2025 has been a year. I really don’t know what I did in life to deserve the shitstorm that 2025 has thrown at me. As I limped my way into 2025, a hiking guide with two busted up ankles, I thought,
This too shall pass. Well, it’s now nine long chronic pain-filled months later, and I’m still limping my way through life. Oh, but wait, now my ass is much bigger now! It’s amazing to think that fourteen months ago, I trekked to the top of Mt Whitney, the highest peak in the continental United States, in a single brilliant day. Did I almost get hyperthermia and AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness)? Did I leave a trail of diarrhea on my way down (Almost like Hansel and Gretel trying to find their way home but with wild Elderberry-studded poo instead of breadcrumbs)? Yeah, that all happened.
Hello 2025, you dumpster fire
2025 has been so different then the in-shape healthy hiker summer I had lived in 2024. Growing older is never easy, especially when you feel like the injuries and ailments just keep piling up every day. And the mouse droppings. Did I mention the mouse droppings?
So, yes, on som
e Monday afternoons, I’m tempted to add a little Frangelico to my Pumpkin Spice Latte, as I enjoy these late October thunderstorms. Meanwhile, as we finally, finally enjoy our October vacation, the hits keep coming. Even on vacation, the life stresses pile up.
Why Frangelico at 8 a.m.?
- Why does the motorhome generator not want to power on? Is it possible that the fuel pump went out again?
- Do I have Hantavirus thanks to our lives, our home and our motorhome being overrun with mice?
- Is my business going to dry up after the shitstorm Airbnb has turned my once highly rated small business into in 2025?
This is why I have to drown life’s stresses in the oranges, yellows and reds of October in the grand eastern Sierra mountains. Thank God for the stunning beauty that is the grand outdoors in the eastern 
Sierra. It grounds me and makes me see the beauty in the world again.
When life hands you lemons, chuck em and pick up Hazelnut liquor
When life gives you lemons, throw them in your favorite blue cheese dressing and instead whip up a frothy homemade Pumpkin Spice latte. And yes, it is totally okay to add a splash of Franglico!
Now I don’t use anything actually pumpkin flavored in my PSL because, well, maybe I am just not basic enough, but I think that is just weird. So maybe, technically, this is more like an autumn spice latte. Perfect for sipping next to a roaring campfire, during a freak snowstorm while you are camping in your nice warm motorhome and looking back on the days when you used to be a freezing cold tent camper.
Now this is autumn
After a snowy October camping day where I played in the snow with my dog all day long and tried to let an early-season snowstorm erase life’s stresses, I needed a Boozy PSL in my life. In my life, escaping to the beauty of the Eastern Sierras is how I destress. These mountains are just so epically gorgeous, especially when they are buried under very early-season snow. The deer are migrating through our camp. Our new travel fire ring keeps us warm on those 22-degree Silver Lake nights
Looking for the best Pumpkin Spice Latte to sip on by the snowy campfire? Whatever you do, don’t forget the Frangelico!
Boozy PSL with Frangelico
1 cup hot espresso
1 teaspoon heavy cream
A sprinkle of ground fresh cardamom
A sprinkle of cinnamon
1 teaspoon Frangelico (Hazelnut Liquer)
Blend all this up for just thirty seconds in your blender or NutriBullet until it’s frothy and delicious. Sip on it by a campfire for optimal fall vibes.
