I have been working on my book like a fiend. Like some little witch nestled away, brewing her magic. Which doesn’t leave much time for very nearly anything at all. That being said, I was thinking about dogs the other day. About what they mean for adventure and for life. I was thinking about my …
Tag: backpacking
Sights and Scents and Dreams of California
There is Sagebrush, growing on the lining of the trail. It is medicinal in all the ways it plants its healing essence in my mind. The scent of it, smokey and wild, like cedar, rich and smooth but thick with how it clings heavy in the air. When I pluck a branch, the syrup of …
Bird Watching
When I speak, the ghost of self leaks out my mouth. Like smoke, or vapor. My fingers curl out from my nostrils. I am watching the all of me cast out and drive away. It is too hot here. And the world is far too sad. There is too much anger for the sadness, as if we …
A Note on Fear
So I just finished watching a movie instead of studying for my state EMT exam, because of course I did. Anyway, the closing line was, "We don't need you to make us feel safe, because you made us feel brave." And I was talking to my boyfriend, and he said that we don't have a …
The things we seek…
I’m sitting at a picnic bench, boiling quinoa, because that’s the hipster thing to do. Also, I’m a millennial, so I might as well act the part. A patch nosed snake slithers by and, despite the lack of venom, I get a funny feeling running up the back of my spine. It doesn’t help that …
The Backbone Trail
The top of Saddle Peak. This is an optional portion of The Backbone Trail (wish I had known that before)—you can cut around it and take Stunt Road if you don't want to deal with the elevation. It was one hell of an uphill climb. But at the top, there are these wild rock formations. …
Fear tastes different in the wild.
The past few days, I hiked the Backbone Trail. Not all 67 miles, but 37, which is enough if you ask me. And the whole point of this blog is to catalog my travels and sometimes, those travels aren’t so grand. In fact, they can be pretty pathetic. Because here’s the deal: I cried. I …
My Greatest Loves, and Greatest Losses
Carrizo plains saw a lot of tourists this season, thanks to California storms that quenched our thirsty soils and watered the lands. And in the last couple of weeks, it's seen a lot of trampled flower heads, which is a little frustrating. Not that I didn't trample a few myself from the overwhelming excitement of …