Tuesday, December 10, 2024

Oregon Coast Trail - Yachats

The Oregon Coast trail is about 362 miles in length with a mix of trails, beach and paved roads. I caught a few sections along my drive. The small coastal town of Yachats, just south of Newport, is a beautiful section if you want to sample the trail. 



I'm already thinking next time I should add a night in Yachats to my itinerary. There are several lodging options along the trail and would make for an easier, but more expensive thru-hike.

The trail has several tree tunnels to walk through with constant views of the ocean. It's also entirely flat. I wonder if after 362 miles you would get bored of this. I don't think I would.





I'll be back some day for more I think as I leave.

Monday, December 9, 2024

Simpson-Reed Trail - California

Driving south along the 101 and crossing over into California from Oregon was an interesting experience. It was incredibly foggy and hard to see far ahead in the road. It was in California that the trees suddenly became humungous. The Redwoods. Driving along the highway and turning off onto the curvier 199 to head east was one of my favorite parts of my roadtrip.


All this leads us to a stop at Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park for a short hike on the Simpson-Reed Trail. It was a weekday, so it wasn't busy. A photographer was taking photos of the trees. 

A forest of skyscrapers beckons. I can't stop looking up.




I love this magical place so much.


I feel tiny and magnificent at the same time.

One of my inspirations for traveling through northern California and southern Oregon was reading the whole Virgin River series this year. A romantic at heart, I also loved reading about how beautiful this area is and I wanted to check it out myself. After the hike I'll be driving through Grants Pass and heading towards Crater Lake!

Sunday, December 8, 2024

Are you thinking of moving to CO from the east coast?

I heard a bit on the morning show Z100 from Ghandi. It went something like this:

"Here's how I describe the east coast versus the west coast. On the east coast, people are kind, but they're not very nice. On the west coast, people are nice, but they're not very kind. Example -  New Yorkers will help you dig your car out of a pile of snow, but they won't say a word to you while they do it and they'll leave without saying good-bye. On the west coast, they'll just abandon you."

I thought this assessment was funny enough, very accurate. No one has ever helped me shovel anything here. I can count a few times I've been helped by random strangers in NY.  Thinking about this, I decided to put together a list of all the differences you'll find when coming to a new place, specifically NY vs. CO. 

Colorado Pros in comparison to Long Island:
1. Obviously, the #1 pro of living in CO is the access to trails and outdoor activities. Less than 30 minutes to multiple trails. The ability to not have to drive over the GW Bridge or any bridge to go for a hike is amazing. Sometimes it would feel like you were trapped on an island because it was such a hassle to leave it at all.
2. Longmont and Boulder have the best farmers markets I've ever seen. Lots of fresh produce and local artisans.
3. Mexican food I am told is better here. I honestly wouldn't know the difference in quality or what is considered authentic, because I rarely ate it in NY and hence have a low tolerance to spice. But, I've enjoyed most of the mexican food I've had here. Burritos are the go-to breakfast food in CO.
4. Croissants. Along, with mexican, the next most frequent food I see a lot here is french based. I've probably eaten way too many croissants since moving here.
5. As everyone knows, the air is very dry here. This could be a plus or minus. The biggest plus for me is that I've never had to deal with ticks or fleas. There are ticks here, but not like on LI and I've never seen one. I do miss the rain sometimes though.
6. Power lines are mostly below ground versus above ground. We lose power very rarely in CO. 
7. The wait time at every doctor appointment I've had here is usually less than 10 minutes or right on time. Compared to NY, the average wait time would be an hour and sometimes longer.
8. I've never been cat-called here. 
9. Some neighborhoods have houses with gardens on their front lawns. Long Island tends to have more manicured lawns even without HOAs.
10. All the wildlife.
11. All the wildflowers.


