Peru Part 2: Lake Titicaca & Rainbow Mountain

Okay, so now that we’ve gotten to Peru somehow, here is a breakdown of the tours and activities.

A note about tours: It appears that the tours being organized are subcontracted out to other tour companies so you will not be with the same group for the duration of the tour. For example, on the Lake Titicaca tour, we had the tour agency we booked with pick us up in a taxi and then pass us off to the tour company who would take us on a tour to Puno (the town next to Lake Titicaca). That tour company took us to a bus station where an agent met us, took us in a cab to our hotel. In the morning, we ended up with a different tour guide who picked us up in a shuttle and took us to the boat where we met a different group of people, etc. 

What I’m saying here is that with these overnight tours you will not likely have the same group of people OR the same tour guide; however, we were always taken care of every step of the way. This was not explained to us ahead of time but the communication from the first company on WhatsApp was great and after the first tour we knew what to expect.

Day One: Cusco

Sharee and I arrived in Cusco around 11:00 a.m., tired from our red eye. We checked into our AirBnB, an adorable little place that is in a great location, very close to the main square in Cusco, Plaza de Armas. Check in was at 2:00 p.m. but our host’s sister let us into the apartment early which was very kind. While we had two overnight trips, the apartment was only $35/night so we kept it the entire time because it was easier that way. Plus, our host, Gabi, was very accommodating and responsive. If you need a small place to stay, I highly recommend it.

This was the only day we did not have a tour scheduled so we wandered around Cusco and huffed and puffed up the streets as we breathed in the thin air at over 11,000 ft. 

Day Two: Journey to Lake Titicaca

We were picked up in a taxi by our tour guide at the Palacio De Nazarenas (most tours will not pick up at an AirBnB so we chose the fancy schmantzy hotel nearby) which was a short two minute walk from the apartment.

One of our first stops was San Pedro Apóstol, the “Sistine Chapel of the Andes” which is a church built over a ceremonial site for the Incans. (Note: you cannot take pictures inside the church)

Spaniards were real jerks, and just went building over sacred sites all the time. Like this church which was built over a temple. The church has frescoes painted by the Jesuits that were used to indoctrinate the indigenous populations; however then the Dominicans came over and were like “Your frescos are trash, Jesuits, we’re putting big ol’ gold altars and paintings over them” so I guess they now know how it feels to have your stuff destroyed.

After this stop,  we continued along Sun Route, visiting several different archeological sites and got our first glimpse of the famous “Incan Road” which was a road system that went from Chile to Ecuador. We ended the night in Puno, right next to Lake Titicaca.

Day Three: Lake Titicaca
After a quick breakfast at the hotel, we were picked up by our guide to go on our boat tour. The first stop was the Uros Islands which are floating islands made of compressed reeds. Families can join other islands but if they do not pull their weight, can be cut off and pushed out into the lake. I would like to implement this practice here in America.

On this island they sell hand-crafted goods and speak Aymara as well as a bit of Spanish. Sharee and I were invited to the Island President’s hut for a tour where I leaned realllll hard on my basic Spanish skills from high school to communicate. He sold us some of his wife’s hand-woven tapestries. We then took a ride on one of the traditional boats where Sharee and I were attacked by four adorable little girls who braided our hair. One of the girls working on my hair finished early and then snagged my phone from me, looking at all my pictures and opening every app. She held it hostage the entire boat ride and I’m pretty sure I’m going to have some weird delivery from Amazon as a result.

The other girl didn’t like how the one girl did my braid so she took it out and redid it. I was slightly worried the first girl would have her part of the island cut off and pushed into the lake, but I think everything is going to be fine.

After this we headed over to Taquile Island where we hiked a way steep hill and had a traditionally cooked lunch while listening to stories about their culture, including how they use hats to determine who is single and who is not and man, is it wild. Learning about these very different cultures that lived on islands very close to one another was one of my favorite parts of the entire trip.

After this, we headed back to Puno. We had the option of paying 50 soles for access to a room before our bus ride home in four hours. Since that equated to about $12.50 total we took them up on that. A representative from the tour agency then met us at the hotel and took us to the bus station for an overnight ride back to Cusco. The seats on the bus were comfortable and leaned all the way back to help with sleeping, but the ride was… rough. Roads in Peru are a hodge podge of asphalt, pebbles, dirt, and rocks from the before times. At the bus station we were met by a taxi driver who took us back to our AirBnB

This tour was extremely well organized and I would highly recommend. There was a guide at every step of the way to take us to the next location. Lake Titicaca is 7.5 hrs from Cusco without stops which is why people usually don’t do it but if you’re looking to learn about the culture, you really should do it ::whispers:: it’s better than Machu Picchu

Worth it: Yes.

Day Four:Vinicunca (Rainbow Mountain)

Alright so this is where it gets VERY METAL.

Our overnight bus ride got us back to our apartment at 5:00 a.m. and after 2.5 hrs of sleep we were back down to meet our next tour guide at 8:30 a.m.

I told y’all… METAL.

Because no one else booked the tour, Sharee and I had a private car with just us. It was a three hour drive from Cusco to Vinicunca, going the same direction as you head toward for Lake Titicaca. The last part of the drive is BEAUTIFUL, full of nature and trees and alpacas.

The hike is about 2 miles one way and starts at 14,500 ft. and ends at 16,500 feet, which was the highest that Sharee and I had ever hiked. We almost died, but still made it to the top in just over an hour–our tour guide said that was a great time, but he may have just been humoring us.

You can also rent a horse to get you most of the way up, but not up the steepest part, so you still have to walk it.

One sad note about Vinicunca is that the reason it was revealed was due to global warming– previously, snow and ice covered the very colorful mountain.

Due to social media it has taken off in popularity and has brought tourism to the rural area which has started an entirely different economy for the indingenous population. 

After a quick history lesson, we headed back down and went to a restaurant for a buffet lunch (a 3 p.m. lunch…?)… a restaurant we would visit a total of THREE TIMES on the trip. Then, it was back to Cusco.

Worth it:  Yes!

Next up, Part 3!

Or go back to Part 1

Peru Part 3: Machu Picchu, Inca Bridge, Via Ferrata

Day 5: Cusco to Machu Picchu

After getting an actual night’s sleep, we were met at the plaza by our tour guide who would be with us throughout the day. The route to Machu Picchu takes you through the Sacred Valley, a.k.a. “The Navel of Civilization” where many of the crops the entire world relies on (corn, potatoes, etc.) were developed over centuries of bioengineering.

From here we visited an archeological site where we got up and close with the terraces that you will see etched into just about every mountain you pass. It is an extra fee to get into the Sacred Valley (70 soles or about $17.50) which was not included in our tour fees, so be sure to have actual cash on hand.

After visiting this site, we went to the local silver store where I spent too much money on extremely beautiful (but incredibly inexpensive for the quality) jewelry. After that was lunch, another buffet that was an extra 45 soles ($10.25). It was a fancier buffet and Sharee and I had the best latte of our lives. One thing to note with buffets is they often time do not include drinks so you’ll have to pay extra for these.

After this buffet, we visited another temple which was built in the shape of a llama. 

We had another quick history lesson which included information on how the temple was created by bringing rocks over from a quarry across the valley and rolling them up the mountain, and how each piece was chiseled perfectly into place. 

During this excursion we also lost a Columbian couple who decided to shop instead of going on the tour. The bus left without them to take us to the train station and Sharee and I don’t know if they were ever seen again, so just a reminder to, y’know, stay with the group.

Next up was the train to Aguas Calientes, a.k.a. Machu Picchu town. This 2 hour ride requires a face shield the entire time. It also takes you through some beautiful country side.

At the station another guide was waiting to walk us to our hotel. It was dark at the time, but we could see the outline of Machu Picchu in the distance. Dinner was not included in this experience but there was not a lack of restaurants to choose from in this tourist town.
 

Day 6: Machu Picchu

After breakfast at our hotel, we were met by a guide to take us to the shuttle to Machu Picchu. The morning felt chaotic as we waited at the shuttle line for quite some time for our Machu Picchu guide to get there. 

We were then crammed onto a 25 minute shuttle ride up to Machu Picchu while wearing masks and face shields. It was hot and there was zero social distancing. We were told by our guide that in normal tourist times 8,000 people visited and you could be could be waiting up to 2 hours for a shuttle, but with Covid restrictions the numbers were drastically reduced. You can also definitely hike up from Aguas Calientes (or do the 4 day trek on the Incan Trail), but with our schedule we did not have time for that.

Getting off the shuttle and into Machu Picchu felt rushed and chaotic as well, but once we got going things relaxed. It’s a bit of a hike to get to Machu Picchu, but honestly the elevation is much lower than Cusco and Sharee and I felt that the altitude wasn’t as big of an issue as people make it out to be. Our guide stopped us along the way, going over some history, including the fact that no one knows what Machu Picchu was actually named. The name Machu Picchu comes from the fact that when the so-called “discoverer” of the site, Hiram Bingham (he didn’t actually discover it, locals knew of its existence and led him there) asked a group of farmers if they’d seen a city where kings had once lived, they said they knew of such a place an referred to it as “Machu Picchu” which meant “old mountain” in Quechua, the local language.

