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Alaska Part 2: We came, we waded, we caught, we filleted. We ate good!

Alaska Part 1: A trip to Kodiak with some strong & motivated women. Rain, wind & sunshine; laughs and smiles were had through any kind of weather.

Teach her to fish and feed her for her life time,

A trip to Pennsylvania with a bunch of self motivated & badass women; I’m sure our guides had never heard so much banter about boys, PMSing, and relationship talk on a float trip in their life! I’ve been loving getting into fly fishing because it feels so genuinely my thing, I can make the sport whatever I want it to be. I’ve got no one to teach me, only from afar I’ve got others to look towards around me that inspire me to do it my way. Fishing is traditionally a sport dominated by men; it doesn't bother me to be the only women out fishing every single time I go, it honestly just makes it feel like I’ve found out this secret that they all knew and I’m finally in on. To change the tides a bit, give the sport a bit of a shake up, it’s a good thing.

All the women on this trip are shaking it up on their own rivers all throughout Ohio and I was luckily enough to crash their trip coming all the way from Nevada. They all held their own, being able to talk the talk and reel in some big fish, all so knowledgable and gritty from countless hours reading and fishing. We had two days floating down the Clarion River in Pennsylvania, what an experience to float this river and spend time with great ladies. I learned so much from them and they got me so excited to keep pushing into this sport. I am grateful!

As far as catching fish, caught a couple brown trout and a sucker fish. I hooked one whilst I was mid sip on a margarita which resulted in a full panic mode of me trying to keep the line tight and find a place to throw my drink. And a back cast I accidentally hooked my boob. It’s all about the funny moments to me, oh memories!

Bring on desert livin’, calling Las Vegas home

San Diego has been home for almost five years, oh how I love the evenings spent in the ocean’s waves and the endless palm trees & perfect sunsets. But I’ve been in a rut, nothing that made me unhappy, just unrestful. Being in Mammoth Lakes for the summer brought into light the importance of being close to the places I love to be outside. There, I could walk out my backdoor and access the backcountry by foot or bike; rarely even touching my truck for the whole summer! That perspective of the mountain lifestyle made me realize that San Diego had me a bit trapped from all the things I cared most about. Each weekend I would rally hard, driving sometimes 7 hours one way, to reach the gorgeous places I loved to climb or bike or hike or fish. Now all I wanted was to look out my window and be able to see adventures right in the foreground.

Las Vegas, although The Strip gives it a bad reputation, is a hidden gem for outdoor access right out it’s back door. I fell in love with the public lands just outside of Las Vegas several years ago on my first climbing trip for a friends Thanksgiving. Since then I’ve always felt such a sense of excitement and peace being here. When the opportunity came up for a recreation management job at the Spring Mountain National Recreation Area, I applied on a whim. I had just always felt drawn to Las Vegas; never did I think I would actually live here. The stars aligned when my best friend/climbing partner committed to moving here for school and I got offered the job at the same time; it seemed like a sign. I pulled the trigger on the job and within a month, we both were calling this place “home.”

Megan and I found a cozy apartment close to our work & school but more importantly, close to Red Rocks National Conversation Area and Spring Mountain National Recreation Area. We are only a short drive to world class climbing and endless miles of trails; I cannot get enough.

Change is so hard & uncomfortable in the moment but it’s what we all need to continually grow and thrive in life.

Leaving San Diego has been the hardest move yet for me in life, there’s many people and places I still love and miss daily; it pains me at times. But I feel this light and burst of new in Las Vegas that I haven’t felt in me in years; it keeps me going, knowing that I think I’m on the right path for me.

On the walls of Yosemite!

Yosemite getaway:

One of my last weekends in Mammoth Lakes, Paul rolled through town and suggested we take a trip to Yosemite National Park to climb all the most classic rock climbs the valley had to offer. It seemed fitting to end my summer in the mountains climbing in what many consider to be the gem of all the Sierras.

New friendships and experiences all summer had filled me to the brim with happiness but on the flip side cannot leave out the appreciation and love I feel for a cozy and well worn relationship that functions like a finely oiled machine. Paul and I have been climbing for years together and it felt so soothing to not have to speak or explain, just know. We climbed, camped, slashed in the Merced, and bought candies from the Ahwahnee hotel to which we sat all dirty from climbing on their manicured lawn and smashed them in our mouths happily and probably not quite civilized enough.

I came back tuckered out from my weekend but feeling so accomplished at the beautiful routes we had climbed. I tried hard and pulled through on some pitches I didn’t know I’d had the strength for. Inner strength and outer strength, I found it.

