Nevada - Lake Tahoe and Virginia City

2018 the end of February I went to Lake Tahoe few days for snowboarding. I couchsurfed at Carson City in Nevada and got a chance to check out the old miner town, Virginia City.

Lake Tahoe

The first day I went to Northstar ski resort. This season didn't get much snow so the condition was alright. I was surprised to see many families during weekday though.

At the next day, I went to Kirkwood and it was snowing all day. I didn't bring my camera just fully enjoyed the powder. Going down the mountain with snow chain on my tires was a nightmare. It took me double amount of time to get back...

The third day I went to Heavenly. Got there a bit late and joined the tourist crowd. The lift lines were insane. I didn't have much patience only took few runs and went back to Carson City. My couchsurfing host offering me showing around.

Virginia City is 20 min away from Carson City. Prostitution is still legal there. My couchsurfing host's roommate had a book about the history of prostitution in Virginia City. It reminded me the HBO series I got really addicted to, Westworld. I don't really watch TV shows and usually don't have patience to keep watching it. But the Westworld, the story is so good. 

It will be more touristic and vivid in summer time. Winter is just cold and dismal.

Old mining site

The old bar in Virginia City.

Wild horses around Virginia City.

Didn't plan on visiting this old mining town but it ended up the most interesting thing to see in this trip. Thanks for couchsurfing, I always had a blast with the hosts and learned things from them.

Escalante

This is my second time visiting Escalante, Utah. Last time I checked out this place by myself in July, 2017 and got lost in the desert... I was lucky to find the way back to my car and didn't need any rescue. Here is my instagram story.

I also smashed my camera at the last trip (because of my stupidity.) In the past few months, I've tried to save money and get a new (it's actually used) NIKON D610 - my first full-frame camera. I'm also stoked to get a new lens works on full-frame DSLR (oh god why is it so expensive?) I contacted the park ranger I met last time and headed down to Escalante before Donald Trump destroys this place.

Swing by Bryce National Park. I had been here 3 years ago so I didn't stay long. Plus I had incredible pain from my period that day I was seriously dying in my car...

The park ranger Mike took me to some non-touristic spots with his 4WD (my Honda Civic wouldn't make it.) Thanks his guide and knowledge, I was able to explore this amazing place SAFELY!

Please don't doodle on the rock... it's illegal and you'll get a ticket!

It was pretty cold in December. But like any other park in Utah, it didn't get snow this year... It's usually covered by couple feet of snow in winter - which means you can go backcountry skiing!

The next day morning we had a nice breakfast in this (only?) restaurant/trading post in Boulder. 

Ohhhhhh I love cats! This cat looks like my cat, piupiu. He audaciously walked up to my shoulder when I petted him. 

Then we went hiking at Harris Wash heading to Cosmic Eye (or Cosmic Ashtray.)

There's no obvious trail. GPS is recommended. I can't remember how I got there. I don't suggest venturing by yourself if you have no experience hiking in desert. 

Cosmic eye

It's pretty sad that Donald Tump wants to exploit this place for coal mining and such. Patagonia filed a lawsuit against his action. To see more details, visit Patagonia site here.

Thanksgiving climbing trip

Since last time the climbing trip to Wyoming with the climbing buddies from Boulder, we met again in Moab! This was not the first time I went to Moab - 2 years ago I had a road trip with friends and scoped around the National Parks there (tourist mode).

2015 Aug

Few months ago I went climbing (mostly slab) with my friend for my birthday. 

2017 Sep

This time we were planning to climb Castleton Tower in Castle Valley, Utah. I've never done trad climb, neither crack climb. My friend Ryan would be the one on lead and Alex and I would just top-roping. I was pretty excited but also nervous - the whole climb is 4 pitches more than 400'!

The route we climbed was North Chimney 5.9 (I didn't know the route until I got there. Ryan told me we were going to climb Kor-Ingalls 5.9+. 

