10 Things I Learned on my 3rd Trip to New York City

1.  If you thought there couldn't possibly be a place with less sitting room than economy class on an airplane, try a Broadway theater, specifically Nederlands Theater (where Newsies is playing).
2.  You can end up never paying for a bus ride by having a different payment issue every time you board.
3.  There are Obama condoms for sale on the Brooklyn Bridge
4.  If you are still in a cab to LaGuardia 25 minutes before your flight home departs, you AND your checked bag can still make the flight, as long as you don't put your shoes back on after security and run.
5.  If your brother is dead set on eating at Chipotle in Chelsea after his Volleyball practice, but you have no desire to be judged as "that person who eats at Chipotle and not somewhere fabulous while in NYC"  check in on Facebook at the local coffee shop next door. :-)
6.  Even in NYC you can spend four hours shoe shopping, and never find anything

7.  If you are super tired at 1:30 AM after the long haul back from Brooklyn to Queens after a BYU basketball game and you don't want to walk the 12 blocks back to the apartment  just jokingly stick your hand out and what you can only describe as "The Night Bus from Harry Potter" will appear from no where,  run red lights for the 12 blocks, and get you back in 45 seconds flat.
8.  The free apple juice that comes with your breakfast will be roughly the size of a sugar packet

9.  The half time show for the college basketball tournament game between the Catholics and the Mormons will be a Baptist gospel choir.

10.  Having fabulous friends pick you up on your birthday for a quick birthday dinner and cake (complete with GIANT lighter as seen in picture) will be one of the most appreciated gestures of the year!

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10 + Things I Learned on my First Backpacking Trip

Last week I went on my first High Adventure Mountain Backpacking trip.  Embarking on this adventure with me was a cast of 16 others who inspired, humored, endured, enjoyed, frolicked, and reveled with me.

We spent four days backpacking in the Eagles Nest Wilderness in the White River National Forrest.  30 miles total.  I would do it again in a heartbeat!  Here are the things I learned.

1. When the person saying the prayer before we set out on the adventure says, "...and please, Heavenly Father, bless us that no one will get hurt too bad..." and you interrupt and say, "...or not at ALL", it will be a certain sign that you will be the one that gets hurt.  The hurt that you get won't be TOO bad, but you will come back with giant gashes and enormous bruises.  At one point you may even be accused of being a leper.
2. If you forbid (or strongly suggest) certain young men from using their sling shots to kill ground squirrels and chipmunks (their reason being that they will get into the food (even in the bear bag)), and make a very convincing argument involving the social disruption and power vacuum in chipmunk society killing them will create, be prepared to be gracious in the morning when you have found that the only food supply the chipmunks get into to be yours.
3. If you have a choice between bringing a backpacking pillow OR rain gear, choose rain gear every time!
4. Hiking in a skirt is AMAZING under 10,000 feet.  Above 10,000 feet is solidly in the "wear full length pants with zip offs" category.
5. The hanging of the bear bag at night and the lowering of the bear bag in the morning is almost as ceremonial as a flag ceremony.
6. Things I couldn't have survived without: a HAT, Dental Floss, Toe Sock Liners (Injingi and Skeletoes were the two brands I took), Under Armour Sweat band, chapstick, and Benadryl. 
7. Even if you pack and repack and repack five or six times, there will still be things that were useless:  Sunglasses (a hat was perfect), eyeglass cleaner, and gum.
8. Sleeping under the stars (in a tarp) will be the best sleep you get of the entire trip (at least it was for me)!  However, beware of your zipper breaking in the night time and not noticing until you roll over at 6 AM and FREEZE! 
9. FlatOut! Bread is the perfect backpacking food.  I had one package of it and it lasted all four days, took a beating, got smashed, thrown, folded and through it all it it remained perfectly intact.  It was perfect for peanut butter flat bread lunches!  Mmmmmmm!
10. Backpacks with LOTS of pockets and compartments make the trip MUCH easier.  I only had two big compartments and I had to completely repack at least once a day and I spent WAY too much time rummaging through all the stuff that shuffled, settled, and shift during the hiking to find things.
11. If you are no expert in wildflowers, every red flower you see will be deemed "Indian Paintbrush".
12. Filtered stream water up there tastes like melted snow and is AMAZING.  Filtered lake water... flavor it (Mio works, but leaks and stains)
13. Four days of hiking can equal four days of completely different terrains, and they can all take your breath away!  The Earth is AMAZING!

Interesting facts:

1.  The sleeping bag that I bought for myself for my 20th birthday made this trip with me.  It was the first really significant thing it has done since it spent the night with me, Donna, and Heather on Mt Timp in college. :-)

2.  The total elevation gain was about 3800 feet (from about 8500 to about 12000)

3.  It has been a LONG time since I have been this impressed with a group of youth!  They were all so talented, inspiring, fun, and kind!  I think I got more from them then they did from me. :-)

4.  My tentmate was one of the most talented and inspiring people as well.  When I grow up I want to be like her!

5.  It seems wrong to leave out the names and experiences of the 16 others, because this trip was NOT about me, but I can't make myself name them and blog about them without permission. 

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