We first met on a hike to Otter Falls in Washington, where fate (and COVID social-distancing requirements) brought us together in the open outdoors. At the time, Claire was a junior at the University of Washington in Seattle, and Alex was an Army Ranger stationed nearby at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. One date quickly turned into more as we bonded over a shared love of the outdoors, passion for our respective careers, and trying new things — including, notably, the culinary wonder of the Wisconsin pudgy pie (which Alex expertly prepared after starting his own fire on our second date). As we spent more time together, we both felt effortlessly at ease and couldn’t get enough of each other’s company. Learning each others quirks, laughing until our sides hurt, embracing the strengths in our differences and finding ways to surprise each other became our foundation that we built our lasting friendship and relationship on. Within a year, it was clear that this was this was more than just dating; it was partnership. Our love grew stronger through everything that followed: multiple stretches when Alex deployed, a time-zone change when Claire moved to Washington D.C. for work, and navigating a long-distance relationship between coasts for two years. Even with those challenges, we kept our commitment to each other and communicated through it all so that we never felt apart. Finally, when the long-distance chapter closed, we began the next step in our journey: starting a life together in North Carolina. Alex accepted a job at Fort Bragg, Claire joined UNC as a research technician, and we became proud homeowners after a year of exploring our new zipcode. When Alex proposed, it couldn’t have been a better encapsulation of our relationship. We had packed up a U-Haul to make a cross-country national park and sightseeing trip out of moving to North Carolina, and our first stop was Glacier National Park in Montana. Alex had a perfectly timed, moderately difficult hike picked out, ideal for the proposal and wrapping up before a looming thunderstorm. But Claire, ever the hiking purist, vetoed it in favor of a much steeper and harder trek with fewer crowds... and a much tighter window before the rain. Alex tried to push back, but couldn't give himself away — so up the mountain we went. After hiking 8 miles and gaining over 3,600 feet of elevation, we reached the top of Swiftcurrent Mountain. Claire turned around to take in the view while Alex got down on one knee. No makeup, sweaty, tired, and covered in trail dust, Claire said yes on top of the world (literally). It was spontaneous, unexpected, and utterly perfect — everything our love has always been.