The tour took about three hours.  After the tour was finished, we took the shuttle back down to Aguas Calientes and did a bit of shopping at the train station before our two hour ride to Ollantaytambo where we were met by a cab driver that would take us back to Cusco.

Worth it: Kinda? This was our most expensive trip and I think if you go to Peru you kind of have to visit Machu Picchu, but it wasn’t my favorite trip. While there are other tours that are more expensive, we kind of felt nickel and dimed and it’d probably be better to pick a tour that includes everything. 

Day 7: The Last Incan Bridge

Okay… just where to begin with this one.

This was our earliest trip, beginning at 4:45 a.m. 

We were the last ones to get picked up for this tour and so we had no options on where to sit on the shuttle except for the back row where we were surrounded by a family that we would soon find out was not only sick but also not inclined to wear masks.

When I say surrounded, I mean surrounded. Sick people in front of us. Sick people to the right of us. A pod, if you will, of sick people. Who knew they were sick because they brought a roll of toilet paper with them to blow their noses. And still decided to go on this tour.

The tour guide was nice but did not enforce mask wearing. I also felt that in the times of Covid we should not be in a full shuttle, and none of our tours besides this one had shuttles that were more than 50% full.

So, next is the tour. We first stopped for breakfast at the restaurant we’d stopped at for Vinicunca… Sharee and I went to the end of the table but did not eat because we were not hungry. But guess who came right on over and surrounded us? That’s right, SICK FAMILY! Our pod decided to envelop us once again.

The tour included visits to four lagoons which we thought were going to be some jungley, turquoise waters… but they were basically just a bunch of lakes.

We did make it to the Last Incan Bridge which is the last surviving example of the hundreds of bridges that were along the incan trail. Made of grass and sticks, the bridge is renewed ever year by local townspeople. Sharee and I got down well before the rest of the tour and were able to cross it three different times.

After this, we visited a small, extinct volcano (and I do mean small) and headed back to the same restaurant for the third time.

The shuttle ride back was really rough. With no AC and no mask wearing sick family getting sicker and sicker, my temper was starting to flare. To make matters worse, they also insisted on buying some Pan Chulta (bread) from vendors on the side of the road TWICE, prolonging our return to Cusco.

“This is it,” I thought. “If I don’t get Covid here, I will surely get something.”

(luckily both Sharee and I remained Covid and other illness free).

Worth it: That would be no. The tour wasn’t expensive… and two meals is good. Contracting Covid from a germy no mask wearin’ family? Bad.

I’d say find another company who takes health a little more seriously.

Day 8: Via Ferrata

You want the second most metal (literally) part of this trip? Well, here it is.

CLIMB UP A BIG OL’ SKETCHY WALL AND ZIPLINE DOWN

The perfect way to spend my 40th birthday.

Skylodge is a series of pods built into the side of a mountain. 

While you can say overnight in one of the pods, it’s $500 per person and so after Sharee and I loled for awhile, remembering we live in the Inland Empire, we went for the tour instead. To get to the hotel you actually have to climb up Via Ferrata, or “The Iron Way” which is a series of ladder like metal steps drilled into the wall of a cliff. METAL Y’ALL.

So. When we booked this trip, we planned it based off of the description. Pickup at 8. One hour drive to base camp each way. Climb wall, zipline down. One hour drive back.

Five hours total, said the site.

This would us back to Cusco at 1:00 p.m. We’d eat a meal, shop a bit, then head to the airport around 4:30 for our Flight at 7:45 (Cusco airport is… weird and can take longer to get through security). Bada bing, bada boom.

BUT

About 10 minutes into the shuttle ride our guide informed us we would be getting back until 5:00 p.m.

‘Scuse me?

The Getyourguide.com description was COMPLETELY wrong. And as an event planner, I do not do well with timelines being wrong.

After some reassurances from our guide that we’d make it to the airport on time, I didn’t leap out of the bus as it was still running and roll on to the sidewalk like something out of an action film and went on the trip anyway (y’all I seriously don’t do well with timelines being wrong).

And I’m sure glad I stayed, as this was my very favorite part of our time in Peru.

First off, the company takes safety seriously. We were distanced on the bus, everyone was wearing a mask, and this was hands down the best group we toured with.

Secondly, the guide actually arranged for a taxi to take us back to Cusco so we could be sure to get to the airport on time. Love it.

Also, Latam, take notice of what good customer service looks like. 

Finally, we had an amazing adventure, wall climbing and ziplining. The guides were so professional and helpful, especially when doing things like crossing this bonkers “bridge” made of just wire.

After a quick bagged lunch, we then went down the mountain with ever hiker’s dream: a series of six ziplines.

It’s possible I flipped around backwards.

After zipping down from the Skylodge, we got into our taxi that had specifically been called for us and made our way back to Cusco to catch our flight home.

Once we got through the nightmare that was the Lima airport, we made it into LAX at 7:30 exhausted, but grateful to be on US soil again where all toilets have seats and most dogs wearing sweater have owners.

So there you have it. Our trip to Peru in nine days. While it took a lot of planning and work, we’re glad we did not go with a tour company to plan each of our excursions. Most I’ve talked to who did so remark that we were able to see a lot more than one tour group offered and we saved money to boot.

Even though we saw a ton, there a couple of more things I would have liked to have done if we had more time:

Nazca Lines
Apukunaq Tianan

If you have questions, please feel free to comment below!

Back to Part 1
Back to Part 2

El Cajon via South Ridge

Trailhead: South Ridge Trailhead (says it’s at Lakeside Elementary School according to Alltrails)
Length: 6 miles
Elevation Gain: 3159 ft.
Difficulty: Very Strenuous
Total time: 7 hours
Dogs: You’d have to be crazy
Parking: Lots of shoulder parking

When you run into a random, lost trail runner who asks “Excuse me, do you know what all this craziness is?” you realize you may have made a mistake.

I’d done El Cajon via the normal route last year, in July, in the heat, which resulted in all of us running out of water and Homie having to literally pour sweat out of his shoes, so when I opted to complete the San Diego Six Pack of Peaks challenge again, I was desperate to find another route that didn’t involve going up hill both ways.

And boy did I find one.

South Ridge to El Cajon requires navigation and class 3 scrambling and some areas where you honestly should have a rope to get up. Like seriously, we saw climbing clips bolted into the rocks. But there we were, rope-less and nowhere to go but up or down.

We started around 6:15 a.m. but I wish we’d started earlier because the heat did get to us, although we were treated to the sunrise even at that time.

At least we had the sunrise going for us.

The first and last part of the trail are both actual trails with actual maps but the middle part (the difficult part) is not. We wouldn’t have gotten there without the map so I highly recommend downloading it off  Alltrails if you try to take this route because it is not at all intuitive.

The trail starts off the highway, not at a school parking lot like Alltrails makes you think. If you go to the coordinates provided by AT, there’s a turn out you can park at. The beginning of the trail has a board that goes over a dry stream.

Thank God for this board, how ever would we have crossed that raging stream?!??

This part of the trail is fairly obvious. You’ll take a small path and end up a wider trail and you’ll make a left. About a mile in (total) you’ll make a right turn up a pretty steep hill (keep your eye on the map, we missed it the first time) and that’s where the craziness begins. It just gets steeper and steeper the more you go up.

That’s the trail. What, you can’t see it and are confused on where to go? GET USED TO THAT FEELING, FOLKS

There are several trails that go in and out but try to look for the black dots painted on the rocks to get to the route. Somewhere along the way the dots disappear which is incredibly helpful… but as long as you continue going up to the top of the plateau you will get there.

Lunch Rock is your marker that you’re about 1/4 of the way up the steep part of the trail, lololol

Once you get to the top of the plateau there is another official trail so use your Alltrails map to get you to it if you don’t see it immediately. We had trouble locating this trail as well, but at least we weren’t trying to cling to the side of the mountain while trying to do so.

You’ll then take that trail until you join the official “other” trail at the base of El Cajon/El Capitan. This part of the trail is well marked. Too well marked, if you ask me.

Did someone at the city planning office have a relative that was in the trail sign business orrrrrr….?

After you take your obligatory summit pic, it’s time to head back down. This is where you realize you’re in for the same treat, but in reverse.

This brings me to an important point. I want to stress that this route is NOT for inexperienced climbers. If you don’t have a ton of experience you have no business being on this trail and should just go to the up hill both ways suffer-fest of the normal route.

Walking straight up slabs was the easier part of the climb.

There is one section in particular that is pretty tough to pass both coming and going, but going.. my God, going was so much worse. It’s a decent drop to a somewhat small ledge and was super scary coming down. You kinda just have to feel around with your feet and hope your shoes hold on as you shimmy them down the wall and land in a leap of faith on a narrow bit of rock.

The most difficult pass of the trip. It doesn’t look like much, but that’s how it gets you.

Everyone knows I’m a big exaggerator for comedic effect, but I’m pretty confident in my hiking skills and this threw me for a loop. When Sharee said she felt nervous and that I seemed way more sure of myself I knew there was a huge problem because I was pretty much screaming in terror inside. Definitely not a trail you want to do on your own.

(Also, on the way out we passed an extremely large group of people who had taken the same route and included their small children, one of which was tied at the waist by a rope!?!? I had many questions for them. For starters: why? And how? And also why and how?)

