From the City to the Cascade Mountains // A Creative Endeavour in the PNW

Early last Fall, as we tackled our mountain of editing we decided to embark on a creative recharge by heading down to Seattle for the weekend.

Sure, we would have been happy simply strolling the market, exploring the city or sampling enough chocolate to keep us going till the new year. But we don’t roll like that. We weren’t looking for a relaxing getaway, we crossed the border in search of a launch pad.

CreativeLive is our go-to for learning new skills, keeping our talents sharp and our creative reserves topped up. Chase Jarvis, founder and creator of the online learning platform, was hosting a live workshop about continuing your creative calling. This paired with the release of his new book, Creative Calling, designed to inspire and hold you accountable to your own creative ambitions.

Originally this trip was going to be a solo mission, but luckily Bre decided to join me knowing this would put us on the same page to finish the year strong.

Leaving room for spontaneity, we got creative with our accommodations, sleeping in our trusty Nissan Xterra along a nice quiet stretch outside of the city. Waking up to the sound of joggers passing by, waves stirring Alki Beach for the day and no parking tickets, we knew we were in for a treat. Especially knowing that later in the day we’d be staying at the Ace Hotel Seattle.

As we pulled into downtown and were greeted by the friendly front desk staff, something came to mind I’d heard (from none other than Chase say on his podcast) about the Ace being both the lowest and highest in a deck of cards. Turns out we were living their motto.

The workshop took place downtown Seattle with an in-person audience of 100 other creative minds and 10,000’s more watching live from around the world. Aka zero pressure when you ask a question during the class!

I can’t say enough good things about this workshop and the book so here are 2 key takeaways. This isn’t a book just for ‘creative types’. It’s for everyone – including you. Want to live a more fulfilled life and bring those big ideas to into reality?

Get this book and “make it till you make it.”

A few days in the big city were plenty enough to get ideas flowing on what projects to tackle next. But what to do with an overflowing amount of new ideas, connections and opportunities coming in from the workshop?

Fresh off a creativity high from the class at CreativeLive in Seattle, we knew we first needed to answer the call of the mountains.

Now it was time to let those ideas percolate over a couple days of mountaineering in Northern Washington. In particular, we were after a glimpse of the legendary Golden Larches. The trees and alpine would be the perfect medicine to get focused on what’s most important.

For our values, creative work and impact we can make in the world.

Fresh waffles,

fresh moves

+ fresh views.

Before heading east, we made a pitstop in REI’s flagship store in Seattle for some last-minute gear checks. Did you know they have a Park Ranger in-house?

We were delighted at the idea because let’s be honest, our route was planned over an evening or 2 spent going down the rabbit hole on Google. Here was a real live Ranger who walked the talk. Enter Ranger Dave.

Luckily, Dave had spent a few seasons in the exact area we were headed. He gave us a map and highlighted a couple of lesser-known hikes and a prime campsite to spend the night.

Note, our Ranger Dave not pictured.

Why am I focusing in on talking about some guy in a sporting goods store? Because Ranger Dave was our guide.

And when setting out on a quest, not unlike Harry & Lloyd setting out to Aspen, it always pays off to get advice from someone who’s done what you’re about attempt for the first time.

With map in hand and more confidence than we had started with that morning, we set out in our trusty Xterra, Bonnie, to find the Golden Larches.

Entering the North Cascade Mountains at night, we wound our way up, and up and down and up to our destination for the evening – Lone Fir Campsite – shortly after Washington Pass.

With the summer camping season having just wrapped up, we were in for a chilly night so decided to car-camp at our site, pulling in around midnight.

We didn’t know what was in store for us the next day on the trails, but were more than happy to have a safe, quiet space to spend the night and dream of our hike to come.