shredding the gnar

Since I was busy packing, moving and then unpacking through the entire month of December, I didn't get a chance to hit the snow at all in 2012. Once January / February came around there were a few big storms that brought a lot of snow and made for some really excellent snowboarding conditions.

I went up three times this year in total, all day trips which worked out really well. We timed all our trips perfectly so that as soon as the storm has dumped all the snow, Saturday morning at 5am we were in the car and headed north.

I'd say by my third time there, I had made some significant improvement with my boarding skills. Hopefully next winter I will have many more opportunities to improve and work on my skills!

X x

a few from labor day weekend

I hope everyone had a great three day weekend! As you know, I had my first camping experience this weekend to celebrate the holiday and it really was a lot of fun. It was different than what I was expecting but for the most part we were completely prepared and weren't going "ohhh, I wish I had brought that" which is very good.

On Saturday, our first day, we spent almost the entire day just out on the lake. We had a little bit of trouble as the plastic oars from my parents old little raft had all cracked and failed on us while out in the water. There was a general store with a restaurant on site so luckily they had one oar to purchase. We used that and it was a bit better but still it was a little difficult to get around on the small raft. Brett gave it his all fishing off the boat and caught three fish! They weren't that big but we still brought them back to BBQ and eat with our dinner.

Sunday we drove out to Columbia where they have kept the town and have shops and business's open as if it were 1850. These towns were developed when the rush for gold started and everyone came out west to strike it rich! I had been there once on a school trip and I have wanted to go back and see it again for awhile. There is a stagecoach tour that you can take, visit any of the old general stores, ice cream parlor, blacksmith, bar's and saloons and of course panning for gold. It is definitely worth a visit if you are ever in California and interested.

X x

going camping

This Labor Day weekend I am going camping. For the first time, well almost ever. I had a couple of school camping trips in 6th / 7th grade.. but I don't know, I was young, we had teachers and parents there and we usually had the area for our class. Oh, unless you count the times I set up the tent in my backyard and slept in the summer? No, okay then I haven't really been camping before.

It kind of started not that long ago, I mentioned to Brett that I would maybe one day want to go camping. Then we realized we had a three day weekend coming up and before you knew it Brett had bought a huge tent on ebay. So with a tent on its way, everything else just kind of fell into place. There are tons of lakes and coastal camping spots here in California so we are really lucky. We were planning on a two night camping trip, arrive on Saturday and head back on Monday. However, with the holiday weekend a lot of the places had a three night minimum. So, here I am, my first ever trip camping and we are going for three nights. {what was I thinking!} Once the tent arrived and we did a practice run setting it all up and making sure everything worked, I am extremely excited to get out there and become one with nature, or something like that. This tent is huge, it is about 7 or 8 feet tall, says it sleeps 6 and attaches to the back of your SUV so you can easily go from tent to car.

While I am a little bit of a rookie to the camping aspect, I have done my fair share of traveling abroad and taking quick spur of the moment trips and even my latest outdoor activity which you may remember, hiking in Yosemite, I had a few series of blog posts about the experiences and a few pictures of things I packed. {1,2,3} I thought I would share a list with you of some of my "camping essentials." I'm not talking about the basics here, I think we all know you need a tent, sleeping bag, padding, pillows etc. This list is more a girl friendly version of things you may need to keep you sane without our usual daily rituals; running hot water, a proper shower, sink with mirror.

1. Paul Mitchell, awapuhi moisture mist - This stuff is amazing! Use it for your skin & hair to freshen up. I literally spray it everywhere and rub it in a little and it dries in seconds.

2. Fresh Wipes - Seriously any kind of baby wipe or clean wipe. Use it if you've been hiking and get sweaty; it cools you down, soothes your skin, and makes you feel fresh again.

3. First Aid Kit - Always important! I actually usually buy a couple and then combine them and make my own. Always have band aids, insect sting relief, ibuprofen, hand sanitizer, gauze pads, sticky tape, and of course tide-to-go!

4. Platypus Hydration Pack - I personally like these better than the Camel Pack's, they are cheaper for one and I like that it's clear and you can put it in any backpack. But obviously bringing enough water is key.

5. Deodorant - Everyone knows to bring this but I actually prefer the men's kind. Something about the ARCTIC scent somehow does it better than 'cucumber' or 'baby powder.'

6. A Book - I think bringing an actual book instead of reading on your kindle / ipad seems more camping like and it is something relaxing to do by your tent or lake.

