Ugh, middle-management sounds awful. I've had some amazing managers, but they were all also put in terrible positions by higher-ups who eventually did manage to drive the project into the ground.
And yes, the Pacific Northwest has a very different brand of wilderness than New England - each lovely in their own way!
Funny about the advertisements comment... after I started doing this, Kindle ran a marketing campaign called #havekindlewilltravel, all this soft warm lighting and perfectly posed millennials. I briefly contemplated contacting them and trying to sell myself out.