As you finally get out of the steep section of the trail and onto the real trail again, keep your eye on the map, as in our bliss of being alive, we again, missed our turn off to get to the car.

Also, on the way back down we saw a sign that said the trail we were using was closed. They don’t have *anything* at the start of the trail, though, and we had to make it back to the car, so we took the trail back down, panicked because neither Sharee nor I are rule breakers.

Some final words:

Because of the terrain, I recommend wearing sturdy shoes. I usually wear trail runners and they were demolished, so actual hiking boots would be better.

I also recommend having gloves to help with grip to help you feel more secure. My hands were TORN UP after this and my arms still hurt three days later because I have the upper body strength of a toddler.

There is a lot of climbing on this trail, so if you are afraid of heights, this is a no go.

And finally, even with the insanity I prefer this over the other route but you NEED to have a good deal of navigation and technical experience.

Did you hear me? FOR EXPERIENCED HIKERS ONLY. Mom is being serious here. Don’t make me come over there!

Please, seriously don’t, my legs still hurt so bad.

Six Pack of Peaks – Arizona

Oh, hey internet.

So, as I’ve mentioned I’m an ambassador for the Six Pack of Peaks, a hiking challenge created by Jeff from Social Hiker. The challenge started with six progressively higher peaks in Southern California and has grown to include multiple regions throughout the US because apparently, Jeff doesn’t want me doing anything but hiking as I try to complete each challenge.

This year Jeff added a “winter series” based out of Arizona. This series, created by Richard Oppelaar a.k.a. FoxTrax on Instagram, is a series of  hikes make you want to die in a different way than the Socal Six Pack in that they are short but so steep you feel like you’re perpetually on a stair master.

I had a few days off around the holidays and I asked Richard if he thought this was possible to do in three days. He suggested a plan (he was probably laughing manically while doing so) and I suckered… I mean invited my friend Sheri (a.k.a. Wheelzabub, the talented artist behind the ye olde Hike Inland Empire logo) to join me in my quest to complete the series. She texted back, and I quote “it looks like fun.”

LOL, what fools we were.

Below is the the itinerary of the trip we took. Richard did an excellent job on the trail guides for the main Six Pack of Peaks site and I’m super lazy, so rather than writing my own versions, I’ve linked his posts below. I have added a few tips and commentary to let you know the real deal about what to expect.

 

General Advice:

Three day plan: So the first piece of advice I will give you if you’re looking at doing this in three days is: DON’T.

Do it in four days, guys. Seriously. You should do it in four days. Don’t drive 5.5 hours back after doing Flat iron. Stay another night. Have some beers at Four Peaks. Get a good night’s sleep so you’re not dozing off while driving home and you have to pry your eyes open Clockwork Orange style.

Really.

Truly.

Do it in four days.

Timing: Now that I still haven’t talked you out of doing it in three days, my next word of advice is that it’s going to take you longer than you think it is. You’re going to be looking at a 6 mile hike and think “Yeah so that’ll be three hours.” But it’s not going to be. It’s going to be 4.5-5 hours. Because these trails are difficult.

Lodging: Don’t ask me about where to camp. Because we, my friends, stayed in hotels. Hotels with marginally comfy beds and showers. Did it cost more? Yes. But for $90 each for two nights WE LIVED LIKE KINGS!

Temperature: Newsflash: the desert is cold in the winter. It never got over 50 degrees, and most mornings it was in the 20’s. IT WAS COLD, Y’ALL. Bring layers.

Okay,  now that those items are covered, onto the schedule. This is based out of my condo in Riverside, so don’t be mad at me if you live in San Diego and it takes you longer to get there because contrary to what you might think, I don’t know where every single one of you lives.

 

Day 1
Leave Riverside 6:00 a.m.
4 hrs 49 min 

 

Piestewa:
Distance: 2.2 miles
Elevation Gain: 1,126 ft.
2701 East Squaw Peak Lane, Phoenix, AZ 85016

This was one of my least favorite of the peaks. It was super crowded and I felt like I was a Hollywood wannabe startlet looking to get discovered while hiking (that’s a Runyon Canyon joke, people).

The parking for this one is fairly challenging if you get there later in the day. As we made our way down the road we began to see a long line of cars parked on the side, which is never a good sign. Luckily we sharked the small parking area for awhile and we snagged a spot.

Fun tip: the trail head is on the left, just after the gate next to the parking lot. It was also under mega construction so a lot of it was fenced off.

(14 min drive to)

Camelback:
Distance: 3.1 miles
Elevation: 1,246 ft.
6131 E Cholla Ln, Paradise Valley, AZ 85253

Soooo you can’t park at the trail head–you have to park on 64th street and walk up. If you’re lucky, you’ll get a spot near East Cholla Lane and you’ll have a 0.3 walk to the trail. If you’re Sheri and me, you’ll be .7 miles a way and you’ll have a mile walk to and from the trail head. On the plus side, there were quite a few Lime and Bird scooters laying around so you can use one if you’d like to take a scooter to your hike. Sheri kept suggesting Lyft, but ride sharing less than a mile to a 3 mile hike was beyond my capacity of acceptance. 

Of the two urban hikes, this was my favorite. It was, what I thought at the time, a challenging hike. But I was young and naive then, and had no idea what challenging was.

 

Stay night in Tucson (2 hr drive)

 

Day 2
Leave 6:00 a.m.
(26 min drive to)

Wasson Peak:
Distance: 7.1 miles
Elevation Gain: 1,886 ft.
King Canyon Trailhead, Arizona 85745

 

Wasson Peak was a nice reprieve from the crowds and steepness of the day before. The peak is located in Saguaro National Park. When we went it was during the #TrumpShutDown and when we went to turn off to the trail head the road was closed.

Determined not to let Trump ruin our hiking, Sheri and I basically became Galileo and navigated ourselves to the Sendero Esperanza trail head. While it added on about another mile (rt), we were able to take this easy going, meandering trail to the peak which lulled us into a false sense of security that “maybe this challenge won’t be so bad after all!’

LOL, dummies.

Pro tip: the drive to the next peak has… not a whole lot of eating options. Unless you want to stop at the one McDonalds on the way or have gas station Subway, you should probably bring your lunch.

(1 hr 21 min drive to)

Picacho Peak:
Distance: 2.4 miles
Elevation Gain: 1,986 ft. 
Hunter Trailhead, Picacho Peak, Arizona 85141 

Imma be straight up with you when I say I’m not sure how this is a hike sanctioned by a state park. This is the most cuckoo bananas hike I’ve ever been on and I hiked Cactus to Clouds which is supreme cuckoo bananas. Sheri accompanied me about half way up before she tapped out due to height-a-phobia, so I completed it by myself.

She was the smart one here.

This hike involves vertical climbs where you cling to cables and regret every decision that you made that led to that moment in time. I felt like I was at the climbing gym but I didn’t have a harness or mats to save me from my inevitable plummet down the side of a cliff. This video does not really do it justice.

This was just one of the very many obstacles I had to climb solo. The only people nearby was the weird family that was ahead of me that gave me the creeps, and I was gonna be super bummed if they were the ones that found my body.

Once I made it up, I sat for a good 20 minutes knowing that the way down was going to be 1,000 times more terrifying than the way up. After a few deep breaths, I stood on my wobbly legs to make my way down. As I left the sanctity of the only flat part of that trail, was confronted by a family that had three women in BONNETS AND DRESSES huffing and puffing on their way up who looked at me as if to say “Suck it up, pant lady.”

I somehow made it down the trail without dying.

Pro tip: While I’d brought gloves, they were the thin kind you’d wear hiking in marginally cold weather. I highly recommend wearing work gloves as mine kept slipping down the cables I was desperately gripping to avoid my death.

(1 hr. 15 min drive to)

Stay night in Tempe

 

Day 3
Leave 6:00 a.m.
(1 hr. drive to)

Fremont Saddle:
Distance: 4.8 miles
Elevation: 1,496 ft.
Peralta Trailhead, Peralta Rd, Gold Canyon, AZ 85118 
*Get there early to get parking

The day before we were to finish the challenge, my friends Tom and Kristal messaged me and told me they were planning on completing it, too. Tom offered to drive to the trail head, which I was stoked about because I was garsh darn tired of driving. I was less stoked that I ended up forgetting my hat in my car and had to buy a black sequined hat from a gas station. Why did I choose that hat? Because it was the best option.

Despite that, this hike ruled. It was nice, and gentle, and had a cave, and cool stories about the Lost Dutchman‘s treasure buried in them thar hills and it didn’t demand I stair step at all!

Unfortunately, Sheri’s knee became injured and this was the last hike she was able to complete. Although now that I think about it, maybe she knew what was coming…

 

(42 minute drive to)

Flatiron:
Distance: 6.6 miles
Elevation gain: 3,147 ft.
Siphon Draw Trailhead 6109 E Apache Trail, Apache Junction, AZ 85119 

Oh, Flat Iron. Flat Iron, Flat Iron, Flat Iron.

Flat Iron goes like this: an almost flat trail for a mile that then leads to a super steep slip and slide section and then class 2 scrambling for an hour and a half. The route up is both physically and mentally exhausting as it’s not so much a trail as you trying to figure out which rocks you might actually be able to climb if you can angle yourself a certain way and hold on for dear life. I recommend you use gloves for this hike as you will use your hands almost as often as your feet as you scowl at some brightly dressed trail runner hopping boulders and passing you with ease.

