We met the modern way: by swiping right on Tinder in 2017. Our first date was over tacos in Durham, NC, on January 25, 2017. We had an unforgettable conversation about how we both dreamed of one day living in the mountains. The start of our relationship was slow and after “dates” with friends, Sarah asked Zach to show her how to plan a backpacking route - accounting for elevation and water sources, to which Zach invited her over to his place. Zach was drawn to Sarah’s smile, curiosity, and friendly personality, and Sarah was drawn to Zach’s muscles, patience, and caring personality. Our true colors really came out on our 4th date, the weekend of March 25, 2017, when we had the wild idea to backpack 28 miles in two days, on a route with serious elevation. Sarah was thinking “Can this guy really keep up with me?” which quickly changed mid-hike to “I think I like him, I need to suck it up and not get sassy on these hills - when are we getting to the campsite?!” Zach was thinking “wow, she’s keeping pace with me up these hills,” and “dang, I really miscalculated the length of this route,” and “wow, she looks like she’s hurting.” Sarah’s first thoughts of Zach were “he is single, a handsome ginger, with a cat... Where can this go?” Zach’s first thoughts of Sarah were “she’s super adventurous, outgoing, and bold - be patient and don’t screw this up.” And we’ve been together ever since! We’ve packed the last 5 years full of once-in-a-lifetime adventures and treasured memories. In 2017, Zach taught Sarah the joys of mountain biking - seeing the wilderness on two wheels, how to “send it,” and the great joys of crashing and chafing. In 2018, we moved in together, with Slade (Zach’s cat, soon to be Zach AND Sarah’s cat), and lived in Carrboro, NC, taking every opportunity we could to make the 4-hour drive West to escape reality and enjoy the mountains together. In 2019, we set our sights on the Pisgah Mountain Bike Adventure Race, to which we had two goals: to finish and still be dating at the end of 13.5 hours on a bike, in the woods, together. (A hot and humid race start turned into 4.5 hours of torrential downpours, thunder, lighting, chilly temps, and slick trails - but we finished and there was minimal bickering, minus the time when Sarah asked Zach for water and got yelled at for not rationing hers.) On another adventure, we decided to ride our bikes to the Virginia border and back, about 115 miles.. for fun. In 2020, we became purrents again and grew our feline family welcoming Bennett and Bradley to the crew (yes, we have 3 cats and are crazy cat ladies, Zach included). We made our dream a reality when we moved to the mountains in late 2020 (with the fur fam highly medicated for the drive) and shortly after in 2021 when we bought our first home together (in the mountains!) We’ve traveled to Utah, Idaho, Washington, Wisconsin, New York, Texas, New Mexico, Wyoming, Montana, and Canada and are looking forward to many more adventures! But some of our best memories are those easy, simple, lazy nights on the couch with the fur fam, cooking breakfast before heading out for an outdoor adventure, mostly by foot or bike, or heading to local coffee shops in town in search of the best cappuccino or chai latte. Zach popped the question by getting down on one knee while thru-hiking the Teton Crest Trail in Grand Teton National Park. Hugs, kisses, and happy tears were shared (and shed for the next few miles), and it was an amazing experience, to which Sarah was totally shocked it was finally happening! We feel so very fortunate to have found one another and to be living a life we truly enjoy in a place that we have dreamed about for years. We feel even more thankful that we have such great family and friends to share memories with and we look forward to creating many new memories ahead. We can't wait to celebrate our big day with those that matter most, all of you!