We spend so much of the season taking from these mountains: the miles, the views, the fresh air, the memories. This past weekend, we got to give a little back.
A group of us teamed up with the Cottonwood Canyons Foundation for a volunteer day at Brighton Resort, and we spent the morning doing something that will outlast all of us: planting wildflowers. It’s the kind of work that pays off long after you’ve gone home, in blooms that future hikers will pass without ever knowing whose hands put them in the ground. And that felt exactly right.
There’s something grounding (pun fully intended) about kneeling in alpine soil and tucking wildflowers into the earth. It’s slow, satisfying work. You look up and realize you’ve been at it for an hour without checking your phone once, chatting with the woman next to you, laughing about who has the dirtiest hands.
The Cottonwood Canyons Foundation does incredible work stewarding these canyons we love so much, and getting to pitch in alongside them was a reminder that protecting these places is part of the deal. If we want to keep playing out here, we have to keep caring for it too.
After a morning of digging and planting, we headed over to Brighton for a well-deserved lunch. Is there anything better than a meal you’ve genuinely earned, shared with a group of women who just spent the morning getting their hands dirty together? We think not.
Full hearts, full plates, and a hillside full of wildflowers that will be back to greet us next season.
Getting outside is at the core of who we are, but so is protecting the places that make it possible. Days like this are a reminder that community isn’t just about the adventures we take. It’s about the responsibility we share for the trails, the canyons, and the wild spaces we’re lucky enough to call our backyard.
Thank you to the Cottonwood Canyons Foundation for having us, and to every woman who showed up ready to work. Those wildflowers are lucky to have you.
