Randi with an i
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  • Outdoors
  • Flagstaff
  • Travel
    • Travel
    • India (Yoga Teacher Training)
    • Peace Corps Ukraine
  • Lifestyle
    • Forestry + wildfire (my day job)
    • Yoga (my night job)
    • Our house + renovation work
    • Wedding planning
    • Our huskies
    • Sustainability
    • Books + movies + music
    • Skincare + haircare + physical self-care
    • DIY + decor
    • Odds and Ends
  • Stuff I like
  • About
    • About Randi
    • Contact
    • Professional ish (AKA: portfolio)
    • Disclosure and privacy policy

Another year at Arizona Wildfire and Incident Management Academy: ICS-300 / IS-300 and ICS-400 / I-400

March 17, 2023 March 17, 2023 Randi2 comments

OOOO I am tired.

But I can tell you all about National Incident Management Response framework and how it relates to the Incident Command System!

I just wrapped up five days of classes at Arizona Wildfire and Incident Management Academy for the second year in a row.

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What I read: February 2023

February 28, 2023 November 8, 2023 Randi

I read two books during February. I’m a little behind schedule, but I guess I’m at least two books closer to my goal of 50 for the year!

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Backpacking the Superstitions: An overnight camping trip to the Superstition Wilderness Area on the Tonto National Forest

February 27, 2023 February 20, 2025 Randi

I spoke too soon!

Ryan and I were driving back to Flagstaff yesterday after a weekend spent backpacking through the Tonto National Forest’s Superstition Wilderness Area, and he asked how I thought the weekend went.

Despite an unexpected hailstorm we got caught in mid-hike out, despite the Maricopa County search and rescue team that approached us first thing Sunday morning and despite the high-velocity winds and rains that soaked through the bottom of our tent and into our sleeping pads, I said the trip was great.

“Nobody called search and rescue for us, I didn’t twist an ankle, I didn’t vomit at any point and I didn’t get any blisters. I’d call that a success!”

Except… again. I spoke too soon. I have a MASSIVE blister on the bottom of the ball of my foot that I somehow didn’t notice until this morning.

Regardless, I still think that our past weekend backpacking the Superstitions was a success!

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Backpacking gear: What I packed for my first backpacking trip: the Arizona Hot Springs/ Lake Mead National Recreation Area

February 23, 2023 May 27, 2024 Randi

If you missed it, I recently spent a weekend out at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area camping overnight on the bank of the Colorado River by the Arizona Hot Springs!

I detailed it in the post, and — while the trip didn’t meet my snobby wildland fire expert Hotshot’s definition of “backpacking” — it was MY first time hiking all my gear several miles off a trailhead to stay overnight.

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A weekend in southwest Colorado: Durango and Silverton

February 21, 2023 February 21, 2023 Randi

Happy Tuesday that feels like a Monday!

Ryan and I took advantage of yesterday’s federal holiday, and spent this past weekend exploring a little bit of southwest Colorado.

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S#!T I’ve been loving lately (February 2023 edition)

February 15, 2023 May 27, 2024 Randi

Some cool shit I’ve been liking lately, including a new restaurant in Flagstaff, some new fancy candles, Sedona hikes and fitness classes.

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What I read: January 2023

January 31, 2023 February 14, 2023 Randi

New year, new books!

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An overnight adventure to the Arizona Hot Springs/ Lake Mead National Recreation Area

January 30, 2023 September 1, 2024 Randi4 comments

My legs are SORE.

I spent this past weekend hiking out to the Arizona Hot Springs — a little gem located near the bank of the Colorado River where it straddles the Arizona/ Nevada state line in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area — with several of my Flagstaff friends for an overnight camping trip.

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Brrrrr. How to make winter recreation suck a little less.

January 28, 2023 May 27, 2024 Randi

As a kid, I loved winter.

I grew up in Michigan, so winter was a FULL season. Snow fell in early December and stuck around through late April. Whenever my mom had a day off work, she would take me, my brother and my sister to our local sledding hill — the steep, sloping face of our high school football field — where we would glide downhill on our green plastic sleds, and then clamber back up to do it again.

As I got older, I fell out of love with spending winter days playing outside. Snow days turned to car problems, slushy commutes and inflated heating bills. The magic of winter started to wear off during high school when my varsity coat and Vans failed to keep me warm during walks across the student parking lot, and then evaporated completely in college, when my fake Uggs and college logo-branded Columbia fleeces completely soaked through during cross-campus strolls.

My apathy toward winter followed me around during my time in Chicago and Ukraine, where cold became just one more obstacle between me and life.

I just had to pick one of the three Peace Corps countries that even has a winter, didn’t I?

But then… something magical totally expected happened.

I moved to northern California — the Sierra Nevada foothills, to be exact — last winter for work, and fell back in love with playing outside.

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My second knitting project: Purl Soho’s no-purl ribbed scarf

January 13, 2023 December 30, 2022 Randi

I just wanted to take a quick second to share my second finished knitting project: Purl Soho’s no-purl ribbed scarf!

(Original pattern here.)

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HELLO!

Randi with an i

Randi M. Shaffer

Hi! I'm Randi. I spend my days working in forestry and wildfire, my nights instructing yoga and my weekends exploring northern Arizona (and beyond). I'm a former journalist, a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer and a Midwest native. Welcome!

Randi with an i® is a federally registered trademark of Randi M. Shaffer. All Rights Reserved.