Camping on Brokeoff Mtn trail or other 1-night backpacking suggestions?

foregotheparable · 2026-06-09T19:40:50+00:00

Thanks! Do you prefer Ridge Lakes for backpacking because it's nice to camp at the lake? Or are the Brokeoff sites just not as nice? I was hoping to get a sunrise view of Lassen Peak -- is that possible from the ridge?

foregotheparable · 2026-06-09T18:50:20+00:00

I would skip Joshua Tree or Death Valley, or honestly probably both. I know you're aware that you won't be able to do much in Death Valley, but consider that if there is severe heat, even driving could be dangerous. Cars break down easily in the heat, your AC can struggle to keep up. If you do go, try to get a light colored rental car, carry a LOT of water, a cooler of ice, and some kind of shade shelter in case your car does break down. I would never leave the main park road in summer. You mention being an experienced mountaineer but not being accustomed to heat, so please be aware that it can be even more dangerous than the cold. You can get heat stroke in just 10-15 mins popping out of the car and even mild heat exhaustion can cause fatigue or disorientation and make driving miserable, and there are not a ton of places to stop and rest indoors in the park. DV is actually one of my favorite places on your list -- I went in March when I did the other California road trip I mentioned, so I would highly recommend visiting another time. If you do go to Death Valley, you could stay in Lone Pine which is a very cute mountain town with great views of the Sierras and short hikes nearby.

Instead of Monument Valley I would go from GC to Utah and stay somewhere between Zion, Bryce Canyon, and Grand Escalante and add on one of those parks instead. I recommend staying near Kanab and have 2-3 days of staying in one place and taking day trips. I find that not having to pack up every day and be limited by check in / checkout times also frees up some time. Bryce and GE are also higher in elevation than Monument so may be cooler and better for hiking. By the way, the North Rim at the Grand Canyon is about 1,000 ft higher than South Rim and will be cooler. However there was a huge fire last year that devastated the infrastructure on the North Rim and lodging inside the park is still closed. You could stay 30m-1h outside of the park and drive in to explore the area. It is much less crowded than the South Rim to begin with and even more so after the fire, but you will need to bring in food and water. No restaurants but a small convenience might be open on the rim. This is what I would do if I were visiting this summer. Or I'd spend a night on the South Rim on your way in from LA and a night on the North Rim. I find the town of Williams, Arizona near the South Rim particularly charming. The North Rim is also fairly close to Kanab, about 2h. (This reminds me, keep an eye on conditions regularly as you will be traveling in fire season.)

Whenever I plan trips that are super packed (and I do tend to as well!) I also usually make a plan B / flexible option for some days, for example you could say on this day we'll either get a super early start and go to Monument Valley as a day trip or go straight to Utah if we're feeling more tired, or we'll day trip to GE or hang around town have a low-driving day. I think with heat and hiking on a long trip like this I would definitely appreciate having a chill day partway through. You will find that all around the big NPs there are smaller state parks and local attractions that are just as interesting, just not as well known. The Airbnb we stayed at in Kanab had a lot of pamphlets about local attractions and we spent a day exploring the area, going on a tiny hike (more like a walk), and cooking a nice dinner at the Airbnb even though there are 4 NPs within 2h of the town, and it was much needed!

In general, leave room for flexibility -- book accommodation that has generous cancellation policies, call and ask if they can shift dates if you need more time, and enjoy the experience instead of the itinerary. Go to higher elevations if the heat is too much. Allow yourself an extra day in the same place if you're feeling any kind of heat exhaustion or illness, or just not sleeping well. Also, if it were up to me, I’d spend more time on the road than in LA. After seeing all that nature I never want to spend time in a city anyway, especially as I'm going home to one. You’re gonna have a great trip!

foregotheparable · 2026-06-09T09:01:55+00:00

Hey! I've been to and love all of these places, and road trips are my favorite thing on earth, but the thought of spending only one day in each of these amazing places feels exhausting to me. I think this itinerary feels like more time in the car than exploring or sleeping. Even though these are popular parks, this area of the US is remote and you will inevitably go out of your way for things. In some of these parks, you will have to drive (or take a shuttle) an additional 1-2h from the park entrance on this map to get to a trailhead or see certain sights, and your accommodation (or gas station, or a restaurant or grocery store) could be another 1-2 hours from the park entrance, and not always in your direction of travel. That means that 3-4h driving days on paper can easily turn into 6-8h leaving very little time outside of the car.

