Yosemite

Earlier this monthย I took some time off-the-grid atย Yosemite National Park with some girlfriends – Aimee, Lisha, and Shikha. This adventure had been on my calendar since December, but I was having mixed feelings. You may have noticed I have been mostly MIA this year. In January, I joined a nonprofit as Executive Director and have beenย logging long hours as I ramp up. I have a lot of new responsibilities and Iย was worried about taking time away from work. Although I felt like I didn’t have the time to get away, I knew I needed to step back and recharge in order to move forward.

Lucky for me, ย Lishaย took over the planning and ensured we were well-prepared for the trip. She rented us a super fun 4×4 Jeep Wrangler from GetAround, a local peer-to-peer car sharing service. Given the record snow this year, we wanted to be prepared with a 4-wheel drive vehicle. We lucked out with near perfect weather, but the Jeep was still the way to go. It fit all four of us and our gear comfortably โ€“ plus it just made the whole trip more fun!

We arrived toย Yosemite after dark and checked into our tent cabin at Half Dome Village. For those of you familiar with the park, this area was previously called Curry Village. You could probably call it glamping, but I think it was the way to go โ€“ our cabin had beds, fresh linens, and a heater!

Saturday morning, we woke up early to hike Snow Creek Trail โ€“ a strenuous 10-mile hike with 2700 ft gain in elevation. We started out bundled upย for aย leisurely walk past mirror lake, but once we hit the switchbacks, we stripped off the layersย for aย relentlessly steep ascent criss-crossing a snow-melted creek with plenty of waterfalls. At the top we were rewarded with fields of snow and incredible views of Half Dome.

I’ve worn and loved Athleta apparel for years, but up until this past year,ย I had onlyย worn trail running shoes for hiking. Last summer, ย I took a pair of Ahnu hiking boots to Europe for Tour du Mont Blanc and never looked back โ€“ I even wear them in San Francisco when it’s rainy.ย They’re super lightweight, waterproof, comfortable, and require zero breaking in. The best part is they are designedย for women, by women, and come in fun colors.

Once we made it back to camp, we pulled off our boots and got ready for dinner. The only thing better than s’mores after a long day of hiking, are s’mores made from Dandelion Chocolate.ย I don’t normally eat sugar, but there is no better situation to make anย exception than kicking back after a long day of hiking.

Lisha and I dreamed up this trip when I asked her to coffee to talk about shooting some photos for me. I’ve shared on social mediaย about my body image issues and discomfort being in front of a camera.ย I’ve come a long way from the girl who refused to have a profile photo on Facebook, but I still struggle with this. I’m still self conscious, but I’m growing and learning to be more and more comfortable in my skin.

I am excited to share these photos and video with you because they are evidence of my growth, proof that change is possible, and a celebration ofย how far I’ve come while embracing where I am today. Thanks for allowing me to share my journey with you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFxpumtskhg


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One response to “Yosemite”

  1. Pemeten

    Hey just wanted to say congratulations to you and your body your body is the holder of your spirit and when you fall in love with your body you begin to treat her better and I’m learning that too and your body needs Essentials like food unfortunately hahaha water and exercise so being able to take the stairs instead of going up an escalator or elevator sometimes it may be to an excess of 10 flights you don’t have to do that maybe taking in elevators better but you know what I mean I think you look beautiful whether you’re 300 lb or your hundred whether you’re a 24 or 12 and I think you should hear that and know that I’ve been going through dieting my entire life the first was being at my parents dinner table and my parents saying pemeten don’t eat so much or I’m 11 or 12 and they put me on a diet going to the Children’s Hospital I wasn’t even in grade 7 when I first started my first diet I was thin a strong and I can hold my weight I thought that I was sad when I was in size 14 and now I’m a bigger size but I’m controlling it I’m control my eating and I’m eating healthy but I’m still overweight I’m very fortunate that I have a man who completely loves me and challenges me on things I can do in the house while he’s gone off to work so he’s a very very supportive of my being overweight or since it doesn’t matter to him which inside it matters to me but the point where my spirit would like a thinner carrier… So at the moment I’m trying to listen to my body my physical body and love my parents and together I am losing wave which I really care about but I don’t let it rule my life… So I hope you spared as well I bless it and I hope you do well and you were great just wanted to let you know your physical violence great and I hope you have a great day alright my dear congratulations on the weight loss alright bye Pemeten…

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