The “scary” part is known as the wall, a 10 ft vertical climb that is scarier going down than coming up. There is an alternative route off to the left that is marginally better and you can use it if you’re stuck behind a never ending stream of 10 year olds wearing Keds, or whatever version it is that kids wear these days that are inappropriate for such an excursion.

While Tom, Kristal and I were crab walking up and down rock slide city, Sheri lounged around ghost town that was a little bit down the road, drank a beer, watched a fake gun fight, and pursued the mineral shop for overpriced gems. We kind of hated her. We took solace in the fact that our view was probably better than hers.

We finished with the hike around 4:45 for a total of about 5 hours for the climb. Sheri and I left Tom and Kristal who would continue the challenge with Wasson and Picacho the next day. I definitely think that getting Flat Iron out of the way on day one and finishing with the two urban hikes before heading home was the smart decision, and it’s one I would recommend if you can stay three nights instead of two.

So there you have it. The AZ Six Pack of Peaks. I was happy to crawl into my bed after 5 hr. 32 min. drive home and the next day I didn’t get out of bed until 4:30 p.m. 

One might say I was tired.

Total climb for 3 days: 27 miles/11k ft. vertical gain.

If you’d like to sign up for the Arizona Six Pack of Peaks you can do so here. The challenge runs until April. 

 

 

 

 

 

A Tale of Terror: Strawberry Peak

Trailhead: Red Box Picnic Area
Length: 6.8 miles RT
Elevation Gain: 1794 ft.
Difficulty: Moderate
Total time: 3 hrs
Dogs: Yes, but read on for what happened to sweet little RescueSmalls
Parking: Parking lot across the street. You will need an adventure pass which you can get at a ranger’s station or any sporting goods store.

Gather ’round friends, for I have a tale of terror to share. ‘Twas the time I trekked up Strawberry Peak.

I remember it like it was yesterday. Fires swept across the lands of the Six Pack of Peaks, closing several of the trails. Jeff named alternates, and as an ambassador, I felt the obligation to complete these alternates, including the sweetly and cunningly named named, Strawberry Peak.

It started off as any other day. We parked and crossed the street to get to the trail head. And the trail, it was gentle.

Ah, but the peak, she lures you in like a siren before she takes you as her victim.

We traversed through switchbacks with mild elevation gain and into an Oak Grove before coming to a junction where we turned right. “This is easy,” we remarked, as we merrily made our way through the trail.

We climbed higher and higher as we skirted around the mountain and then saw it…the final ascent.

The terrain quickly changed, becoming steep and rocky and we needed both hands and feet to climb it. Many false peaks awaited us as we made our climb. The heat began to rise. And then, the pokey plants began to multiply, stabbing us from the left and from the right.

Sweat began to pour down our temples. We came to what seemed to be a fairly begin stretch of flat land where we had to traverse between a row of pokey plants. We came to one plant which was vibrating with a buzzing sound. As Smalls and I walked through she started panicking. I felt stings on the back of my legs and arms. I screamed out in pain.

“GO!” I yelled as my fellow traveler turned to check on us.  “It was the plant,” I panted. “The plant was filled with fire ants!”

I already had welts from the bites. Smalls was spinning in circles, biting at her haunches. We looked around and saw them–fire ants, everywhere. On the ground. In the plants. On the rocks. This mountain was theirs.

Weary, we pressed on, determined not to allow the mountain to defeat us. I carried Smalls for a bit, as she was too afraid to continue on her own. I slipped and fell on some rocks as I tried to move up with a terrified K-9 wrapped in my arms.

And finally, we made it, and were treated to a terrible view of overcast skies surrounded by So Cal Brown.

After a short stint at the top to gather our strength, we made our way down. On the descent, we were smarter, as we’d learned the ways of the mountain. I picked up Smalls and carried her over the fire ant bush, although she clung to me in terror as we made our approach. We seemed to enter a time warp, as the trek back was never ending. It was as if the peak was pulling us backward, unable to let us leave. We could see the parking lot, but it never seemed to get closer.

But then finally, the road. And the picnic area which so sweetly concealed its portal to hell.

We sat down on the bench, weary travelers, indeed. We had survived, but would we ever be the same?

 

So, in case you didn’t get it from this post, Strawberry Peak sucks.

 

 

Havasupai

Trailhead: Supai, AZ 
Length: 8 miles to the tourist office; 2 miles from tourist office to campsite
Elevation Gain: 2400 ft.
Difficulty: Strenuous due to the heat
Total time: 3-4 hrs
Dogs: No
Parking: There is a dirt lot at the trailhead, but do know that it’s packed and you may have to park fairly far down the highway. Also be aware of people double parking and blocking you in–that happened to one of our group members the first time she did it.

IMPORTANT NOTE: You NEED a permit to hike Havasupai. There is no day hiking allowed. I keep getting messages from people saying “I’m gonna try to go next week!” and I’m like, “aww buddy… that’s not gonna happen.”

Permits open up on Feb 1 for each year and sell out within hours. You can get a permit by going to the website or calling in.  We were only able to get a permit for one night which meant we really had to work to make the most of our trip.

Here’s how it went.

We left Riverside after work on Wednesday and arrived at Hilltop at 2:30 a.m., ready to go. We stopped several times for bathroom breaks and made the unfortunate decision to stop in the McDonald’s in Needles for food, which was apparently overrun because the Jack in the Box had flooded.

As a result, McDonald’s was out of just about everything and my egg McMuffin came out cold.

Don’t do that. Take an extra hour and stop in Kingman instead. So many more options there. So many, many more.

Anyway, Needles is about 2 hours from the reservation. One thing I don’t remember anyone preparing me for was the drive in on the reservation in the dark. Animals roam free there and so the entire time we were dodging elk, deer, cows, coyotes, and bunnies that would dart in front of the car. It was like “Where’s Waldo” for spotting animals that would kill you if you didn’t find them before they ran into your vehicle.

After being terrorized by suicidal animals for an hour and a half, we were very happy to get out of the car and start hiking. Unfortunately we were told “Nah, bro” by the ranger and told we’d have to come back at 4 a.m. before we could go down.

Exhausted from the drive, we took a quick, uncomfortable nap and then started the 8 mile trek to the village.

 

The hike is relatively flat with the exception of the first mile, which steadily declines and tries to murder you with sand and gravel (danger was a running theme this trip). On the way we saw a giant scorpion (more danger), the moon set, and the sun rise.

 

We made it to the village at 6:45 a.m. and picked up the permits. This is where I noticed that my shoe had ripped. At the beginning of the trip. Awesome.

 

 

After buying a $10 roll of duct tape to fix the shoe which did not work AT ALL, we began the descent to the campsite which was another 2 miles down. On the way to the site we passed both Navajo Falls and Havasu falls but my back hurt from the pack, and the heat began to climb, and the lack of sleep made it hard for me to care much about any “dumb miracles of nature” because I just wanted to take my bag off.

We finally made it to the camp and set up our hammocks, and took a quick nap in the 105 degree heat. It was glorious.

We chose to camp next to the river which felt great to dip the feet in due to the heat, which I am sure was sent from Satan himself. In the afternoon we decided to head over to Mooney Falls to cool down.

Because I wanted to save my hiking shoes now that they had a hole, I decided to hike in my new Salomon water shoes which turned out to be a pretty solid plan because they were comfy and grippy.

The hike to Mooney isn’t far from the campsite, but the hike into the waterfall area is one of the sketchiest of sketch descents in the history of sketch. It’s like something out of the Goonies only you don’t have any of Data’s gadgets to save you, and you spend every moment envisioning your inevitable plummet to death.

To make matters better, there’s only one path up and one path down which is the perfect recipe for a traffic jam.

 

The amount of people who could SEE us waiting at the middle trying to get down who then decided to go up so we couldn’t move was astounding. To those people, I would like to say: you suck.

We waited at the sketch part for 10 min before we decided to stop being polite and start getting real and elbow our way down.

While we were waiting at the crossroads I looked at @katierm1821 and said “NEVER AGAIN”

Once we got there we went exploring, jumped off the rope swing and swam into a cave. I then looked at Katie and said “Ok, totally doing this again.”

After a couple of hours we made our way back up sketchville and to the camp. We would have liked to hit Beaver Falls, since to get there you have to go through Mooney, but we were too tired and decided that needed to be saved for another trip.

While eating dinner the mosquitoes came out and were like “Oh, heyyyyy” so I pulled out the 98% DEET and still got four bites, one of which has turned into some weird red rash on my leg, so I’m not really sure what that’s about.

Even at 9:30 it was still hot as I lay in my hammock but I mananged to crash hard until I woke up two hours later FREEZING. Supai weather, make up your mind already.

Despite this, I woke up after an awesome night’s sleep in the hammock. I know you’re not going to believe this but I’m not being sarcastic. It’s true. Sometimes I AM sincere. Like only sometimes though. Anyway, it was actually great night’s sleep, and much needed if I was going to backpack 30 lbs through the canyon.