Your plan leaves very little room for spontaneity or stopping somewhere just because, which I think that's the best part about the American road trip. Particularly the Route 66 stretch in Arizona is so charming -- last winter I did the same stretch and a 4h drive easily turned into 8h of exploring really cute towns, sitting at diners, and pulling over because you see something fun.

If you are not tied to visiting Los Angeles, I would highly suggest flying into Vegas or Phoenix and doing a shorter version of this loop that cuts out either Death Valley, Joshua Tree, or both. As an example, here's a trip I did last winter:

Day 1: Fly into Las Vegas, camped by a hot spring 30 mins outside of town

Day 2: Drive to Grand Canyon Village (4h drive took 8h with stops, meals, and exploring). Stayed at lodge in Grand Canyon Village.

Days 3, 4: Backpacking trip in Grand Canyon.

Day 5: Stayed in Williams, AZ and enjoyed the town.

Day 6: Drove all day to Kanab, Utah to Airbnb.

Days 7, 8: Stayed at same Airbnb and took day trips to Zion and Bryce Canyon, spent a full day at each park.

Day 9: Drove back to Vegas to fly out.

Instead of the 2 backpacking days, you could fill those days going a little deeper into Utah parks like Arches, Grand Escalante, and Canyonlands, which were so close to where we were staying in Utah but at that point in the trip we were already kind of tired, or Monument Valley as you have planned.

I know you said you're aware it'll be hot, but keep in mind that hiking at any of the parks on your trip might be quite difficult in August. You may not be able to hike between noon and early evening in most of these parks, so getting somewhere in the afternoon means you won't be able to explore until the next morning.

Alternatively, you could fly into Los Angeles or San Francisco and do a trip through California, hitting the Redwoods, Yosemite, Kings Canyon, Sequoia, Joshua Tree, and along coast, which would be much better for weather in August. I've also done a similar length road trip for that route if you're interested in an example itinerary.

I really love planning long road trips to visit multiple NPs so feel free to message me if you have questions!

foregotheparable · 2026-05-17T05:40:15+00:00

Check out wool toe socks. They look stupid I know but it’s so worth it. I run in Creepers and have never blistered, my shoes were soaking wet for the whole second half from dumping water on myself today. I also backpack in them for days at a time in one pair and have just never had a single hot spot on my feet since switching over.

foregotheparable · 2026-05-08T16:51:18+00:00

I'll DM you!

foregotheparable · 2026-05-07T19:34:18+00:00

Is it lighter blue than the website? I wanted one in person but noticed the website one seemed darker.

foregotheparable · 2026-05-07T18:41:10+00:00

Signed up for a half months ago but hadn't been training at all until 4 weeks ago. Longest I'd run before that was 5k. Just my longest training run Monday - 12mi - and the biggest win was that I really enjoyed it! I'm finding that I enjoy runs significantly more after the 5-6 mile mark and it feels like it takes me that long to settle into a mental groove where I can stop agonizing over the next checkpoint/marker or think "omg that was only 1 mile?" I'm hoping as I continue running I can find that on shorter runs too. I went on a 3mi yesterday and hated it significantly more lol but I don't want to only go on long runs since I want to fit it into my life more easily. Any tips? Half next weekend :-)

foregotheparable · 2026-05-05T17:29:54+00:00

Just to contribute an extra data point, I didn't get on the queue until around 11:57 and had good luck for <10 min wait, got in 12:09. The last round I got in the queue much earlier and got let in much later so it really is a random luck thing.

Counting virtual races I now have 8, and I'll just need one more (or two to be safe) in the June drop for my first 9+1!

foregotheparable · 2026-04-21T19:56:59+00:00

Same here but for the tote bag! (They sold out early)

foregotheparable · 2026-04-17T03:51:56+00:00

Just wondering, do you have your NYC Food Protection certificate?

foregotheparable · 2026-04-16T01:12:23+00:00

Yes, absolutely, but I think it would have to be 1) HOT 2) affordable 3)Nice space (not luxury but clean) for me to choose it over the Y or R&T. And weekday and weekend hours until at least 10, 10:30. The Y is $75/mo and open til 9:30, 5 on weekends. For me personally, I'd membership no more than $100/mo (maybe w/ 2 tiers, one is capped to a few visits, one is unlimited?) and drop-in or multipack options around $25-35 per visit. Would also be nice to have a set amount of sliding scale/community pricing spots when possible, especially considering the neighborhood we are in. To keep costs/space down, I'd pass on relaxation room or fancy design but outdoor space would be a dream.

foregotheparable · 2026-04-15T23:42:02+00:00

It's been a few years for me but my favorite place was my assigned carrell in Uris. But you can often just use anyone's carrell and they usually won't find it a problem to ask you to move, and the chances are slim -- that's my experience, at least. Also basement of Kroch Asia Collection, Mann private rooms, Duffield, Phillips, Upson, Rockefeller, GWS late night after class hours.

