The three of us were on the trip of a lifetime, one we had spent months planning. We aimed to spend two and a half weeks biking and skiing iconic volcanos in the Pacific Northwest, fully self-supported. The plan was to ride 650 miles, linking together seven summits with only human power and lots of snacks.
It was not a normal plan. However, the trip was not happening under normal circumstances—in the midst of a global pandemic and social justice uprising. With intermittent connectivity to the outside world, we lived in a purgatory between something we love to do, and a movement that we wanted to be a part of. By day, we’d lose ourselves in the mountains, managing weather, food, and the ever-present risk of avalanches. At night, we’d turn on our phones, call our parents and friends, and immediately feel lost—more so than we felt in the woods….
