Hello Blog Readers,

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve posted anything new.  My life has been busy lately with several huge changes coming down the pipeline, both career and trip related.  I guess right now I have this incredible mixture of excitement, nervousness, hope, and optimism for the future, and I’ll have to write more on the big changes in the next blog.  I will say that my life has been changing rapidly, and in really positive ways, ever since I turned 29.  What started as a miserable birthday has really transformed into a great year.

For now though, I want to write about my day hike yesterday with Jadda Miller.  Jadda’s my newest friend in life.  We just started hanging out a few weeks ago.  I guess you could describe her as your typical world-traveling chef/pilot/photographer/documentary filmmaker/agricultural expert.  She has a larger-than-life personality, it amazes me just how much she’s already seen and accomplished in life, and she’s a blast to hang out with.  She’s beautiful, to be honest.

We were planning to go on a day hike together, and she recommended the Iron Canyon Trail, which is just a few miles to the northeast of Red Bluff.  I hadn’t been on the trail in a few years, and I’ve actually never hiked the trail in the summer time, but I knew the scenery there to be dramatic and worth a trip.

Get ready for some epic landscape shots.

However, because of the heat yesterday, we couldn’t hit the trail until after 6 pm.  This of course made me worried about rattlesnakes, which definitely inhabit the area, and become more active during the evening hours.  As we hit the trail, I asked Jadda whether she had a snake bite kit on her.  She kind of laughed at me and said no, asking if I had one on me.  Unfortunately, I didn’t have mine on me.  I only had my trusty knife.  Luckily, we made it to our destination without encountering any snakes.

Iron Canyon

While enjoying the canyon, I challenged Jadda to a bit of a photo shooting contest.  Now having reviewed the photos from the “contest,” I can say that they revealed some interesting insights into our personalities.  For example, when I take a photo, it tends to be a “big picture” type of photo – a sweeping landscape, for example:

Jadda, however, was able to look in the same place that I was looking, and found beauty and detail in the little things right before our eyes:

However, if there’s anything I’ve come to love about this newfound friend of mine, it’s that we both share the same sense of adventure.  It’s something that can be seen in our persons.  We’re both just happy and in our element when out exploring.

Of course, in taking our time to soak in our surroundings, sunset fell upon us.

And sure enough, while making our way back to the Tiguan (aka Sexy Beast), the snakes started to come out to play.  First, Jadda stumbled upon a sizable gardner snake.  Then, less than a quarter mile later, I came within inches…literally inches…of stepping on a baby rattlesnake.  As Jadda told me, baby rattlesnakes are extremely dangerous because they haven’t started rattling yet.  They also haven’t gotten a handle on their venom yet, so they tend to inject more venom when they bite than their elders.  While I narrowly avoided being bitten, the whole experience got the heart pumping, and I was reminded once again that nature is not something to be taken lightly.  I really should have had my snake bite kit on me during that hike.

We made the rest of the way back to the Tiguan slowly, being sure to watch directly in front of us with each of our steps.  After making it home safe, we had a mini celebration with some Blue Moons and guitar playing before parting ways. Overall, it was a great day hike.  The scenery was breathtaking, I was in good company, and the adrenaline rush helped me feel alive.  I can’t wait for my next adventure!

Cheers,

Rob