#passiontopaid

Sofia, Bulgaria.

Ever see those signs at camping sites that say “Do not feed bears”? I’ve always wondered who those signs were for. Would anyone actually think feeding a bear is a good idea? I thought I’d do one of these from the bear’s perspective instead.

Introducing... Salsa Dave!

Hometown: Dundee, Scotland Where we met: Malaga, Spain

From a distance, Salsa Dave may seem like your average Scotsman toting a kilt while out at a bar. However, if you take a step closer, you will uncover his insatiable desire to break out into a salsa dance at any given moment. He’ll break it down south american style to rap, trap, electronic, you name it. IT DON’T MATTA THE STYLE.

Lock Lake Trail, Rocky Mountain National Park

One of the first real hiking trips that my husband and I went on was to Rocky Mountain National Park. At that point, I didn’t know what you expect out of visiting a National Park so I wasn’t very prepared research and gear-wise. Since I didn’t have any hikes planned, we relied on recommendations and last minute google searching. One of the hikes we ended up going on was the Lock Lake Trail. We did this hike in August and still saw snow on the way, which was pretty unexpected.

This trail is mostly a walk through the woods, without too many views along the way. It’s definitely less trafficked that some of the popular short trails, which made it relaxing and quiet. It’s not a difficult hike at all and if it wasn’t for the constant hum and attack of mosquitoes along the way and especially by the lake, it would be even better. It may have been the time of year we were there but the most memorable thing about this hike for me, aside from the beautiful view of the lake and mountains at the end, was that it was filled with very pesky mosquitoes. Thankfully, it was chilly at the top and we had our hoodies on but that didn’t stop them from biting us through our pants. At any one point that I would look down at my hoodie, I had at least 10 mosquitoes sitting on it. Not fun.

Difficulty: 2 out of 4 (Moderate) It’s not a walk in the park but it’s not hard Pros: Beautiful lake at the end Cons: Too many mosquitoes, the trail may feel a bit monotonous

Velma Lakes, Lake Tahoe

When I was a bit younger, my brother once took me to California and Nevada as a birthday present. We stayed in Lake Tahoe for a day during this trip and went on a hike to the Velma Lakes. It was one of the most beautiful hikes I’ve ever been on and every single view throughout the hike looked like a postcard. The hike goes through Eagle Lake, which is only about a mile from the trailhead, and goes up some1000+ feet until the first Velma Lake. There are three all together, lower, middle, and upper Velma Lakes. We started a bit late in the day and were only able to reach one of the Velma’s and got half way to the second one. I was also pretty out of shape at the time and was huffing and puffing and stopping way too much. To be fair, though, this trail is very steep and will give you a really good leg workout. We really wanted to make it to the second Velma Lake but it was getting late in the day and if we hadn’t turned back, we might’ve gotten stuck there in the dark, which would not have been great. So this hike remains on both mine and my brother’s lists until we both manage to see all of the Velma’s.

Difficulty: 2 out of 4 (moderate) Pros: Incredible postcard-worthy views everywhere you look, really quiet and serene Cons: None really

After our harrowing ordeal driving to the trail of the Peek-a-Boo and Spooky slot canyons, we finally got to the start of the trail. We thought the worst was over and, aside from having to drive back through the terrifying roads, we were going to have an easy time at the canyons.

Finding Peek-a-Boo slot canyon was just a little bit of a challenge. You have to walk through a stretch of Utah dessert first and then you see a large slot canyon in front of you at ground level that looks like fun. That’s not Peek-a-Boo, though, it’s Dry Fork. The walls of this slot canyon are really high and narrow, and it’s pretty cool walking through it. It goes on for a bit and then narrows so much that you can’t keep going and have to turn back. Peek-a-Boo canyon is a bit off to the right side from this canyon and starts several feet off the ground. You have to scramble and pull yourself up to be able to get into it. There were people at the entrance so that’s how we found it.

Scrambling through this slot canyon is so fun! This was my first real slot canyon and it was like a game trying to figure out which way to go, up or down, and climbing through it. I felt like a kid in a jungle gym

Once you scramble out of this canyon, you have to follow the gradually decreasing frequency of cairns to Spooky Gulch. Unfortunately for us, it was already the afternoon and there were not a lot of people around and we were the only ones headed to Spooky, which was, well, spooky. The cairn markers are not great here and we did not have a compass, so couldn’t find our way to this canyon sadly.

With the afternoon sun lowering in the sky, we decided that it wasn’t the best idea to keep looking and then possibly get stuck there in the dark (which you DO NOT want to do) and we should give up and head back to the car. There is a trail through the top of the canyon that is supposed to lead you back to the parking lot. Unfortunately, the trail markers are not great here either and we got a bit lost in the middle of the Escalante dessert. We wandered around the trail a bit and finally saw the parking lot…with only a huge canyon surrounded by cliffs between us. It was one of those moments when you think you may be lost in the dessert forever. Thankfully, I noticed a very small and narrow trail leading down a steep hill to the bottom of the canyon. It almost didn’t look like anything but there was a distinct steep narrow path to our left and we followed it down and finally reached the trailhead.

Tips for hiking Peek-a-Boo and Spooky slot canyons: - Bring a map and compass, seriously (you’ll have a much easier time finding the canyons) - Start early because you don’t want to be pressed for time in the afternoon - Bring sunblock and cover ups because there’s nowhere to hide from the sun. We were there in April and it was the hottest place we visited out of the entire south part of Utah - Bring water. It’s HOT - Be in decent shape because in some places, you really have to pull yourself up, especially if there’s no one around to help you