Every part of me was ready to head to the mountains. It felt like too long since I had hiked around the beautiful Sierras. Amidst the rush of the week, I found peace with knowing I would soon be amongst the granite slabs, alpine lakes, and fall forest leaves. To make matters more exciting, this was a Poly Escapes trip. As a leader for Poly Escapes, I get the opportunity to bring other students and curious beings to beautiful wilderness spots around california. A total of13 of us packed up for the weekend. We had a wonderful itenerary that included day hikes, backpacking, and some backcountry caving. It took a long six hours on friday night to arrive at our campground, but the long hours meant nothing as soon as we stepped out of the car and we were filled with fresh mountain air and the sight of the dense night sky. Unfortunately, we had some disrespectful camp neighbors who arrived at the drive in campsite even later then we did. It was around two in the morning when I was woken up by their loud engine and bright lights. They spent nearly two hours pitching their large tent and blowing up their air mattress. It was a little obnoxious, but luckily it only kept me and the other leader awake so everyone else was able to sleep soundly. We left the campsite early after a delicious breakfast of pumpkin and chocolate granola, almond milk, and bananas! We drove to Kennedy Meadows and parked at the trailhead for a six miles round trip hike with our destination of Relief Reservoir. The fall birch leaves were a personal highlight for me; I have never hiked emigrant wilderness in the fall so the fall colors were a treat. After we experienced the beautiful hike to the lake we hiked back to our cars to travel to our next trailhead. We were hiking another three miles with our overnight backpacks to stay at Eagle Meadows. I have a little history with this particular trail that makes it extra special. It is the location of my first backpacking trip back in 2011. It is always so great to return to this spot and it was an even better experience this time because I was able to share the spot with so many other new backpackers. We spend the evening chowing down on a huge feast of chicken, sauteed veggies, brown rice, avocados, salsa, tortillas and snickernoodle cookies and settled around the fire for fun camp stories. The night brought out a chilly frost so our stiff bodies were ready to move as soon as we woke up. With camp clean and a warm oatmeal breakfast in our bellies, we hiked to a unique cave system. We scrambled around rocks and stood in awe amongst the massive surrounding natural landscapes. It was the perfect end to our backcountry experience. We made a pitstop at Pinecrest lake, about 30 minutes drive from our trailhead, so we could enjoy one last sierra experience. Happy with our weekend away, we stuffed back into our poly escape minivans and drove back to home sweet SLOme.
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I was raised in a cautious environment, with the encouragement to always do my best but being careful and thoughtful with my actions. As I emerge myself in adventure activities, I value this perspective and have molded it in order to be a smart adventurer. There is a saying, "with risk can come great reward," but it should be expanded to acknowledge that understanding the dangers and your personal limits before attempting to reach your reward can bring even more value to the experience. I am taking a swift water rescue course in Coloma, Ca along the south fork of the American river. We are camped along side of Mother Lode River center for the intense weekend training course. My experience in white water is limited, but as talked about in my "H20," post, I Iove the water and I embrace any chance to expand my understanding of the element. The first day was jam packed with physical and mental challenges. We have a small group of five with one teacher. This small group learning style enables us to have more hands on training and more direct discussion about the skills. It took me a couple trials to feel comfortable swimming in the rapids and wading the width of the river, but with a little determination and trial and error my fears of the unknown were replaced with courage and understanding. We were immediately thrown into the crashing water holes and taught valuable lessons about the hazards in the river. We practiced maneuvering away through different obstacles in the water to reach specific vantage points. We practiced a multitude of different techniques to rescue drifting swimmers using throw-bags. We practiced escaping the pounding currents after being caught by a strainer. We practiced tying important knots and hitches. We wrapped up our day with smiles and feeling a little like our bodies were still being tossed by the waves. Then it was time to rest; so I laid down and looked at the sky to dream and think and enjoy the feeling of a day well spent. It's an addictive feeling to work to the point when you can set up camp or sit in your house and feel like your body was pushed to its limits and your mind engaged in activity. This is one reason for my love of adventure activities. I have experienced the most delight and natural highs from my lightweight backpacking trips, mountaineering trips, and whitewater trips. The rush followed by