#Solo Trekking

[tagitables]

Acclimatize, acclimatize ～ 😌😊

# air of freedom 🏔🇳🇵

[nneilperry]

exploring kings canyon national park on my first ever solo camping trip 🏕

ig: carissaoutdoors

[golge-gezgin]

Fotoğraf çekerken baktığınız şeyi hissetmezseniz, başkaları da fotoğraflarınıza baktığında bir şey hissetmeyecektir.

( Don McCullin )

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[ Ankara, Kazan, Sarıayak, 12.10.2022 ]

[cherrywasteland]

Gig Harbor: a hidden gem, and the perfect setting for a volcano disaster film.

This photo was taken from a brewery on the water. I drank a kombucha and chatted with a local fireman who wasn’t sure when the Venetian gondolas first showed up as a means to cart tourists out into the Dalco Passage. The conversation was long, he was nearly drunk by the end, and I was running short on time. But I found myself transfixed. I couldn’t leave this view. It was Truman Show-esque, the day perfect, the weather very un-PNW like, and Mt. Rainier a mere simulation. I strongly suspect it was Heaven on earth.

[haylanmakesstuff]

Day 45-46

Today is my first day to go south to the Sequoia National Park side of the complex. As deliciously slow as the Kings Canyon side was, I expected Sequoia to be much busier, but it really wasn’t too bad. I have felt funny all day though. I slept in trying to make myself feel better, had a high calorie breakfast to bring my strength up, but just couldn’t shake the shakes. My first stop was the General Sherman tree, the largest tree in the world.

Remember how important precision of language is here, that it’s the ‘largest’, because it’s the tree with the most mass. The tallest trees, NPS says, are actually it’s cousins the Redwoods (regular sequoias as opposed to these giant sequoias.). I feel fortunate to have seen both types of trees on this trip so far.

I made a grave mistake by assuming I needed the exercise and should walk the paved, downhill .5 path to the tree, when I could have just taken the shuttle. I took my time though and had a lesson in how terrible people are. The trail is literally 9-10 feet wide and paved. There is enough room for everyone, especially the two 20-something young men walking towards me. We could split this trail evenly while passing each other and have more than 3 feet a person, but they choose to man-spread abreast the trail, refusing to move over as I pass. Not only that, but since they were staring at my cane, at which this point is in the dirt off the trail because they can’t be bothered to move over, I know they can see me. I had to pass this dude with literally inches to walk on, turning my shoulders sideways as not to get body checked. I just don’t get people.

I have noticed that when I don’t have the cane, people say hello and how are you, and sometimes will even start a short conversation, but when I have my cane, I am a ghost. The most interaction I get is when people look away quickly so I don’t see them staring. Beyond that, I am avoided, except for that people think they can walk through ghosts. People accidentally kick the cane but don’t apologize. Stand blocking doorways and when they realize they just move out of the way awkwardly, saying nothing. I don’t mind being a ghost, in fact I prefer being a ghost in public, but I do mind the implication that someone who is seen as disabled, or different, is lesser and isn’t acknowledged. Although the implication bothers me, I find the cane like a stronger version of a wedding ring; it’s man repellant. I’ve yet to have a man say or do anything nice or uncomfortable to me when I have the cane, whereas I started wearing my wedding ring full time again because it’s only 80% effective as man-deterrent.

I went to the Giant Forest Museum, but had to walk from the overflow lot, although a short distance, it’s through a hot, wildfire scoured section of the forest and my sick feeling was intensifying. If you don’t know me well, let me fill you in that I’ve gotten these sick spells since I was 15 years old. I get dizzy, hot, clammy, cold, uncomfortable, brain fog, unsteadiness, and eventually will either throw up and/or pass out. I have received very little to nonexistent help from doctors on this issue. The furthest I got was that it was hypoglycemia (opposite of diabetes, chronic low blood sugar), so I poked myself with a needle for 10 days to monitor it, per doctor’s orders. When the results came back that there was no issue, they decided I was fine. There was no, “well, it’s not this, so let’s send you to someone else who can see what it is,” or anything. That was it. I didn’t have hypoglycemia, so I must be fine. Never mind that I still have had the same issues for 15 years at that point. Passing out while standing in line for a movie is totally normal. Throwing up down your sleeve at work because you can’t make it to the bathroom fast enough is totally normal. Having to lie down on the ground at a friend’s wedding so I don’t embarrass her by passing out, like I did at a mall once, onto someone’s table of food, nonetheless. It’s not hypoglycemia, so I must be totally fine. I get angry when I think of this. This issue was the first sign that something wasn’t right with me, and was systematically ignored for 22 years, and technically, still counting.

I have learned to cope with it on my own with diet, rest, and avoiding heat. All of that helps, but it doesn’t always make any difference at all. Some days my body just feels like Aaron Kelly’s Bones and there’s nothing that can be done. After my Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder diagnosis from a rheumatologist in 2021, I learned there is something that almost always comes along with it called Dysautonomia, where your faulty connective tissues from hEDS means your autonomic nervous system and amygdala part of your brain are not made of sturdy material and do not function properly. All the sudden the passing out, heat intolerance that has gotten 10x worse, anxiety disorders, metabolism issues; all of it started making sense. I have started treating my mysterious ‘not-hypoglycemia-condition’ as Dysautonomia and have seen major improvement. I still have been unable to get any medical treatment though. Figures, right?

