This Spring I packed everything that I thought I would need to camp for 8 months into and onto my backpack and once again, I knew I was headed in the right direction….away. ACE is an outdoor adventure center where there is over 1400 acres of property to explore, you can ride ATVs, [...]]]>

Living "Intents"

This Spring I packed everything that I thought I would need to camp for 8 months into and onto my backpack and once again, I knew I was headed in the right direction….away. ACE is an outdoor adventure center where there is over 1400 acres of property to explore, you can ride ATVs, horses, mountain bikes, zip lines, kayaks, rafts, duckies, go mountain climbing, take a swim at the lake, drink at the bar, meet tons of great people, and so much more! It is also where I am training to become a whitewater raft guide. I arrived at ACE and they were nice enough to let us use a bunkhouse for the first week because of the snow but we all felt a little too spoiled. After a week in our bunkhouses we all moved to the top of the mountain and set up our “tent metropolis”.

When you cross the top of the mountain and enter our parking lot, you will be amazed by the plethora of different colored tents that are tucked away in various places all over the ridge. Our training class has 40 people and there are also 170 other guides that are showing up every day and adding their tents to our color palate. ( On top of that there is another training group of 40 in May ) We are all having a lot of fun and we always have at least one community fire plus where we cook, talk, and sing around. ( I love how quickly a huge group of strangers can become like family so fast in the seasonal world )

Bouldering at Hawk's Nest

Another great part is that with all these people, you have a great opportunity to pick up different, fun hobbies that you’ve never had the opportunity to do. Like last week I took over 9 people bouldering for the first time in their lives, and I’m pretty sure at least half of them will keep it up! Then the next day we decided to go and kayak the New River and go creek kayaking (which is all extremely new to me because I am used to sea kayaks and canoeing…but I absolutely loved it! )

I don’t have a car here either but everyone is great at taking groups in for supplies or just getting a lot of people together to go explore some of the local spots. Like the New River Gorge Bridge, any of the thousands of caves, creeks, rivers, cliffs, “The Mystery House”, ghost towns, railroads, or whichever floats your boat. So definitely check out ACE, and the New River area in West Virginia.

As an added bonus we’ve been getting great training from some of the best guides around. We also get a great opportunity to run the New River and Gauley River at HUGE spring levels! The level changes every time we go out, so it’s a great place to learn to read the water. The boats we use are self-bailing and ACE is one of the only companies still allowing guides to “surf” our boats. Plus we usually have a video boater come too and we get a chance to look back and really see where we need improvement.

Oh…..but beware!!! I realized the other night that it has been 50 years this year since the last sighting of “Mothman”…..so make sure to look up if your in WV!

http://www.aceraft.com

So I’ve got a little tale to tell you and it starts in California…….I was working at Stanford Sierra Conference Center in South Lake Tahoe and the fall season was almost up.  I was dating someone at the time and we were discussing where to spend the winter.  [...]]]>

The Big Island viewed from Kohala Mt.

So I’ve got a little tale to tell you and it starts in California…….I was working at Stanford Sierra Conference Center in South Lake Tahoe and the fall season was almost up.  I was dating someone at the time and we were discussing where to spend the winter.  She almost had me convinced to stay in Tahoe and spend the winter snowboarding until she made the mistake of uttering the word “Hawaii” in too close of range!  We talked long and hard about it for a week and finally decided to just buy the tickets.  No plans, no jobs, no clue, but we were stoked!

We worked our butts off and cut down to one backpack each (mine had my long board duct taped to the back.)  We had managed to save up what we thought had to be enough money (about $900) and got ready to leave.  Well my girlfriend lost her wallet the night before she left on the plane and it had $400 in it!  I wasn’t with her either because she was on an earlier plane than me and had to leave at 5.  Well right as I’m getting on the plane she calls me and tells me about the wallet situation and the fact that her aunt doesn’t have enough room to let us stay with her for more than a day! Well you can imagine my panic.

But she was already there and I had to “play” the tough boyfriend role so I told her “don’t worry I’ll figure it out.”  Even though I was freaking out and secretly wanting to run off the plane screaming!  Once I made it to Kailua-Kona on the Big Island, and our one day stay was up, we just rented a hotel room for a night and researched cars.  We could only find a few that were under $1000 and they were all on the other side of the island….of course.  So we packed our stuff, borrowed some money, and set out on the bus across the island.

Waipio Valley on the Big Island, Hawaii.

That bus ride was one of the most beautiful rides I had ever taken.  We went  around the upper part of the island, by the Kohala Mountain, and Waipio Valley to Hilo.  The bus ride is free unless you have a huge backpack or something big to be stored and then it is $1.  The mass transit system is pretty good there unless you want to go to the south west tip of the island.