We were debating if we wanted to hike in at night and sleep at the base of the tower because it was a very popular climbing spot. The climbers who just came down from the tower convinced us to have a good sleep at the trailhead since the trail was not easy to find. 

We woke up at 5 hiking in dark and planned to start the climb when the first light appears. 

Dawn, ready for the climb.

We were the first group arriving the tower even though I was out of breath dragging the speed. (The trail was quite steep.) There was another group of two young guys running up (Connor and Jonny) going to climb the same route, and a family from Jackson Holes who didn't end up climbing because of the long wait. 

The first part you can either go on a big boulder or hand jam at the right side of the crack. I was trying to jam myself up since it would be a far reach on big boulder. But I couldn't. After two attempt, Connor suggested me to go on big boulder and he even pushed me up. Hahaha it was a little bit aid here.

After the first pitch 130' 5.9 I was very exhausted and my arms were pumped. I thought I couldn't make it to the top. Ryan asked if I wanted to keep going or lower down. I decided to give second pitch a try - off-width climbing. It was lots of struggle and swear.

Calcite is a bitch. It really is.
No one likes it. It's slippery as hell. It's against the rule and our hope - enough friction.

The start of third pitch required hand-jam - I just couldn't pull myself up. I was so frustrated and both my friends were out of my sight. I tried again and slipped. Saw blood on the rock and realized my finger was cut. Wrapped it, told myself to calm down and figured the other way to climb up. There was one part that you would step from one side of the chimney to the other side - if you look down, you would see how high you've climbed. I didn't. I think I would just freak out.

The final pitch was a piece of cake compared to the previous pitches.

Can't believe I made it to the top!! Even it was only top-roping!

400' drop! Woooohooooo!!

We were chilling at the top enjoying our success and rest for a while.

Rappel down was so scary but also fun. It was 2 rappel with two ropes. We passed by English climbers who were climbing 5.11 route. It looked really difficult and terrifying.

I'm not gonna lie I was so scared the whole climb. It was not easy for me even though it was only 5.9 and I had previously led 5.10 outdoor (indoor climbing 5.11). My body was sore for 2 days and my calves were all bruises. 

After the climb, we headed to Joe's Valley.

Outdoor boulder is not my cup of tea because I was too scared to fall. I also didn't have enough strength after climbing that tower. I mainly took photos that day.

Give your climbing shoes some love <3

It was pretty cold in the morning. After trying one boulder problem, my hands were freezing.

We met some climbers from Colorado. They all wanted to do the same problem V6 so it became a crashpad party.

People kept trying alternatively. Ryan was the first and only one who finished the problem.

I did try but I couldn't do any move hahaha.... (My level was about V4 indoor boulder.)

My friends moved to other spots trying V4-V6 problems.

At night, we made fire at the campground. They read stories and I fell asleep. This was probably my favorite time of a day.

The next day was cloudy and made me feel even colder. They wanted to keep bouldering. I said goodbye to them and headed to Colorado. Can't do any upper body workout but I still can snowboard!

How to choose outdoor products?

As a product designer who loves outdoor activities, I'm more critical when it comes to select products. I usually buy a cheap used product when I just got into a new outdoor activity. (I'm always very broke and can't really afford outdoor products.) Then realized I got a really shitty one. After I got addicted to that activity, I usually dumped money to the second purchase. Luckily I got pro deal which has saved me tons of money. I'm definitely not the pro-level in any outdoor activity yet; can only say pro-consumer at best. This guide is for very beginner - who has no idea how to start.

BACKPACKS

It really depends on how fast you hike and how much stuff you're gonna bring. In summer, I would only bring a hydration pack with 2L water bladder and some energy bars for any hike under 8 miles. In winter, I would usually bring 25L so I can put my layers, gloves, or bennies. Regardless the activity, the first thing I care about backpack design is water bladder compatible. I've hiked with some friends still bring water bottle in their backpacks and have to take it out every time... Or some girls bring very cute backpack that has little ergonomic design. 

