Ooo- Prints!

These prints are great! I found them on Pinterest, and they would

look great in a frame. I borrowed one for my background and

I have to say, the kitties are darn adorable. 

Happy Trailing!

Desert Revisited

I was remembering a desert trip that I took a couple of 

years ago with my pal Charis. I forgot how much fun the desert is! 

I recommend booking yourself a canoe trip on the Colorado River, 

and stop by the old hotels in Bishop and take some 

random photographs of the hot sands, vacant motels and have a ball!

Happy Trailing!

Welcome. Come this way.

Charis and I ready to launch out of the Hoover Dam.

Climb.

America.

Joshua Tree is lovely.

When there is nothing to do...

Death Valley hello.

Artist's Canyon.

Photography by Jordan Nicholson

Black Friday

One of my favorite blogs, Tomboy Style, posted some great 

photographs of Keith Malloy and the Patagonia

"Worn Wear" line. Having also visited the Patagonia HQ,

I agree with the post completely and love

the key point-to use what we have instead of buying new things.

Did anyone do that this past friday?

Well, that is hard to say, but the short film I posted below

is from Patagonia and I snatched it

from Tomboy Style.

Enjoy, and happy trailing!

I love it!

(Courtesy of Tomboystyle.blogspot.com)

Patagonia Ventura HQ

Hello! 

Fellow Nature Club member Jessica and myself took

a little camping trip down to Ventura, for some sun and 

a tour of the Patagonia headquarters!

It was wonderful to take a look at their design

process and offices and meet the employees. 

Sadly, Yvon was not around but Jeff Johnson was

on duty it seemed, roaming about and

I was happy to see someone whose work I

admire!

Yvon's old workshop was in great shape and it

was great to see the process that Patagonia goes through

to create such enduring and lasting

products. His office was open and it was nice

to see his family photos and bags of coffee

and multiple coffee mugs. 

No computer in sight!

I also forgot how much I love to camp on the beach, 

and morning runs in the surf made the 

short trip a great getaway for the weekend.

I recommend giving the headquarters a call to set up 

a sweet tour, and get yourself

some surf time!

Happy Trailing!

Beautiful Lands

 I am sorry I have not posted in a bit!

Here is a great video from Patagonia.com, 

discussing the grasslands. It is visually stunning!

The Fresno State Nature club will be visiting the 

Patagonia offices in Ventura in about a week, so expect 

an update!

Happy Trails!

Costello & Sons

This rendition of Springsteen's "Ghost of Tom Joad," is 

completely beautiful; perfectly arranged by Elvis, Marcus

and the rest of the gang, and

the landscape only adds to the complexity 

of this soulful song. The collaboration

 is in representation for the 

ONE Campaign, which is a global campaign

to end poverty and AIDS in Africa.

 

Enjoy the song!

Happy Trailing!

(Exclusive for ONE)

The Mountains' Call

God's wilderness is calling me

To shining summits, bright and cool;

The mountain trails from snow are free,

The flashing trout are in the pool.

All winter long, the lure and spell

Of glittering lakes and towering trees,

Of rushing streams and pine-tree smell

And flowering meadows haunted me.

Of all the peace on earth there's none

Like evening in my camp-fire's gleam,

No shrine like God's own starlit dome

Nor wine like water from my stream.

 

What song like sylvan solitude

Stirred softly by the snow-kissed breeze,

Or water-ouzel's sweet notes tuned

To swirling stream's glad melodies?

Lure of Sierra, wild and free,

Jewels deep set in shining skies,

Defiant mountains beckon me

To glory and dream in their paradise.

Walter A. Starr, Jr.                           

July, 1933                                 

Fresno State Nature Club

 

 Living close to the Sierras has its advantages! 

Here is a picture from the

Fresno State Nature Club. We are in Kings Canyon National Park, hiking

among all of the giant Sequoia trees and enjoying the beautiful

scenery. We have great things in store,

 and if you are in the area, and want to hike, 

contact us through Facebook!

Happy Trailing!

Glacier Glasses

 

 

Oh man! I searched the web for a cool pair of glacier glasses and these

were so cool! Of coarse I need

a snowy mountainside to climb so they would be

relevant to me but how cool are these?!

Here's a picture of Yvon Chouinard wearing them while

instructing some folks in alpine climbing. 

I know you want a pair,

 because I totally do!

 

Happy Trailing!

