Scotland

 

My first solo trip outside of my country of birth. Why Scotland?

I came up with several reasons, but primarily they speak english and so it would be easier to navigate. I decided I could work around the hardest obstacle in my mind of driving on the opposite side of the road, as long as I could understand the road signs.

But it was also a photo of the Isle of Skye that drew me in initially. I decided that I had to see it before I die.

Magnificent

I reserved afternoon tea for the 3 days I was in Edinburgh. My favorite was The Signet Library on my second day. Just outside of St Giles' Cathedral, the interior is filled with colorful bindings of books. I was given a quiet alcove to myself. The vegetarian selection of food was the most unique and creative I had seen yet. Typically, in the US, it is just finger sandwiches with hummus and cucumber with some scones. My favorites were the sweet potato and leek items.

The Chocolatarium called to move my tour up a littler earlier. 

Heading back to my hotel from the tour around twilight, I wander into a small gated park. A girl is crying, to what looks like a friend of hers, about a boy, from what I overhear.

I think how no matter where you are, everything is the same. Crying over boys.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning I head over to Edinburgh castle. Truthfully, this was probably my least favorite on the itinerary, only because it was the most crowded.

I arrive just at opening and stop in the gift shop.

A girl worker crying again. Crying so hard I thought someone had died. As she began to cry, the other workers rushed over and her words indicated the upheaval was actually about a breakup...."...he has autism so he doesn't communicate well..."

I think you can't escape heartbreak no matter where you go and also what is up with these Scottish boys breaking hearts and making girls cry in public?

After the castle I walk toward a nearby bookshop. I stop in a gem store next to it and buy a blue stoned ring with a silver band. It's become my favorite now as a memory.

I was going to try a pizza place for lunch, but I needed to investigate Isabella Bird first. The first day I found out she is actually buried in Edinburgh. I had no idea. I saw her books in the library exhibit. I couldn't find her grave when I walked through Dean cemetery though. There were too many sites. Today I go back to the library to ask if they have a map of the sites. This turns into a longer side expedition than intended and I skip lunch to make it to tea in time.

I was tremendously impressed by the library in Edinburgh. First I needed to get a day pass to access the help desk. The woman who helped me goes to a back room and comes out with a book of the cemetery within a minute. She knew exactly where to go. The map is still very general and just gave an area where Isabella was buried and not an exact location, but it seems good enough. I end up not having time to go that day, so I pencil it in for tomorrow morning, hopefully before I catch the bus back to the airport.

The next morning, I waver on if I have time for the cemetery again, but I think what if I never make it back to Edinburgh? I look up the bus schedule and take public transportation instead of walking the 1.5 miles up the hill to make the trip quicker. I need to pick up my rental car by noon. I meander and don't find it immediately. She must be here. Why is it so hard to find her grave?

Finally, I found it. It really wasn't too far off from where I'd been, just a few steps. But it was on a discreet side trail I hadn't walked the previous day.

I decide I now have time to walk back instead of taking the bus. I stop at the overlook on the bridge in Dean Village again, taking in the view, then head to Cairngorm coffee to get a road trip pastry for later. I'm still nervous thinking about driving on the other side of the road. I've had 3 days to observe as a pedestrian now and restful sleep so I hope to manage ok.

I then go to the Dish Room for my last breakfast in Edinburgh. This was a great choice. Edinburgh has really fantastic food options. I can't wait to come back. For everything. The food, the museums, the people, the walkable city.

I wish I had time to go back to tell the enthusiastic librarian I found the grave, but I need to check out of the hotel and head out.

hot buttered roll with chai

These are just a few insights from my 3 days there. I had a jam packed itinerary and will maybe share more later.

                                     

Goodbye for now Edinburgh...

"I have just been dropped into the very place I've been seeking, but in everything it exceeds all my dreams." -Isabella Bird

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.

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!

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

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

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 waterfalls, a coniferous forest made up of lodgepole pines, spruce and firs mixed with aspens and scenic mountain vistas. The 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.

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.