Sorry, I’ll pull you back from my tangent, when I was finally at the Giant Forest Museum. It was hotter than expected inside, and as stupid as it sounds and as much as I feel like a total whining weenie typing it, I was feeling quite suffocated by my mask and all the people around. So, I left. The only seating outside is large rocks, and although only a few of them had actual bodies on them, most of them were filled with people’s shoes, backpacks, lunch boxes. No one offered to move their inanimate objects so I could sit. I crawled up an embankment and found some shade under a tree to rest and cool down. I eventually made it back to the car, slowly and surely, trying not to throw up on the magical trees.

I had more I wanted to do, but I felt to sick I just grabbed a few groceries, ice, and a pint of gelato and called it a day. My dream of a campsite that’s been my fortress of solitude, now had neighbors. I’ll never understand why when an entire, huge campground has every site but one open, people will set up in the site right next door. It’s a version of urinal syndrome, I suppose. They weren’t bad neighbors by any means, I will just forever be perplexed. They do it in bathrooms, parking spots, movie theaters. If there’s one group in the movie theater, I’m always going to choose the seat pretty much as far away from them as possible. Same with a campsite. Can anyone enlighten me on this human behavior I don’t understand? Why come to the middle of nowhere and crowd up against someone when we are all here for the universal outdoors experience of nature and solitude.

I was supposed to get up this morning, on Day 45, extremely early and have my grand finale day of the trip to Mineral King, a high elevation and stunning portion of Sequoia, before I have the long driving days that will take me home. Problem is, I could barely sleep. I stayed up well past 2am just staring at the camper ceiling and putting my eye mask on to trick myself that it was time to sleep. I have had insomnia for a long time, but this trip has been blessedly restful, full of sleeps and dreams that I haven’t had in years. Last night was back to terrible. I finally looked at my clock at 6am and realized there was no way I was getting up in 15 minutes and driving three hours down and up a mountain for anything. Just as my insomniac pattern has always been, after 8am I start sleeping great. I woke up at 10 and knew I couldn’t sleep the day away, even though I wanted to.

Truth is I think I’ve hit my limit. That final hike to Weaver Lake did me in, and not resting enough the next day has put me over my threshold. By the time I recover It will probably be time to use my energy on the long drives east across the country. There won’t be a final hike to somewhere beautiful to celebrate my trip of independence. There won’t be a final alpine lake to dip my toes into, to prove to myself that I can still do these things. But that’s ok. I’m spending today at my campsite, sitting in a hammock. Reading books. Typing this update. I am watching the chipmunks and chickaree squirrels doing their daily chomps and chases. Tomorrow, my last day at Sequoia Kings Canyon National Park, I may do the same thing. Enjoy the nice weather. Enjoy being outside without melting into a wet spot on the pavement. Without passing out on someone’s Taco Bell.

Haylan

[floresidn]

Flores Indonesia

[kwistowee]

Cabin Pressure + Good Omens S2 John Finnemore’s fingerprints are everywhere!

[thesportmix]

When it comes to travel, most people don’t consider the idea of doing it alone. However, once you get past the initial stress of being out in the world without someone there to guide you or protect you, traveling alone can open up your horizons in ways that co-travelers never could.

If you’re traveling on a budget, it can be difficult to find somewhere to stay. One of our favorite low-cost and unique ways to travel is through Couch Surfing. With Couch Surfing, you can meet locals who are more than happy to accommodate you in their homes—for free. One of the most enriching ways to explore a new place is by meeting its people. 

Before you head out on your solo journey, make sure you’re knowledgeable about how to stay safe while traveling. 

[joebidensdementia]

Correct me if I'm wrong

Star Wars: the power of love (romantic)

Star Trek: the power of love (friendship)

[cherrywasteland]

Where Washington meets Oregon, there are several lighthouses, and those lighthouses cut through the gloom that gives Astoria its perpetual autumn. I arrived around 9 o’clock to a spa hotel on the pier looking out and up at the Astoria-Megler bridge. The more famous view was up in the hills where a white house with orange trim was made famous by a hodgepodge cast of teenagers called The Goonies. All I can really say is that this part of the world, with all its fishy smells and haar, is magical.

[spocks-kaathyra]

how did you make those holy shit!!!

jfjskdk okay I'll take any excuse I get to talk abt this more

How I made my Cardassian prosthetics

Disclaimer: I'm no expert, it's my first time doing this!! All the resources I used can be found online. In fact, here's a playlist of all the youtube videos I followed, in case you don't want to read the whole post. You can pretty much make any facial prosthetics following these steps, not just Cardassian ones.

What you'll need:

Plaster bandages, plaster of Paris (a lot more than is pictured here), modeling clay, and liquid latex. You'll also need some things you probably already have around the house, like vaseline (or cooking oil), plastic wrap, wood glue, rubbing alcohol, q-tips, cotton balls, and setting powder (or baby powder).

