Liz and May on the Catalan Coast

Adventures, reflections, and stories we brought home from the trails we’ve walked - from the Macs Adventure team 

Liz and May are both Senior CS specialists for Macs Adventure, who have known each other for 9 years, and together enjoy exploring new places, movie nights with their dogs, and trying mocktails at their local brewery.  

Dear Trail Diary, 

We have been friends for nine years, but this trip showed us a new side of our friendship. 

We met as tour guides, back when life was nonstop. Working 70-hour weeks in the hot sun, and constantly moving. We loved that season of life, until our bodies started asking us to listen a little more closely. 

Over the years, we both found ourselves facing autoimmune diagnoses of our own. When May noticed a change in Liz, her own experience encouraged Liz to seek answers. From there, we started navigating this new chapter side by side. 

We learned how to adjust, how to listen to our bodies, and how to support each other through unpredictable times. More recently, we both added injuries into the mix, another reminder that our bodies don’t always follow the timeline we want. 

So arriving in Spain together to walk the Catalan Coast felt pretty special. 

There was comfort in traveling with someone who already understood. We didn’t have to explain why we needed to slow down, why something felt harder, or why we needed a little extra rest. 

We pushed each other, but we also took care of each other. We celebrated the moments we felt strong, made space for the moments we didn’t, and somehow found the perfect balance between challenging ourselves and being kind to our bodies.

On their hike, somewhere along the coast, Liz looked at May and realized: we aren’t just strong enough to do these hikes... We’re strong enough to enjoy them. 

The pace of life in Spain was one of our favorite parts. Everything felt slower and more intentional. Meals weren’t rushed, people took their time, and there was space to actually enjoy where we were. 

Coming from a life that often feels nonstop, that rhythm really impacted us. 

The food was a huge part of that too. Everything was fresh, simple, and local, and we both felt better than we expected. Neither of us had any flare ups during the trip, and our bodies felt strong, which isn’t something we take for granted. 

Every night ended with gelato after our hikes, which quickly became our favorite little celebration. 

On the flight home, May realized something while talking to a friend: this was the first trip where she didn’t feel depressed at all. 

Usually, travel came with anxiety: worrying about pain, keeping up, or feeling like she was making things harder for someone else. 

But with Liz, it felt easy. 

There were hard moments. There was tiredness. There were reminders of everything we carry every day. But there was no pressure. No stress. Just two friends moving through it together. 

We came home from the Catalan Coast with incredible memories and an even deeper appreciation for the kind of friendship that shows up through every season. 

After everything our bodies have navigated, it was pretty special to see what they could still do. 

-Liz and May