the calmness feels right, like the whole self is saying,"I was meant for this." I have met many that shy away from outdoor activities- many self conscious with how their bodies react initially with being stimulated in such a new way. The ones that stick out it though, and find their niche in the outdoor community-- they can attest to my testimony. We awoke at 3:15 am, grabbed our day packs and headed to the entrance of Machu Picchu. The gates to start hiking to the ruins open at 5 am. We waited with eager anticipation at the front of the line in order to reach the ruins before the crowds of people would start to arrive. We knew what lied ahead of us was, as National Geographic describes, "strenuous and takes about 90 minutes" Our bodies were adjusted to the altitude after the past couple days hiking the Salakantay trek some of us had a little more drive in us to make it up in at least under an hour in order to be the first ones in when the gates at the top opened at 6 am. As soon as we were let in, there was a rush of energy amongst the hikers as we set off at different speeds to find our personal paces. As I started stepping up the first of the 1660+ stairs, I knew my body was feeling strong and capable of a difficult ascent. I found myself passing swarms for people and the desire to stop was hushed with the eagerness to finish the trek. It was very dark and there was a slight mist so each step was carefully guided by my headlamp and cautiously taken because of the fear my ragged shoes would give out at any moment. As soon as I reached the top, I was filled with even more energy. I greeted two of my friends and found out that one was able to get to the top in 29 minutes, making him the first of the day. They congratulated me because I was the first girl to finish, taking approximately 36 minutes to complete. The security working the entrance informed us that the record to complete the brutal stair ascent is 10 minutes! At 6, we were allowed to enter the park and our guide took us on a walk to see the major historical landmarks of Machu Picchu. The weather brought a spooky fog and a light rain. Weather played an important role for the Incas. We learned about the importance of the position of the sun and moon and how the infrastructure utilizes the elements in order to give information to it's past inhabitants. The ruins are very strong and have withstood centuries. When the ruins were found, they were buried under a cloud forest and they are still not entirely restored. After the tour, our group had the opportunity to explore more or rest and snack. The fog was not lifting and the temperature was chilly so the group decided to go to the cafe and explore later in the day. I felt a strong pull to continue going so I decided to summit Machu Picchu mountain and meet with the group later.
It was a privilege to experience the raw beauty of the hike. I really felt like the mountain was giving me energy to make it to the spectacular finish. There was still a heavy cloud cover over the ruins, but surrounding peaks in the distance were exposed which made for a unique panoramic view. There were only a handful of other people at the top, everyone happy and mesmerized by the experience. I was full of joy and an awe; reminded of how the world never ceases to push and inspire me, and how magnificent and full of purpose the creator of it is.
As I have been traveling through Peru, I have experienced many first. Amongst these first, one is going on treks blindsided because my wonderful program leaders have done all the dirty work in organizing our adventures. I knew a 5 day trek that ended with hiking matchu pichuu was a part of our itinerary, but I underestimated the beauty, the wild, the unexpected journey we would embark on as travelers on the salakantay trek. A large group of anxious travelers scarfed down breakfast in a little restaurant as our guides split us into groups and weighed our mule bags. This was the first trek I would be doing that involved mules doing the heavy lifting, but I embraced it anticipating the hard five days of hiking that lied ahead. At breakfast we learned that nearly 85 people would be hiking along the trail with us and camping at the sites set out along the journey. Yes, 85, people! More firsts. We were split into groups of 14-20 that so as we started the first day of hiking, we eagerly made it to the front of the groups and started our first full day of hiking. The trail started with a steep uphill to a more moderate incline that began overlooking the vast canyons and mountains of the Andes. We climbed above the towns until they were dollhouses in the far distance. After hiking all morning we came upon the first surprise on the trail, a little store with rest area. It already felt odd not to have my backpack by my side, but now a little Peruvian lady is selling me chocolate and inca kola? I caved for a purchase of a Sublime chocolate bar. It was worth every centimos. We moved along because lunch was just another hikers hour later. The trail started to expose a drop off along the right of the hiking trail. Hiking along ridgelines always brings me joy. It was a perfect mix of steady ups and downs until eventually we turned the corner to see the massive glacier in the distance. The glaciar was massive and the white peaks were glowing in