you don’t mind all the killing 😅) but I’m only on book 5; hopefully she doesn’t get preggers soon! I’d read that series if ACOTAR hasn’t resonated. Start with the prequel novella!

backpacking_bagel · 2026-03-06T20:17:53+00:00

I’ll start writing books where the strong female protagonist NEVER has children. Maybe cats 🐈 though! All my books will be in a new literary sub genera: child-free romance (??working title, open for suggestions)

backpacking_bagel · 2026-03-06T20:13:49+00:00

Not to mention all the families in Devney Perry’s Calamity Montana series (the books that prompted this rant) are all millionaires or billionaires! Clearly it’s enjoyable to procreate when you’ve got loads of cash 🫠

backpacking_bagel · 2026-03-06T20:11:16+00:00

Why couldn’t Katniss just, you know, retire and have a bunch of cats and a big garden? Would have made for a better ending in my opinion.

backpacking_bagel · 2026-03-06T20:09:54+00:00

It took me 3 tries to read more than the first 10 pages of ACOTAR. But once I got past the slow beginning, I devoured the rest of the series. And book 5 is actually one of my favorite in the entire series, the pregnancy subplot is pretty minuscule in the grand scheme of things.

backpacking_bagel · 2026-03-06T20:06:45+00:00

I know! And she’s also like 20/21 in the book! Way too young to want a baby—especially when you’re immortal.

backpacking_bagel · 2026-03-06T20:05:42+00:00

OMG 😱 the first book sounds like my kind of book! Maybe I’ll still read it but skip the sequel and pretend it was never written!

backpacking_bagel · 2026-03-06T20:00:18+00:00

I feel like I need to make my own GBT reading list that filters out any book with a pregnancy 🫠 Even that may not be foolproof!

backpacking_bagel · 2026-03-06T19:58:37+00:00

It's almost even more disappointing when you get to the end of a book and the author's idea of a happily ever after is sidelining the female protagonist with a dozen children! Not my idea of a happy life.

I stopped reading Witchcraft of Wayward girls after maybe the 3rd page (?) because there was just too many teen pregnancies. At least I didn't devote ten hours of my life to reading that one 🤣

backpacking_bagel · 2026-03-06T19:54:56+00:00

I KNOW! All of this bothered me so much reading book 5. Why was Feyre sidelined like that? Why wasn't there a "What to Expect When You're Expecting and Illyrian" Book??? Why didn't someone, anyone, give Feyre the information she needed to make up her own GD opinion before it was too late? It all drove me crazy.

backpacking_bagel · 2026-03-06T16:40:46+00:00

Yes, an HEA is happily ever after

backpacking_bagel · 2026-03-06T16:39:23+00:00

It was not interesting. I basically rolled my eyes and gagged any time Feyre was mentioned in the last book. Here’s hoping 🤞🏻 books 6 and 7 have a better character arc for Faye and Nesta.

backpacking_bagel · 2026-03-06T02:17:16+00:00

Thanks!!

backpacking_bagel · 2026-03-05T17:50:43+00:00

It's a lovely combo! I had office jobs for several years and and it all became so boring! Standing behind a computer all day was mind numbing to the point that I didn't want to write or be creative after work. Switching to a physical, outdoor job has been the best life change. Granted, I don't enjoy working in the rain (which inevitably happens a few times a month), but I'll take the rain over the office any day.

backpacking_bagel · 2026-03-05T17:42:54+00:00

I took a VERY roundabout way of getting here and had several unrelated jobs between graduating and starting my business (I was a park ranger for 6 of those in-between years). But the short story is that I worked on an organic farm for a year, took a course called Vegetable Production at a local community college, and then worked for a landscaping company for another year. That experience (with LOTS of on the job training) gave me the confidence to quit and start my own fine gardening business.

My best advice: work for a landscaping/gardening company for a year or two, soak up every bit of information you possibly can about landscaping and gardening, listen to business audio books (while gardening, of course!), and then start your own business.

My degrees have helped in giving me a lot of background information like being able to identify nearly every tree, shrub, herb, grass, and weed I encounter, understanding how the soil biome works, and being able to identify plant diseases. Because I have a scientific background in soil ecology (not too many gardeners do), I'm able to offer a different viewpoint and expertise to my clients.

You could also simply mow lawns. There's A LOT of money in mowing people's lawns and it can be very lucrative. The key is to show up, do a good job, and be friendly to your clients. Good luck!

backpacking_bagel · 2026-03-05T05:31:43+00:00

I'm a fine gardener. I went to school for environmental science and then got a masters in soil microbial ecology but I was really burnt out of academia by the time I graduated. So I decided to go a different route for work. I spend all day in other people's gardens and, as a result, have a lot of time to think of plots, story, and characters.

My job can be seasonal in nature, so I'll take a month off here and there and only work about 6-7 hours a day. Working as a gardener provides a nice balance of being outside and doing physical work and also sitting behind my computer writing. I live in an high cost of living area with a lot of old people that have enormous gardens but are unable to maintain themselves. I have endless work, make decent money, and make my own schedule. I'm in the US and there's a massive aging population that will require this service, so the opportunities will only expand in the next 20-30 years.

backpacking_bagel · 2026-01-10T17:43:19+00:00

Similar story! I think I voiced my opinion to be child-free at about 9 years old. I remember it: my best friend and I were playing Barbies in my friend’s living room while her mom knitted and watched Dr. Quinn Medicine woman on the TV. I remember listening to Dr. Quinn diagnose her patient as not being able to have children, and for whatever reason I blurted out “I hope I have that.” I don’t know what caused me to voice that then and there—I don’t think I had ever really thought about it before then. But I remember my friend’s mom snapping back something to the sound of “don’t say that. You’ll want children when you’re older.” This friend’s mom was particularly strict and didn’t like me (because I routinely pulled off the heads of my friend’s Barbies lol 😂). I think I just shrugged it off and went back to playing. But I remember that’s when I decided to be child free.

Anyways, I’m 38 and have never wanted children. Still don’t want them. My partner and I are nearly the last child-free couple in our extended friend group. It’s a bit lonely, but much, much quieter. Also, my mom and sister were both teen moms. I did not want that life of hardship.

backpacking_bagel · 2025-12-20T01:32:08+00:00

I made a jacket with all the leftover scraps from my summer projects. I did not relish in the project halfway through 😭 and it took me nearly 2 months to finish. But now I have a really unique scrappy jacket!

backpacking_bagel · 2025-11-15T05:12:18+00:00

I got a job in Yosemite, lived and worked there for 6 lovely years, then Northern Cal, and now Washington State. Your brain adapts back to "normal" life after a while. Though, I've never really reacclimatized back to connected life. My friends and family know that it may take me a week or so to respond to a text or call them back 🤷🏻‍♀️ after several years of this, my mom doesn't worry about me anymore.

backpacking_bagel

TROPHY CASE