geocaching in the san jacinto mountains

November 3, 2015 Meg

I fell in love with geocaching over the summer during my family’s epic annual camping trip. One cloudy morning up in the Adirondacks, my cousins and I loaded up the kayaks and canoes and made our way around the various lakes and islands in search of caches.

In case you have never heard of geocaching before, it is basically a worldwide scavenger hunt. There are millions of caches from in all different locations – airports, cities, woods, beach. The easiest way to geocache is download the app. (Yes, it costs some money and no, I have no stock or relatives or the like in the company.) For each cache, the longitude and latitude pinned to its location. Keep in mind that that there is a range of distances, usually within 10 feet, as the pin is only as good as your GPS. Once you find the area, search all about for a little box or canister. People are clever so the caches are not always easy to find. Each typically contains little trinkets to be swapped and traded, i.e., don’t take something without leaving something, as well as a pad of paper to record your date, name, and sometimes a little message.

This past weekend, I headed up into the San Jacinto Mountains with some friends. While we were hiking, I literally stumbled upon a cache. It was right under my toe in the above picture (I also fully support nonsensical photo taking, obviously) and tripped me up a bit. A wiggling of some wood jammed in the tree stump and lo and behold there was a box. Remembering that I had downloaded the app this past summer, we continued on our way finding all sorts of treasures along the trail.

I realize that some of you may roll your eyes at the idea of grown people running all over the trail trying to find teeny troves of treasure. And maybe this isn’t for everyone but don’t knock it until you try it, okay? There are many options for fellow scavenger hunters, especially along the trails in close proximity to Idyllwild. We did a relatively easy 5 mile out-and-back along the Ernie Maxwell Scenic Trail. Since we started on the earlier side, around 10 am, we only saw a few people on our way out. However, by the time we were on our way back there were many people taking advantage of the cooler weather and cloudless sky. All in all a perfect little adventure for a day spent up in the San Jacinto Mountains.

notes:

the ernie maxwell scenic trail has about 600 feet of elevation change. if you would like to hike uphill on the way out and downhill on the way back, park on tahquitz view drive. it’s a dirt road but i doubt any vehicle would have trouble with the terrain. if you are having trouble figuring out how to get there or are interested in a ascending one the nearby peaks, stop by the idyllwild ranger station in town. the lovely people there are always happy to help.

the weather in the san jacinto mountains can vary by 10s of degrees so be sure to pack layers (along with your other essentials). it reached the high 70s while we were there but i’ve also been here around the same time of year an woken up to snow.

wanderlust wednesday: pfeiffer beach (big sur)

May 20, 2015 Grace

Oh, do I have Big Sur dreams. I've been lucky enough to tag on an extra day or so in this part of heaven the last few years when traveling for work. It served as a sort of "spring break" and I didn't get one this year!! Thus, my wanderlust is hitting me a little harder than ever.

The perfect day would include some wandering around scenic Highway 1 (perhaps hopping out for some tree hugging and hiking down to McWay Falls)...

...and then finding our way to Pfeiffer Beach with a bottle of local wine to enjoy the last few hours of sunshine breathing in the fresh air, watching the surfers, and digging all sorts of beach vibes. Harmonicas are helpful too.

This beach in particular is pretty f-ing magical. I mean, there's purple sand. Yes, purple. And the locals are pretty awesome too. When I was there last spring with a good friend, we were invited over for dinner by a man we met on the beach who lived in a house his father built in the 1960s on the cliff above. Actually he lived in his own house next to it that he built complete with a long outdoor dinner table and open air fireplace. We sat with him and some friends and exchanged stories while he cooked us a homemade meal (his friend from Spain made paella from scratch), we climbed on top of his green roof which was full of kale he was growing along the perimeter (dreams!), we checked out his green building next door where he was designing furniture but also allowed the space to be used for local yoga retreats... I mean you wouldn't believe all of it if I told you! Oh yes and there may have been a natural hot tub that we all swam in during which I saw at least 5 shooting stars. Magic, I say! We learned that our new friend recently moved back home to Big Sur after leaving a prestigious tech career in San Francisco - making a choice to find meaning in a simpler life. Instead of spending the rest of his life designing software and logos for Apple or Google (which one I don't remember...they're the same, right?), he wanted to make something that mattered to him. He wanted to get his hands dirty and get back to actually creating. I was basically drooling while listening to his story; Big Sur has always been one of those fantastical places I imagine quitting my NYC life for. How could anyone complain waking up and falling asleep in a place like this? It's green, it's beautiful, it's grounded. I mean it is the definition of a good quality of life.