Here are some brands I suggest:
Hydration packs: camelbak, Salomon
Day packs: REI (The range is too huge. Go to the store and try it out!)
Backpacking packs: Thule (NASA level engineered. Pretty expensive but worth it.)

Here's an article explaining how you choose a pack you need in details. I think it's for people have hiked quite a bit and become nitpicking about functionality and usability. Like I personally prefer hydration pocket separate from main compartment because it can leak and make everything wet. (It has leaked to my NIKON camera.....) 

HIKING BOOTS

Scarpa R-EVOLUTION GTX WOMEN'S

I didn't really have hiking boots when I was living around LA - the trails there were mostly pretty mild or well-paved. I felt the importance of hiking boots when it comes to rocky terrain. They protect my toes from rocks and higher-top supports my ankles (but not prevent you from spraining your ankles!) The reason why I suggest wear more rigid, higher-top boots for backpacking because the weight of the pack will make you unstable. I would bring two hiking poles with me to make my life easier. (I usually don't use poles for day hike since I like to go faster.) However, rigid high-top boots will restrict your movement. It will slow you down. So a low-cut trail running shoes or hiking boots are better choices when it comes to short and easy hike.

Here are some brands I suggest:
Trail running shoes: La Sportiva
Mid-cut hiking boots: Oboz
High-cut hiking boots: Scarpa 

If you want to know more how to pack for a backpacking trip, check this article here. It describes what you should prepare in details and have some good suggestions.

Climbing shoes

I'm big fan of La Sportiva. My current shoes are Miura and I've tried Genius (pretty aggressive downturn, the rubber sole is slightly thinner and softer so you get better feel) and Katana (most of my friends wear Katana. It's great for bouldering and climbing.) When you try out climbing shoes, they should be tighter than your street shoes, like your second skin, but not too tight to make you painful. (Well I still need to take off my shoes after every climb. They are never comfortable enough for me to walk.) Try to do a heel hook and see if your shoes come off. 

Climbing Gears

Sports climbing - the bolts are located on the rock and all you need to do is placing quickdraws on the bolts and loop the rope at the other side of quickdraws, you need a harness, belay device (ATC / grigri ), helmet (protect you from falling rock), rope (length depends on how long the pitch is. I got 70m 9.6 rope), personal anchor system / sling (hold you at the anchors) , quickdraws and carabiners.

Here are some brands I suggest:
Black Diamond : I have their rope and quickdraws
Petzl : I have ELIA helmet (the line is softer the shape is more feminine) and LUNA harness. 
Mammut : My friend has 9.5 Infinity Classic - their rope has different weaving technology than BD. It feels smoother. 

Crash Pad

I had a BD Drop Zone crash pad. Tbh the reason I bought BD because I can get discount there and pick it up on the way to climbing gym. I chose this taco style crash pad because I don't like the gap between, but it's harder to fold. Crash pad is also a perfect mattress for camping - it makes me like outdoor boulder a lil bit more. 

If you're looking for general outdoor gears, you can check out REI store or backcountry.com

Teton and Glacier

In mid September, my friend came from Chicago and I went hiking to Static Peak at Grand Teton National Park. We got there after snowing. Camping that night was pretty cold and scary - animal sounds loomed in the dark. We woke up before sunrise ready for this more than 17 miles hike.

Morning was pretty foggy. The whole hike was kinda mellow even with some snow. The trails in national parks are usually pretty well-maintained.  

The elevation kicked my friend's ass since he came straight from sea level. I've lived at Park City for a while so didn't feel too bad.

My friend had minor headache around the peak.

At the end of the day we were both exhausted. This was my second time at Grand Teton National Park and I couldn't stop looking at those intensely sharp peaks. 

We camped at a free site outside of the park that night (Link.) I really like the campsite because I could see the whole series of Grand Teton peaks from there. 

Next day my friend wanted to check out the Old Faith (I already went to Yellowstone in July.)