We decided to break up the trip back to the village by stopping at Havasu, Navajo, and 50ft falls.

Havasu falls was super pretty with lots of fun pools where I managed to almost drown myself with the use of a floatie (danger!) because I really am just that special. We saw some guys taking some heavy duty tubes into the river leading away from the falls and found out that you can ride about 20 minutes down the river and get to camp. This was noted for our next trip.

When then headed up to Navajo falls where we passed the frybread stand we tried to visit the night before only to find the packing up because it closed an hour early. This time they we found them unpacking their goods and were informed it would be an hour before they would open.

Why do you hate us, frybread lady?!?

Next to Navajo Falls is 50ft falls. Most miss this place because it’s a little difficult to get to; it requires swimming through the reeds and waters unknown that probably have alligators or boa constrictors or the Lochness Monster waiting to kill you. Because of that there’s no one there and you have it all to yourself.

 

 

Uh… so definitely don’t go here, it’s too scary, and we didn’t go exploring and find a cool cave or anything like that at all. Just look at my pics instead of going yourself or telling anyone about it.

From 50 Ft. Falls, we went to the lower part of Navajo where Katie played with rocks and found some cool fossils and I almost got swept downstream by a current I clearly underestimated (danger!).

After a couple of hours there we made our way back to the village where we FINALLY got frybread because Keto diet be damned, am I right?!? I had a cell signal and was informed our AirBnB was canceled and we watched, bitterly, at the lucky bastards taking heli rides out of the canyon, knowing we’d be carrying our packs up the hill of death at the end.

I slipped my hole-y shoes on and we left the village around 6:20 and made our way back to Hilltop.

Two of us arrived at Hilltop just after 9 p.m. We had the full intention of sleeping in the car, but when the other two arrived later we all laughed at that idea and at midnight drove an hour and a half through the reservation, dodging animals (danger!) and to a Motel 6 (danger!) full of tweakers (danger!) and someone else’s hair in the beds (oh, dear God, danger!)

The next morning we did as all travelers do after a long, arduous 48 hours… treated ourselves to #IHOB (Danger!)

And that was it. Our whirlwind trip was over.

Here are some tips to prepare you if you’re planning on going:

Gear:
Water shoes:
I used these. They were light and I was able to walk from waterfall to waterfall without having to change. My only complaint is that they did allow sand to get into them so I had to rinse them out several times. Don’t cheap out on the water shoes. I know you can get a pair for $15 on Amazon, but you’ll be more comfortable if you make the investment, and it’ll give you incentives to go on more water hikes. Also, Solomon please feel free to sponsor me at any time.

 

Backpack:
I used this one which was given to me by my roommate who is downsizing her backpacking gear. It served me well, but she’s about 6 inches shorter than I am, and the pack is an XS and about an inch too short for me. The first day was agony, but the second day I seemed to have it adjusted to where it was pretty comfortable and I was finally balanced.

The best thing about this is that the water pouch is removable with straps and you can use it as a day pack. If you don’t have this option, I highly recommend bringing a smaller bag as a day pack so you don’t have to lug your giant backpack around.

 

Sleeping:
Three of us used a hammock and it was a good call due to the heat. I don’t think you need a specific hammock–any one will do. The campsite has tons of trees for hammocking. Don’t forget a mosquito net as well, otherwise you’ll be spending the night swatting bugs away from your face.

I also used that down blanket from Costco everyone is in love with (and rightfully so) and borrowed my roommate’s Thermarest pillow which was so awesome I bought my own as soon as we got back.

Food:
I’m not much of an eater when hiking. I’ve actually trained myself to do long distance hikes without any food. I always bring food, but very rarely do I need it.

I had to eat on this trip. A lot. The heat just sucked out all the energy to function on the most basic level. Being on a ketogenic diet and vegetarian, my main staples were Joseph’s low carb pita bread with single servings of peanut butter and sugar free jelly, vegetarian beef jerky, and One Bars. Also, this coffee is awesome but super not low carb.

I slightly over packed on food, but I cannot stress this enough: bring enough food. There is also a spigot at the campsite and the tourist office to fill up on water, and a store and cafe at the village for extra supplies.

Clothes:
I wore a wicking t-shirt and leggings on the way down and brought another t-shirt for the way up. I also brought a swimsuit, a pair of shorts, several pairs of socks/underwear. There isn’t much privacy to change into other clothing, especially if you don’t have a tent, so normal rules of hygiene don’t really apply.

Man, camping is seriously gross.

Also, after my recent trip to Mammoth where bugs were biting me through my clothes, I treated my clothing with this spray to avoid that happening gain and I *think* it worked, as everywhere I was bitten was exposed skin.

 

Also bring:
-Electrolytes (I had both salt tabs and Nuun tabs)
-Container for water besides your water bladder
-Cup for coffee (can also double as a bowl)
-Spork and knife
-Burner to heat water/food or two friends with burners (score)
–Smell proof bag and to hang your food so the critters don’t get it.
-Towel
–Cooling towel (don’t get the iCool ones from Walmart, they suck)
-Bug spray
-Sunscreen
-Sunglasses
-Hat
-Rope/paracords for hanging food and mosquito nets
-Grocery bags for trash

 

Some other notes:

Trash:
I read quite a bit of reviews talking about the trash in the village, and yes, there was some trash. But you know where the trashiest part was? The campsite. The campsite full of tourists. That trash was ours, not theirs. If you don’t want a trashy campsite, PACK IN PACK OUT. And if you see trash, pick it up and take it out. The previous campers left their trash at our site. Did we leave it and say not our problem? Nope, we took it out. Stop complaining and then doing nothing to solve the problem.

Pack Mules/Horses:
I’ve seen many posts on the state of the pack animals that the villagers use to charge tourists to carry up backpacks. Many have said that they are mistreated. Although I saw a few horses that looked awfully thin (they were not being ridden but were grazing at their stables), most of the animals I saw (with the exception of one that was bleeding from its pack) looked healthy and cared for. Two of the people on the trip that had been before also said that they looked much better than what they’d seen the year prior as well, so perhaps they’ve taken action on this.

I don’t know enough about the issue to preach to anyone, either way. I’m not a vet and I’m not saying they’re in perfect health, and things may be happening that I haven’t seen. But maybe they’ve made progress. Regardless, I felt better carrying out my own pack.  But that’s me. Do your research, use your best judgement, and go with what your conscious allows.

 

That Hill: I’d heard everyone talk about how horrendous the last mile was on the way out and had been dreading it the entire time, but to be honest I’ve been up worse hills backpacking, like the first mile of San G, or Whitney. Going late in the day was a good plan–we were able to relax and enjoy the waterfalls on our second day there, eat at the cafe, and then go through the canyon as it got cooler. Most people you see will leave early in the morning, but you miss an entire day of waterfalls. It depends on how many nights you get and how much time you want to spend there. But the one thing I can say is don’t go during the middle of the day, because you’ll probably die. Probably. (Danger!)

 

Their Land: And finally, this should go without saying but apparently it needs to be said. This land belongs to the indigenous people of the Havasupai tribe.

ALL of the land in the US is land of indigenous people.

We are guests on their land. We need to respect them and be grateful they’ve given us the opportunity to see this place.

The night we were in Havasupai, a group of campers making the ah ah ah “Indian call” sound that even I, shamefully, made as a kid before I grew up and realized that it’s racist. Other tourists shouted at them to be quiet and one person shouted back “You’re not my dad!”

Ugh.

Stop being disrespectful. Treat people with kindness. Be respectful. BE GRATEFUL.

Really, why do I even have to type this out?

 

All in all Havasupai was an amazing time, even with the heat, the exhaustion, and the numerous, unidentifiable bug bites all over my legs. I am hoping I’ll be fortunate enough to do it again next year and perhaps make it to the confluence, which is now on my bucket list.

Most importantly, the trip was with good people who supported one another down scary cliffs, monster infested waters, and tweaker motels. It was definitely a memorable time and despite my hesitation (see: terror) over the heat situation leading up to the trip, I am so, so glad I went. XOXO hike fam.

Iceland

Oh, hey, Inland Empire.

I’m gonna do that thing where I write about something that’s not in the IE and you’re not going to leave me annoying, snarky replies, or as I call them the “Actually comments.”

“Aaaaaaaaactuallllllly, that’s not in the Inland Empire. It’s in Iceland.”

Yeah. I know. That’s why I titled it Iceland.

So, I went to Iceland in March, and it was awesome. I spent only 5 days there because work ruined my life and made me come home because I had to do my job. I hate it when I have to do my job. It is very much rude.

Anywho, here’s a summary of the ins and outs.

I mean ins and outs of Iceland. Not my work event. Nobody cares about that.

First, we’ll start with the stuff we saw. At the bottom of the post is more logistical information.

 

The Golden Circle:
The Golden Circle has several spots to see in in southwest Iceland including: Þingvellir National Park, the Geysir Geothermal Area, and Gullfoss waterfall.

Here’s what happened for us: We landed in Iceland at 5 a.m., spent a good deal of time at the rental car place, and then began driving to the southwest part of the country. We stopped by the National Park which was closed which resulted in us getting yelled at by a park ranger for taking pictures on a bridge. We also visited the Geysir Geothermal area, where I got an itty bitty coffee–the only size they sell in Iceland–and stayed in the car because it was cold and I was wimpy and tired and you can see some dumb geyser in Icleand ANY TIME anyway!