Colorado Cons in comparison to Long Island
1. Food:
 -For me, the #1 con is pizza and italian food. It is abysmal here. But honestly, that's any state outside of the tri-state area, not just CO. There are a couple of passable places in the state, but nothing like home. No monday night pasta night deals. No Mario's or Gino's. There are not very many italians here.
 -Along the same note as above, italian bakeries are also missing or any bakeries in general. I would give anything sometimes for a fresh baked italian semolina loaf from Mario's Pasticceria and a white box full of cookies tied with a red and white string, just like on the Sopranos. The cake is also very bad here. It's hard to explain, but something's missing. The best cake I ever had was Custom Bakers of Island Park. I miss that place from my childhood, long ago closed.
 -Bagels. Again, bread is just not that good here. I am going to say it probably has a lot to do with the low humidity. 
 -Chinese, Indian, Thai is also not great....basically anything that isn't mexican, french, german or pub food.
 -There are some foods not found in CO grocery stores. I didn't realize these were NY specific until leaving. Breakstones, Polly-O, Ellios frozen pizza, poland spring water to name a few. As well as ravioli stores and delis.
2. Basements are not a norm in CO. Radon exists.
3. People seem to wake up earlier here. Work starts earlier, 8 instead of 9.
4. Everyone else also wants to enjoy all the trails, so you have to wake up extra early to beat them as well as the thunderstorms.
5. I miss having snow days off work. People still go to work when it snows no matter how much. NY would have a few snow days a year. (Pre-pandemic).
6. There is a more visible homeless and drug addiction problem here. There are panhandlers at traffic lights in CO, that I never saw on LI. Not to say LI doesn't have issues, but it is more hidden. For example, you may come across a stealth camp deeper in the woods off trail on LI, but not in plain-sight in a public park or a sidewalk camp seen from a busy road.
7. Meth seems like a bigger issue here. Never even heard of meth until I moved here.
8. I love wildlife, but you do have to be aware of bears, rattlesnakes and mountain lions when hiking. Is long island the only place without those? I'm more afraid of ticks on LI in comparison though.

Some other random differences that I've noticed (not necessarily good or bad):

LI vs Co
-Oil heating in houses versus gas heating. It took me awhile to realize I never saw oil trucks in the neighborhoods making deliveries to houses.
-I don't think I ever saw a roundabout until I moved here. I go through 5 on a 10 minute drive to Costco in CO.
-Despite all the car break-in complaints in CO, no one has alarms on their cars. 
-Jalapenos in everything in CO.
-No one eats eggplant here. It's a common ingredient in NY.
-Sometimes you may meet someone who has never heard of a garlic knot. 
-Food lingo: heros versus subs versus hoagies, soda versus pop, sneakers versus shoes
-More diverse names in CO. NY has numerous Michaels, Christophers, Josephs and Pauls versus for example, Harrison, Chad, Joel or Tucker. I never met anyone with those names in NY. 
-More catholics in NY.
-People tend to be more polite, less gossipy and stay out of your business in CO. Neighborhoods don't have as much as a community feel. People may take more offense to rudeness.
-No accents in CO. 
-Clothing is brighter in CO compared to the black of NYC. I guess you need to be found if you fall off a cliff hiking!
-Houses don't have pools.
-I've never seen a greeting card/lotto store in CO.
-Dunkin Donuts and 7-11's are not as popular as in NY.
-Someone who has never been to NY will always mention Times Square first as the place they want to see. When in reality, no one in NY likes to go there. On the other side, someone from LI who has never been to CO will probably think everyone lives in the mountains. When in reality, the front range towns look like any other suburban town, but with a distant view of the mountains.

and lastly, 
-mountains versus oceans
Both are beautiful in their own ways. Sometimes, I think Washington or Oregon would be a better fit for me. Best of both worlds.

So in case you've never left the place you grew up in and always wondered what it's like out there. Yes, things are different on the outside, but you are still the same person wherever you go.

I know this wasn't a hiking post, but I added it anyway.

Silver Falls State Park - Oregon

I visited a new state this year and probably almost every day I still think about the magnificent waterfalls I saw there. As in a lot of cases of traveling to beautiful areas, it makes you pause and think "Should I move here?" 

Silver Falls State Park was my first hike on my 1,191 mile road trip. I drove north from Eugene turning off onto a pretty desolate road. It didn't look like there would be any waterfalls where I was heading, but eventually the scenery morphed into an enclosed forest near the park entrance. It was a Sunday in early fall, mid-morning and the large parking lot was less than half full. 

I decided on hiking the shorter loop for the Trail of Ten Falls, about 6 miles. The second waterfall (after Frenchie Falls which wasn't much) is the most popular, South Falls, and immediately upon laying eyes on it, my heart lifted. With most of these falls, you also get to walk behind them.




I take a moment to look at the leaf.

Next up is Lower South Falls


There is a long break in the trees. This part too is pretty and peaceful. I'm enjoying all the greenery.

There are some smaller falls along the way, Lower North Falls, Double Falls and Drake Falls. The next big waterfall is Middle North Falls.


It looks like you can keep walking, but it's a turn around point after going under the falls.
Back to the main trail I detour to the short cut, I will have to come back another time for North Falls. The last waterfall is Winter Falls, smaller with a bench to rest.
This next part of the trail is the least interesting as it follows close to the road back to parking. 



Arriving back around lunch hour, the parking lot is now full. 
The overall elevation gain was around 1,140 which wasn't nearly as noticeable compared to a 1,000 gain at altitude in Colorado so I would rank this as easy.

For a first hike in Oregon I don't think I could have picked a better one. If this was all I did out there it would be worth the trip. 



Some post-hike chocolates from Sweet Life Patisserie, my favorite stop in Eugene.