7. Bug Spray - Another probably obvious one, but I seriously do not like bugs, spiders, snakes, none of it so I bought the most intense looking bug spray I could find, it's almost 100% deet {I think that's good?} anyway it smells terrible but I do not want to be covered in bumps.

8. Vaseline - I actually love this stuff for my lips as chapstick, but if you also get a small cut or burn or dry skin it comes in handy as it has a lot of uses.

9. Makeup Essentials - Lets be serious we don't need a lot here, so I always have my foundation with spf, a little mascara, a black pencil eyeliner, a compact and some blotting sheets to take away any oil and dirt from the day.

10. Dry shampoo - This is a must for every time I travel, the actual one I use is from the UK and I have to stock up when I go over there but I've heard this brand is also a good one too. Just give it a quick spray in your roots & crown of your head, use your fingers and run through it, then brush it out. Don't you look beautiful!

11. TP to go - You never know what those "bathrooms" or Port-a-Potty's will look like, honestly maybe just hiding behind a bush for a quick tinkle with some TP is a cleaner option.

12. Flashlight - And lots of them! Sometimes it's hard to remember just how dark it is with no house or city lights around. Go for an LED one too, they are brighter & will last longer.

13 / 14. A good hat / headscarf - I have one of each and as you probably saw I wore them all the time on my recent trip to the Greek Islands. Sometimes you can't control the humidity or wind or whatever, so put your hair in a quick braid, throw the hat on and ta-da!

I really hope all of these will be helpful for any of your upcoming trips / travels. It took me awhile to get this routine down but I would love to hear your comments and suggestions on things you can't leave home without in the comment section below!

X x

paros: the windy island

First stop on our agenda was to get from the Athens airport, to the port where a ferry would take us to Paros, our first island, and part of the Cyclades Islands. Honestly, we really weren't sure what to expect, we knew it was going to be a quiet island with sandy beaches, we read there was rocks that turned into mud that people would put on themselves and let dry because it was supposed to make your skin soft and have "healing powers." Other than that we had no idea what we were in for.

We arrived in a flurry of people and vespa's, atv's, cars, taxis and were shuffled around until we found a taxi and asked to be taken to our hotel. It was about 5 or 6pm Greek time. (+10 hours to pacific time)  Our hotel was beautiful and situated a little further back from the port town, but up a little hill with a nice view and a little 5 minute walk down a path to the beach. It was charming and beautiful and exactly what we needed after a long journey there.
 

After getting to know the area the next day we decided it was best to rent an ATV for the day {i'm not so fond of the motorized two wheels} this way we could explore the island and do exactly what we wanted and at our own pace. One of our first stops of course was to see what the beach with the mud was all about. It turns out it's actually the rock that turns into a clay when you mix it with the ocean water and put on yourself. It was a lot of fun putting the clay on and letting it dry and then jumping into the ocean and having it wash off. I am pretty positive that I go to Target and buy a clay mask for myself that seemed identical to the clay found on the rocks. 

We spent some time going through the town, looking in all the little shops and stocked up on some things for the rest of our time - a couple towels, snorkels, paddle boards, etc. The town was great, it had a lot of restaurants right there on the water and Brett tried an authentic Greek dish - Moussaka. It was very interesting and you'll have to ask him about it since I did not have any!

Anyway, we got up one morning and went up to this other little port town on the northern coast called Naousa. It was a real fishing port with all the fisherman getting their catch out and hanging it out. That day we went, their "fish of the day" was...  octopus! Then there was this little castle ruins out to the side of the port, so of course that needed to be explored. I had never seen a castle like that before right on the water where all the waves were breaking right there. It's amazing to think that it is still standing all these years later with all the water thrashing against it everyday. Then we drove around a little more to explore other beaches before heading to our hotel to return the ATV. 

Paros was the perfect island to get us started for our trip and I am so glad we ended up there first. It was pretty small and a little quiet and the staff at our hotel were friendly. But like I said before, every island is completely different and nothing could have prepared us for what was next... Mykonos. 

X x

stop and smell the roses

We have had some rain on and off the past couple weeks here in northern california, so the flowers here have been bright and beautiful; spring is definitely in full bloom now. And also after being in Yosemite for the long weekend & not having any cell reception, it really allowed me to connect with the people and things around you. This inspired me to, excuse the cliche but stop and smell the roses. Why not take a moment or two for yourself to really take a look around at the beauty that is right in front of you? You never know what you may find.. :]

x X

the-15-mile-10-hour-hike-of-a-lifetime

I was having some difficulty trying to figure out how to write this post, because no words I can come up with or picture I have to share will do this trail justice - it was that amazing. Nevertheless I am going to try my best and have decided to turn this post into some what of a "how to" and help anyone else who wants to do this be just as prepared as we were.

