NEW YEARS’ EVE 2024

Lizi’s cousin (and Jonathan’s college blockmate) Nadine organizes a New Years’ trip to Patagonia to all her single friends. Lizi and Jonathan go for their first trail run together on the Fósiles hike to escape swarms of tábanos (Chile’s famously huge horseflies), and before you know it, there’s a smooch on the dancefloor… →

JANUARY 2024

Jonathan bravely pitches an AK visit, and Lizi bravely accepts. A weekend of wall-to-wall Alaska magic ensues: skating to a glacier, dance party on ice, nordic spa in the snow, seeing a moose up close for the first time, backcountry skiing at Manitoba Hut, a DTR convo in a whiteout blizzard… →

FEBRUARY 2024

The start date for Lizi’s new job is mercifully pushed back, so she and J decide to go to… Peru for their third date. Body-surfing the world’s longest wave, hiking among Andean glaciers, eating gobs of ceviche, quaffing many a pico sour: the birth of wedding cocktail idea #1… →

MAY 2024

Wineries, hot springs, oysters, Mt. Tam cheese, Point Reyes magic. Any three-day weekends not spent on-call at the hospital quickly become California weekends. Jonathan’s campaign to woo Lizi down to the Lower 48 starts to take shape... →

AUGUST 2024

Time for Alaska summer magic: Front Range sunsets, Matanuska peak blueberries, and alpine lake dips at Hatcher Pass. A trip to CO introduces Lizi to the Telluride Film Fest. L+J stand on the porch at night appreciating how nice the stars look when they are in the same place… →

OCTOBER 2024

One more in a growing list of Big Decisions Made on a Mountain: on Near Point, Jonathan invites Lizi to come live in California. She accepts. Alaska is a precious home and rich community for Lizi. On the way down, they start to strategize… →

NEW YEARS EVE 2025

Taj Mahal, too many Rajput desert palaces to count, Delhi belly cured by textile shopping, camel rides, learning the hard way that satellite phones are prohibited in India (pro tip - do not bring an InReach). L+J celebrate their anniversary in the shadow of the Hilmalayas and scheme future mountain adventures. Jonathan’s strategy involves a camper van… →

SPRING 2025

The camper van arrives after a hardy voyage over the Gulf of Alaska. On the van’s nose is a topo map with BADGER written in huge letters - the previous owners’ favorite mountain in the PNW. Auspicious! “BADGERVAN” is born. Long hospital shifts, weekend ski trips, and all manner of AK exploration take a sprinty twist … →

JUNE 2025

After an intense work phase, J and L converge on the site of their future wedding with overdue family hangs with both sides. The Official End of Long Distance is here at last! So naturally, they sign up for a big trail race…→

AUGUST 2025

L+J cohabitate for the first time. It is the best. They walk the dog to Fire Island and eat their weight in scones. They fish for salmon and halibut and munch on the bumper crop of salmonberries — fuel for some wild trail runs! They run, wiggle, “slingshot” across Crow Pass, Kesugi Ridge, and many a training run on endless ridgelines galore. They pack up The Roost (Lizi’s home in Anchorage) and Badgervan starts filling up with suitcases… →

AUGUST 17, 2025

On top of the pointiest mountain you can see from The Roost, on the day before they leave Alaska, Jonathan asks Lizi to marry him with a mother-of-pearl + sparkly leopard ring acquired the day J+L were arrested in India (seriously, don’t bring an InReach). An easy yes. After a nap on the summit and a dip in an alpine lake, they celebrate in the only way possible: over a bowl of ramen… →

ENGAGEMENT-MOON - AUGUST 2025

L+J leave Alaska in Badgervan with Fouf. They track north to the Top of the World Highway. They espy ridgelines from the van and wend their way to the top. They eat a lot of blueberries. No one in the world knows they are engaged and theirs is the happiest little mountain bubble this side of the Equator. In Badgervan one night, they dream up a wedding in the woods called “Badgerball” … →

FALL 2025

After a “turn and burn” in Oakland, J+L head for fall term sabbatical in NYC! They soak up time with East Coast friends and family. They eat like royalty. They nearly break the calendar app with theater reservations. They start planning a big party next fall…→

JANUARY 2025

J+L get off the plane, go for a moonlit run in the Berkeley hills. It’s the same place J took L on her first visit, but this time, it feels like homecoming.

Our California chapter begins. So does the countdown to gathering with all of you at BadgerBall in September 2026!