day 1: the start
Making our way to the Trinity Alps
AND SO WE BEGIN!! The last 3 years of dreaming of post grad travel has all led to this day!!
Here’s where each of our lives are being left off before the start of this trip:
Rachel:
Graduated with my masters and moving to NYC in August to start work full time
Backpacked and road tripped through Western Colorado and Utah for a week after grad
Spent a week hiking in the Dolomites after Colorado
Spent a few days apartment hunting in NYC
Flew in a day early to climb outside one last time in the bay with Mags, Patrick, and Vivian
Annie:
Work.
Raided her office for snacks
snack haul (thank you F*gma)
So… I was having a much better time than Annie leading up to the trip, meaning that I had much more capacity to fantasize about and plan out this trip (especially after spending 2 weeks outside already—what a BIG blessing for no work and a last summer hurrah). Annie sent me a video while I was in NYC of all the things she was packing for the two of us and picked up our rental car on Sunday before the trip (thank you Annie for being a Hertz Gold President’s Circle member <3).
The only items on our itinerary for the first day were:
Grocery shop
Buy a poop trowel and bear canister from REI (I had 2 REI coupons and Sports Basement was not open early enough for us but that was choice #1–buy local!!) *
Facebook marketplace pickup
Grab backcountry permits for Canyon Creek Lakes
Drive to Ripstein Campground to set up camp before our first backpacking trip!
We packed the car early in the morning and headed over to Berkeley to do all of our last minute shopping.
*The two coupons I had expired the day before the trip started but I had convinced myself that was not the case until it was too late. I was extremely paranoid that they would not let me use my day expired coupons and had tears on deck. My planned excuse was: I landed late on Saturday and didn’t have a chance to make it to an REI before they closed (truth). I had planned to go on Sunday but forgot they had closed earlier and made it to the store too late (lie—I knew they closed earlier). All I wanted to do was to stay safe in the backcountry and follow leave no trace principles 🥺 (mega truth).
I was mentally prepared to cry at the checkout counter as I handed both my coupons to the cashier. The cashier didn’t look twice at the expiration date and explained that I could only use one coupon per membership. Annie and I split the purchase between our accounts and no questions were asked about the expiration date. Tears avoided and discount scored (thank you Berkeley REI!!!!).
We then moseyed our way up to El Cerrito and Richmond to grocery shop and eventually we were on our way to the Trinity Alps for our first stop of the trip.
I yapped the entire 3+ hour drive up to catch Annie up on my life (I had left her off on a cliff hanger after I left Berkeley) and we were at Ripstein by the time I was done (oops).
Before Ripstein we stopped in Weaverville for permits and to fill up water. We grabbed our permits at the ranger station (there was an Asian woman ranger!!!) then left to fill up all our reservoirs. We first stopped at Burger King for water…they had no water (???). We then stopped at Subway across the plaza…they had no bread (???), so the worker had no issue with us filling 10 liters of water from their soda machine.
At Ripstein, we chose a campsite right next to the river, set up our tent, applied bug spray, packed our backpacking packs for the next day, and toasted flatbread from the Temescal Farmers Market.
After dinner I was feeling a little wary of my protein/caloric intake and decided to make myself a Nouru matcha protein shake.
I opened the jar and could not dig out the little scooper.
I turned the jar around in my hands to find it.
The jar slipped out of my hands.
The jar thudded into the trunk of the car and a huge plume of protein powder erupted from the opening.
1/3 of the protein powder had spilled into the trunk of the car.
We were in bear country and now all my clothes and our car smelled like jasmine green tea.
We tried our best to scoop out the protein powder from the car with our hands and tried to wipe off the outside with wet paper towels but my GOD…that protein powder is SO fine and silky and powdery. It did not want to be cleaned. Traces were left. (@Jesse and Andrew: your protein powder is not great for the backcountry. It mixes really well and is delicious but it is so smelly and poofy and I feared for my life and the car smelling like it all night).
We went to bed shortly after to get enough sleep before our 8 mile hike in the next day and hoped and prayed that the smell of Nouru protein powder would not lure every bear in the Trinity Alps to us. Will bears come and eat us tonight?? Pray that there’s a day 2 for us!
GOATS AND WOATS
GOATS:
The girl at Ripstein Campground (asked us if we had an extra book for her to read and then wished us luck with the shit ton of protein powder that Rachel spilled in the car)
Subway worker (so chill and let us fill like 50 gallons of water from the soda machine bc they were out of bread. little did she know we had no intention of getting Subway sandwiches)
REI worker (allowed Rachel to use her one day expired coupons)
BLM (public lands! free campsite!)
WOAT:
Burger King (no water)
By the numbers
Miles hiked: 0
Bagels consumed: 1
Dollars saved from FB Marketplace purchase: $90
Dollars saved from REI: $33
snack haul to end all snack hauls omg
i’m titillated by these updates