We found the car and it ran great.  It was what people there call an “island car” and that just means that the owner had to sell it cheap because they were moving off the island.  (Keep your eyes open for these because they are amazing deals.)  Luckily I managed to haggle her down from $1600 to $1000 because all we had with us was $1100!  We hopped in and drove almost the whole way back when all of a sudden the car started to lose all its power.  At this point I’m swearing up a storm mumbling something about Murphy’s Law!  We called AAA got a tow to the nearest village and I realized the next morning that the previous owner had just neglected to fill the fluids.  No problem.

View out the front window of the apt.

So we filled the fluids, hopped back in the car, drove it out of the parking lot where it had camped for the night, and

finished the drive back to the “sunny side”.  (One side of the island is always sunny and the other side always rains making it the “wet side”)  We had just spent all of our cash, plus some, on this car so we didn’t have enough money to rent a cardboard box!  That actually turned out to be a blessing because we decided to spend our first month living on the beaches of Hawaii.  There was a big group of locals that lived there and some of them showed us where the fruit trees were and when to pick them.  They also gave us tips on spear fishing and cheap campsites.  The best part about it was having a front row seat every day to the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever seen.

After a few days of bummin around the beach we ambled on into town and we both got jobs our first day looking.  We saved our money and ended up moving into an apartment with a 180 degree view of the ocean so I didn’t mind leaving the beach that much.  (Plus it was nice to have a hot shower!)  We lived there for 6 months and really enjoyed the experience.  My journey may have started rough but I got the opportunity to see one of the most beautiful places in the world and we did it starting with $400 – $500, no job, and no placed lined up to go.  It would have been a lot easier if we were  prepared but we still did it and had a lot of fun.

Oh yea, and a month and a half before we left the island we decided to sell the car to get some extra money .  I put it up for 2500 on craigslist and had it sold for the full price with in 20 minutes.  ($1500 profit!) We quit our jobs two weeks later and spent the last month cruisin the beaches, hiking tons of trails, and seein the lava flow.

South Lake Tahoe (SLT) is a little town right on the border of California and Nevada.  It sits on the south shores of beautiful Lake Tahoe ( the second deepest lake in the USA ).  Lake Tahoe is known for its clarity of water and the panoramic [...]]]>

Me looking at Lily Lake in Desolation Wilderness

South Lake Tahoe (SLT) is a little town right on the border of California and Nevada.  It sits on the south shores of beautiful Lake Tahoe ( the second deepest lake in the USA ).  Lake Tahoe is known for its clarity of water and the panoramic view of the mountain ranges that circle this amazing lake.  The 1960 Winter Olympics were held on the northern part of the lake at Squaw Valley ski resort.  This brought in a lot of new development and made this area what it is today.

Zach, Me, Chris, and Pete on top of Mt. Tallac. Lake Tahoe is the lake on the left and Fallen Leaf Lake on the right.

Most people just associate SLT with the winter though.  It is true that SLT does have some of the best slopes to ride in all the country but there is also an abundance of things to keep you active in the summer season here.  A lot of people will spend the day at one of the lake’s many beaches like Kiva, Pope, or Zephyer Cove.  You can rent a kayak, boat,  jet ski, or go parasailing and spend some time on the water.  Or you can rent a bicycle at one of the many rental shops and travel the bike path that takes you from the casinos in Nevada all the way to Emerald Bay on the other side of Lake Tahoe.  The bike path takes you through some amazing scenery, is kept in great shape, and can take you anywhere.  There is also a lot of mountain trails in Tahoe if you want to get off the beaten path.  Most hiking trails allow bikes but you should always check first.

My campsite at Round Lake outside of Meyers, CA. (5 minutes from Tahoe)

Tahoe is the home of 2 very famous hiking trails too.  The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT ) and the Tahoe Rim Trail (TRT).  The PCT can be found west of Lake Tahoe running from north to south and the TRT circles around Lake Tahoe.  There is also a ton of smaller trails all over Tahoe and especially in Desolation Wilderness.  One of my favorite hikes is up to the peak of Mt. Tallac and is located right at the door step of Desolation Wilderness.  (Let me warn you now that you need a permit to go hiking in Desolation and NO FIRES.)

South Lake Tahoe is just a small part of beautiful Northern California and there is also plenty of cool places to see within a few hours drive.  You can go to Carson City, NV in 45 minutes, Reno, NV in 1 hour, Sacramento, CA in 1 hour, Yosemite in 1 hour, San Francisco in 3 hours, Big Sur in 4 hours, and the drive to any of these places can be an amazing experience too.

This is just a small list of things to do in this wonderful area and if you ever get bored of the outdoors you can always try you’re luck at one of the 4 casinos on the Nevada side.  If you know of any cool things to see or do around this area feel free to post them in the comments.  I will keep adding cool spots and if you have any suggestions feel free to email them to me .    dallassmith85 AT yahoo DOT com