11/24/18 Red Rock Canyon | Las Vegas, Nevada
10/6/18 Lone Pine, Bishop, and Mammoth
Woke up and watched the sunrise illuminate Mt Whitney.
We immediately packed our gear then headed to Bishop for breakfast and coffee at the Great Basin Bakery. I filled up my HydroFlask with some delicious dark roast coffee and had a ham and cheese croissant.
Then we headed towards South Lake to capture some photos of the leaves changing color. This was the first time I had ever seen the color of leaves so vibrantly colored other than the typical greens or browns in San Diego, which isn’t as exciting. You can see the Aspens going up along the mountains covering large masses of land. It was an incredible sight to see. We decided to park next to a store so we could gear up for a bike ride. Since we were on our bikes, we were able to appreciate the views even more. It allowed us to get up close to the trees and take some amazing photographs.
After a short ride uphill towards South Lake, we decided to turn back to the cars to change, then we drove to Lake Sabrina to walk around and absorb the view. While we were walking around the lake, I noticed small white flakes falling from the sky and realized that it was snow after seeing it melt away on my black down jacket.
We then headed to Whitmore Hot Springs to freshen up after our ride earlier that day, after grabbing a quick bite to eat. This was my first experience going to a hot spring. It reminded me of a hot tub, the thing is, you don’t need to get out and turn the dial to get the hot tub running again.
After spending a couple of hours in the hot spring, we made our way to Mammoth. First we made an attempt to eat at Ramenya, but they were understaffed and packed so we decided to go to Mammoth Brewery for some food and drinks.
It was fairly cold that night, so I decided to sleep in my car. It's a good thing I did.
- DEHNIS DELACRUZ
10/5/18 San Diego to Lone Pine
It was my last day working at Millennium Health. I worked here for the past 2 years and 6 months, but it was time for me to look for the next opportunity in my career. After receiving the offer from Canyon Bicycles during my trip to Colorado, I decided I needed to do something for myself(again) and go for another adventure. It was on my list to make it out to Yosemite. So, I decided to take a week off before starting the new job and go on a road trip to the birthplace of rock climbing and hit other spots along the way.
After conducting the exit interview, I headed back home to finish packing for what was initially a 10 day camping trip consisting of gear for cycling, hiking, and climbing. I underestimated the prep work needed for a trip like this and didn't realize how many errands needed to be done before actually leaving San Diego. I did however received amazing advise and help by two close buddies of mine Jonathan D. and Ben A. They emphasized that organization and scheduling is key to a trip like this to prevent any time from being wasted.
During my drive up, I hit a good amount of traffic driving through San Bernardino. So instead of continuing to listen to music in bumper to bumper traffic, I decided to kick it old school and checked to see if anyone was available to chat on the phone. Luckily I learned this method from Jerome M., who happened to return my text by calling me back!
Once I got through all the traffic and started my journey on Highway 395, I was able to enjoy a beautiful sunset east of the Sierras. The colors that I saw in the sky throughout the drive were astonishing. I was practically crying from happiness and while Jerome was still on the phone listening in on my experience.
I was also able to chat with a good friend Dennis C. regarding some ideas regarding where I would like to take my photography and what I have planned for my site’s future.
I finally got to my destination in Lone Pine to meet Jason A. and Courtney M. We got a quick bite, then headed straight to Alabama Hills to stargaze and set up camp. I could not believe my eyes once we parked and got out of the car. Looking into the sky, I could not believe what I was looking at. The Milky Way was so clearly visible and I was speechless. I got my camera set up to capture some astrophotography shots, but it wasn't until a fellow photographer, Justin Manos, at the same site showed me some shots he took of me while on top and next to the famous Mobius Arch. He kindly shared his settings with me so I could capture the same shots with my camera.
We headed back to the camping area to settle in for the night. This was the first time I had slept in my tent with the rainfly off. I was able to fall asleep under the ocean of stars.
-DEHNIS DELACRUZ
Noland on special affects (accidentally spraying water from a water bottle with the sun passing through the droplets) and Stevee capturing the moment.
Climbing High Deep Into Darkness - Holcomb 9/29
I made a real last minute decision to go climb and camp this past weekend in Holcomb Valley. I was told about the plan Friday night and made the decision that evening to leave by 6am Saturday morning. After waking up later than I had hoped, I realized that I forgot to grab the batteries to my camera from charging them the night before. I had to make due with what I had, my phone. These are my shots!
This climbing/camping trip was a lot of fun. The biggest take away from this trip was that I was able to enjoy my time hanging out with friends in the great outdoors. After a full day of climbing, we all decided to watch the sunset on top of one of the tallest pinnacles at Holcomb.
I feel we spend most of our days in a building sleeping, eating, and working, when we should in fact spend more time outside to fulfil our sense of freedom.
Later that evening, we got real serious and had some deep discussions.
1st topic: Just because you have all those cams doesn't mean you need to use them (in reference to having a tent and not setting it up).
2nd topic: A series: There is a larger picture, the encompassing present moment; the photo. But there pictures within pictures, frames within frames; the details.
- DEHNIS
Day 3 - Colorado - Clear Creek Canyon
The third and final day in Colorado was dedicated to climbing before my flight back to San Diego. From what I hear, the climbing is top quality and Jerome decided to buy a guide book for Clear Creek Canyon, a place with an abundance of routes.
