WARNING: ZION MORE MAGNIFICENT IN REAL-TIME

37.2690° N, 112.9469° W //

a. Zion National Park

b. Watchman Campgrounds

c. Shuttle from the village. Stop No.4

Angels Landing is probably one of my favorite hikes.  The End. 

PS. If you're afraid of heights. Don't mess with this one. Parts of the route is terrifyingly high, and narrow. 

the VIRGIN RIVER aka narrows

37.3050° N, 112.9491° W //

a. Zion National Park

b. Watchman Campgrounds

c. Shuttle from the village. Last stop No.9 is the Narrows. 

It's not an uphill battle like the rest of Zion, but The Narrows is one of the more difficult hikes, leaving my ankles and knees sore for the rest of the trip. The hike in is a linear trek amidst skyscraper like canyons, made of iron sediments and eroded rocks. Water sits about ankle high, and rises up to your chest. The further you trek in, the tighter the corridors are as claustrophobia kicks in.  Remember to bring a walking stick, or show up super early as nomads of the past leave behind hiking wands. We started at 5 AM but I wouldn't recommend it. The downside is you're in the dark for a section of the hike, and you're missing the grandiose effect of it all. The upside is that you're alone, the afternoon crowd can be irritating. Lastly the allure of hiking through cool, cold water quickly fades, and is replaced by phantom boulders, slippery algae and concealed pockets in the river bed, waiting to ambush your knees, ankles, and thrusting you into the river. 

In hindsight, I'd only hike to the narrowest part of the trail called "Wallstreet" and head back. Any further you're asking for a beating. It all feels the same the rest of the route. Thank me later, you're welcome. 

WHAT IS DESIGN?

"Inspired by the future, informed of the past, developing a vision with both, and conveying it distinctly and beautifully."

-- Inspired as I'm reading "Design As Art" by Bruno Munari

THE LANDSCAPE INSPIRES PAINTINGS

38.085° N, 119.309° W //

Trip Itinerary :

a. Bridgeport Ca.

b. Bridgeport Ranger District Office (For camp & fire pass) 

c. Green Lake (9000 FT.  In Elevation)

Green Lake is my latest jam, it definitely falls under top 5 backpacking and fishing destination close to SF for me. You can knock this out over a weekend.

The short 3 mile hike in feels more like 5 miles because of the climb and switch backs. I recommend arriving the night before and sleeping in the parking lot so that your body becomes acclimated to the altitude change. I made the mistake of arriving early in the morning and shocking my body with the 1000 ft altitude gain, that made me so sick I nearly threw up.  Note, the shady sections of the hike with clear signs of stagnant water is a buffet for mosquitoes. Bring a mosquito net or lots of deet cause you'll be passing a couple of buffets. Other than that, the views are epic. Trees run infinitely into the horizon. The landscape inspires paintings. The lake is refreshing in the afternoon sun. The trout seems slutty, real easy to hook. The views are amazing 360 degrees in any direction from where you decide to pitch a tent. 

Peep the photos from my trip:

Unicorn In Zion

A few things happened recently that attributes to my lack of blogging.

1. Destiny 2 launched (Add me if you're on PS4 boxmetogo)

2. I've been spending half of my time building out content for Essential (Refer to last post.)

3. Still trying to finish up the #BreatheBetterWithCS project.

4. I'm in Zion running around in a Unicorn/Pegasus onesie. Here is evidence ontop of Angels Landing.  

Tiny Camera, Grand View

​I'm spending the next couple months creating content for the Essential phone. Specifically 360 stuff, and I'm excited to get weird and creative. One thing to brag about the essential camera is that it's the smallest 4K camera on the market today. It's so tiny I barely notice it in my pocket. I've used other 360s in the past, such as the Theta and Gear 360, and they're more or less similar in quality, but the tiny form factor of the essential makes it my favorite everyday 360 camera.  (I think I'm onto something here. Everyday 360 =  the hashtag #360365) 

As of late, I've been having so fun creating these tiny planet photos. Everything you see here can be done natively on the phone. 100 percent free, and really low stress. It used to cost thousands of dollars to achieve something like this in the past. Technology is so awesome. We move forward by making technology more accessible and convenient for the consumer, and Essential is doing a really amazing job at this. Enjoy the photos :

Where Do You Put Your Patches?

I have a pretty big collection of patches now. Just not sure where to put them. Originally I wanted to put them on Bentley’s carrying bag, now I’m thinking a camo or denim jacket.  

KAWS BLUSH

Look what showed up. The Red (blush) open flayed edition of the Kaws Companion. it's bigger than I expected. Will be a cool addition to my work desk. 

CURRENTLY READING "THE EVERYTHING STORE"

Did you know Jeff Bezos thought about using the web address www.resilient.com but a friend thought it sounded too cynical. Jeff bought the domain in the 90's anyway. Today if you head to www.resilient.com it leads you to Amazon. 

BENTLEY'S BIRTHDAY WEEKEND

Tomales Bay can act as a wind tunnel in the afternoon as NW wind concentrate between the two ridges. There were moments it felt like we were on natures treadmill going nowhere. I recommend going super early to avoid tough paddling conditions. Dog friendly. Would do again, but catch real fish this time.