Step 1: Face cast

The goal here is to make a plaster copy of your face that you can sculpt your prosthetics on, by covering your face with plaster bandages and then casting that in plaster of Paris. This is the video tutorial I followed for this step. There are many methods, and you'll find tutorials for all of them on youtube, but this is the easiest way if you're doing it by yourself, and it results in a perfectly useable face cast for our purposes. And, if you're cosplaying Garak like me, it's a great way to get into character by experiencing claustrophobia for the first time in your life!! (Jk it's not actually that bad. I lived.)

The video explains the process better than I could, but here's some tips I learned from doing it! Wear a shirt that you don't mind ruining. Go a bit closer to your eyes than I did here. When you're propping up your mask in a bowl, make sure you're not squishing any parts of it or tilting it! I ended up with a dent in the chin of my face cast because I accidentally dented the mask while I was casting it. And make sure you have enough plaster of Paris! I probably used 2-3 pounds for this part. Here's what I ended up with, before sanding or sealing it with wood glue:

Step 2: Sculpting

This is pretty self explanatory, but also probably the hardest part. Just use lots and lots of reference photos. I've got a pretty good stash for Garak, if anyone's interested hdjkfhk. I found that gifs made better references than still photos, since they give you a better sense of the 3D shape. You want to make sure you're using modeling clay that doesn't dry. You don't need any fancy sculpting tools! I used my trusty palette knife to get the small details, but you could probably accomplish the same thing with, like, a spoon and a toothpick. It depends on what kind of clay you're using, but you can dip your finger in a solvent to smooth out the surface of the clay and blend the edges into the face cast. I used rubbing alcohol, but I also heard people recommend acetone. Once you're happy with your sculpt, you can move onto the next step!

Step 3: Casting negatives

This step is technically optional. The video I followed also outlines an easier way that skips this step, by simply building your prosthetics directly on the sculpt. But casting negatives allows you to get a lot more fine detail, and a smoother finish on the final prosthetics, so that's what I chose to do. Basically, you pour plaster of Paris over your sculpt, and it hardens into a mold you can use to build your prosthetics on.

Again, the video explains it better, but some tips! If it's possible with your sculpt, do it in small pieces instead of the whole face at once. I did the chin, nose, and forehead separately. If you try to do the whole face, there's a greater chance of it getting stuck or breaking. Of course, if you were doing, say, Odo, then it might not be possible to do it in multiple pieces. Another thing to watch out for:

If your underlying face cast has any "undercuts," or places where it's, like, concave, then if plaster gets into those areas and hardens, your face cast and your negatives will lock together, and you won't be able to use either of them. For me I was worried about the sides of my nose and under my bottom lip. As long as those parts are filled in with clay, then you should be fine. It's okay if your clay sculpt has undercuts! You can see in the (shamelessly stolen) diagram that their sculpt has a lot of undercuts, but that's okay because the clay is soft and won't lock with the plaster, it'll just come off. The video I got the diagram from was also pretty helpful, even if it's meant for casting with different materials than I used. Here are the completed negatives:

Step 4: Making the prosthetics!

Now you have negatives! Your sculpt may or may not be intact, but if your negatives turned out okay then that's fine. This step is also covered in the video for step 3. Using a stippling sponge, foam brush, or q-tip, stipple thin layers of liquid latex onto your negatives. I found that a q-tip worked best, even if it took longer to cover larger areas. Make sure the edges are very thin, so you can blend them into your skin when you apply the prosthetics. Wait for a layer to dry before adding more latex on top of it, or you'll end up with fucked up results like I had:

(Left: first draft, where I didn't let it dry enough before layering more. Right: second draft. Much better!)

Build up bulky areas with pieces of cotton balls, then cover the cotton with a thin layer of latex. Emphasis on thin! It'll take forever to dry if you saturate your cotton with too much latex. This step mostly involves a LOT of waiting. When the latex is fully dry, brush everything with a liberal amount of setting powder or baby powder to prevent the latex from sticking to itself as you peel it out of the mold.

And now you have your prosthetics! You can tear away some of the excess latex at the edges to make it fit your face better. I ended up tearing away almost all of the edges around the eye ridges, so it would blend better and I wouldn't have to get adhesive so close to my eyes. Tear, don't cut! It'll result in a more natural edge that's easier to blend. This video shows how to apply prosthetics. Use whatever prosthetic adhesive you want! I used spirit gum because it's what I had on hand.

Now you can go forth and live out your lizard alien dreams!!

[dolma-tours]

Trekking in Nepal is an adventure activity that gives you a unique experience for a lifetime. Whether in a group or solo, it is the must-experience activity on your bucket list, which will take you around the lush green landscape, flora and fauna, panoramic mountain view, and many more. 

[brownieinspace]

A bit of silliness I was very sad so I decided it's a good idea to combine two things that I really love.

(also recently my friend and I were thinking about who Ilya and Napoleon would have been in Star Trek, and this thought haunted me ever since)