I did return to NYC as planned, and went back to the grind. However, it was such a breath of fresh air to taste a different pace of life and mentality. What a dream it was to walk on purple sand and tell stories about what we dream of creating with our lives around a camp fire. We're due to taste that again soon, right? In the meantime, we've got Wednesdays.

notes:

- pfeiffer beach is a little bit hidden, and they only allow a certain amount of people in at the same time. we checked out other people's directions and pointers on yelp, and they were pretty helpful! we knew we wanted to see the sunset, so we got there several hours before to hang out and brought layers.

- i really wanted to go to the hot springs, but it's pretty expensive to go. however, they do have public hours for $30 from 1am-3am here that seem like quite the experience. our local friends said they used to sneak in there all the time as teenagers. even though we didn't make it here last time, we still got lucky with a natural hot spring under the moonlight with shooting stars!

san diego, ca

October 30, 2014 Meg

Oh San Diego, how I love you with your endless summer. Well at least it is an endless summer to me.

After covering ourselves in a thick layer of dust at Joshua Tree, half of our group moseyed on over to San Diego in which two of us had to present at a conference... did I confuse you yet? For the most part, I like what I get to do at work but what makes me love my job are my vacation days and travel opportunities. In the past 12 months, I have been in California for work 3 times and each time I have been able to take some time off and explore a new part of the state. I need this time away from routine and numbers to reset. Don't we all? The monotony of the day-in, day-out can make me feel like it am spinning in circles and never gaining ground, never moving forward. We all talk about unplugging but how often do we actually do it? Which is where the work-vacation combo is key. Everyone knows I am out of town and most people don't know exactly when I should be leaving and when I should be coming back. While during my other work holidays, the fun has always come after the work - in a place like San Diego how could I not get out and take advantage of the beach?

San Diego, you did not disappoint. With your friendly people and gorgeous beaches, you created quite the mid-vacation work retreat.

notes:

- a group of us took surf lessons at surfari. just do it. you won't be sorry. (yes, i'm a rapper.)

joshua tree, ca

October 30, 2014 Meg

The mixing of groups of friends is always an ambitious undertaking. One can put much thought into the symbiosis of people's personalities. Will her go-with-the-flow attitude towards life mesh with his need for a detailed itinerary? Will someone's tendency to make obvious observations out loud drive the rest of the group crazy? The anxiety brought on by having multiple friend groups in the same place deterred me from having a Sweet 16. The what ifs were just too much to bear.

This trip came about in a haphazard kind of way. I had traveled out to California for work last October with the plan of making it to Joshua Tree before heading home to NYC. Unfortunately, Congress had other plans. Instead of exploring Seuss-like terrain, I was left with a nice but ultimately disappointing county park - a gas pipeline road should not be the main trail in a park. So when my friend mentioned an opportunity to camp with some of her high school friends before we headed to a conference in San Diego, I was all in before I could fully anticipate what that would mean.

As we neared our home for the next two nights - Black Rock Campground - I began to wonder what our next few days would like. Our ragtag group consisted of 3 childhood friends, one girlfriend, one co-worker, and one cousin of a groom from a wedding that was attended the previous night. With each of our dispositions in mind, I played out the various scenarios of how our 10 mile hike the next day would go. How long would we last before we all got on each other's nerves and someone had to be sacrificed in the middle of the desert? The good of the group over the individual, right?

But my worries were completely unfounded. Despite our very different demeanors, we worked well together as a group. At various points throughout our 6 hour excursion, we each had our moment of asking each other to slow down, take a water break, and/or eat a snack. And in those moments, no questions were asked. We all amended our plans to the immediate need. As a result, even though the hike was grueling, we were able to fully enjoy ourselves. There may have even been some sing-alongs - Down by the Bay is always a good time. Always.