"No one travels without purpose. Those who are lost wish to be lost." - The Storied Life of A.J. Fikrey





Thursday, October 19, 2023

Hiking Every Trail


It's been quite a while, but that doesn't mean I haven't been hiking!

I've been here over 8 years now and every weekend still brings a new trail to hike, believe it or not. I feel like I've been living in an amazing outdoor bubble. I don't take it for granted.

In hiking lingo, redlining means hiking every trail in a specific area. The two areas I've been completing have been in Boulder County and Rocky Mountain National Park. I've been tracking my lines in the Gaia app. I am pretty much finished with the main area of Boulder as of this summer aside from some neighborhood connector trails. RMNP is another beast. I've finished a lot of the trails with the exception of the hardest and longest ones. I'm not sure if I'll ever get to the hardest of the hardest, but if not, that's ok. My limits are my limits. This past summer probably consisted more of the boring, less travelled trails to finish off some connecting lines, but they were still worthy of hiking.

I plan to update this with all of the area hikes soon, so stay tuned if you want to know my top rated trails!


 Boulder



 RMNP







Monday, October 21, 2019

Bluebird Lake - RMNP 9/7/2019


Location: Rocky Mountain National Park, Wild Basin Area
Mileage: 12.8 miles
Elevation Gain: 2,500 ft
Difficulty: Hard



The Rocky Mountains of Colorado transport a person to a majestic world seemingly imagined. The harder to reach places will bring more opportunities for solitude and respite from obligations and demands placed by your typical routine back at home and work. Both ways of hiking are enjoyable, but I feel most invigorated by solitude and silence. Rocky Mountain National Park contains some of the most astounding views of the Rocky Mountains. Despite the park’s high-volume crowds, if the timing is right and the distance is far enough, there is usually a location on every trail where you begin to reach this point of solitude.  



My most recent hike was up to an alpine lake called Bluebird Lake, in the Wild Basin area of Rocky Mountain National Park.  About 2.7 miles up the trail, after passing the popular Ouzel Falls, the hike begins to feel more like you have entered the wilderness. The Wild Basin area contains multiple waterfallsa coniferous forest made up of lodgepole pines, spruce and firs mixed with aspens and scenic mountain vistasThe alpine lake is reached at roughly 6.4 miles in. Distractions are discarded and your senses can be given full attention. These senses are most appreciated when you allow yourself to slow down and take a moment to acknowledge where you really are. These are things you cannot attain in a car, a bike or a run. Listen to the decrescendo of the waterfalls as you hike farther away. When ponderosa pines hug the trail sides, stop and smell the bark for its delicious vanilla scent. Feel the warm air pockets radiating from the trees. Notice the quaking aspen created by whispering wind. Marvel at the blazing orange lichen gracing the steely rocks. Listen to the tree squirrels vocalizing warning calls. Say hello to the deer coming to a standstill upon your appearance. Munch on some wild raspberries and blueberries along the way. Take a moment to watch the butterflies flutter about. Stop and look at the wildflowers, with beauty in their perfect geometry and brightly colored petals. Blooming columbines, paintbrush and asters are fleeting.  There will be lingering snow, never melting all year, just a few feet from these magnificent flowers.  






As the lake gets closer, the trail begins to get steeper and you know you are almost there. Glance behind from where you’ve just climbed and immense gratitude for the opportunity of being in this place at that moment in time will enter. A few more steps and strong howling winds hit as you climb atop the open expanse just above the alpine lake. Sitting at an elevation of 10,978 ft, Bluebird Lake greets you. Serving as a scenic backdrop, Ouzel Peak which reaches an elevation of 12,716 ft, rises from the base of the lake. The lake’s water ripples from the wind. On a windless day, you may catch Ouzel Peak reflecting in Bluebird Lake’s still waters. Today however, the strong wind makes you grasp onto nearby large rocks to stay balanced. The momentary discomforts don’t matter though. They may even add to the feeling of aliveness that being surrounded by nature brings. You’ve made it and every step was worth it. 







*This is actually a writing assignment from grad school. Decided to put it up here for a change of writing perspective.

Saturday, July 13, 2019

You belong amongst the wildflowers...

The month of July brings with it beautiful wildflowers. Here are some I captured on a few hikes so far this summer.


White Ranch, Golden

White Ranch, Golden


Indian Paintbrush
Walker Ranch, Boulder

Walker Ranch, Boulder

Walker Ranch, Boulder
Poppies
Shanahan Ridge, Boulder
Horsetooth Falls, Fort Collins

Indian Paintbrush
Bridal Veil Falls, Rocky Mountain National Park

Pasque
MacGregor Falls, Rocky Mountain National Park

Why did you come if you can't stay forever?....
Perhaps the love you give is like these flowers, a fleeting beauty, for which it is better to bear the loss than to have never known it at all.