 

Northern -Sun

 I love discovering new outdoor brands! I found this brand, called

Northern-Sun, on the fabulous blog Miss Moss. The brand was established

in 1979 in Winnipeg, Canada, so naturally the jackets and parkas

were designed to handle the rather rough weather

conditions of the Arctic region. Um, super cool?

Check them out at www.northern-sun.com, and

add some cool new gear to your sporty closet?

I know I will.

Happy Trailing!

Age Is, Just A Number

(Video courtesy of Patagonia on YouTube.com)

What a complete inspiration Fred Beckey is! At 89, he is still going out,

doing what he loves. This video posted by Patagonia, filled me with chills, and made me think of

all of the things we are capable of in this life!

Whatever mountains you are climbing in your own lives, it is wonderful to look and see people like Fred, who look at the world anew everyday, and are ready 

to go out and conquer it. This time, he is doing it in the Dolomites.
 (Photo courtesy of Patagonia.com)

Also, a great book that I would recommend reading that I found a true comfort, is "Holy Sweat," written by Tim Hansel. This book was lent to me by my fabulous friend Charis, and I've book marked, written and rewritten inside it many times, and recommend it as a great reference for perseverance. He was the previous director for Summit Expedition, an outdoor organization up in the Sierras.

"HOLY reminds us of our highest calling. 

SWEAT is what it takes to get there."

Happy Trailing! And new hikes coming up soon, so stayed tuned!

Wow and Wow!

Looking over some other great blogs, I found this fantastic climbing video from Tomboy Style, a great blog about masculine inspired woman's fashion and stories of strong woman over the years. It is a great blog and I have gotten some great style tips from it over the past year or so!

Catherine Destivelle is doing a free climb in Mali in the video, and it blows me away! Check out her amazing skill and also great collaboration with the people of Mali. Get inspired, or scared?!

Happy Trailing!

(Courtesy of http://tomboystyle.blogspot.com)

A Fierce Green Fire

I just saw this film last night, A Fierce Green Fire, a Sundance documentary about the environmental movement across the globe. Directed by Mark Kitchell, and narrated by Robert Redford, Meryl Streep, Ashley Judd, Van Jones and Isabel Allende, the film was broken up into five parts and was beautifully made. They discuss national parks, like Yosemite and the Grand Canyon, the issue of whaling, toxic waste plants, Amazon conservation and global warming.

The footage was beautiful and luckily Mark, the director, was there to discuss the film. You can buy it online I believe for about $30.

Check it out if you are interested in what is going on environmentally in the world. Maybe it will inspire you to do something special in your community.

Happy Trailin!

(Trailer courtesy of Youtube.com)

Oh for the love of granite...

Such great memories! 

This is a photograph that I took of my friend Charis and all of her great climbing attire. It is my favorite picture of all time.

The moment was just right, and I told her to pose with "great confidence." It's so great and I imagine it as an old cover of Rock & Ice or something like that.

We were up in the Jackass Lakes area of the Sierras, in the Ansel Adams Wilderness.

Tons of great hiking, climbing and lakes in the areas around Jackass, Shut Eye and all around!

Pick up a hiking book at your local REI,

 and plan a trip to these areas in the Sierra and have a real adventure.

I plan on posting maps and specific hikes in the future so stay posted!

On top of this rock behind Charis, is a kind of hole, or bathtub as people say, called the Bird's Nest, which you can climb your way up to and sleep in during the night, which we did. 

Just don't mind the cows mooing in the far off distance. When the sun comes up you can pop out and view the wild forests below and beyond.

If you have any great outdoor photos, let me know! I'd love to see how people 

are a'trailin these days!

Outdoor Greatness!

I thought I should share this new great video, courtesy of Patagonia and their anniversary Legacy Collection. It's a great representation of quality outdoor wear and style of an age gone by, but still seen and felt by many!

If you have never seen Mountian of Storms, you must. You can check it out on YouTube and feel the rush of the wilderness through your screen. I know that I do, every time.

Here's to another 40 years of inspiring outdoor gear and adventures. Happy trailing!

Video courtesy of Patagonia.com 

To Kick Things Off...

I know what you're thinking. 

Another blog right? 

Well to those who love tea, who love good eats, who love photographs and who love the thrill of the outdoors and open skies and all of the happy bits in between, you have found the blog. 

I will do my best to keep things fresh. 

I hope you all enjoy. Happy hunting!