Tourists are more than wildlife which is the reason I don't like to go to Yellowstone that much...

After two weeks, I went to Glacier National Park where I've been thinking going for a while. It's more than 10 hrs drive so I've been hesitant. (I love traveling but I hate driving.) 

It was snowing when I got there. I realized it was already too late and the ranger was not in service anymore. 

While waiting the snow dying down, I was reading book in my car and fell asleep... The sun came out around 1pm and I wrapped myself and started to hike. Met few people hiking down, saw snowflakes sparkling in the air and clouds around the mountains gradually cleared out.

Finally reached Grinnell Glacier

I actually enjoy hiking by myself on the mountains and think things through. No phone, no talk, no distraction. It really allows me to rationally analyze without interference. As I grow older, I realize the quality of life and my happiness depend on daily decisions: what's important in my life, what matters at this moment, what I really care, what and who I love. Others don't matter. You gotta prioritize; you gotta choose; or you'll lose everything. Disorganized life leads you nowhere.

This trip I was sleeping at the backseat of my car for two nights and felt miserable when I woke up. Cold can food was the worst thing ever! I gotta be smarter about my meal preparation while keeping under super low budget.

City of Rocks

I've heard lots of good things about climbing at City of Rocks National Reserve in South Idaho - well-erode granite provides some good holds. I'm still a beginner in outdoor climbing. Just purchased my own set of gear and went out climbing. My friend and I were about the same level so we would take turn lead climb. (We both had no experience in lead climbing before, not even indoor.) Before this trip, my level was 5.9- lead climb. 

Breadloaves

The first one we did is Built for Comfort   5.9  Sport, 1 pitch, 80' at Breadloaves. The second one we did is Nipples and Clits   5.10a PG13   Sport, 1 pitch, 50'. My friend led both. He didn't finish the 5.10a one so I went up finish it. 

Scream cheese

The third one we did is a pretty well-known scary climb, Scream Cheese   5.9    Sport, 1 pitch, 70'. It was scary because the slab at the top. The first bolt is at the edge of the base so you already feel the height (prob 40’) from the beginning. The wind was blowing when I climbed which made everything more scary. The handholds were actually not bad until the 4th bolt even though there was runout between 3 and 4. Then my happiness disappeared after that - no handholds at all. I was there 10 min or more going left and right trying to find a hole. Still nothing. Out of desperation, I place my right hand on a shallow crimp, left hand on the surface, slowly pull myself up and my feet incrementally moved up. I was hoping there would be other handholds after that part. Nope. So I kept moving up right and realized the bolt was at my left side. Without knowing the fact that anchors were just few feet above me, I was trying to traverse to clip the bolt (don’t do that on the slab, bad idea.) Then I slipped (and screamed)! My finger was ripped off and bled. Got some minor scratch on my right arm (fall on slab is never fun). Then it rained on me… 
My partner lowered me down. Rested for a while, looked at the rock again and found out the location of the anchors. I was so mentally exhausted and wanted him to go up finish the route. He insisted me to go up again complete this project. I sincerely didn’t want to face that fear again. But I wrapped my bleeding finger and went up again after it dried out. It was still hella scary. This time I skipped the last bolt, just went straight up to the anchors. THANKS GOD I did it!!
My partner top-ropping climbed up and said he would never lead climb that it was the scariest climb ever! I agree it took a lot of mental strength. I did it but I do not want to do that again.
 

Camping in the middle of nowhere (outside of national reserve - free)

Peanut butter is always my best friend when I travel, snowboard, or climb. (I'm not the one who put toast on the top of my car...)

Scoping climbing area, Bad seed - Eviction.

At the next day, we were both mentally tired - Scream Cheese took a huge toll on us. We only did one 5.9 which is not on the Mountain Project. (We did find one 5.10a and 5.9+ but didn't want to do it.) I led this one. The handholds were quite good until the last bolt. I was not the only one struggling. My friend couldn't figure it out, and the next climber was stuck there too.

