As a mother, wife, and business owner, Patty Laushman maps out her Me Time well in advance. For her, it’s about strapping on her backpack and embarking on a new adventure.

Patty’s Me Time:

When my son Robbie was approaching a year old, I fell in love with backpacking. I particularly love trips that are somewhere between 50 to 100 miles and require some complex logistical planning. I”ve really enjoyed backpacking in Alaska, the Grand Canyon, and completing the 500-mile Colorado Trail, which I did in segments over six years. My most recent backpacking trip, Conundrum Hot Springs, had been on my bucket list for over 20 years. I’m planning a trip to the High Sierra Camps in Yosemite this summer, and also leading a 50-mile backpacking trip on the Laugavegur Trail in Iceland in summer 2018.

How do you carve out Me Time?

Backpacking requires a sizable time commitment, so my husband and I tag-team taking care of our son, Robbie, while the other spends time on our respective hobbies. We have to plan quite a bit in advance, but it’s worth it. My backpacking schedule and his BMW club racing schedules are usually cemented for the year in April.

Why is Me Time important to you?

As a business owner, it’s so easy to work all the time, but there’s nothing I love so much that I want to do it all the time. I love my family, I love my work, and I love my hobbies. I’m happiest when I’m consciously carving out time for all three parts of my life.

What is the best advice you were ever given?

My husband had been telling me for years that I needed to get a serious hobby—mostly because I was complaining about how much time he was spending on his. Taking up backpacking brought a critical piece of balance and joy that I can’t live without now.