Posted on May 13, 2016May 13, 2016 in beach, meadow, mountains

Good Talks

Santa Barbara, California

Growing up in a town like Santa Barbara, many of the activities are based on the natural environment. Usually when it’s a sunny weekend, you would find me and my friends lounging at the beach. When it is chilly, I’ll be dancing on the top of a mountain.

Pictured above are my friends Bella and Grace picnicking after school at a local park. This day was a few weeks ago and it was spontaneous. I was getting home from school and my friend Bella texted me and asked if I wanted to meet me at the park close to my house. It was a little bit of a surprise, but I had a good time. I have already done a blog post on this magical park and I recommend checking it out ( https://inchartopia.com/2016/04/20/queen-of-the-woods/).

We spent a long time at the park, climbing trees, and enjoying our surroundings after a long day at school. I felt at peace. We sat in the long grass and talked about things we want to do in our lives and things we dislike in our lives. I realized then that nature does not only make me and others happy, but also brings people together.

Some people feel that coffee shops are the best place to hang out and talk to someone, but I disagree. When you hike with someone up a mountain, that is when the good conversions start flowing. They may be all complaints about the dust or blisters, but sometimes after you have been hiking for a hour and so and you are so done, that’s when one becomes vulnerable. That’s when the good talks happen. And then you wonder why does this matter? As you know, we live in the age of technology. It’s a great thing to be able to send a message across the world in a second, but there are also some problems that come with it. This problem is the lost of physical connection. We are so into with saying “what’s up” over text with the answer of “I’m good! wbu?” The end of the conversation. Done. Nothing else.

vsco-photo-3 — At the beach with my friends

So instead of just texting someone this weekend, go out of your way and take a friend to a park or on a hike and ask, “What’s up?”

In person.

vsco-photo-5

Much Love and Peace,

Charlotte

Posted on April 7, 2016 in mountains, travel

White Out

Mammoth Mountain, California

Spring break came and went last week. It seemed like just a blink of an eye, but at least I got to enjoy it in the snow! I took my friend Kelsey, got the skies, and embarked on the seven hour car ride from Santa Barbara to Mammoth Mountain.

I have been going to Mammoth once a year since I was young. It doesn’t have a glamorous town like Aspen, but that is why I like it. I love the casual vibes and the homeyness of the whole place with families roaming around. Over the past few years, I feel that the restaurants have improved a lot. On this trip I stayed at the Village Lodge Condos. It was super convenient that my condo was right next to the gondolas that take you to the ski areas. A ton of people from Santa Barbara up at Mammoth, so it made it even more fun. A ton of people from my town go up there on breaks, or even weekends. I call it “Santa Barbara in the snow.” Below is a picture of my friends from Santa Barbara and me I ran into while skiing the slopes. What a small world!

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Out of my days skiing, the first one was the best. It was in the upper 50s (warm!) and the snow was not that slushy for that warm of weather. I put a light jacket on and hit the slopes. I stayed towards the bottom of the mountain, since my friend is at the beginner level. I didn’t mind it though because I was still able to practice some skills on the easier runs.

On the second day, I woke up to a new layer of snow covering the area. The bad part was a wind storm arrived as well. My dad and I were the only ones who wanted to ski in the windy extravaganza. Not many ski lifts were open, but we still thought it was worth the shot. I took the picture above to show what it looked like: a blizzard. Plus, the snow was iced over, which is not enjoyable to ski on. I was lucky though for the good ski days!

Looking forward to be back in Mammoth next winter! Hope everyone else had a great spring break:)

Now I’m back in school super excited about prepping for my AP tests.

not.

Much Love and Peace,

Charlotte

Posted on March 18, 2016March 18, 2016 in mountains

Resilience

San Ysidro Falls

On my previous post (Secret Gardens [check it out ;)] ) I dared everyone to take a hike this past weekend, including myself. So I did.

There are many, many trails where I live (Santa Barbara / Montecito), but since it just rained, I decided to go to San Ysidro Falls. You can access the trail from Park Lane off of East Valley Road. I enjoy this hike because along the trail, you are next to the a creek almost whole way. Plus, there are so many awesome natural pools of water to SWIM IN! Yes you can swim in! It’s a cold, wet, but fun adventure. The best part is the waterfall (pictured above). The volume of water in the waterfall is not a ton, but it is decently tall, about 50 feet. The picture I took only shows the top of it, so it does not look that large in the photo, but it is. The waterfall is about 2 miles up the trail, so in total it is a 4 mile hike (up and down).

But what is hiking really all about? Why do we choose to walk up a mountain then done the mountain?

It’s about the scenery:

all the wildflowers, the odd shaped boulders, the birds’ singing, the eucalyptus trees

I went on this hike with my dad and while we were walking past a green field of long wild grass, he said, “It’s funny how people pay all this money to have gardeners, who make water drip systems, remove all the weeds, and put wiring under the soil to protect it, so your garden can survive and look nice, but then you go out in nature and see a tree growing out of a rock, and you’re like, that’s so much cooler!”

It’s true. I remember in eighth grade my English teacher read us this poem a kid wrote about a desert plant. I don’t recall word for word what it was, but it was the comparison between a pretty garden flower versus a stark desert plant. When I grew up I was told to like the delicate attractive flowers that are watered each day and taken care of, and I do like them very much still, but this poem brought to my attention to the inner strength of a plant. A cactus for instance, stands in the middle of a dry, hot, dusty, windy terrain. It’s surviving and thriving. Yes, they are not a beautiful small flower, but they are some bad ass plants that can with stand a whole lot more than a rose.

I think the poem explains nature well as a whole. It’s not like anyone is taking care of the natural world all the time, and it’s almost the opposite, since nature now has to suffer from deforestation, trash, and global warming mainly due to the PEOPLE that roam the Earth. Yet, somehow through all this bad, it still looks beautiful. Though, if people keep treating it like it is for granted, it will change for the worst. Give nature some love and take care of it, so it remains green and happy!

That is why I love hiking because it is the time I can really appreciate my natural surroundings.

Have a great weekend!! Give nature some love!

Much Love and Peace,

Charlotte

Posted on February 10, 2016March 18, 2016 in mountains

Up The Mountains

LIZARD’S MOUTH

Sometimes you wonder, “Why do I feel sad or mad or just the weird feeling?” Then, you drive up a mountain away from everything, and look at the sun slowing moving down to the horizon. All the negativity goes away. It is amazing what nature can do to you.

This past weekend, I met up with my friends, Jameson and Kelsey, at 4:30 and drove up the 154, took a left onto the windy back road up to Lizard’s Mouth. Lizard’s Mouth got it’s name because there is a rock there in the shape of a lizard’s mouth. It is also well known for rock climbers. For my friends and I, we jump to rock to rock until we find the “perfect” rock. Every time I go up there I try to find the rock I was at the time before, but it is really hard because the whole place consists of rocks, rocks, and more rocks. Many times I will go away from my friends and find my on rock so I can be by myself to reconnect with nature.

Spending so much time inside being in school and having a boatload of homework, can take a toll on yourself and your body. This school year for me has been tough because I started a new school. The academics are not bad, or the teachers, or the kids because most of my friends go here, but I feel stuck inside all day. Last year, I went to an alternative school where we took four bike trips each year going to places like Sedona, Arizona to to Ashland, Oregon. I was used to just having these adventures planned for me, instead of me planning them for my own.

To conclude, there are things in life that I really appreciate like being with my friends and looking out towards Santa Barbara with the sun setting onto the ocean at Lizard’s Mouth.

Much Love and Peace,

Charlotte