Back to Yosemite!

This weekend it was back to Yosemite, and we learned the hard way that weather can change very drastically up there.

This time we had a smaller group of just 4, and this time we departed at 5am on Saturday to make the 3 hour trip North for a full day of adventuring. 

Our goal this time was the famous Mist trail, which takes people right up to two big waterfalls. And they call it the Mist trail for a good reason 

The combination of rain and waterfalls left us soaking wet. But it was worth it for the awesome views

And even in the rain, Yosemite is beautiful

I don't have many pictures because of the rain. As we got higher in elevation, it started to turn to hail....and then snow!! We even stood under a waterfall that was turning to hail at the bottom.

By the time we were over the cold and the rain, we piled back in the car to go back to our campsite, only to find the roads getting closed for snow and ice! So we ended up having to abandon my tent and our camp and driving the 5.5 hours (yikes traffic) back to Bakersfield. So our trip turned into a very long day trip up north. But it was worth it, because Yosemite in any weather has become my favorite place

And sadly I will have to get a new tent, as mine is somewhere in the Sierra forest 

 

Yosemite!

After over a year and half, I finally got to do the one thing I wanted to see in California more than anything...Yosemite National Park

Once again, the full crew was ready for an adventure...with a record 13 of us making the trip 4 hours north for a weekend of camping and hiking. We had two people who had never gone hiking before, and of all of us, only 1 had been to Yosemite before

We decided on a very ambitious hike, to the top of Yosemite falls, a 3.5 miles hike that had over a 2000 ft elevation gain. So basically...3 hours of stairs.

But worth the view

It was awesome hiking through the mist of the waterfall on the hot day, and the roar of the falls was like thunder. It was very tiring and a hard hike, but worth the view.

Once we got to the top, a smaller group of us decided to be even more adventurous and continue a mile higher

It was amazing, and we could see the majority of the park. We could see snow capped peaks down to the rivers. Thanks to all the rain, there were hundred of water falls. We also saw some rock climbers without ropes! They were crazy.

The hike took is all day, and we were very glad to get back to camp for some rest

That night we enjoyed good food, smores, and lots of laughter and fun. We all turned in early though, our legs all so sore we couldn't feel them.

The next morning we woke up and sadly had to drive home. But my friends and I loved the park so much, we are returning this weekend for a second trip! 

It will be hard to go back without the full crew though. 

Pinnacles National Forest

Right now we are getting lots of weird wether in California, with rain and hail randomly coming down all week. Luckily we still found fun things to do...like visiting a trampoline park on Thursday night

And celebrating cinco de mayo 

With homemade paper flowers and michaladas!

The bad part of this weather is its hard to hike and camp when your campsite gets covered in 7 inches of snow on Thursday night. We had to scramble last minute to find somewhere to camp, and we stumbled upon Pinnacles National Forest, an obscure park about 3 hours north of us that is one of the smallest national parks in the country.

So Saturday morning we woke up and drove there, not knowing much about it other than they had open camp ground.

And did we luck out. Pinnacles was amazing, with caves full of bats and waterfalls (which I couldn't get good pictures of because it was dark)

Had an amazing giant (and full!!!) lake

Some amazing views 

Lots of hill and steep trails

Our legs were very achy by the end of just a 9 miles trail, that had 2000 ft in elevation change. The coolest part was seeing California Condors in the wild, which is really rare but in Pinnacles is a daily occurrence.

Our campsite was awesome as well, tucked away in a wildflower grove with a fire pit and a water spigot. We were living the high life.

Overall, a random idea Friday afternoon turned into an awesome weekend at a beautiful, isolated national park! 

Next weekend will be very different, as we go from an underrated and unknown park to the King of California national parks, Yosemite!!! I am so excited and it's making for a very long work week.

Rescue Diver

It was another beautiful weekend in what is rapidly becoming my favorite place, Catalina Island.

Once again I was there for a Scuba Diving class (probably the last one in a while). This time it was Rescue Diver and first responder. This means, if a diver goes down or has problems, I am now certified to assist or led rescues!

It was a crazy weekend, because our instructors kept pretending to get hurt, lose consciousness, get lost, and panic. We did everything from hauling bodies up from the ocean floor, to calming panicked divers, to towing tired divers to shore, to a full on search and rescue complete with practicing CPR. I was so exhausted but it was worth it!

The best part of the weekend though, was going on some fun dives with my dive buddies.

The first dive we did took up through a kelp forest and to a sunken sailboat we could swim through. It was exciting diving without our instructors and having the freedom to go where we wanted.

I really loved the kelp forest.

Here is my dive group!

The second fun dive was even better. We explored the rock ledge that goes to shore and found all sorts of animals. We saw two leopard sharks, tons of big lobsters, lots of sea urchins and sea cucumbers, and a barracuda! The usual fish were hanging around too. Sadly, my go pro ran out of battery so i couldn't get pictures of them.

It was very relaxing and fun diving outside of class. Luckily, I made lots of friends on the trip and have invites to go on future trips with a few people, including my dive buddy for the weekend, Leanne


The other great thing about this weekend is that a few of my Nestle friends came down to the island as well to hang out. It was a perfect day for their first trip to Catalina. 
They came down and watched me dive for a while, and then I took them up to town to show them the sights. We rented a golf cart and drove all around, stopping at the top of the hills to get some awesome views, grabbing margaritas on the beach, and everything else.

And of course took a lot of group shots.

At night, we went bar hopping and met a lot of really awesome people, who were all on the island to scuba dive, golf, bike, hang out and do all the other stuff the island offers. We heard lots of cool stories and shared a few of our own. Sadly, I wasn't able to meet the owners of the island like i did last year.

All in all, a very exciting and tiring weekend. I was very glad to be back in my bed in Bakersfield, and its going to be a long week of recovery as I currently can't feel any part of my body!


But it was all worth it because I am very happy to be a rescue diver and I can't wait to get back in the water! It's time I try diving somewhere other than Catalina...