Living in San Francisco, I’m super lucky to have many beautiful destinations within a few hours’ driving distance. Mendocino, Napa, Carmel, Big Sur… For me, that means that most of these places are usually long day trips. I’m lucky to have finally spent a weekend on the Central Coast. Read on to see how to spend an idyllic weekend in Carmel.
I’m really good at destroying my pants while climbing. Cracks aren’t terribly forgiving. You can find me awkwardly humping the rock to top out more often than not. 99% of the time I find myself scooting on my butt on an approach or descent. Add in my slob factor and it’s basically a recipe for disaster when it comes to ever looking socially acceptable after climbing. The Black Diamond Creek Pants were the answer to my prayers.
I love birthdays. I love my birthday. I love other people’s birthdays. I love celebrating birthdays. I love birthday surprises. And most of all, I love birthday surprises that involve making awesome memories. My boyfriend officially crossed the threshold into his late twenties earlier this month. He’d never actually been backpacking before, so what better place to take him than Lake Aloha in Desolation Wilderness?
As the days go by, I slowly descend more and more into sloth/slob-dom. Any jacket that feels like a fuzzy blanket is a winner in my book. With the Mountain Hardwear Monkey Woman Grid II jacket, I can get outside and be fuzzy and comfortable too.
Friday afternoon, a week before Red Rock Rendezvous, I frantically dialed the number of the dude organizing the entire festival. In the span of an hour, en route to Joe’s Valley, I managed to completely freak out and convince myself that my measly trad skills were too measly for an advanced gear placement and anchors class. I anxiously rifled through the website, hoping for something, or anything, to tell me that I’d be okay. But somehow things looked a little different from when I bought my early bird ticket back in November. And this time around? There were skill levels associated with all the descriptions. Crap.