Celebrating our trailversary and a birthday

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Hello! It’s been quite some time since we posted anything on our blog. With a few celebrations taking place recently, this was the perfect time to share an update with you all from this past year.

We recently celebrated the 4th anniversary of our PCT start date. It’s incredible how 4 years has passed and how much has changed.

The biggest change by far was having a baby. Our little boy – Miles – just celebrated his first birthday on April 1st. We aren’t the type to throw lavish parties with dozens or hundreds of guests, but even our intimate gathering was for not due to the shelter in place ordinance. Nonetheless, we celebrated our little boy with a cake (for us), sweet potatoes (for him to resemble our carrot cake), and sang happy birthday with family singing along on a video call.

This past year has been challenging, thrilling, exhausting and very rewarding. Our love for one another has deepened as we continue to learn, grow and adapt. And of course, our love for our little adventurer grows with each passing day.

We’ve come a long way as parents since last April. We still remember seeking guidance on YouTube for videos explaining how to safely transport a tiny 6 lb 12 oz newborn in a car seat. (Side note – Miles’ birthweight would be a pretty awesome base weight!).

While probably not as scenic as a thru hike, aspects of this past year felt oddly familiar. Both included lots of planning but also a realization that there is much that we cannot control.

Both encompassed emotional and physical discomfort and exhaustion. In both circumstances food was used as a comfort and a reward. Both journeys involved developing relationships with a family – whether blood related or a trail family. Lastly, both helped us feel alive and fulfilled.

We continue to do our best to hold on to ourselves, our love for nature and an appreciation for the quietness of the wilderness while working and parenting. And even though trips look much different now, we have managed to eek out a few adventures as a family. Once we are able to do so, we hope to have many more to come! (As long as we can teach Miles not to be afraid of the crinkly sound of our Thermarest Neo Airs!!)

Below are a few Fun facts from Miles’ first year:

Number of national parks visited: 3 (Yosemite, Crater Lake, Lassen)
Number of nights in a tent: 1
Number of nights slept in our camper: 22
Number of outdoor showers: 8
Number of hikes on the PCT: 10
Highest elevation: ~ 12,500 ft
Number of times over 10,000 ft: 4
Number of flights: 7
Number of states visited: 7
Number of blueberries eaten: probably more than his birthweight
Number of smiles received while hiking on trails or grocery shopping: countless

May this post find you healthy and happy during these unstable times. Smiles from our family to yours.

PCT south at Carson Pass

First (and only) backpacking trip so far

PCT southbound – Lassen Nat’l Forest

Plumas Nat’l Forest

Hiking down from Lassen Peak

Burney Falls

Guanella Pass Road, Colorado

Twin Lakes, Desolation Wilderness

Minaret Vista, near Mammoth, CA

First birthday cake!

Announcements and Life Happenings

/ yogihiker / 27 Comments

Hello!

We hope you have enjoyed winter and are excited about spring and summer!

It’s been awhile since we last posted – here or on social media – so we wanted to write to you today and give you an update.

Today, April 4th, marks the 3 year anniversary of the start of our PCT thru-hike. The 171 days we spent on trail and in trail towns continue to bring a smile to our faces when we look at pictures, talk about our experiences on trail  or when we pass through a place that intersects the trail.

As great as our Pacific Crest Trail hike was, our newest adventure that started on April 1st will undoubtedly be tougher, more fulfilling and full of growth opportunities for all of us.

This adventure is..

PARENTHOOD!

We are proud to introduce to you all Miles Henry Krameryan.

He was born on April 1, 2019 but we promise he is no April Fools’ joke. Miles was born at 3:25pm to two excited and slightly nervous parents. We’ve done what we can to prepare him for a lifetime of mountain exploration.

He has already hiked to the top of Mt Charleston (11,916 ft),

12 weeks pregnant

and Gaylor Peak (11,004 ft)

14 weeks pregnant

and slept in a tent on top of Sentinel Dome in January of this year,

Laurie carrying a pack full of down jackets for winter camping on Sentinel Dome

Sentinel Dome 30 weeks pregnant

all while cozy in his mama’s belly.

39 weeks pregnant

The parents and kiddo alike are in for many more summits and hikes to come. And to make this possible we’ve invested in Goldie Hawk.

Our new (to us) adventure mobile – Goldie Hawk

Goldie is a 2004 Toyota Tundra 4×4 mated to a Four Wheel Camper Hawk . This duo will (hopefully) make it easier for us to get out and explore our beloved open and wild places with our little one as quickly and as much as possible.

While the next few months will be full of diaper changes instead of peak bagging and swaddling instead of cowboy camping, we look forward to sharing our stories with you as our lives change.

