Backpacking Stanley Hot Springs

about a nice lil' 5.5 miles of packing in
about 1,260 feet in elevation gain (pretty much all in the first couple miles. killer switchbacks!)
about 120 degree pools of natural rocky luxury

 Fueled by Tenacious D, Mitch Hedburg, CAKE, mexican food (what?!), and pure adrenaline we drove and drove to the trail head and began our pack-laden ascent to...

STANLEY HOT SPRINGS!

This past week was exactly what I needed. I met incredible people, played with goats, learned to forage wild ginger, read and read, had wild singalongs all day every day, wrote, and buuurrrrnnned myself to a little crisp.

 
so many bugs.





singing these constantly

In terms of what to pack in for food, it's best to stick with light weight things you can add boiling water to...such as freeze dried couscous or oatmeal. Gorp and Glop are backpacking essentials. Although they sound like bizarre cartoon characters, these are titles aptly given (by whom? no idea.) to glorified trail mix (EVERYTHING - almonds, chocolate, pumpkin seeds, raisins, cherries, cereal, walnuts, banana chips, anything the heart desires and that serves as hardcore fuel) and the aforementioned freeze dried stuff to which you add boiling water.... These can usually be found in the bulk sections of grocery store and health food stores and range from black beans and rice to indian spiced soup.


Other things not to forget:
-Tabasco. Always pack in tabasco. I even put it in my granola sometimes to give it some kick!
-A way to purify your water - a hand pump charcoal filter or those new fancy Steripens are perfect
-Rope; adventurers can never have enough rope!
-A little cook stove to quickly heat water.
-A foldy saw and some firewood know-how
-Beneficial to pick up a little backpacking handbook and maybe a guide to the area you're camping, if you are so inclined
-Cheezits. in the car. for when you make it back down, cast off your hiking boots, and sit in the parking lot in your disgusting clothes and scarf something cheesy.

Make friends with other mountain folk! Some of them have goats, may teach you to forage wild plants, and join you for a wonderful forest feast complete with a chocolate thimble berry campfire souffle!

Reading Traveling with Pomegranates, I thought much of my mother and the relationship that we have forged through the years. She is an incredible woman...and I see whispers and melodies of her in me all the time. She and my father took me backpacking often when I was younger and I have never seen them more at ease than when surrounded by endless trees (heh, that rhymed).
While in the forest, I wrote quite a bit. Much of it turned into nonsense but, for some reason, it was what was flowing through me at the time - it made me feel calm and close to my family, close to versions of them that I have never met and close to the versions of them that are a part of me.
Despite the men and the mental states that shatter my vibrating soul, my family, friends, and the natural and real world of the mountains are always there to help it mend. :}

So, get outside; meet the wild!

Also, I've decided I'm gonna get an angora rabbit, name it Sparkle, and spin me some yarn!

Hope you're having a lovely week! :}

Weekly Inspirational Folk

I've determined that part of my weekly posting will be a profile of someone in our world that I find terribly inspiring...whether it be an artist, an entrepreneur, an athlete, or a character from a children's book. We learn from what we observe in others. Let's draw some sort of something positive from these wildly interesting people!

As the 2012 Summer Olympics are upon us - Sanya Richards-Ross is this week's INSPIRATIONAL FOLK!

Sanya

An American sprinter born in Jamaica, she holds the world indoor record in the 400 meter dash. In 2006, she ran a blazing 48.70!! And check that Power Booty!
The woman is incredible. It takes such drive and dedication to be a professional athlete - especially a professional runner; it's a sport of the mind as much as of the body. I remember my days of 400m running - you just have to decide to do it.

Look for her in the 4x400 meter relay and the 400 meter dash in this year's London Olympics - opening on, I believe, July 27!





This video is definitely not in English. :}

On a quick note: Here's my makeshift exposure set up for my screens! More to come on all this.

 

Hope you're having a fabulous weekend. Catch ya'll later! :}

Rejuvenation Recipe

This last month has been a bizarre and difficult one; one in need of a special sort of recipe, a recipe for rejuvenation.

Add each ingredient to taste.

~ Chocolate wine and baked sweet potatoes with a good friend and a lovely sunset to remind you that everybody has issues and it's best to sparse them out and laugh raucously until they feel as though they could never have been anything more than a couple sore dimples, purple lips, and annoyed neighbors.

~ A project. Whether it be drawing a map of your backyard or counting the number of cartwheels you can do in a row. It's important to have something to focus on. I'm currently knitting a sweater - a 1x1 rib knit with varying sizes of needles - in purple! And sewing a flowy maxi skirt with chiffon. I'll let you know how it goes. :} And maybe even provide a pattern! Eeek. I'll have to write a pattern.
Working on silk screening screens and some block printing too - maybe there's such a thing as too many projects....

~ A new basketball! The rediscovering of an old love is always fantastic. And discovering that you're actually not that bad at it...in fact probably a little better than before. How does that happen? E'eryday, man, out in the park! SHOES are next...all of my old ones are a tad worn out.

~ GORGEOUS friends from years ago. Pick up where you left off but with more stories to tell. Goodness, my dears, how far we've traveled, how close to our cores we've remained.

~ Yoga in the company of goddesses. Deep ujjayi breath and laughter in the small town yoga studio. I can't believe how lucky I am to have such joyful and dedicated women all around me. Yoga pose I'm doing constantly this week: DOWN DOG! A classic for a reason.

~ A long, lone run because instead of trying to keep up with the world, for once, it's the world that has to keep up with you. Strong enough that even when the world does catch up, you know you can pick it right on up and keep chugging. Each fingertip has a heartbeat.

~ A book. I'm reading this right now (in my nonfiction phase of the transition from textbook to fiction for the summer):

And reading this next:

~ A stupid movie and a beauty treatment. Yup, get all girly on that sh**.

~ A beer and/or summer strawberries and some sort of calm and sweet company. Even if it's your wise ol' dad or just your cat.

~ Something crazy and life affirming. Repeat: life AFFIRMING - not life threatening.

~ Breath. In through the nose, out through the mouth. Oxygen all the way to the base of the lungs and everything out - stale air, drama, bad thoughts, sadness, releasing it all with the exhale. And a big, fat, goofy grin.

r. crumb drawing

~ Music and dancing - be it making it or listening or both. Catharsis, baby!

Hey there folks! I just finished my 'About' page. Give it a look. It's a rather picture heavy post. And I'll be back with a real person post soon and very soon. :}








-tay