Wanderlust: September 2011

Quotes That Keep Me Going....

"There are only three sports: Bull fighting, motor racing and mountaineering; the rest are merely games." Ernest Hemingway

"Adventure is a path. Real adventure--self-determined, self-motivated, often risky--forces you to have firsthand encounters with the world. The world the way it is, not the way you imagine it. Your body will collide with the ear and you will bear witness. In this way you will be compelled to grapple with the limitless kindness and bottomless cruelty of humankind--and perhaps realize that you yourself are capable of both. This will change you. Nothing will ever again be black-and-white."

--Mark Jenkin

"The use of traveling is to regulate imagination by reality, and instead of thinking how things may be, to see them as they are."

--Samuel Johnson

"Tourists don't know where they've been. Travelers don't know where they're going."
--Paul Theroux

"Not all those who wander are lost."
--J.R.R Token

"On a summit the entire world is beneath us, horizons are expanded, and clarity envelops our senses. It is this feeling that the mountaineer seeks, and perhaps it is the feeling that we all seek as we search for love and purpose in our own measured lives. In reaching for the summits of the heart and holding on to them, love and hope transcend the tragedy of our ultimate end." Jennifer Lowe-Anker

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Wrapping summer up...

After a few miserable workweeks in LA, Cody and I headed north to Yosemite to fill our little souls with the best climbing in the world.

We quickly found Yosemite climbs to be crazy hard. The glacier-polished rocks offer few handholds and thus, force you to jam your limbs into cracks and smear on virtually nothing to get up walls. Climbs here require extra water, mosquito repellent, patience, balance and a tolerance for crowds. 5.9 climbs feel like 5.11s. Everything is trad and nothing is easy.

We spent two solid weeks bumming around Camp 4 at night and battling it out with classic climbs like Bishops Terrace and The Nutcracker during the day. My body has never hurt more. I think I was even less bruised after my Mount Shasta fall than my stint in Yosemite!

Feeling defeated and dehydrated at the end of our Yosemite stay, we made our way to Tahoe in hopes of cooler weather and easier climbs. We were also super excited about having a real home to live in for six weeks!

Tahoe without snow is a whole new world. Our winter home base was now barely recognizable and full of so many more activities than we had imagined. Climbing and mountain biking had been our original priorities this summer, but sitting on the shore of the lake while drinking beers, floating down the Truckee River and barbequing became priorities as well.

Big Chief, Donner Pass, and Lover’s Leap gave us days of great climbing. Northstar gave us days of great downhill mountain biking and the abundance of peaks and alpine lakes gave us great days of backcountry hiking. The one drawback to this ideal location is the plethora of people, “gapers” as locals call them, that pour into the Tahoe basin every day of the week.

Looks like next stop is Boulder, CO for a Wilderness First Responder course with NOLS. Can’t wait to be outdoor safety savvy!

Tesha Karn

My name is Tesha Karn. I started T.Karn, an Asian art and decor company, in 2007 out of my passion for traveling to the most exotic, least visited locations in the world. Each time I returned to the states, it became more and more apparent that the Western home lacked the spiciness of Eastern art and décor. What was a personal hobby, collecting art, soon turned into a business and T.Karn was born.

I have always appreciated art as the collective soul of the human race and now, through my business, I try to promote my belief that art helps us understand one another despite unimaginable cultural and physical distances. Although my home base is New York City, I continue to frequent the ends of the earth on a regular basis, finding one-of-a-kind items to share with the Western home.

This blog allows me to share my adventures in pursuit of exquisite Asian art and decor as well as pure joy and exhilaration. Please enjoy!

Save the Chiru

After traveling through India and Nepal, I became cognisant of Tibetan Antelope, also known as Chiru. The poised and elegant animals that use to flourish on the Tibetan plateau are now listed as endangered by the World Conservation Union and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service due to commercial poaching for their fur. The Tibetan Antelope wool, also commonly referred to as shahtoosh, is a highly sought after commodity due to its warmth and softness. In response to this troubling situation, my company and I are now promoting a material called shamina, which boast the same attributes as shahtoosh. Shamina is produced from the first clipping of baby goats. No animals are harmed in this process. The clippings are hand-woven in Kashmir and natural dyes are used. Please do not partake in the vicious hunt for shahtoosh. Save the Chiru!