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Isi Just

@isijust

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Into the unknown 🌲🏔️☀️🌺🌴🏝️

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Grateful I got to spend Thanksgiving with my American family.
From picking apples for homemade pie to riding horses under the Idaho sky and being surrounded by the sweetest animals — my heart feels so full 🤍 by @isijust

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a year ago

This trip was a reminder that if you don’t ask, the answer is always no. So take a chance.

Of course, on my second day in Japow my binding strap decided it was done cooperating.

I tried two ski shops to track down a replacement — no luck. So I asked a random guy on the gondola who was also riding Union bindings if he knew where to get one.

He didn’t know either, but he said, “I’m leaving today — if you want, meet me later and I’ll give you mine.”

I honestly didn’t think he was serious. But a few hours later we met up, and he handed me the binding strap like it was nothing. I asked how much I owed him. He said, “Don’t worry about it.”

Still can’t believe it. What are the chances you ask a random person on a gondola and they’re willing to give you part of their binding without hesitation?

With my binding finally properly working again, we followed two random Aussies through a backcountry gate and ended up riding the best snow and best run on the entire mountain.

The snow was incredible — but Japan’s kindness left the biggest impression. taken in Nozawa Onsen Snow Resort by @isijust

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8 months ago

Mongolia 🇲🇳

Somewhere along the way, this trip became about so much more than riding horses through Mongolia.

We learned how to play games with sheep ankle bones, watched a sheep being butchered and prepared from start to finish, tried marmot, saw how Mongolian horses are shoed and, of course, learned how to feed an eagle.

We watched meals being made the traditional way and I even had the honor of being invited to help make dumplings and roll out the dough — something I was told is usually left to the Mongolians in camp.

There was so much I knew nothing about before coming here.

And somewhere between learning, trying new things, figuring things out with a lot of hand gestures and occasionally having absolutely no idea what was going on, we laughed. A lot.

I think that became one of my favourite parts of the trip — getting little glimpses into a way of life so different from my own, not from a museum or behind a window, but simply by being there, watching, asking questions, laughing together and sometimes being invited to join in.

#Mongolia #wandermut #eaglehunters by @isijust

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a month ago

I love a good brunch, but give me a group of adventurous people, a place I’ve never been, and absolutely no idea what the day will bring, and I’m even happier.

Mongolia was full of moments I never could have planned, things I never imagined doing, and so much laughter.

And honestly, those are the kinds of memories that stay with you. 🐎🇲🇳 #mongolia #wandermut @wandermut taken in Altai Mountains by @isijust

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6 days ago

Proof that sometimes scrolling the internet late at night leads to the best adventures of your life. 🥹🇲🇳

#mongolia #wandermut @wandermut taken in Altai Mountains by @isijust

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16 days ago

No cell service needed. I’d choose this kind of connection any day. 🤍

Mongolian horses are semi-wild, so they’re not always the most trusting or easiest to handle from the ground. In the beginning, this little guy wasn’t too sure about me at all.

But little by little, that changed. During our lunch breaks, he started enjoying his scratches and would rest his head on my head or shoulder. And eventually, he trusted me enough to let me sit beside him while he rested and even lie down against him. 🥹

There’s something so special about slowly earning an animal’s trust and realizing that somewhere along the way, they decided you were safe.

#mongolia #wandermut #horse taken in Altai Mountains by @isijust

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18 days ago

The selfie vs the view. Mongolia 🇲🇳 edition.

Some of my favorite pictures from Mongolia started as nothing more than a quick selfie.

I think that’s what I love most about these pictures. They’re not perfect photos, they’re just little snapshots of where I happened to be — on horseback somewhere in the middle of nowhere, waking up to a new view outside the tent, surrounded by camels, or stopping for a few minutes because the landscape was too beautiful not to.

At the time, it was just a quick selfie. Looking at them now, they bring me right back to those moments and remind me just how happy I was, and how simple and good life can feel sometimes.

#mongolia #wandermut taken in Altai Mountains by @isijust

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19 days ago

Mongolia 🇲🇳

Somewhere along the way, 24 strangers became one big family. 🤍

It started with 30 hours stuck in a vehicle together on Mongolian roads. Trauma bonding? 😂 Maybe. But honestly, we had such a good time. We talked, laughed, got to know each other and watched the scenery outside, getting our first glimpse of just how huge and remote Mongolia really is.