City of Rocks is very stunning. It's full with interesting formation. It's definitely worth going regardless climbing or not.

Total eclipse trip in Wyoming (Grand Teton/Lander/Riverton)

Last Saturday (Aug 19th) was my graduation from Art Center College of Design in California and I was hiking at Grand Teton for 13 hours. I care about graduation but... Grand Teton is more tempting! I've been talking about this trip with my climbing friends from Boulder for a while so I didn't want to miss it!

We slept in the car at Lupine Meadow Trailhead on Friday night and started the hike before the sunrise on Saturday. 

My friends, Ryan and Alex, were going to climb Disappointment Peak, Irene's Arete - trad 5.8, 7 pitches. That was definitely out of my ability so I was just going hiking and meet them at Amphitheater Lake.

After my climbing friends sent themselves up to the wall, I was trying to find an “easier” way to get to the other side of the peak. I scrambled some class 3, bouldered some class 4 rock and a lil bit of class 5 wall - it was quite scary. I would feel dizzy if I look down my feet. Below pic shows the cliff I climbed up. 

Then I faced a class 5 wall. After inspecting, I felt I would die if I slipped. So I decided to slowly climbed down the gully. 

La Sportiva trail running shoes provided amazing grip but I probably had half-size small and they were also brand new - I had blisters on both heels, big toes were in pain. My big toes were almost in purple after almost 20 miles of hiking. They were swollen for couple of days (I'm icing them while writing my blog).

Finally met my friends at Amphitheater Lake. it was really worth the hike (and pain). The water was ice cold which was too cold for swimming but perfect for icing my feet...

At the end of the day my legs and foot hated me, I hated my life. Crippled back to my car, drove to Jackson Hole having dinner, and we went to Lander for the climbing projects at the next day.

Climber's Prius life

no tent needed

Alex was going to give another try on this 5.10c. It was pretty intense but he made it! 

Then it's my turn! Ryan set up a 5.7 go west young man for me. It was a fun one but apparently I lacked of endurance. I mostly spent time in bouldering indoor since I was still a beginner (I pulled my back muscle 3 months ago and had to rest for a month.)

The second one was 5.8 put down your ducky - nice long one, around 80-100’. In the middle my arms were so pumped and I was about to give up. Alex: "No… I think you should keep going up." AND I MADE IT!! hahaha thanks my friend refused to lower me down.

After that we were chilling in town waiting for the eclipse at the next day. That night we were sleeping at Walmart parking lot in Riverton. We were watching King's line (climbing documentary) on the crash pads covering with sleeping bag. There were some people parking there overnight for eclipse too.

These two astrophysicists were pretty excited. 

I was not super stoked until the sky became dark, the air got chilly, and when it was eroded from 99% to 100% - it became real dark.

There was 2 minutes of darkness! It only happened at the place with total eclipse - my friends who were at 85% eclipse area said the sky didn't turn dark at all. 

Once the first sunlight came out, my friends headed back to Boulder. This trip was way fun, and ended with the best note.

Great Basin National Park

Last Friday night I drove from Park City to Great Basin National Park and slept in my car. Next day morning I sent myself up to Wheeler Peak - 13,060' (3962m), around 9 mi (14km). 

 I was stoked to try my new hiking boots but they were apparently overkill - trail was well groomed that you can just wear sneakers. Elevation still kicked my ass though, especially I didn't have much sleep in the previous night.

The 60 yo couples with trail running shoes spent less one hour less than I did... shame on me...

There was an area that the wind was crazily blowing. The top was actually not too bad.

Tried my new Scarpa hiking boots as the first time - which was a little too stiff for this trail. They proved to be a good pair of shoes later that day.

After hiking back from Wheeler Peak, taking a nap in my car, filling my water bladder at visitor center, I was going to chill at my hammock. 

