It’s hard to refer to Alkali Flat as a “trail”. The only way to know you are navigating in the right direction is by keeping your eyes open for red-tipped stakes sticking out of the sand every four hundred feet or so. When the winds are blowing, footprints left by fellow hikers disappear as quickly as they are made. In every direction you look you feel you are being engulfed in a crashing sea storm of sand. It’s like nothing I’ve ever felt or seen in the thousands of miles I’ve hiked throughout America.
We started off at the visitors center with no particular destination in mind and charted off into the woods. While not the wilderness, per say, being in the depths of skyrocketing trees bursting with warmly shaded colored leaves was just as good. As we were turning corners with glimpses of sun streams coming through the Sequoia trees we were stopped in our tracks by a baby black bear walking on the trail coming our way. A few heart racing moments with eyes locking with the bear, the two parties assumed best to turn the other way and we both retreated.
With more time on her hands, that is when her fitness journey begin. She started exploring San Diego through running and hiking through all the amazing trails San Diego has to offer. She even joined an all women's hiking group!! I was so excited for her because this was something just for her.
This trip was a bit different than our typical backpack/camp and plan every food detail fiasco. We joined our friends for a Thanksgiving long-weekend getaway at an Airbnb in the town of Joshua Tree. We played on boulders, hiked, went on a morning run with immaculate views, went off-roading and saw the most clear night sky with stars that lit up the night.
Now, I’ve most certainly heard some things in the wilderness that I can’t explain, but there's plenty of wildlife out there I don’t even know exists. If I hear a screech or a howl that I haven’t heard before, I chalk it up to just another animal crossing my path for the first time. If it's a mating call, then I just make sure my tent is well secured lest some furry rascal comes looking for some interspecies kink, and back off to dreamland I go.
This pandemic will end and we will all want to go outside. When it does end, have the trip planned that you want. Plan a year in advance if you have to to create the adventure you need: the right trails, the right camping spots, the best places to watch the sunrise. Make your dreams a reality. Now is the time to research, to read up on all those unknown things about the places you have always wanted to go.
A long, walking family of six, from Lakeland, Florida, the Strawbridges set out to thru-hike the PCT with their four kids in 2018. They accomplished this feat successfully going SOBO, averaging around 20 miles per day and, facing all the struggles and joy that come with hiking 2,650 miles as a large family.
Taking care of your physical health is obvious when it comes to outdoor activities; if you’re injured, there is a set limit to how much you can physically do (and a much lower limit for how much youshoulddo.)
Though we don’t always pay attention to them, mental health and emotional health are equally as important. Pay attention to the voice inside your head that is telling you to come down. You will not summit today. That is OK.