Chasing Fall: Rainbow Falls, Mammoth Lake

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Aren’t I clever? Chasing Fall with Rainbow Falls as my first feature?!…. Okay fine, maybe not. But as sad as my attempt at being funny was just now, there is nothing sad at all about Rainbow Falls. I can’t believe it’s hardly been three weeks since I was spending my unemployment days galavanting around in Lee Vining and Mammoth Lake. It seems so long ago. So let’s consider this a #throwback subject to kick off this new season’s post series.

Mono Lake was such a beauty in person and I was happy to check it off of my travel list. Rainbow Falls was a whole other type of beast, plus we got to make a short trip to Devil’s Postpile first. We started hiking in the early afternoon and I was certain we’d miss any rainbow sightings since most websites recommended getting to the falls by noon to see them. Regardless, we still hiked the two, three short miles to the falls.

I must admit that I wasn’t terribly pleased with the journey to the falls. The surroundings were dry and plain with little shade or lush plants. At certain points you could only see the hillside covered with remains of burnt tree stumps. It was kind of depressing. But sights like these just remind you to leave little trace as possible while in the outdoors. Let others enjoy nature the way you experience it, don’t ruin it for others.

When we finally reached a lookout point and saw the falls I was ecstatic. I could hear the gentle roar of water crashing on water, feel the chill of wafting mist, and see the magnificent beauty of mother nature. Plus, it was empty except for a pair of friends who were leaving so that meant blissful solitude.

Once we descended a long flight of steps down to the water we took our sweet time soaking everything in…except the water. It was friggin' cold.

Anyway, Rainbow Falls was definitely a sight to be remembered and the timing kind of worked out perfectly, because I enjoyed the most beautiful and up close rainbow I’ve ever seen in my life.

xoxo,

el

Summer Is For Adventure: Mono Lake

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Is it just me or did summer disappear with the blink of an eye? It feels like it was just yesterday that the sun stayed out longer for us to play for a few more hours. But I can’t say I’m completely sad that the season is over because I did get some pretty sweet adventures checked off within the short three months. The last of which took place in Lee Vining, CA.

Mono Lake has been a bucket list destination for quite some time, and this past week the stars graciously aligned for me. I got to spend my final hours of summer at Mono Lake and give a proper farewell to the last summer sunset of 2014. It did not disappoint.

On the last day of summer, I drove the 5.5 hours to Lee Vining and checked into my cozy room at Lakeview Lodge, which was just a few miles from Mono Lake. From there, first stop: Mono Basin Visitor Center. Here you could read about the history of the lake and learn all sorts of facts, like what “tufa” is…calcium carbonate formed by the mixing of waters of different compositions. And you’d also learn that Mono Lake is 2.5x saltier and 1,000x more alkaline than the ocean. (I really should have taken advantage of this fact and learned how to swim there..).

From the center you could follow a trail down to the lake’s edge, but I decided to drive another 15 minutes south to the more scenic South Tufa formations. I was surprised to see so many people there on a Monday evening but most were visiting from other countries. And despite the crowd, the area was large enough to have my own private photo shoot. I really couldn’t detect any unbearable smells, but the swarms of alkali flies seriously freaked me out. You’d think it was the water’s edge moving, but one step closer and you’d  see  feel a wave of flies hover towards you.

At first I had no idea of where to start. Once at the lake’s edge all you could see was water, tufa, tufa, people, tufa, dirt, grass, tufa, water. But then I was snapping away with my iPhone, experimenting with Hyperlase, posing like a camera ho, and navigating through tufas for the best spot to watch the sunset.

My favorite part about this place was seeing the transition of the colors. Yes, Los Angeles has some stunning sunsets but it was different here. The air was clean and the colors were so pure. A bold, blue sky at 5PM melted into a peachy yellow shade, which turned into a strip of bubble gum pink by 7PM. I took over 300 photos in that one evening, and can only hope that at least one of them did the sunset justice.

Mono Lake was a perfect last summer adventure and I couldn’t be more happy with the trip. Sometimes life works in your favor and when that happens you need to just go with it and be happy. No complaints here. So stay tuned because I have some more fun and exciting news coming up in the next few posts, and I can’t wait to share them :)

Summer Is For Adventure: Elle Runs DC

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When I think of Washington DC I think of politicians, Scandal and the White House. I have to admit that if I were to make a list of top 20 places to visit, DC would not have made that list a few weeks ago. So when my sister invited me to spend Labor Day weekend with her I didn’t expect much adventure outside of just getting to hang out with her. I was simply excited to get away for the weekend and see her new apartment.

Like me, my sister Vivian loves to plan and it doesn’t hurt that she has very similar interests, which mostly include eating and running. Normally I would have started a Google Doc and Map to begin plotting my trip, but since I had no clue about DC I let her take the lead. Naturally, her initial emails included mostly restaurant links, with some running options sprinkled in. Then she mentioned landmarks along those routes and even some hiking spots, which began to peak my interest.

The first few days were spent working remotely but Saturday marked our first real day of freedom and I was amazed at how much of a running community DC was. As we ran the streets of DC and saw landmarks like the Capitol, Lincoln Memorial, and Washington Monument, we were constantly passing other runners of all types. Despite the sweltering humidity and crowded masses of tourists, people were out there doin’ their thang, and I have mad respect for that. It definitely made me appreciate the steady 70 degrees and sunny weather of Venice beach..

Another thing I learned that weekend is that DC is an unknown hiking oasis. On Sunday we hiked Section A of the Billy Goat Trail at Great Falls in Potomac, MD and I’ve never been so in love. Okay, I’ll be real. The heat and humidity levels at 1PM while hiking is NOT the greatest feeling and I was definitely sweating my life away. But despite how disgusting and dehydrated I felt at any given point, I still enjoyed every minute of the hike.

We started at the Great Falls Tavern Visitors Center and spent a few minutes reading about the history of the C&O Canal. Then we headed out along the trail, which started flat and easy with trees and water surrounding the path on both sides. On the left was a calm and serene lake, on the right we caught glimpses of the roaring Potomac River. We made a pit stop at the Great Falls overlook (b e a u t i f u l) before finding our way to the Billy Goat Trailhead marker and this is where the real challenge began. Although there was a faint trail, much of the hike felt like bouldering and looking for marked trees to find the right path.

Even in the shaded areas the heat was close to unbearable. Standing in the rays of the sun for too long resulted in pink and hot patches of skin, not to mention a very prominent RBF. But the views were so spectacular and calming, and quenched my thirst for the outdoors. Water, rock, tree, sun, and sky. What more is there to want? If I had an endless supply of water and a hat I think I would have stayed for the rest of the day. However, we called it quits after finishing Section A due to lack of water and an approaching storm. The timing worked out perfectly.

So basically it was an amazing trip to DC and I’m seriously already bookmarking places for my next visit. I highly recommend the Billy Goat Trail and hope I can finish the rest of the sections one day. I can’t even sum up my feelings about the cuisine in a paragraph so look forward to a post dedicated to all the good eats in DC!

xoxo,

el