One thing’s for sure though, the adventures will go on!

With love,

Laurie, Andy and baby Miles

 

Iceland Recap and Suggestions

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Iceland is a fascinating country. If you read our blog you probably enjoy the outdoors and will love the beauty of rugged Iceland.

Below are some of the things to keep in mind should you choose to visit this stunning country.

Driving in Iceland

We drove 2,712 km in Iceland. That’s almost 1,700 miles, or nearly the distance from Oakland, California to Dallas, Texas.

Andy did all the driving and found it to be pretty straightforward. He felt as if he was still in the States because we drove on the right side of the road and the steering wheel was on the left.

The familiar driving position coupled with roads, landmarks and towns being very well marked limited stress behind the wheel, allowing him to focus on the driving and avoiding distracted tourists behind the wheel of their rentals.

Even though getting around was pretty easy, we relied on Google maps everyday (particularly when Laurie – the copilot fell asleep) and for the most part it worked well to get us close to our hostels and landmarks.

Rental Cars

Renting a car is easy in Iceland. Our recommendation is to rent from the major companies located at the airport. You’ll recognize most of the names there – Hertz, Avis, Budget, etc.

While it costs a bit more to rent from the major brands, the counters are at the airport proper avoiding the up to 90 minute wait for a shuttle to the offsite location.

We rented from Firefly, an off site company. Thankfully we only waited about 30 minutes for the shuttle van to pick us up. The car was cheap and worked well, until it didn’t.

We don’t know if this would have happened with rentals from the major companies but we experienced brake failure and received a haphazard explanation that they are usually too busy to maintain their fleet consistently.

Andy found this explanation unacceptable and hopes the major companies hold themselves to more stringent repair requirements.

One more tip – Park far away from other cars, particularly in windy places. Park facing the wind so your door doesn’t rip off the car when opening it. No joke.

Also, if you are thinking about renting a camper, we have no direct experience with this but saw A LOT of campers on our travels.

Using American Credit Cards for Purchases

You can use a credit card in most places in Iceland.

Gas stations are well spread throughout the Ring Road. American credit cards generally do not work at gas stations since there is no pin associated with it for purchases (debit cards don’t work either).

Because of this, as an American you must use gas stations with attendants to either purchase a prepaid card inside or kindly ask them to unlock the pump and pay afterwards.

Gas stations serve as mini grocery stores and many have cafes associated with them. We can’t speak to the quality of the food but at least you can count on them to have something to eat.

Cell Service

We had WiFi everywhere we stayed and only needed to worry about cell coverage while on the road.

In terms of international phone coverage there are some options:

You can buy a SIM card as you would in any other country so long as your phone is unlocked.

Another option is to use international plans through your carrier. Both AT&T and Verizon offer international plans for $10 per day which extend your home plan to wherever you are. Our pre-trip research indicated decent coverage with Verizon but less was said about AT&T.

At times there was slow Internet speeds but we had service almost everywhere.

Water

You can drink water from the tap. The water is delicious and, according to Iceland, chemical and additive free.

While you can buy bottled water we never felt the need.

Some of the water in the geyser belt smelled of sulfur but we never got sick.

Public Pools

We chose to skip the fancy commercialized hot springs (Blue Lagoon and Mývatn Nature Baths) and instead spent time and money at the public pools. They were awesome! Most have kid pools, water slides, lap pools and hot tubs and cost around $10 per person.

Year round, this seems to be a popular way for adults to relax while keeping their children entertained.

Seasons and When To Visit

Summer is the most popular time to visit Iceland. The weather is generally nicer with long hours of daylight. This also equates to more people.

You can access more of the country in the summer than you can other times of the year. For example F Roads that lead to Iceland’s interior are only open and accessible during the summer months.

In the shoulder seasons there are less visitors and flights and lodging are cheaper, but the weather is unpredictable. And even though there is less daylight your chances of seeing the Aurora Borealis is slim.

Winter brings more darkness and your best chance to see the northern lights. These are their coldest months but from what we read and heard, the Ring Road is open all year round (major storms close parts of the road at times) and you get to see the waterfalls and other attractions with the added beauty of snow.

Helpful Websites

Verdur.is has the most accurate weather for Iceland. We checked this website every evening to know what to expect the following day.

We also checked it to track Aurora Borealis activity.

Road.is has the most up-to-date road conditions info for all of Iceland. This is another website we checked every evening to ensure we could get to where we wanted to go.

Thanks for reading our Iceland blog. We hope our posts will be useful when you plan your trip to this magical land.

Laurie finally got a picture of a sheep up close!