the distance. We were able to see our campsite far in the distance, nestled in the valley underneath the glacier. The view of our destination brought new excitement to the trail. Eventually lunch time came along and SURPRISE, all meals provided are prepared by our amazing and talented chef, Washington. We were pampered with mates, soups, starters, desserts throughout our whole trek. I was expecting backpackers pantry and packaged food, but what we ate was treking food for gods! The next few days of treking involved a rapid accent to our highest elevation of 4630 m. We all hiked at different paces to reach the top but shared the joy and sense of accomplishment when we reunited at the top. We are surrounded by glacier peaks and the sight of our trail below that stretched into the jungle. Our decent opened up more time to converse about anything and everything that popped into our minds. It had been about week four of traveling with the 12 others in the OG group and every day provided the opportunity to learn something new about one another. The jungle brought a new experience to all our senses; the air was thicker, the scenery was green, lush, and there was flowing water everywhere, and you can feel the life growing and living all around you. We traveled through a lot of small communities, wondering what their day to day life was like. For us, our days in the jungle revolved around walking, playing with chickens, eatings snacks, and drinking beers and playing games at the campsite. After our days hiking in the jungle were over, we took a bus to a campsite in Santa Teresa. We all were excited for this stop because the much anticipated hot springs awaited us. We got to soak our bodies in warm mineral pools, rinse off under waterfalls, enjoy expensive wine and beers at the bar, and rest after an exciting three days of trekking.
On our last day, the group was split into a Zipline group and a hiking group. I chose to hike, having experienced ziplining a few times in the past. Although the trail was just a road, and the day carried a hot and heavy heat to it, I enjoyed the morning hike. It was refreshing to get the chance to exchange stories more in depth amongst our small hiking group and to take some time for personal reflection. Eventually we met up with the Zipline group and hiked the remainder of the trail to Aguas Caliente. The trail followed along a railroad. It was flat and appeared endless. We had to tap into stored energy reserves in order to reach our destination. Aguas Caliente is a tourist paradise. It was full of energy in the streets, beautiful Incan shops, flashy hotels, hole in the wall hostels, and restaurants of every variety. We were all happy to have a warm shower and a bed for the night because we needed to be well rested for our sunrise hike up to Machu Picchu. WAQRAPUKARA The past couple of days in Chosecani Peru have been spent hard at work to help put together the community center for the town. Our group is split into homestays in the community. On the first night of my homestays, our house father told me and housemate, Megan, about a long hike to an ancient ruin. We had a lot of work to do on community center so we worked hard knowing that there was the possibility of taking a morning off to do the hike. Fortunately, we surpassed our work goal so we made plans to hike to the ruins the next day, leaving at four am in order to get back for afternoon work. Megan and I have the sweetest house mother who woke up early in the morning to make us breakfast and a packed lunch. At 3:30 am we were in bliss as we enjoyed homemade bread and warm chocolate milk. I couldn't help but accept seconds of the chocolate milk, but we had to leave in a haste in order to meet with the six others in the group and our guide. Going into the hike, there was a variety of rumors floating around about the difficulty and length of the hike. The guide told us he would be setting a brisk pace so we could get to the ruins in good time. I felt like we were running up the mountain. I consider myself a brisk hiker but with two glasses of hot cocoa, fridged temperatures, and miles of unknown uphill ahead I felt at my lowest. It turns out, our trip from chosacani to Waqrapukara was a total of 30 km(miles) with an elevation starting at 3750m and peaking at nearly 5000m. The first couple miles were honestly rough, I was a little bitter about the pace but because of the speed we were able to experience amazing views of the sunrise over the pomacanchi region and a little Munya oil and coco leaves can help any hiker fight altitude. We hiked up up, and up through frosty covered rolling hills and laughed at the thought of us being able to return back to our work town by noon. We looked forward to the ruins and walked in awe as we crossed scenic panoramas of the Andes. After reaching our highest point we had about three miles of down hill till we got to the ruins. We embraced the change in pace. The land opened up to expose a gorgeous canyon that appeared to have infinite depth and range. The ruins stood in the middle of the canyon. The ruins were said to be older then the Incas, their unique fortress building style differing from traditional inca infrastructure. I tried to run up the stairs to reach the top of the fortress but my mind was overly ambitious and had more energy