Our relationship began in 2015, fueled by adventures, a road-trip across the country, and exploring the San Francisco Bay Area. We fell deeply in love, and in 2016- Mike began his thru-hike of the 2,158-mile Pacific Crest Trail. The trail was challenging for us both in a multitude of ways, but it only made our bond stronger. Lara's long trips to make short visits along the way were refreshing reunions of two star-crossed souls on a mission. In 2017, Lara and Mike hiked together from Mexico to Utah, along the gorgeous 800-mile Arizona Trail, easily finding beauty through fear, pain, and endless challenges along the way. This is no ordinary love.
When Mike hiked the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) in 2016, Lara traveled to visit him when he would rest along the journey. One of these stops was on the Oregon/Washington border, in a town called Cascade Locks. On this particular reunion, Mike had completed the "Two-Week Challenge" - having hiked the entire Oregon portion of the PCT in 14 days. "Oh, that's only 440 miles", Mike would say... Mike hobbled into Cascade Locks, having raced through the two-week challenge in the wrong style hiking shoes, and had worked up an angry infection his heel. Lara rented a tiny house, called a doctor in on the weekend, and convinced Mike to stay and rest with her two days longer to recover. During this trip, they took a "Two-Week Challenge" celebratory photo of Mike on Thunder Island with the Bridge of the Gods as a backdrop. --- In March of this year, Lara and Mike took a trip up to Portland. Being only 30 minutes from Cascade Locks, they decided they had to go back to sight-see the Columbia River, its surrounding waterfalls, and get some ice cream! They went back to Thunder Island to recreate Mike's celebratory image in front of the Bridge of the Gods. Mike went to set up the shot and in her usual helpful fashion, Lara fell into his trap- volunteering to stand in frame as he lined up the shot. Little did she know he was taking video... and as Mike returned into frame, he dropped to one knee and asked Lara to marry him!