It took us only 20 minutes to drive to the crag from Arvada. Once we parked, we had to hike up less than a couple hundred feet to the base of the first site. We first jumped on a climb that is rated 5.9. The first part of the climb was really simple but as you got higher, there was a section where it forced you into a few lay back moves. I wasn't able to do the climb clean(no breaks/falls). Once we all finished this climb, we decided to move to another crag that was less than a mile further west with easier grades. I wanted to enjoy my first time climbing in Colorado rather than being discouraged and not be able to climb anything.
The last crag we climbed at less than a mile away, we were able to set up, climb, and clean 3 more routes. I was most excited about cleaning the equipment and repelling down from the climb because you are up there by yourself checking and re-checking your climbing systems making sure they are solid.
The areas where we climbed were surrounded by the beautiful landscape of trees, rocks, and the creek. I will definitely want to come back and dedicate a climbing trip out here and climb more routes.
-DEHNIS
Day 2 - Colorado - North Table Mountain and Disk Golf
The second day was another adventure in Colorado. Jerome decided to take me to another favorite trail of his which was closer and with an amazing view of Denver. The trail is called North Table Mountain and we had a total of 15.10 miles and 1,637ft of elevation gained. The riding here wasn’t too bad and a bit more easy going. There was one section of climbing right before ascending the mesa where it got really technical with large boulders and you had to be very precise with your line choice or else you would end up walking your bike up, which was what happened to me. After getting through the last climbing section, we stopped for a little photo session.
The descend back down consisted of few technical sections, but primarily long sections where we were able to pick up some descent speed. We all almost made it back to the parking, but Katie got a flat within the last mile of the trail and had to hike back.
All in all, my Colorado mountain biking experience was unbelievable. I am jealous for how easily accessible the trails are and how many there are. Two days of riding was not enough time to even scratch the surface. I will have to plan another trip dedicated for mountain biking to fully grasp and appreciate the Colorado trails.
Later that day after getting some amazing burgers and beers at Denver Beer Co. Olde Town Arvada, we played a round of disk golf at Johnny Roberts Disc Golf Course and Park. It was fun playing on a new course especially with a terrain that had the Ralston Creek running through the course. My goal was to beat Brea, but that later changed to not finishing in last place. Goal accomplished.
-DEHNIS
Day 1 in Colorado
The first day in Colorado was spend mountain biking and attending the Great American Beer Festival.
The mountain biking scene in Colorado was so amazing it is really difficult to put into words. The trail that I was taken to is called Mini Tour of Buffalo Creek. It is a 14.64 mile loop with 1,542ft and most of the climbing was done in the first 7 miles. The trails have so much to offer from high intensity climbing to technical single track descents. The view of the landscape was the main thing I was obsessing over. I just had to stop to take a photo to enjoy the mountains and trees in the background.
After we got through all of the climbing we took a little break to re-hydrate and fuel up.
The remaining portion was all descending and I was surprised with how well I did knowing the last time I rode a mountain bike was back in 2014. This time riding on the mountain felt completely natural. I might have another hobby to get back into.
The Great American Beer Festival was quite the experience. Imagine an attendance of 62,000 people and 800 breweries inside the Colorado Convention Center in Denver. After the going around the convention center twice because of the misleading end of the line personnel, we finally entered. I was given a plastic cup with a 1oz marker indicating when brewers should stop pouring their beer. You can only imagine how the pours went throughout the night. Something that helped us get through the event were the pretzel and mini bagel necklaces we made to help absorb all the beer consumed. I wasn’t a believer in the necklace at first, until I noticed how much we drank and how hungry I got. Thanks to Jerome and Brea for being such great hosts and lungging me around Colorado. Fun times!
-DEHNIS
Arriving to Colorado
The first time visiting Colorado was back my freshman year of high school. The reason for my visit was for a NJROTC competition. We competed among some of Colorado's finest JROTC programs at the University of Colorado Boulder. We managed to clean house and podiumed in all the categories we participated in (basic and exhibition drill being our main emphasis).
This was the first time I traveled to another state and it was quite a memorable experience. I remember most vividly, being on the airplane and noticed flashes of light on corner of my eye. I looked out the window and in complete darkness saw that we were flying over a lightning storm. It was pretty unbelievable and scary seeing this happen right underneath our plane.
One of Denver's murals, shot from the car with my phone.
I return to Colorado 16 years later in hopes to create even more exciting memories. The plan is to mountain bike at Buffalo Creek, attend the Great American Beer Festival, climb in Clear Creek Canyon, play disk golf, attend Earth Treks grand opening party(largest climbing gym in the country), AND take some amazing photos/videos. Cheers to my return to my return to Colorado!
-DEHNIS
New Site!
Hello Family and Friends,
You have made it to my new page where I can now express myself through the photos I take or the videos I make. I wanted to create a page of my own to express my thoughts and feelings without all the added noise that we face through today's social media. I hope you enjoy looking at our world through my eyes. Enjoy!
-DEHNIS
The only time you are actually growing is when you're uncomfortable. So here I am on top of Mt San Jacinto.