We're getting older and I've started to fear for my life
Is this the way that it should be?
This whole thing's riding on me
It's been a long road so far with nowhere to turn
There's no looking back from here, no more dwelling on my fears
Miles away
And I wish this didn't mean so much to me
To be a monument
For the rest of them
My morning commute to school
#CELTA #Bangkok #InternationalHouse #BTS #Skytraimln
As week 3 of CELTA English teacher training comes to a close, I realize how blessed and lucky I am to be here in this vibrant city. With only 1 week left to go, the stress starts to reduce and it makes me want to share these moments of liminal time where I take in the city to and from school. I'm infinitely grateful for the many wonderful people who have helped and supported me along this journey, especially my amazing classmates from all over the world, my sister Sarah as well as Nana, Elle, Keanan, and Pouna, and my tutors. ❤️Much love from Thailand.
11/05 L2H day 9
Summited Mt Whitney for the second time! Being the highest point in the contiguous US, this marked the end of the Lowest to Highest. The way down was long and tiring, but we made it to the parking lot a bit after dark and then headed into Lone Pine and ate massive, well-earned burgers.
#mtwhitney #whitneyportal #lonepine #hiking #backpacking #lowesttohighestroute #L2H #california #easternsierra #mountains #summit
11/04 L2H day 8
I was so happy to be back in the Sierra Nevada mountains as we started out from Whitney Portal trailhead, up, up, up towards Trail Camp at 12,800 ft. That night was cold and windy. My tent kept me up all night flapping in the wind, and poor Playtime's tent collapsed on her due to the winds. But we were surrounded by the beauty and power of the majestic Sierras and their alpine lakes. Nature was telling us: "this is worth it."
#hiking #sierranevada #california #easternsierra #L2H #lowesttohighestroute #whitneyportal #mountwhitney #mtwhitney #mountains
11/03 L2H Day 7
Walked into Cerro Gordo "ghost town" (an abandoned mine + town being turned into a tourist attraction in the Inyo mountains), and got a ride down into Lone Pine because we didn't have time to finish the entire route and also do Whitney.
#lowesttohighest #route #routefinding #hiking #backpacking #cerrogordo #cerrogordoghosttown #goats #alpacas #sierranevada #easternsierras #owensvalley #inyomountains #l2h
11/02 L2H Day 6
Followed Saline Valley Road across the desert floor. Stopped and refilled on weirdness and solitude at Box Car cabin, and began the climb up into the mountains on the back side of Cerro Gordo. Beyond these pics we once again hiked into the night and made it to the ridge above Cerro Gordo mine, low on water and energy, and hurting all over our bodies. This is where I began to embrace the pain and suffering in an almost masochistic sense. Yes, being in nature makes me feel alive because of the beautiful views, fresh air, and evolutionary wiring of my brain--but there's also something rewarding about enduring through discomfort and exhaustion... Probably just endorphins, but it feels more spiritual than that.
#lowesttohighest #routefinding #hiking #backpacking #hikertrash #deathvalley #inyomountains #santarosahills #cerrogordo
11/01 Day 5 L2H
Out of Panamint Springs and into the biggest miles and best sunset so far.
#lowesttohighest #l2h
#routefinding #backpacking #hiking #lowesttohighestroute #desert #deathvalley #California #wilderness
10/31 Day 4 L2H
The sun lit up the valley we were cowboy camping in, revealing it to us in full light for the first time. We had hiked late into the night and set up camp in the dark near the second unnamed spring in Tuber Canyon. We set out shortly after breakfast, with concern growing for our married couple friends. "And then there were three," Alyssa had said after Fish Fry took off the day before. It was now only Playtime, Alyssa, and myself. We knew they're both tough and resourceful people, but anything can happen in the wilderness, especially in such an inhospitable environment.
Down the canyon a bit we saw mountain lion tracks. The further into the day we went with no sign of either of our friends, the more worry began to set in. At our first break the day, we heard "a strange bird call" that sounded a bit like a siren blast that lasted 3 seconds. Well, after hiking about 3 miles farther down the canyon, I saw the front of a white SUV, which I immediately could tell was law enforcement, and then I saw Fish Fry standing next to it. I ran towards them as I didn't think this was a good sign. It turns out Fun Size had missed both springs due to a faulty map and continued on until she ran out of battery and water. That can be a death sentence in the back country--especially the desert. She managed to make it all the way to the highway, dehydrated and delirious, and camped by the highway until she was picked up by truckers and ended up in a tiny town an hour away and was en route hitching back. The Park Ranger's protocol was to account for all members of a party once one was reported missing so that's the story of how I got the most interesting hitch while hiking.
We enjoyed food and drinks back at Panamint Springs resort reunited with our friend Fun Size, and made sure we all had maps and laid down some ground rules for hiking ahead off trail.
#lowesttohighest #routefinding #l2h #hiking #backpacking
10/30 Day 3 L2H
We started this day with a steep climb the rest of the way to the Panamint crest at 9,900 feet elevation. We were overjoyed to be on a real maintained trail for a few miles on Telescope Peak trail, and we got our first glimpse of the Sierra Nevada mountains.
On the way down to Tuber Spring, however, we got separated. At the spring, our friend Fun Size who was ahead of us, wasnt there. Her husband Fish Fry began to worry and began hiking fast ahead down the canyon. We didn't see either of them the rest of the night.