Summer in the Eastern Sierra:

Escaping the heat and sandy bodied days of San Diego, I traded all the surfers and world class Mexican food for the tree covered mountains and lots of opportunities for losing myself in the woods.

These are photos captured throughout the entire summer; there were lots of smiles and happiness in spending time here. As an extrovert and giver, I tend to never make space for time alone to explore my needs, my wants, my happiness. This summer in the mountains was just that; yes, there were friends made; yes, I worked my butt off; it wasn’t forced solitude but an opportunity for me to practice my self indulgence and really dig into myself.

I took morning walks with coffee in hand, snuck out of work at all hours when the weather was good to run out of my back door and into the mountains, I biked hard and fast -hooting and hollaring each time I caught air on a bike, woke up early enough each morning to cuddle in bed with Cosworth and by candlelight watch the sunrise, soaked in the hot spring whenever my heart desired, and ate ice cream almost every night. So these photos compiled here show all these moments mashed together; they’re a compliation of a simplified and happy life.

Red rocks, pink sky; I’m swoonin’ over the lees desert skies nightly (at Las Vegas, Nevada)

Ladies weekend in Mammoth Lakes, CA; so grateful to have my amazing life and climbing partner up for the weekend. We climbed Crystal Crag and romped all over town. Grateful for these views and good company.

Tuolumne Meadows: Rolling granite domes speckled with ancient trees and sneaking rivers. This place has a hold on my heart, not only does it take my breath away, it seems that I always visit as a change is coming in my life and it’s there to ground me. This place speaks to me, it tells me that natural beauty can heal all; shows me that silence and piece of mind is critical to find clarity in life; teaches me that happiness can be (and is) simple. We spent a week off the grid here, climbing three of the most iconic peaks in the Sierras and taking rest days to float down rivers. The climbs we completed have been on my list for years and in previous years, I would not have had the skill set to complete. It truly was trip for the books in that I felt more at home in the mountains than ever before; I felt sure footed in my ability and clarity to achieve what i am capable of.

This is my first big trip away from home since COVID-19 hit back in March and this week in Tuolumne is the first time in months that I’ve felt “normal” and myself again. Work has been more stressful than ever, many of those around me are struggling financially and emotionally, and although I’ve found moments to celebrate over this period, there really hasn't been much to feel positive or happy about recently. And that wears on everyone. On top of all that I’ve accepted a temporary promotion and plan on uprooting myself for four months to live in Mammoth Lakes, California and my partner quit his job to spend the next year on the road. Man, sounds like you’ve really stirred the pot of change Lindsey? Oh yes, I’ve not only stirred, I’ve jumped right in!

I like to think of myself as someone that is “good at change” because I’ve forced myself into it a lot over the years with my many career moves. Being “good at change” is having that perspective that when you reach the other end of the tunnel, you will see the better you. I always look back on my times of change and see that they have provided me with the clearest benchmarks of personal growth along with producing some of my most captivating stories. It does not mean that change comes easy to me; it is the most uncomfortable and awful experience every time...and it doesn’t get easier the more you do it. I keep throwing myself into the ring of change because I do firmly believe that I will grow from it and I will ultimately be happier by the end; knowing full well that through the process I will feel deep sadness, discomfort, and fear.

Nothing remains constant in life, and if that is what you seek then you are at risk of stagnation. We need change, we thrive on change, so we to lean in to opportunities that promote change and never shy away. Behind the discomfort and fear I’m feeling with 1) starting a new job 2) moving to a place with no friends and 3) not having my boyfriend/best friend/climbing partner by my side, I do feel excitement for the unknown. Excitement in the uncertainty of what is coming next, but feeling pretty sure that it’s going to be new and different!

There’s been a natural lull here on the blog over COVID-19 due to the lack of excitement or change in experiences in San Diego; I expect that things will drastically pick up as I kickstart my life back into gear with my move to Mammoth Lakes in August. Lots of change, means lots of share!

Straight talk; Cosworth is a sultry stud.

A ladies trip to Joshua Tree National Park

It’s hard to make our schedules align, but when they do, our time together is so refreshing and genuinely exciting. Megan and I are two of a kind in many ways: way excited about climbing, planners, extroverted, and Gemini’s but we have these differences that really seem to compliment each other. When we go on trips together, we always meet tons of new people because neither of us can never shut our mouths, always find new adventures because neither says no to anything, and we have the most relaxing trips because we are so open and trusting of each other.