Then… we went to the waterfalls.

First up was Gullfoss, a sight to be seen:

pic by @trailbot

Then there was Seljalandsfoss

@notyournatalie at Seljalandsfoss by @nursiechris

 

And then Skogafoss

pic by @dulcefarts

Plus tons more you see while you’re driving. If you couldn’t tell, “foss” means waterfall. Skogafoss was the most powerful one that you could walk right up to. The water from the fall combined with perpetual rain made me soggy. I was starting to get fossed out, man.

Black Sands Beach:

pic by @nursiechris

After all the fossing, we stopped by Black Sands Beach where Rouge One was filmed. I don’t really care about Star Wars (that’s right, I said it!), but the beach was very cool, and didn’t have any waterfalls. Definitely worth the trip out.

 

Diamond Beach:

pic by @sdhiker

On our way to the Glacier Climb on Day 2, we stopped by Diamond Beach, which has black sand and is covered in ice “Diamonds” that wash up on shore. It’s one of those surreal experiences that make you think you’re on some other planet. Definitely a unique place that I highly recommend.

 

That was basically all of the “Free” stuff we did on days 1 & 2. Here are some of the paid tours:

 

Glacier Climb:

What: you hike Sólheimajokull glacier and do an Ice Climb
Cost: $200
Includes: Tour guide and belay; bus travel from Reykjavik (or you can meet on site like we did), climbing gear
Website

This was an awesome trip, and probably my favorite thing we did. Sólheimajokull glacier is actually featured in Chasing Ice and is rapidly melting due to climate change.  Our guide gave us the stats and pointed out a sign where the glacier was in 2010, which, in comparison to where it is now, is staggering.

pic by @notyournatalie

The day we went we had the pleasure of seeing the sky for the first time we were there, but it was still snowy and rainy, which made for some fabulous rainbows.

On our way through, our guide showed us how to put on our crampons and ice climb. The crampon part went well. The practicing ice climbing did not go as well.

After a brief orientation, we continued up to the wall we would climb and the guide belayed us down.

I’d been going to the rock climbing gym for months, trying to get my strength up so I wouldn’t fail at this. I thought I was super smart.

The thing about ice climbing though… it’s not like rock climbing AT ALL. You have to basically climb a wall of ice using the equivalent of butter knives attached to your shoes and ice picks in each hand. It’s super cool because you keep hitting your knees on the wall and your hands are in an upward position so it’s cold and they’re also not getting any blood. This might be fine if you’re coordinated, but I am like a turtle turned on its back 95% of the time.

pic by @trailbot

After about 10 min this was as far as I’d gotten, and my hands were so cold I couldn’t feel anything. Our guide lowered me down and came to get me, but I started feeling strange. By the time we got to where the others were I was disoriented, my breathing was shallow, and I felt nauseous. It took me a second to realize I was having my very first panic attack.

After sitting down, and having four nurses that had taken the trip up with us buzzing around and shouting “GET HER ATIVAN, STAT” over and over and me repeating “Nah, bro, I’m good,” I was fine. I knew just needed to get my hands warm again to have my body calm down and I was right.

While I’m bummed I didn’t make it up, I have no trouble in admitting that I wasn’t successful and no regrets about the excursion other than I did not have proper gloves. Have proper gloves. It will help. And maybe you won’t have a panic attack.

 

Blue Lagoon:

What: geothermal water bath and spa
Cost: $90-$400 depending on the package
Includes: Access to the spa, mud mask and some other stuff depending on what you buy
Website

I don’t think I can say it any better than how I said it on Instagram.

Let’s talk about the Blue Lagoon.

It’s man made

It messes up your hair. Bad

It feels relaxing at first

But after you look around for a bit you notice people. Lots of people

People with beers and smoothies dripping into the murky water filled with dead skin cells

It’s soup

It’s beer smoothie soup

It’s people soup

It’s beer smoothie people soup you have to use to wash your face off because you paid for that silica mud mask and you’ll be damned if you don’t get your money’s worth

You spent 90 bucks to float around in beer smoothie people soup

But hey, at least your skin feels nice afterward even if your hair is like Medusa.

…Needless to say, I wasn’t a fan.

Lava Tube Tour
What: lava tunnel Raufarhólshellir, one of the longest lava tubes in Iceland.
Cost: Varies depending on the length of the tour. Ours was around $70.
Includes: “microspikes” that are actually yak traks (a.k.a. useless), headlamps, tour.
Website

Our tour was about an hour and just for the first portion of the tunnel. It was cool with stalactites and mites. Because I was leaving for the airport right after the tour, I made the mistake of wearing regular boots and thin socks and my feet froze to the point that I was incredibly uncomfortable so, if you happen to go during cold weather, don’t, y’know, do that. Also, my headlamp barely worked so in addition to bringing microspikes, you may want to bring your own headlamp.

 

Snorkeling:
What: Guided snorkeling tour in Silfra Fissure
Cost:  $150
Includes: Drysuit and tour
Website

pic by @sdhiker

The group did this tour the day I had to leave to get back to work, so I can’t say from personal experience, but it looked awesome and I will forever shake my fist the god of working for me having to miss this. You get snorkel through the continental divide in glacier water and OMG I am never going to get over not getting to do this.

Kerid Crater

pic by @nursiechris

Another cool thing that these bastards did without me was visit Kerid Crater which is believed to be a collapsed magma chamber from 6,000 years ago.

The Northern Lights

Northern Lights by @trailbot

The thing I was most excited about on this trip was seeing the Northern lights. I dreamed of snowy scenes with cabins and green and purple wisps in the sky. I downloaded the Northern Lights app to tell me when to look up.

But here’s the problem… to see the Northern Lights you need to see the sky. Remember mentioning the rain? Well, with rain comes clouds that cover everything. And that app? It basically tells you that if you could see the sky, then you’d see the lights, which isn’t super helpful.

The first night in the city we caught a glimpse of them. Jae took the picture above but it took some heavy saturation to get any colors to pop. The picture is better than what we actually saw.

We had planned to go out the second night in the city, but unfortunately a pub called the Drunk Rabbit got in the way.

Night three we looked at weather reports and drove two hours each way, being chased storms. No lights.

The crew repeated the drive and pray method the final night, when I had left. Still no lights. Le sigh.

 

And there, my friends, is the summary of our trip.

Some other things we did not see on the trip but I wish we had:
Ice Cave
Hobbit Houses
Airplane

…Plus hiking, any hiking at all.

 

Other Helpful Thingies

Plane Tickets: we used WOW Air, which despite what you’re thinking right now, IS TOO an actual airline. And it’s not a bad airline. It’s just that it’s a cheap airline where you have to pay numerous fees.

Like $70 each way for checked baggage.
Or $50 for carry on.
All the food costs money.
If you want to pick your seat, that costs money.
If you accidentally pick a super luxury seat and want to unselect it, you have to call the airline to have it taken off because it “conveniently” gets an error when you try to remove it on the website no matter how many times you try. And you can’t get ahold of anyone when they call, so you decide to @ them on the Twitter. And finally they remove the seat selection, and you’re like “cool” and then you go to pick a seat and accidentally pick one that’s even MORE expensive than the first one you accidentally picked because gold is the $12.99 one, but slightly greenish gold is the $70 one and you just give up and end up paying $70 which results in you sitting next to some dude with the plague.

Where was I?

Oh, yes, WOW Air.

Here’s a tip: Just spring for the upgraded package. By the time you add luggage, and food, and a seat, you’re saving money. And hassle. So just buy the fancy one from the get go. Do it.

Lodging: We stayed at a Hostel in them middle of nowhere, which wasn’t as murdery as it sounds, and a really great Airbnb right in the middle of town. Between the 10 of us lodging cost $230 which isn’t bad at all. You know what was bad, though…?

Food: Dear God almighty food was expensive. People kept telling me food was expensive in Iceland and I was like “Yeah, yeah, I get it” but no, bro, FOOD IS EXPENSIVE. I paid $14 for a quesadilla. From Taco Bell. And don’t ask me why everyone wanted Taco Bell so bad. We’d been in Iceland for three days and they were like OMG TACO BELL! Like they’d been stranded on an island for 10 years with no food and only a volley ball named Wilson to keep them company.

Anyway, food is expensive. It was much more manageable to go grocery shopping and make food in the Airbnb. I lived off of PB&J for days. And the coffee is all thimble sized servings. You’re in Iceland. Things are expensive. Just get used to it.

Rental Cars: We had three cars to hold the ten of us. Jae secured the cars from a budget rental place (sorry, I don’t know the name of it) and they were all, shall we say, unique.

Picasso, the car Chris, Jen, and I were in was a masterpiece with airline tray tables in the back, sunshades, and a front with side windows that went to the dash, making it look like an aquarium on wheels.  It was hands down the best car of the bunch even if the driver’s side window was continually getting stuck and wouldn’t go up in temperatures and wind chill below zero.

Gas is mighty expensive in Iceland and if you’re driving a clown car like Ervin was, you get to stop three or four times a day to get gas because the tank only holds about five gallons. Also, take note that on the 1 Highway, stations are few and far between. We noticed numerous vehicles that were abandoned on the side of the road; there are only two reasonable explanations for this: running out of gas or alien abduction.

