A couple of weeks ago, one of our Twitter followers posted an amazing photo from a recent trip to Yosemite. I tweeted back, asking if there were any more pictures, thinking they would make for a great post and photo album. Long story short, here we are!

Alex is completing her Masters in Nutrition and is looking forward to being a dietitian in less than a year. She's been hiking, running, and biking for years, and has recently started to get more serious about climbing. She took these photos on a six-day, ninety-mile backpacking trip through the backcountry of Yosemite National Park, which included hiking through sun, torrential downpour, snow, sleet, and 40mph winds! They went bouldering at Cathedral Lakes, did a night hike to Nevada Falls, and followed the Merced River from its glacial source down to a valley a dozen miles below. Jealous yet? Me too. I'm booking a flight … now!

For this amazing expedition, Alex brought a bunch of Arc'teryx gear, including the Squamish Hoody ("I LOVE this for many reasons, but mainly because it's lightweight and compressible, and always fits in my pack no matter how full it is. The hood is great for wind and rain, and the material helps keep the wind-chill out. It's a great piece in a pinch, when unplanned weather has the potential to ruin a trip."), an Eon SLW T-Shirt, the Eon SLW Bottom ("I wore these under my shorts during the torrential rain pour and I stayed relatively warm!"), and a bunch of our Base Layer for good measure.

As you can tell, Alex is a huge fan of the outdoors. She's also passionate about healthy eating, reducing the obesity rate among children, and helping them spend time outside. On top of a busy Masters schedule, she's getting a blog off the ground called Gluten Free-Dom in the Woods.

We can't thank Alex enough for taking our gear along on such an amazing trip, and for sharing her story (and photos) with us. You can see all of them in an album on our Facebook page. And if you're doing awesome things in your Arc'teryx gear, please send it our way because we'd love for this to become an ongoing series.