John and I both grew up in New England and met when we joined the same graduate program at Dartmouth in 2015. At school, we bonded over a shared love of the outdoors, became early-morning gym partners, and frequently went hiking together. We started dating in 2016 and enjoyed many adventures in the NH and VT mountains. In 2017 we started to plan our “dream” vacation to Zion National Park, a place neither of us had ever been but had always wanted to see. When the time came to fly out in May of 2018, I asked John if he was excited and he said "I'm nervous!" I thought this was an odd response given all the hiking we'd done... turns out, while I was planning the logistics, John was secretly planning to propose! A few days in to our trip, we hiked out to spent the night near Kolob Arch. As we sat drinking our coffee and admiring the arch, John turned to me and started to explain how much our three years of shared adventures had meant to him, and how much he hoped that we would have many more. As the realization that he was about to propose sank in, he reached into his backpack and pulled out a ring attached to a carabiner. It took me a few seconds to recover enough to respond, but I am so glad I had the opportunity to say yes to my best friend in such a beautiful place! - Jen