 

Phone coverage: Everyone in the group contacted their own carrier to get an international plan. I have Google Fi, so I’m covered internationally.

Now, you may notice that I have almost no photos of the first day we were traveling.

Gather ’round yee children, for I have a story to tell.

It was the first day. It was dark. We had been driving, and driving, and driving. We hadn’t slept in 36 hours. I had to pee.

Chris pulled off to the side of the road I hopped out into the rain and wind and did my business.

Oh, stop judging me. It was dark. There was a monument to pee behind. I’m a hiker and I don’t care. When you gotta go, you gotta go.

Chris had pulled the car closer so I could run back in quickly, and off we went.

About 15 minutes later, I noticed I couldn’t find my phone. I couldn’t find it, because, you see, it’d fallen out of the car during the break and I didn’t see it on the ground because the car had moved.

Did I mention that my phone case is also my wallet?

Chris did a U-Turn and we drove 15 minutes back to the turnout. He quickly spotted the phone, still there, on the side of the road. Grateful, I snatched it up, but it would not turn on. “It’s just cold,” I thought. But even after it warmed it, I snuggled it, it was plugged in, it was hard reset, it was shouted at, it was given the cold shoulder, and it was apologized to, it would only give me a green screen flicker before dying again.

RIP
Pixel “Pixie” II
January 2018-March 2018.

Not only was I unable to retrieve the photos I’d taken (no sim or memory card!), but I also had no means by which to take new ones. I was sad. Luckily, Chris had an extra iPhone that was older but did the trick as far as taking photos and getting me access to the internet. I also learned some important lessons about traveling including:

a) carry an extra phone–my old Samsung would have been a great backup
b) ensure your phone is in a secure location during pee breaks
c) set up your Gmail on your tablet before leaving the country because it’s going to ask you to verify your identity on your phone, which you can’t, because you don’t have a phone, and then it’ll say “cool, verify it by checking your email on a computer that already has access,” and you’ll be like, but “I can’t” and then it’ll say, “cool, verify it by getting the text on your phone” and then you’ll be like “ARG I ALREADY TOLD YOU I CAN’T DO THAT!” and it’ll give you the shrug lol emoji, and then you can’t order your replacement phone and have it waiting for you when you get back.

Dead phone, panic attack, and weird people soup aside, Iceland was one of my favorite experiences, ever.  The country has a unique, unparalleled beauty, even when it’s cold and rainy and destroys your chances of seeing the Northern Lights. It’s definitely a must return for me. A huge thanks goes to Jae for planning the trip with assistance from Chris and Ervin. This trip reminded me why I love traveling so very much, especially when it’s with good people.

You can see other pics of our adventures by following my co-travelers on Instagram
@trailbot
@Dulcefarts
@SDhiker
@kylojenhikes
@nursiechris
@notyournatalie
@swervin84
@_.karinao
@ashleytayfields

 

Oh, and here’s a pic of me impersonating a polar bear. Just because.

Kid & Stroller Friendly Hikes

Photo courtesy of Matthikes7.0

Over the years I have received several questions on stroller and kid-friendly hikes in the IE. Since it’s such a common request, I put out the question to HikeIE followers and boy did you guys deliver.

Please note that I have not personally done all of these trails so if you have questions, I suggest you do some research via the Googles, because that’s what I’ll end up doing to find the answer, and there’s no reason to have a middleman… person… in all of this. When I was an adviser and one of my students asked me a question, I would first respond with “Did you Google it before asking me?” nine times out of ten they would sheepishly turn around and go back to their desks. 

Google is your friend. Ask the Google.

 

Some notes:

• Mileages: All listed mileages are RT
• Strollers: When it says “Stroller friendly” it is because someone actually said they used a stroller on it or I’ve personally seen someone using a stroller. Fire roads are usually stroller friendly but they may have an incline so that doesn’t mean they’re easy. Also I know nothing about strollers so I can’t tell you if your Baby Hikerton III stroller is going to be good enough or not. Although with a name like that I would REALLY hope it’s good for hiking.
• Uphill: Where relevant, I’ve added elevation information. Everyone has their own level in terms of what is strenuous and what is not, so please use this info when making a decision. Contrary to popular belief, I don’t know every one of my follower’s hiking abilities.
• Kids: I often get questions asking me if I think their kid can do a trail… and my response is to shrug and say “I dunno, bro, can she?” Every kid is different. There are ten-year-olds that can’t walk a mile and there are three-year-olds that can climb Mt. Baldy (#Harperhikedit). I don’t know your kid but I’ve provided as much information as I can for you to make that decision on your child’s ability.
• Adventure Pass: many trails require an adventure pass for parking. You can pick these up at a ranger station or any sporting goods store (Big 5, etc.). Passes are $5 for a day, $30 for a year, or $35 for two annual passes. Also, if you have an annual National Parks Pass you can use that as your adventure pass–you just need to display it from your mirror.
• Updates: I plan for this to be updated so if you have suggestions on additional hikes, please send me a DM via Instagram or email me at: hikeinlandempire@gmail.com

 

And finally, if you go out there and something isn’t exactly kid or stroller friendly, please DO NOT YELL at me, man.

I’m a person. A person with feelings. Please remember that I’m trying best to be helpful. That being said, if something is wrong, corrections can be sent to hikeinlandempire@gmail.com.

And now, on to the hikes!

 

Riverside/Moreno Valley/Corona/Perris/Murrieta:

 

Box Springs Reserve
Riverside/Moreno Valley, CA
Various mileage; can be stroller friendly

Anyone who follows HikeIE knows that Box Springs is one of my favorite places ever. It’s best visited in the spring when the hills are green and wildflowers are blooming. The main road is a fire road that is stroller friendly with several other trails branching off. If you’re lucky you’ll see wild burros, hawks and various other wildlife. There are also boulders for the more adventurous kids to climb.

You can also take the fire road to the Moreno Valley M with about 1800 feet of elevation gain for a 7.3 mile RT hike. But you don’t have to go that far to enjoy the park.

Parking is $5 using the honor system at Box Springs Park; however it does close at sundown so be sure to leave before then or a ranger in a Jeep will come find you and yell at you… not that that’s happened to me or anything.

Leashed dog friendly. Please note that little dogs are susceptible to owls/hawks/coyotes in the area (one was just taken last week) making it even more important that you keep your dog on a leash.

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Hidden Valley Nature Center
Riverside, CA
25 miles of hiking and equestrian trails; stroller friendly fire roads.

Open Saturdays 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Parking is $5.
Dog friendly but a fee of $1. Dogs must stay on leash

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Pumpkin Rock
Norco, CA
1.2 Miles; 370 ft elevation gain; not stroller friendly.

This hike does have a pretty steep incline but it is a fairly short trek. There are numerous trails that branch off to get there, but as long as you head towards the pumpkin you’re fine.

I wouldn’t recommend strollers and please make sure your shoes have some grip. I took a kiddo there recently and he fell a couple of times due to the steepness, but he got up like a champ!

Street parking
Dog friendly

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Mt. Rubidoux
Riverside, CA
4 miles at 500 ft. elevation gain; Stroller friendly paved fire road.

This is an extremely popular hike and for good reason—paved, and kid friendly, great views and a castle at the top! Although the castle kind of smells like pee 😦

In my opinion the best time to hike this is on Sunday afternoons when it is a little less crowded.

Parking is free at Ryan Bonaminio Park or on the street.
Dog friendly; please keep your dogs on leash.

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Moreno Valley Hiking Trails at Trailridge Way
Moreno Valley, CA

This one was sent to me by a follower but we’re not sure exactly what the trail is called. She says it’s by the Walmart off Moreno Beach and is a flat terrain where she takes her six-year-old for walks. From the pictures on Facebook it looks pretty stroller friendly. She says it is clean, quiet, and safe. 

This follower parks at the Wal-Mart.
Looks to be dog friendly 

If you happen to know what this trail is called, please let me know!

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Santa Rosa Plateau
Murrieta, CA
Tons of trails with various mileage. Some stroller friendly areas.

This one might be a drive but it’s definitely worth it if you have kids. Tons of wildlife and different trails that lead you do adobe structures, through fields, and if it’s the right time of year, vernal pools. A lot of exposed areas so bring sunscreen.  

No parking fee, but a usage fee of $4 for adults, $3 for children.
No pets allowed.

*Read the HikeIE write up

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Sycamore Canyon
Riverside, CA
Nature Center with over 25 miles of official trails and guided hikes; not stroller friendly

Hikes are usually .6 miles and last 45-60 minutes, easy enough for small children. Strollers are not recommended. Check out their calendar of events

No parking fee
Leashed dog friendly

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Skyline
Corona, CA
Fire road that tops out at the Doppler for a total of 11.5 miles; stroller friendly fire road.

The great thing about Skyline is that you can turn around at any point. The elevation gain is that of a typical fire road; however it is completely exposed so mornings or afternoons are suggested.

Within Skyline you can also explore Tin Mine Canyon for a total of 4.5 miles and 695 elevation gain making it good for kids. Hagador Canyon at 4.2 miles and 606 feet of elevation gain is also an option. There is TONS of poison oak on these side trails so keep your kids close. Both offer beautiful scenery. Strollers are not recommended for these side trails so if you need to bring one, I suggest to stick to the fire road.