It’s rare to find people like this in life; I have very few life long friends that last from my move to move. Megan will definitely be one of them.

The weekend in Joshua Tree wasn’t epic for any particular reason regarding the difficulty of the routes we climbed or crazy achievements; it was solely because of the humming of our friendship that allowed us to have the best of time no matter the situation. The first day it was sunny and we climbed some routes, but the wind was insanity so there were several moments I thought I’d be blown off the top of the rocks. Another group of climbers were next to us for the day though and one happened to be playing around with his fancy camera. They were all so impressed that Megan and I were capable and willing of going out climbing by ourselves (and probably thought we were cute), so we got free photos of out of the situation. That’s the our effect on people ***wink wink*** You’ll see all of the photos above of me climbing are from that guy, it’s rare that I get good quality photos of me leading and I am proud of these.

I was feeling more confident this weekend so I took all the leads to set up the climbs. It felt good to feel confident and clear in my mindset; I don’t always feel that way. The wind kept kicking up though so we took to our wine glasses and went for a hike until sunset. In the evenings, we explored some of the popular saloons in Joshua Tree in which there was amazing blue grass music and a random puppy that we got to hold for an hour; not to mention I had the best nachos of my life...EVER. Joshua Tree is a place for misfits and try-to-hards so it makes for odd conversations that you’d never imagine having in your normal day. Megan and I thrive on these moments, we love meeting new people and weaving our way through the conversation to piece someone together. We had a great night and retired to the back of the truck to sleep in the middle of the dry lakebed.

It rained for hours during the early morning; at first it was peaceful but after hours my cogs in my mind starting to turn more than sleep and I worried about the lake we were parked in filling up. We both were sleeping anymore, so I finally got up the nerve to suggest moving around 4AM. Our shoes both had inches of mud pasted to the bottom just from walking from the back of the truck to the front doors, uh oh! My two wheel drive Tacoma had never had problems yet on the dirt roads, but this was her hardest challenge yet. The front of the truck slide wherever it wanted too while the back tried with all it’s might to keep chugging along without getting stuck in ruts. We cruised along at a fast paced 3mph and I was white knuckles while listening to Johnny Cash. It took us almost 20 minutes to get out of an area that took me two minutes to drive in the night before and I was spent; once safe we crawled in the back and slept once more.

In the true morning, it had snowed in Joshua Tree, how weird?! Obviously, we were going to climb so we had a slow morning with coffee and drove into the park. It’s odd to see snow in the desert, seems so out of place. Oddly, snow looked good on Joshua Tree and we embraced this moment because we knew we’d probably never experience this again in our lives. Tromping through the crisp snow, it was reminded me of winters at home in Buffalo but with a whole new back drop.

We drove home listening to all sappy country music.

Marathon training has brought me a fierce appreciation for my body and tougher mental strength to believe my own abilities. I’ve found more joy in life and friendships from this journey and am constantly feeling overwhelmed with gratitude as I keep pressing on. Looking to more days on the trail ending with countless scrapes & blisters & a 🍺or🍻! (at Secret Canyon Trail/ Cleveland National Park) https://www.instagram.com/p/B8Uu0ZEnB3i1XN7EsVjcsnl1J4hHgXClBSgjZU0/?igshid=1888mgcz3p5ga

It’s easy to think Los Angeles is just all traffic and hustle, but we managed to make a beautiful & relaxing weekend up there. Exploring a new climbing area and having a beach day with Jeff; really was a California dreaming sort of weekend.

Goals for 2020: Be a strong lady & hang with more strong ladies 💪🏽💁🏽‍♀️ (at Eagle Peak) https://www.instagram.com/p/B6_mtMFnrAt2zKyuoHGtlNjhuhRXOCTvFSPRZQ0/?igshid=gwyqe3t15cpv

I’m practicing expressing gratitude daily; this past weekend came exceptionally easy: 🌨,🎿,🥃 all with my handsome boyfriend for that extra 🍒 on top! What a day! (at Mount San Jacinto State Park)

Part 2: Climbing the Shield

We started early and there were no clouds in the sky; as the day rolled on though, the weather was coming for us. The photos show the progression of the clouds, I now know what it means to climb in the alpine. Alpine climbing is the true form of adventure where it’s just you and the elements!

We gained the ridge just as the clouds consumed us and we traversed the ridge in a pure whiteout. Lots of moving in one day; we were back at camp by dark to fill our belly with freeze dried lasagna and raspberry crumble. Not to mention we got a couple casts into the lake for trout as the sun set.

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