Rockin n' Rollin on New Years

It's New Year's day and a perfect day to be outside. It's the middle of winter with a high of 45 and no snow to be seen.... I still can't believe I'm using hiking boots over snowshoes, but I'm not complaining one bit!  My boyfriend and I decided to go hiking, it would be insulting to Mother Nature not to enjoy her hot flashes.

We traveled to Ithaca, NY! Home of beautiful gorges, falls and super duper hiking trails. There were a lot of people outside which was great to see. Our hike was embellished with the grandeur of nature. The falls were ah-may-zing; it's crazy to think how the flow of water is so powerful and never ending.... it keeps goinggggg and goinggggg like the energizer bunny...

Look at how bootyful the water's and rock's colors are (below)

I felt like I was on the Maid of the Mist... a poncho would have been handy

                                                                                  Get outside and enjoy the outdoors!                                          What's your favorite winter activity?

My Adirondack Adventures: Red-Faced at Whiteface

I'm back from the wilderness! It was a whirlwind week, and it's still not over since I travel to the LiveStrong Challenge tomorrow morning. Thank you to everyone who donated and offered their support towards this amazing cause! Words can't express how appreciative I am. xoxo

My vacation was awesome! My family and I traveled to Lake Placid which was beyond gorgeous. We lucked out with weather and thoroughly enjoyed the sites (and food!). We crammed a whole weeks worth of activities into two days. 

Because my 45 mile bike race is on Sunday, I figured I should start building my endurance. My boyfriend and I decided to ride a 40-ish mile loop around Lake Saranac. No one told me the first 7 miles were uphill; and I don't mean happy, little, bunny slopes, no...I'm talking, big, scary, black diamond hills. At one point I thought we took a wrong turn and were climbing Whiteface Mountain. My aunt taught me a trick when peddling up monstrous hills: say Hail Marys until you reach the top. As cliche as it sounds, it worked and distracted me enough to power through each hill. I probably recited a whole rosary by the end of the ride and finished the ride a whole lot holier. For my LiveStrong race, I'm going to dedicate each hill to a different person. This will amp up my motivation and make each hill even more meaningful.

Before the ride, so chic

After the first 10ish miles, the road started flattening out and my tunnel vision finally broadened so I was able to finally take in the beautiful scenery. God bless my boyfriend who endured my colorful language as I trekked up each peak, but he was great and kept me sane (for the most part) through the whole ride.

20 miles in, half way there!

As tough as it was at the time, I finished and I'm happy I stuck through it; I didn't give up or get off my bike (though tempting at times). I'm proud of myself. It was a good experience and definitely prepared me for the LiveStrong Challenge on Sunday. Bring it on.

My bike ride wasn't my only hill-y experience. 30 minutes after we returned to the hotel (still stinky and sore), we left to see Whiteface Mountain (the 5th highest Adirondack peak). Talk about whirlwind! We drove 5 miles uphill to the parking lot where we had 2 options on how to reach the summit: stairs or elevator (!). We were feeling adventurous and climbed the stairs that resembled something more like the Great Wall of China. 

I almost climbed in flip flops before I made the quick decision to put on my hiking boots. Thank God I did because parts of the climb I was contemplating if I should break out my harness and climbing ropes; but I would have climbed that route numerous times to reach the view we were welcomed by. If I had to pair an image with what I thought Heaven looked like, it would be the view from Whiteface's peak. We had a beautiful, clear, 80 mile view from the summit.

The observatory tower which reminded me of something from Harry Potter

My beautiful family, I already nominated this as our Christmas card picture

My boyfriend and I scouring the land

The official peak marker

This just made me laugh

Breath-taking. If you ever have the opportunity to visit Whiteface, do it. I promise you, you won't be dissapointed. The experience is like no other. You feel on top of the world while at the same time feeling so small compared to the grandeur of nature. My boyfriend and I want to climb it sometime (about a 10 hour hike) along with the other 45 peaks. Add it to the bucket list!

It was such an eventful week but I'm happy to be home (at least for the night). Plus, I got a bountiful surprise when I returned:

Tomatoes, anyone?

Off to the race tomorrow! Wish me luck :)

Ithaca is Gorges

   
Equipped with my Merrell boots, Patagonia shorts, Camelbak hydration backpack, and a zip-locked bag of trail mix--I was a walking, talking, outdoors advertisement ready to tackle another outdoors escapade. My boyfriend and I decided to take a day trip to Ithaca, NY. Ithaca is an adorable college town that bustles with an active community. The little town is known for its organic love of the environment and outdoorsy culture; aka hiking heaven. Our sixth sense of adventure brought us to Robert Treman State Park. This state park is one of the many that inhabits Ithaca, NY and encompasses several beautiful trails that are saturated with waterfalls, gorges, and a big helping of Mother Nature.

After careful consideration, we decided to attack the Rim Trail. We were immediately welcomed by a massive flight of rock stairs. Now..I think I am in pretty decent shape, but some of those stairs made me feel far from Rocky Balboa. Also in the beginning of our journey, we kept passing children and tweens in flip flops and bathing suits; which made us think that our hiking boots and Bear Grylles ensemble was a tad over-dressed for this hike. But our gear, finally, came in handy once we got into the heart of Mother Nature and her awesomeness.

(A little sister of the stairs we met at the trail's entrance)

The trail was extremely pretty and the scenery resembled a continuously changing backdrop. I felt like I was constantly changing biomes every 15 minutes: temperate forest to taiga to rain forest (Hey, I was paying attention in sixth grade earth science). It was a little muggy but not too buggy; and the Rim Trail, for the most part (besides a few confusing forks-in-the-road), was clearly marked. It was a perfect length for a day hike--4 miles, round trip!

The best scenic feature was definitely the waterfalls, hands down. I couldn't get a good picture, but you could hear water flowing on every section of the trail; it was the perfect ambiance noise for an expensive spa. Plus there was a huge watering hole connected to a gentler falls where people were allowed to swim. The natural pool was accompanied with a diving board and everything, not too shabby for the middle of the wilderness. The air was embellished with so much laughter and excitement, that it made the trip such an memorable and fun experience. I love the outdoors, but it's always better when you have someone to share it with. 

I enjoy Ithaca because of its countless explorable nooks and crannies, whether it be a trail or quaint cafe. The town radiates a passion for nature and screams adventure to whoever wishes to partake. Ithaca is gorges.