Hello, it's been a while! Two and a half months ago I said peace out to my life at home and hopped on a plane to Baja California for my NOLS semester. I essentially thrust myself into a life that was a full 180° from the quarantine routine I have had for the past year. I honestly did not know that much about NOLS beyond that it would a chance to unplug and spend time in the outdoors. It really ended up meaning so much more for me. I had to push myself harder than ever had, both physically and mentally. We spent one-month hiking through the desert across the Baja Peninsula, then one month of sea-kayaking in the Gulf of California, and then one week of kayak surfing. I plan to share more details on Claire Can Cook, but I also am excited to share some in my newsletter over the next few weeks. I have missed you all more than anything and I was so eager to write this letter as soon as I arrived home. I have been taking my time adjusting to the regular world, especially when it comes to technology so I apologize in advance if I am slightly hard to get a hold of in the next couple of days. Without further ado, onto the letter.
Tweet of the Week
Given my recent return, I have not really been on Twitter, but I do have a tweet courtesy of Maria:
My Trip to Baja
I am not quite sure how to distill the nuances of my experience on my expedition into concise writing so I am not yet going to try. I have talked to some of you on the phone about the ins and outs of my trip and I am definitely excited to have more phone dates to catch up with more of you. This is more of just a little highlight real of what I was up. Picture when in the olden days when someone would have a deck of slides that they would project to show photos and talk about a trip.
Above all, NOLS was a leadership course so we spent a lot of time learning how to lead a group as a designated leader, a peer leader, and an active follower. A key part of the learning experience in our hiking section is that there were essentially no real trails where we were and we were extremely reliant on finding water sources. Students took turns being leaders of the day where we would plan our route and be in charge of navigation and logistics for the day. The photo above is from my first day as a designated leader.
We had a very dry season in Baja but there was one day where it absolutely poured rain and we had to huddle under tarps to cook.
The scenery was absolutely unlike anything I had seen before, and though the desert conditions were very harsh it was also absolutely beautiful.
We all hiked with 50-pound packs which were never easy, but it certainly got less hard as we went along. And of course, as we ate our food our packs got lighter.
Every couple of days we would camp at a rancho and we would get to interact with a ranchero family. I definitely go a lot more confident with my Spanish and learned how people had a totally different life than I have. If you are a product of California public school education you probably learned a fair amount about ranchos in your fourth-grade year.
We learned a lot about how to navigate the terrain, finding drainages and donkey trails to follow to our destinations. We even summited some peaks that were out of the way of are intended route.
I celebrated my 19th birthday on the trail with a fry bake of gluten-free brownies!
This is a picture of our final day hiking!!
Then it was on to sea kayaking, I had never kayaked before so it was definitely a learning curve for me. It was amazing to be on the water every day after so much time in the dry desert.
The days where I got to go diving were my favorite!
Many memories were made underwater, and I got pretty good at identifying the fish in the area.
Kayaking did require a 4:00 am wake up every morning which was rough to say the least, BUT a major perk was getting to watch the sunrise every day.
Everyone was somewhat of a zombie in the mornings.
We had to pack all of our gear into the kayaks every morning as the sun was rising which was no easy task, but it got better every day. In the beginning, it would take us over an hour and by the end, we were doing it in about 30 minutes.
We had a lot more downtime while kayaking and I was obsessed with chilling in my camp chair.
We also enjoyed many a fire on the beach.
Though I never played, chess with a makeshift seashell board was a very popular pass time.
Of course lots of backcountry cooking which you will see on Claire Can Cook soon!
Overall just so much love!!!!!
What did I miss?
Yesterday I got to catch up with some of you and I asked "what did I miss." Many of the responses started with "you probably already heard about this but...", when I actually in fact had no idea about any of what they were talking about. Some of the biggest things I learned about were the Oprah Royals interview, Jojo Siwa coming out, Grammy's tea, and the cancelation of David Dobrik. I still feel like there is so much I don't know! The only info I got on trail was that the Bucks won the Super Bowl which I could not have cared less about. Fill out this google form to inform me of any new or pop culture occurrences from when I was gone.
Excerpt from the Journal
I have journaled every day for the past year and that is a habit I continued on my trip. Some entries are very personal but some I am more willing to share and will over the next couple of letters. Here is a rather short one that I wrote while I was on an overnight solo:
"We are now almost two-thirds of the way through the hiking section and all of this time in the desert has taught me so much about this earth and myself. Water scarcity has made me realize what life is like if you are basing your whole routine around access to one resource. The plants have shown me what it takes to survive in perilous conditions. The word 'desert' is often used to describe something that is empty or boring, but in my time here I have discovered it to be anything but that. Every cliff face has a rainbow of pigments, the stars are brighter than I have ever seen, and the pure silence is remarkable. I have met about a dozen rancheros who have weathered these conditions for generations, and make so much out of so little. Though people do live scattered throughout this desert and NOLS has taken many trips here, I can't help but think that at least every day I touch something that has possibly never been touched by a human. In a city I feel the opposite, if I open a door I may be the millionth person to open that door. That contrast illustrates a lot of how I have found my ability to find my own path here. Even though I am never quite clean here, and my thirst is never quite quenched here, I don't know if I will ever be quite ready to leave."
Happy Easter!
Annie came home to celebrate Easter with us! I hope all those who celebrate have enjoyed their holiday.
That is all for this week my loves! I am excited to get into more writing now that I am home and create more funky fun letters. As always keep me in the loop on your lives and do not be a stranger!
xoxoxo
Claire
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