And when you’re on the road in the middle of nowhere, no bush? No problem. Nothing breaks the ice quite like peeing next to someone who was a complete stranger just a few hours ago.

After that, it all happened pretty quickly.

We spent amazing days on horseback, played volleyball in the middle of nowhere and played cards almost every evening. We soon discovered that the Mongolians were very good at cheating, and before long the game wasn’t even about winning anymore — it was about who could cheat without getting caught.

We helped each other when someone was struggling, shared snacks, stories and inside jokes, and spent so much time together that it became hard to remember that not long before, most of us didn’t even know each other.

And we laughed. A lot. I genuinely don’t remember the last time I laughed so much and so hard.

I think that’s one of the things I loved most about this trip. Of course I’ll remember the landscapes and all the incredible things we got to experience. But I’ll remember the ordinary moments just as much. Sitting around the bonfire singing songs after a long day. The conversations on the road. The stupid jokes that somehow stayed funny for days. All those little moments that you don’t necessarily think much about while they’re happening, but end up becoming some of your favorite memories.

We arrived as 24 strangers with completely different lives back home, and somehow Mongolia brought us together in this little bubble where, for a while, we got to share one incredible life together.

I came home with so many memories of Mongolia, but I’m especially grateful for the people who are in them. 🤍

#Mongolia #Wandermut taken in Altai Mountains by @isijust

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22 days ago

Turns out some of the best memories are made when you’re a little dirty, a little tired and outside your comfort zone.

Mongolia was long days on the road, sleeping wherever we could, squat toilets (or no toilets at all), days without showers, dusty clothes and constantly smelling like horses and camels.

But it was also riding across the Mongolian steppe, endless landscapes, nights around the fire, laughing until our stomachs hurt and waking up every day not quite knowing what the next adventure would bring.

It wasn’t luxurious, and that was kind of the point.

Somehow the trips with a little more chaos, a little less comfort and a lot more adventure always leave me with the best stories. 🇲🇳❤️

#Mongolia #wandermut taken in Altai Mountains by @isijust

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21 days ago

How do you explain this feeling to someone who’s never experienced this kind of freedom?

Maybe you can’t. Some feelings can’t be explained — they have to be experienced. 🐎🇲🇳

Galloping across the wide open Mongolian steppe, nothing around us but mountains, endless sky and the sound of hooves. For a few moments, there was nowhere else to be and nothing else to think about. Just go.

Moments like this remind me why I want a life full of experiences I’ll never forget, even if I can’t always put into words what they meant to me.

#mongolia #wandermut taken in Altai Mountains by @isijust

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23 days ago

Mongolia 🇲🇳

Looking back at Mongolia, it’s the people I keep thinking about most.

Some of the smartest, most welcoming and genuinely lovely people.

Our amazing guide, cooks, horsemen, camel man and eagle hunters became such a big part of this experience. They looked after us, taught us things along the way and were always ready to help. They made sure we were well fed and warm, while sharing so much of their culture and way of life with us.

We didn’t always share a language, but somehow that rarely seemed to matter. There were a lot of hand gestures, pointing, translating, confused faces and, most of all, laughter.

I came to Mongolia for the landscapes, the remoteness and the horses. But the people are what I’ll remember most. 🤍

#Mongolia #wandermut #eaglehunters by @isijust

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24 days ago

"You went to Mongolia?"
"I went to MONGOLIA!!!" 🇲🇳

When I dreamed about Mongolia, I imagined the horses, the eagles and those endless landscapes.

What I hoped for was to go beyond the places most people see — far into rural Mongolia, where there were no roads, no crowds and for days at a time, no one else around.

But what I couldn’t have imagined were the people I would meet there. The faces that would soon become so familiar. The people who welcomed us into their world, made us laugh, looked after us, taught us and shared pieces of their traditions and everyday life with us.

Somewhere along the way, Mongolia became so much more than the place I had dreamed of seeing. It became the people, the laughter, the little moments and the feeling of being welcomed into a way of life so different from my own.

And that’s the Mongolia I’ll remember for the rest of my life. 🇲🇳🤍

#mongolia #eaglehunters #wandermut taken in Altai Mountains by @isijust

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a month ago