Parking is free on Foothill; however, this is a very popular trail so it’s recommended to get there early to get parking.

Dog friendly

*Read the HikeIE write up

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UCR Botanic Gardens
Riverside, CA
4 miles of hilly trails; not stroller friendly

Over 40 acres of gardens with plants from throughout the world. This is a gem of the UCR campus. They often do special events such as moonlight tours.

Parking by dispenser is $2 for one hour and $3 for two hours.
Not dog friendly.
Open 8:00 a.m. to Sundown and closed on administrative holidays.

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Terri Peak
Perris, CA
4.6 miles with 954 ft. elevation gain; not stroller friendly

This hike is recommended for kids that are more conditioned and offers beautiful views of Lake Perris.

Parking: This is in a recreation area, so it is $10 to get in but it does give you access to the lake.
Leashed dogs.

*Read the HikeIE write up

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Upland/Claremont/Rancho Cucamonga Area

Claremont Loop
Claremont, CA
4.9 miles; 823 feet elevation gain; stroller friendly fire road.

A popular fire road trail with views of the Inland Empire. This trail is completely exposed so morning or afternoon is recommended.

Parking is $6 at the trailhead
Dog friendly

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 Etiwanda Falls
Rancho Cucamonga, CA
3.4 miles 790 feet; not stroller friendly

This is a fairly popular trail that features a waterfall at the top. It is completely exposed so morning or afternoon is recommended.

Parking is free at the trailhead
Dogs are not allowed

 

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Icehouse Canyon
Mt. Baldy, CA
Mileage depends; not stroller friendly.

Technically this 7.9 miles RT to the Icehouse Saddle, but you don’t need to go that far with kids and I wouldn’t recommend you do. The first part of the trail is the part that’s great for kids although it is not stroller friendly. It’s shaded, with a stream to follow and has little elevation gain. Just stop when you get to the crazy rocky area. 

Adventure pass required for parking and the lot fills up VERY fast on the weekends, so get there very early (early as in 6 a.m.) or in the afternoon when hikers are coming back.

Leashed dogs are allowed.

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Johnson’s Pasture
Claremont, CA
4.3 miles with 843 feet of elevation gain; Stroller friendly fire road.

Views of Claremont and Upland. Several reviewers suggest to use Alltrails on this one as it’s easy to get lost.

Parking is free at Thompson Creek
Dog friendly

 

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Pacific Electric Bike Trail
(Various)
18.1 mile trail with various entry points. Stroller friendly, paved or crushed granite. From the site:

“The segment in Rancho Cucamonga includes a 10-foot-wide, concrete trail for bikes and the same width side path of decomposed granite for running, walking and horseback riding. The segment in Upland is asphalt, and is nicely landscaped, leading through residential neighborhoods and commercial corridors before connecting to Claremont.”

Several parking locations
Dog friendly

 

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Potato Mountain
Claremont, CA
4.6 miles with 1289 ft. elevation gain. Stroller friendly fire road.

A popular trail on a dirt fire road. Shaded for a great deal of it except as you get closer to the top. Two dirt lots are at Evey Palmer Canyon and Mt. Baldy Rd.; however this is a very popular trail so it can be hard to get a spot.

Parking is free. Please also know that car break-ins are extremely common here–I actually had my passport stolen–so do not leave ANYTHING valuable in your cars.

Dog friendly  

*Read the HikeIE write up

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Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden
Claremont, CA
Stroller friendly

86 acres of botanic gardens featuring native California Plants, a library and several tours and educational activities.

$9 adults; kids $4; under 3 free.

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Redlands/Yucaipa/Loma Linda

San Timoteo Nature Sanctuary
Redlands, CA
3.8 miles with 200 ft. of elevation gain. Stroller friendly although it is slightly sandy in one part

This is a 200 acre preserve that is cared for by the Redlands Conservancy. Parts of this trail are exposed so be sure to bring sunscreen.

Parking is free
Leashed dogs only

 

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Hulda Crooks Jedi Trail
Loma Linda, CA
5.6 miles with 1000 ft. elevation gain. Not stroller friendly.

According to the reviews you’ll probably want Alltrails and GPS as the trail is not clearly marked.

Parking is free
Dog friendly

 

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Los Rios Rancho/ Oak Glen Preserve
Oak Glen, CA
2.4 miles with 357 elevation gain. Stroller friendly fire road.

This hike features a lake and is very kid friendly. It is suggested to check out Los Rios Rancho’s site for family friendly activities including apple picking.

Parking is free
Leashed dogs OK

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Socal Mountains

Ernie Maxwell
Idyllwild, CA
4.8 miles with 875 ft. elevation gain; stroller not recommended.

A shaded trail with wildflowers. Five people recommend this one when I did the call for suggestions, so it must be good!

Adventure pass required
Leashed dogs only

 

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Heart Rock
Valley of Enchantment (Crestline), CA
1.7 miles with 227 feet of elevation gain. Not stroller friendly.

I grew up in Crestline so I have a soft spot for this place. A great hike for kids that leads you down into deep creek where there is a heart shape that has been carved out by water fall over the years.

What’s super cool about this hike is that you can see grinding stones used by Native Americans if you look hard enough.

Parking is in a dirt lot; not sure if you need a pass, so you may want to have an adventure pass just in case.

Leashed dog friendly 

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Heaps Peak Arboretum
Sky Forest, CA
.75 mile with 90 ft elevation change; stroller friendly dirt path.

The Sequoia Trail takes you through the grove that was planted in the 1930s and is particularly pretty when the dogwoods are blooming.

Adventure pass required
Leashed dogs only.  

What’s best is that you can go to the very famous Santa’s Village afterward! I used to get gingerbread men at the bakery there as a kid. There was no reason to mention that right now other than the fact that I’m hungry. 

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Lake Gregory
Crestline, CA
2.3 miles; 65 ft elevation gain; not stroller friendly

Another one from my hometown! This trail is awesome and I used to run it in High School. Well, “run” is an overstatement. I used to barely trot along it in High School. Anyway, the trail is shaded, beautiful and definitely kid friendly. In the springtime you can see frogs! Or at least you used to be able to. 

Parking is free at the San Moritz lodge (if you park at the entrance to the swim area it’s $10)

Dogs on leashes are allowed

*Read the HikeIE write up

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Outside Riverside/San Bernardino Counties:

Carbon Canyon Park
Brea, CA
2.5 miles with 75 ft. elevation gain; Stroller friendly dirt path

10 acre redwood forest, the only one of its kind in Southern California. The park also has kid friendly activities including three parks.

Parking is $3 on weekdays, $5 on weekends or you can use an OC Parks Pass.
Dog friendly

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Red Rock Canyon
Lake Forest, CA
4.2 miles with 420 ft. elevation gain; not stroller friendly

A relatively easy hike that features red rock similar to what you would see in Arizona. There is also a lot wildlife, including mountain lions, so be mindful. 

There is a parking fee (you pay at the kiosk)
Not dog friendly

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Eaton Canyon  
Pasadena, CA
3.8 miles with 592 ft. elevation gain; not stroller friendly

This hike features a 40 ft. waterfall and wading pool. The last third of the hike is the prettiest part, as it’s shaded and involves numerous water crossings.

Parking is free but fills up quickly on weekends
Leashed dog friendly

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Michael D Antonovich Trail
San Dimas, CA
6 miles with 475 ft. elevation gain. Not stroller friendly as there are stream crossings.

Trail features a lake and is good for kids, but has poison oak, so please be mindful. Reviewers also says that it can be somewhat easy to get lost, so Alltrails and GPS are recommended.

Free parking
Dog friendly

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Monrovia Canyon Park
Monrovia, CA
5.8 miles with 1279 ft. of elevation gain; not stroller friendly.

Has a waterfall and is shaded; good for kids who can handle the distance.

$5 parking fee weekdays, $6 weekends
Dog friendly

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Palomar Observatory
Aguanga, CA
4.8 miles with 754 ft. elevation gain; not stroller friendly

This shaded trail takes you to the top of Palomar Mountain where there is an Observatory with three large telescopes. The observatory has been in operation since the mid 1930s and has discovered dwarf planets and comets.

Adventure Pass required or pay the $5 usage fee
Dogs on leash

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Sturtevant Falls
Arcadia, CA
3.25 miles, 400 feet elevation gain; not stroller friendly.

One of the nicest and most scenic waterfalls in the area. Lots of shade and greenery, but also lots of bugs in the summer so it’s best accessed during the winter or late fall.

This has a pretty decent hill at the end when you’re coming back so probably best for kids who are willing to make the climb.

I’m not going to lie to you, parking for this is horrendous. Literally one of the worst parking experiences you may ever have. Like, you might have flashbacks and night terrors kind of bad. It starts from the same trailhead as Mt. Wilson and I’ve gotten there at 6 a.m. and the lot has been full. When you arrive in the afternoon, you will see cars parked with half the body on the highway, three miles down the road (I’m not exaggerating).

Your best bet is to do this on a weekday if you do not want to get there super early. Adventure pass is also required.

Leashed dogs OK