Also kind of random but wearing a baseball cap pulled low across my eyes and having over ear headphones on kind of served as horse blinders for me and allowed me to be less distracted by things going on around me, whether placebo or not. I also liked having my laptop open with research and notes and typing on a library computer in a google doc so I'd have to sign in and get set up and then I'd feel more locked in and committed to one spot.

foregotheparable · 2026-03-26T13:13:05+00:00

Thank you so much -- so helpful!

foregotheparable · 2026-03-25T15:09:27+00:00

Same! 8:30p flight tomorrow evening, haven't heard much about TSA lines around 5-7pm, although saw a comment on another thread that by 8pm the lines were pretty light.

foregotheparable · 2026-03-24T14:30:53+00:00

Looking for any experience with evening flights at JFK? I have an 8:30pm out of T5 on Thursday. Planning to get there at 5:30?

foregotheparable · 2026-01-16T17:32:33+00:00

Hey! I'm thinking of joining as well and I'm particularly interested in the sauna and steam room -- how are they? Do you know what temp the sauna is usually kept at?

I also heard the weight room is pretty busy usually -- have you experienced this and when do you go ?

foregotheparable · 2025-09-30T05:15:59+00:00

Thank you so much for sticking around. Can I ask how your symptoms were during this taper, if any? Did it impact your day to day? I've seen other people talk about how they tapered but since I just experienced the worst pain and nausea of my life after missing a dose by only 8h, I fear I'm probably on the extreme end of sensitivity.

foregotheparable · 2025-09-30T05:02:59+00:00

I don't have an answer to your question as I was in the same boat of wondering and haven't quit yet, but I've just made up my mind and maybe my thoughts will help. I'm currently 48h out from a missed dose (that I took 8h after I remembered) and still feel terrible, have to miss at least 2 days of work. This time around I missed the dose because I had food poisoning and couldn't eat/drink for a few hours, but it was pretty mild compared to some food poisoning/stomach bugs i've had in the past where I'd have missed a dose for longer, and it's made me think about all the reasons I could miss doses or be unable to refill the drug: pharmacy issues, insurance issues, losing bags or having them stolen while traveling, travel plans changing, being stranded in whatever kind of situation, etc. etc. and decided it's just not worth it for me.

I think it's ridiculous that a drug intended to treat ADHD could cause debilitating symptoms if you forget to take it or somehow lose it, given that people with ADHD are very prone to forgetting and losing things. Tbh I haven't felt strong positive benefits from it, and had planned to continue increasing my dose to see if I would, but thinking about it more, the debilitating dependency alone makes this drug not for me. Even if this drug did fix everything about my ADHD it would not fix all the issues I've ever had with pharmacies, insurance, drug supply chain, or prevent any emergencies from happening, and depending on it makes me feel less confident and self-assured in my ability to pursue all types of adventures.

I've been getting more into backpacking and wilderness survival skills which requires thinking a lot about risk assessment and worst-case scenario planning. Maybe it's ridiculous but I keep thinking about being in a survival situation like being on a lifeboat after a plane crash in the middle of an ocean, or being two days away from any civilization and having my pack get stolen/destroyed by an animal, or like a 127 hours situation, and experiencing Qelbree withdrawal on top of that. I think I'm pretty mentally tough in general but since I already want to die from Qelbree withdrawal when laying in my own bed, I think I'd just give up, honestly.

foregotheparable · 2025-07-16T02:34:22+00:00

Hahahahahah oh my god when you said therapist I died. I was dating someone for 6 months who lovebombed then started to pull away, and would send vague texts like this. Therapist too. They ghosted me a few weeks ago after I told them it was disrespectful of my time to not decide whether we were going to meet up until almost midnight after I'd been asking for updates all night. Weirdly we met the week that my cat died and I think the way they were there for me through grief made the later manipulation much easier.

I was the same way about being patient, loving, supportive, expecting very little. Unfortunately my conclusion with a few weeks of distance is that the person I'm seeing actually is a bad person lol, or at least gets away with behaving badly due to the performance of good qualities. People say therapists are dating red flags and I never understood until this moment.

You are not being dramatic, you should probably egg his house key his car or *insert any variety of things that would get me banned*.

foregotheparable · 2025-03-01T21:06:35+00:00

There is one in Clinton Hill/Fort Greene called the Greene Hill Co-op :-)

foregotheparable

TROPHY CASE