A few days prior to my Eastern Sierras birthday trip I poked around the #easternsierras hashtag on Instagram looking for some ideas and inspiration on what to do. I was pretty much stumped and so beyond planning a detailed itinerary at that point. My friend, Sarah, suggested the Black Point Fissures at Mono Lake. A quick click on this link and I was sold.
When I’m traveling anywhere, doesn’t matter where, I always bring two things: cosmetics and electronics. And those are two things that I’m really bad at keeping organized. Items always end up stuffed haphazardly wherever they fit or where I can easily reach for security checkpoints. For a while I was stealing my boyfriend’s Eagle Creek pouch, but he eventually wanted it back. When I discovered the Chums Latitude Accessory Cases, it was a match made in heaven.
Down jackets are kind of my thing and I really love them. Which is weird because I live in California and the last time we had a winter was probably before I graduated from college. But come on, a down jacket is your best friend. It keeps you warm. It packs down super small in your pack and is forgotten until you need it. It makes a great pillow when you forget yours while camping.
After a couple months of non-stop craziness, I decided to take a few days off and enjoy my birthday in the quiet and solitude of the outdoors. Squamish and Crater Lake were close contenders but in the end, the Eastern Sierras won out because hot springs. Seriously, what better way is there to rejuvenate than in the mountains soaking in a hot tub?
Photo by Nelson Salvatera
Since moving to San Francisco, I’ve come to realize that space and storage is a premium. There’s only so many backpacks I can own in a space that’s sub 600 square feet. I find that solid, all-around backpacks are hard to find. Most only excel at one thing or another, resulting in a giant collection of packs that you use for one thing, maybe two. This is where the Mountain Hardwear Scrambler 30 pack shines.