The trail we did was called Panorama Trail - don't let the name fool you though, it was a very intense, long trail, climbing up and down a few sets of mountains. Usually you can take a shuttle to the top of Glacier Point and start the trail from there, but I guess Yosemite is not currently providing the service so we hiked up to the top of Glacier Point and then went from there to Panorama Trail which takes you all the way back down to the valley floor.

From start to finish it took us a little over 10 hours, we tried to leave a bit earlier but by the time we parked & even got to the start of the hike it was 9am. The trail up to Glacier Point is called 4 mile trail {also deceiving because it's actually 4.8 miles} which is alternating uphill switchbacks to climb up the mountain. That was pretty hard going and it took us about 3 hours, we made really great time. We stopped once to have a couple snacks to give us energy to finish the uphill to Glacier Point. Once we arrived there we had such a feeling of great accomplishment just looking out at the breathtaking views. There is actually a general store with food and snacks as well as restrooms which we did not know about but were very relieved to find that out. They also had a water fountain so we could fill up our Camel Pack's.

Once we had a nice long break, filled up on food & used the restroom it was time to start Panorama Trail. The first few miles are all downhill and the trail changes as it feels more like a desert with the sun beating down on you. Once you get lower down the mountain there are more trees covering you and it feels more like a forest. Then the first waterfall you see is called Illilouette Falls, it is nice but there are still two more impressive waterfalls coming :)

Before you know it, you are at the bottom between two sets of mountains where there are rapids flowing very aggressively. We could not believe we had come all the way down after being so high up at Glacier Point. Once you cross the river though, the tough part starts again and it is back to uphill climbing. This time it was a little bit tougher because we had already been on the trail for 5 or 6 hours and were getting a bit tired, not to mention it was the middle of the afternoon and the sun was pretty strong. We took this next uphill part pretty slow with a few little breaks every now and then in the shade to catch our breath. There was a great parting between the trees where you can see the back of Half Dome which quickly reminds you just how high you have climbed, again. 

Not too much further and you come to the top of Nevada Falls, which I think is the biggest waterfall. With all the snow still melting Nevada Falls was in full force with its loud crashing water falling down. It was just breathtaking and you could really feel the energy and power that the water had. We took a little break here and sat on the rocks because out of nowhere this horrible blister on my heel decided it didn't want me to walk anymore. We also had some more snacks to refuel for the hike down via the Mist Trail. This takes you along side Nevada Falls, brings you to the top of Vernal Falls and then really along side Vernal falls with lots of, you guessed it.. mist! The "steps" were very tricky and basically just rocks scattered, you really need to watch every step you take. Going down is actually extremely tricky because you are using different muscles than ones you normally use on a day to day basis and you need to have good solid balance as you climb down. Coming down the Mist Trail was definitely worth every one of those steps because when you are beside Vernal Falls and all you can hear is the roar of the water and the mist on your face, there really is nothing better.

At the bottom of the stairs, I turned back up to look and all I could think was, We did it! We did it! Wow I can't believe we did all that! In a way I was so relieved to be back at the bottom and know there was just about one mile to go of just wide open road and pavement and then I could sit down, relax and take off these clothes. I can tell you this though, I had no idea what I had done all day. I didn't believe that I went all the way up those mountains, and down.. and then back up again. Was I dreaming, did this happen? Brett tried to point out where we were during the day & all I could say was No, no way - we weren't up there, are you crazy?

And just like that, there is my summary and experience with probably the second best hike in the park {I think first being Half Dome} One thing to keep in mind is the valley floor is about 3,000ft in elevation already and when you are at the top of Glacier Point it gets up to about 8,000ft - I believe that is important for anyone to know who wants to go into this. Also here is a list of things we brought with us that I would advise anyone else to do the same. I hope you enjoyed this experience I shared & I would love to hear if you did this hike or anything similar & what your experience was like!

Necessary Items:

• 2-3 liters of water {seriously!}
• lots of quality food & snacks
• energy blocks or liquid goo
• quality hiking shoes & socks
• first aid kit {band aids, ibuprofen, gauze - the usual, just in case}
• sunscreen
• hand sanitizer
• bug spray {look for one with deet}
• mole skin {i actually left this back in our cabin & really regretted it}
• light weight & comfy clothes
• a camera!
• a sense of wonder and adventure

 

 

X x