compared to my worn legs and acclimating pulmonary system. Slowly but surely I made it to to top where I stood in awe of the canyon and mountains surrounding me. I wondered what thoughts and experiences lived in the past in this wonderous place. The remaining walls holding all the secrets to the past. We explored, took photos, played around with yoga, dreamt, and relaxed after the long 5 hour hike to reach the beautiful fortress in the sky. I could have stayed and explored the ruins for days, I was captivated by my colors in the canyon, how the ridge line scraped the sky and how the archetecture of the old ruins were intelligently layered. The hike wasn't over though. We had to return to Chosecani. After enjoying the ruins we set out to climb back up to the summit. Your mindset shifts to embrace the inevitable of completion.. The hike back to the highest point was strenuous, and setting out at noon posed a new challenge of heat. As with all long distance hiking, your mindset shifts to embrace the inevitable of completion. No matter what, you have to finish the miles ahead or else you will be at a standstill. So we fought against our pounding hearts and shakes legs so we could make good time. We were cheered along by a herd of wild alpaca and the thought of snacks and homemade dinner back at Chosecani. Once we got to our downhill section, we raced ahead taking notice of the hardwork it took to climb the steep trail. Four hours went by and soon we floated into the plaza of chosecani feeling accomplished and a little loopy after being awake and highly active for the past 12 hours. It was a monstrous day hike, but to be amongst the Andes is undeniably humbling, inspiring, and worthwhile.
For a week I slept surrounded by the towering sacred mountains in Maska, Peru on the Kausay Punku farm owned by the Kallpa family. The experience was so different then previous mountain adventures. Like many trips to the mountains I found myself in awe with the landscape but the land and the circumstances in which I was experiencing the land brought so much more rawness. The mountains in the sacred valley are rich with history and when I was not working on the farm with my operation groundswell group, we were showered with ancient Incan knowledge and guided by one of the Kallpa brothers, Dario to experience the mountains up close and personal. He took us to the Pisac ruins for a private sunset tour. The manipulation of the land in order to accomadate for the lifestyle of the Incas was absolutely incredible. The Incas had immense respect for the land and the mountains, and all of the planning for their community was made with high regards to the state of the natural landscape. The manipulation of the land to host their buildings and agricultural projects added beauty to the land and as we hiked through the mountain, I found myself holding deep respect for the ingenuity of the Incas.
My interest with backpacking is rooted in the fact that the trips I take help me stay grounded and give me a chance to reflect on my observations. I am currently traveling in Peru with an organization called Operation Groundswell. I decided to take my backpacking to the next level by traveling abroad. The program is called Mind and Body, so our focus through out the six weeks in Peru revolve around concepts that draws connections and offer new perspective about how our bodies and mind are connected with one another as well as how they can be effected by our external environment. Before the group I am with travels to the Andes, we are spending a week in Lima. Lima is the Capitol of Peru. The buildings are tall, car alarms and horns are always in earshot, animals run and speak freely, and the streets are full of people hard at work. During our time here we have taken a Meditation course called Arte de Vivir. I struggle with centering myself and having a peaceful state of mind and it usually takes me going to the mountains to sort through my thoughts and feel refreshed. I am very excited to incooperatethe tools I have been taught in the Arte de Vivir classes. We have prioitized time in our busy schedule to do yoga and practice our breathing. We practice in busy parks, surrounded by the active city yet I am still able to unwind and focus on my breath. I can feel my internal framework being adjusted appropriately to allow for a more focused and genuine approach to my day to day. Some general concepts I really enjoyed musing about are; don't put conditions to your happiness, you can channel happiness from within where ever you are; a kite is like your thoughts, aimlessly moving from past to present but the breathe can act as the reel to help center the kite to the present moment; breathe work and meditation is like choosing a healthy diet, do not wait until you feel poorly to change but instead incooperate the practice in your routine for increased longevity; the ego holds you back from acceptance of yourself and causes you to fear the perception of others; we are always trying to control the external universe but the reward comes with control of the universe that is within you. As we transition from the city to the mountains, I look forward to more meditation and more adventures. |
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January 2017
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