As Hikergorlz, we wanted to test out our basecamp model and create a launchpad for our expeditions and explorations into the Santa Monica Mountains. Mountainhaus is nestled within these mountains and acts as our official trailhead. So far, we’ve gone on 2 treks - the first of which was 10 miles with a 2,000 ft climb, the second was 8 miles with a 3,000 ft climb. This trek would be our longest and most difficult yet - 15 miles with a 4,000 ft climb.

The only way we would be able to attempt to accomplish this trek would be to start super early in the morning. Normally, Gina and Brook would come to Mountainhaus in the early afternoon and we would set off for a few hours, getting back in time for dinner. This time would be different - largely due to the heatwave that we’ve been experiencing in California. In order to beat the heat, we thought it would be best to leave early morning. How do you make a safe sleepover happen? My backyard was our best friend.

Our first attempt at camping at Mountainhaus was pretty successful. We made a big pasta dinner with our mini stoves outside, s’mores using my weber grill, and drank wine under the stars. Each of our tents matched our personalities perfectly.

Gina’s tent was a classic 4 person, big family tent that you’d bring along car camping at a fishing-friendly campsite. She brought an inflatable mattress but it was completely useless due to a mini hole that refused to be patched up. I had an outdoor lounge-chair mat that worked as a great substitute. Gina basically had tempur-pedic level comfort.

Brook’s tent was an ultralight Big Agnes 1 person tent that she was able to pitch in about 2 minutes. Hers actually was the coziest - she created a cocoon of blankets and pillows atop a cushy sleeping pad. Brook has the most camping experience, and it showed in how quickly and efficiently she was able to set up.

I wanted my camp to feel like a sort of Wes Anderson nostalgia. I found a beautiful Nordisk Ydun 5.5, which could sleep 4+ people with plenty of room to spare. It looks like an old canvas boy scout tent but feels modern thanks to the technical cotton flysheet, tarpaulin floor, and mesh mosquito net panels that keep the little bugs out (or try to!). The tent was surprisingly easy to set up, though it does require stakes. My sleeping situation started out minimal, but then more pillows were added, so was a comfy dog bed for Milou. I had an inflatable ultralight sleeping pad (Nemo Tensor Insulated), Therm-a-Rest Vesper Quilt (also ultralight and very very compact), and my beautiful white Mountain Hardwear Lamina Eco-AF sleeping bag, which is made out of recycled materials and saves gallons of water due to its undyed nature!

What would we do differently next time? Well, for starters, we would bring coolers with us. I had to keep running into the house to get snacks and ingredients - so obviously we would need to imagine that the house doesn’t exist and that whatever we brought with us is what we have. We would also need to go more minimalist next time. Having all the comforts of home is nice, but not necessary. We ultimately want to go backpacking and having 4 comfy pillows and insulated thermoses is just not practical or possible. We definitely need to make breakfast a priority and not an afterthought. Fueling up properly before a long heatwave trek is the most important part of preparation. We hastily made thick toast with peanut butter before packing up, not thinking much about just how many calories we would be burning on our trek. I also realized that I need to sleep outside more often with my 8-month old puppy to accustom him to more wildlife noises. He was up and alert all night, growling at every bird and coyote howl he heard. Completely normal, but something to consider if getting a good night’s sleep is a top priority.

I did love my sleeping setup, though I could have been fine without a sleeping bag. A quilt would have been more than enough in this heat! My tent was great, though I should have checked for little bug entrances and completely zipped everything up before bed. I woke up next to a couple of creepy crawlies… I ordered some citronella candles and incense to combat them next time. Let’s see how well that works!

The next post will cover our heatwave trek into the mountains along with a video documenting our mini-expedition.

\ Hikergorlz

Mountainhaus Basecamp is the space of connections. A Connection to nature, to friends, to the aesthetics of the outdoors, and to oneself. I sought out to create a space in which all of these connections could happen simultaneously and used a House in the Mountains to do so.

All of this started because I got really angry. I was angry about coronavirus, about my dad’s cancer, about my own inability to get a fucking grip on my mental state, and about the world falling apart for so many people. I was so angry in fact, that I just ran out of my house and kept running. I ran uphill and into the mountains, a place that would soon become my daily stomping grounds. I kept running and running until my lungs exploded and my feet were covered in blisters. Even though the physical pain was basically unbearable, the emotional pain that propelled my body uphill started to dissipate. I felt a mental freedom akin to meditation. I guess they call it "endorphins”. I kept going back up the mountain every day, and with each day I learned how to go farther, how to stay safe, how to navigate, and how to find that meditative space within myself.

The funny thing about all of this is that I used to hate “hiking”. I associated it with extreme discomfort, unknown variables, and the pressure to stay on the designated path. I have since learned to take it less seriously and to appreciate all of the unknown variables that used to scare me. I am definitely a nature newbie, but I do want to share my experiences outside as well as my lessons learned in order to inspire others who may have felt the same way about getting outside as I once did.

I have also become somewhat obsessed with lightening my pack load and understanding how to find the most functional gear so that I can venture farther out into the mountains. The obsession extends to the aesthetics of my gear, which should not take precedence over functionality, but are important to my experience outside. I don’t want to wake up in a neon green tent or a red and purple sleeping bag. My gear doesn’t have to be butt-ugly to be functional.

After a few months of my solo treks into the mountains, I finally felt comfortable enough to invite my friends along. I had spoken to them about the mysterious mountains full of clarity and beauty, but I didn’t know how to share my experience with them while social distancing. Turns out, it’s a lot easier than I thought. Hiking is pretty social distancing friendly! We’ve since made it a weekly routine - one which is evolving as much as our friendship. Brook, Gina, and I are experiencing a new kind of friendship - one in which hugs cannot be exchanged and food cannot be shared. We are wearing masks and frantically sanitizing our hands. We can either complain about our situation or create something new out of it. In the process of understanding how to be around each other safely, we’ve created Mountainhaus.

We will be making videos and sharing photo essays of all our Mountainhaus expeditions - from our grueling treks into the bone dry mountains to the backpacking trips we hope to accomplish in the coming months. We will be backyard camping and backcountry camping and car camping and glamping. We’ll do short hikes and long hikes and maybe even thru-hikes. We’ll make quite a few mistakes and we certainly will learn from those mistakes - and we’ll share them all. We are hiker girls - not pros or athletes or mountaineers. Just girls who want to hang out in nature during a pandemic.

We hope you learn a thing or two!

Basecamp 01: Backyard Camping at Mountainhaus

Welcome to Mountainhaus Basecamp