Then I looked at my backpack, sleeping bag and hammock...
hmmm...
"Why not backpacking?" So I did backpacking as my first time, solo, to Baker Lake (11.4 miles round trip). The trail was not too strenuous and luckily there were tons of trees along the way. Hiked in around 4 miles and decided to put on hammock since the sky got dark. That night was hella cold I was cursing in the hammock shivering…”why don't I sleep at home? WHY!!!!" (The wild turkeys must wondered what the hell that trembling cocoon was.) The night was so long..............

Before the sun rose, I tumbled down from the hammock and headed to Baker Lake. Some people from Vegas camped there - they said there was meteor shower last night. Damn it didn’t know that!! (what’s all the suffering about!!) 

Anyway, the first backpacking trip was not bad, minus the freezing cold night. 

Yellowstone

I went to Yellowstone with a friend on July 4th vacation. We drove there overnight from Park City, Utah and got there around 6am to grab a campsite - there was a line! Luckily we got a campsite for 3 nights. We both were pretty active and loved hiking so we went hiking everyday (6-8 miles.)

I knew Yellowstone was quite popular but didn't realize it would be SO CROWDED! Tourists are more than wildlife - and they would stop for wildlife.

Venture up Kletting Peak

When I just moved to Utah, I was trying to find the highest peaks to hike. Then I found A1 - a name that no one really hear of, a mountain truly locates in the wilderness. I couldn't find much information about A1, only this blog. I decided to follow what they did even though I was not a very experienced hiker/climber. (I try to keep active lifestyle and hike pretty often - on the trail though.)

It was the most strenuous and scary hike I've ever done so far.

There’s nothing easy on this mountain. No trails, no signs, and no human being once you go down into the forest. I actually went there a week ago and realized I wouldn't be able to come back if I didn't have a GPS. The mountains looked intimidating as hell which made me really want to conquer it! I got a 40 bucks used GPS in few days and found an adventurous buddy who was crazy enough to go with me. 

Park at the mile marker 37 where the Kletting Peak sign is. We kinda figured out the route before we dived into the forest. 

Go straight into the woods, slide down hundreds feet, cross a stream, hop on numerous falling logs and gradually climb up and became real steep. We were struggling on loose rocks and soil - we slip so many times and tried to grab pine trees. We traversed right to a boulder field which was "easier" to climb up. It was more than 1 miles bouldering up, bouldering up, until I had a emotional breakdown. I cried when we almost reached to Kletting peak. I was exhausted - I would lie on the rock panting. I knew I was going too slow and there was no way we could make it to A1 coming back in time.

Almost to the top of Kletting Peak.

We started from 3pm since I got off from work around noon and reached Kletting peak around 6:30pm.

Uinta Mountain Wilderness

A1 was still more than 1 mile away and seemed moderately strenuous. We gave up just sitting there enjoying the sunset view. The true wilderness mountain view was nothing I’ve seen before. 

The true wilderness at the other side of the peak

Going down was not any easier or faster on this mountain. We chose another "easier" route scrambling down - more boulder than loose soil.

The rock was interesting - some of them are green, some are purple.

We put on our headlamps when we almost hit the tree line. Then it was real steep. When the loose rock falling down, we heard it rolling, rolling and rolling… Not many choices at that moment - we grabbed whatever was available and slid down one person at a time. It became real dark. At 10pm we were still tumbling in the woods.

It was like a nightmare that we couldn’t get out of endless forest. I already reached to my physical limit and it was all about mental strength. Almost 11pm we hit the road and found my car. We were so glad we survived. That was the most intense and craziest hike I’ve ever done. It was no joke.

My worn out hiking boots

I wrote this for people who are ambitious and also want to climb either Kletting or A1. Make sure you have a GPS, a pair of good hiking boots (which I desperately need), hiking poles (highly recommended), enough water and food, and an uplifting hiking buddy.

This hike was no big deal for him even though he was not an avid hiker. He made jokes all the way until it got dark - his headlamp was really dim. 

*All the photos were shot by iPhone. I usually use Nikon DSLR photos but just smashed my camera few weeks ago...