South Shore Living

Wow what an amazing weekend, no what an amazingly epic month.

It all began when the PCT crew (Kelly's crew) rolled in honking their horns. We decided to spend July 4th the right way with a slackline, guitar playing (yes I am currently learning how to play), picnic, lake swimming and general festivities with beer on stunning Tahoe Lake on Chimney Beach. 

I left on a bus a few days later up to Donner Lake where I got to work with the Girl Scouts of Northern California on several volunteer service projects this month, in a beautiful place, with some old friends. I spent my days hiking, swimming, working hard and my nights playing guitar, hiking, swimming, giggling and staring at the beauty of the Milky Way.

Driving back to base with some of my girls, you know who, we spent 2 days driving to secluded beaches (Agora and Fallen Leaf Lake), hiking on some wicked switchbacks and tearing the town up.

These past couple of days I have been kicking it with some trail crew friends scaling waterfalls, hiking up switchbacks to more secluded lakes where catching fish for dinner is a must, sailing on Lake Tahoe during the sunset on a sailboat, cycling to sunsets on the beach and cooking huge ass meals to satisfy the belly after such adventures. 

Today is a day to catch up on some errands, daily attendings and rest. Tomorrow I start my 2-3 day cycle adventure around the 72 mile Lake Tahoe. Next week I head back out to Soda Springs to complete my 4th Volunteer Service Project and then the following week I head to Santa Cruz to go on a month long project in Yosemite. How much better can my life truly get right now?

Bike Week & Last Week of Santa Cruz

So here I am with only a few days left here in Santa Cruz, CA. I am being relocated to Tahoe for the summer months. I am scheduled to work on road mitigation for two months in the eastern Sierras. I seem not to be able to get away from Mammoth and Tahoe. Gorgeous forests, ATV's, giant trees, campfires, and backpacking in amazing places is what the next couple of months hold for me.

These two months in Santa Cruz, CA have been outrageously perfect. Backpacking adventures to crystal clear rivers, mountain biking along the ocean cliffs, picnicking in giant redwoods, laughing til tears erupt from my eyes, having mind-blowing and life altering conversations, getting to know people worth getting to know and learning more about this world, trail work and myself at a rapid evolution of me. The experiences I have had the chance to experience and the people I am humbled to have met within just a short period of time is insane. I can only imagine what living in the forests of the Sierras with 30 people for two months will produce as well!

In almost a goodbye celebration for me; this week is Bike Week (actually really month) for Santa Cruz. I get to bike with other passionate cyclists, share stories, get tons of free food and gear and experience a biking side of SC that I would not have thought exists. So free breakfasts, ice cream, pizza and beer here I come!

Free breakfast from Staff of Life for Bike Week.

Hiking through the Arboretum redwoods and happened upon this hanging quote.

Natural bridges biking.

Laughing game on the beach.

Chilling by the San Lorenzo river.

West Cliff hiking near the cliff restoration project. 

Natural bridges biking.

Secret spot in SC, PVC pipe leading down the cliff creating a wind tunnel with the waves.

It was such a big wave!

Deciding What Is True

The Invitation

Oriah Mountain Dreamer

It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.

It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life's betrayals or have become shrivelled and closed from fear of further pain.

I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it, or fade it, or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own; if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, be realistic, remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself. If you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul. If you can be faithless and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty even when it is not pretty every day. And if you can source your own life from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand at the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, 'Yes.'

It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone and do what needs to be done to feed the children.

It doesn't interest me who you know or how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the centre of the fire with me and not shrink back.

It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.

Living the Redwood Dream

The first week of training has ended here in Santa Cruz. We are staying in Mount Hermon while learning about the slough, berm, upsloping and outsloping of a trail. What a beautiful place to be with such amazing young adults. They sure did a great job picking people out for this internship. Every single one of the people in my group are constantly challenging and inspiring me. The conversation we hold as a group and during one-to-one are intelligent, thought-provoking discussions. I have learned and grown so much already. Where will I be in another week? Month? Full term?

They say that there are signs directed towards you pushing, prodding and whispering you to the place you are suppose to be. I was not sure if this was it at first but there have been too many signs since this thought. I am meant to be here, with these people, doing this work.

So I lay here in a hammock writing this blog post. Tonight I go to a concert. Tomorrow is filled with beach BBQ's and sunshine. How lucky am I?