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Gavin

@gavinbroatch

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Be kind, do epic shit, and watch On the Road with Steve Hartman.
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Proud to be a FOOL! This past weekend, I participated in my first adventure challenge. The Fool’s Traverse is a 28-30 mile course in the San Gabriel Mountains where you have to summit 11 peaks and grind out anywhere between 10,500’ - 12,000’ in elevation gain. I’ve been training for this one for a couple months and finally all the reps and steps were put to the test. On zero sleep, Julio and I stepped off at 2:00 am for what would be an epic 17.5 hour sufferfest. For an added layer of FOOLishness, we decided to wear jester outfits. We started out strong and were feeling great throughout the night, but once the sun came up, the day changed dramatically. The heat was brutal and really sapped our energy. Unfortunately, Julio was struggling and had to tap out after 7 peaks. A huge accomplishment and I was so proud of his effort. Lucky for me, he gave me most of his water, which allowed me to have enough to make the decision to go for the full course. Throughout the day we met a ton of amazing people. Everyone was so rad and supportive. Since you can start the course at either end of the mountain range, at some point, you’re running into racers going the opposite direction and it’s great to cheer them on and suffer together. After peak 10, in another bit of luck, I ran into @elementsofdaisy who I had met earlier in the day. She realized that I was about to decend the most difficult and dangerous section of the course at the wrong entry point. The custom route Julio created on our app had us going down the wrong ridge line and it would’ve certainly had me being rescued by SAR. She caught the mistake and offered to guide me down the remaining 4 miles of technical off-trail scrambling. Daisy had done this race a couple times before and knew the route. On the decent we encountered another racer out of water and struggling. Daisy now had two dependents! At this point, the three of us are out of water, and pushing 16+ hours straight. There’s no way I would’ve finished this race without her. She is such a badass and I owe her big time!

Another special thanks goes out to @trvrsoutdoors and Aar Jay and his band of merry volunteers for putting on a killer event. taken in San Gabriel Mountains by @gavinbroatch

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3 months ago

Yesterday, I set out to tackle my longest and most difficult hike to date. Backpacker Magazine rated it one of the hardest day hikes in the world. It didn’t go as planned, but after 30 miles, ~11,000’ of elevation gain and 18 hours later, I completed the Cactus to Clouds to Cactus hike. Unfortunately, Julio got really sick halfway through the hike and was unable to summit and had to take the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway down, but was waiting for me at the finish with a double cheeseburger, large fry and a coke. #hero taken in Cactus to Clouds Hike, Mt. San Jacinto Peak by @gavinbroatch

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a year ago

A colleague of mine is a historic preservation architect who found an old dilapidated Futuro in a boatyard in San Diego back in 2022. Scheduled for demolition, he stepped in, rescued it, and restored it to pristine condition. Now a California historic landmark and his personal mountain getaway, he offered us the rare opportunity to stay in this slice of iconic history. In 1969, there were only approximately 100 of these plastic homes produced worldwide. This is the only Futuro on the west coast. taken in Idyllwild, California by @gavinbroatch

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a year ago

My buddy Brian and I took a trip to the Eastern Sierras to summit Mt Langley and planned to camp Friday night in his camper shell, hike early Saturday morning, come back to the camping spot grill steaks and cheers the day and then drive home Sunday morning. Our 5 hour commute turned into 8 hours and flipped the trip on its head. We decided to just pull up and start hiking when we got there. It was a brutal hike on no sleep and we both got altitude sick, but pushed through. This is definitely not the hardest hike I’ve done but it might’ve been the most I’ve had to dig deep for a summit. It was in the 34 degrees at the summit, with 30+ mph winds, and we were both struggling pretty bad. Despite all that, it was well worth it. The area is majestic! We had a beautiful night with a full moon to guide us. We took the New Army pass trail through Cottonwood Lakes and didn’t encounter another person until about 9 miles in. These alpine lakes were so incredible and had crystal clear water. Really special to visit. Had a great time suffering with @wheelin.dirt.

*for a little bit, I traded my trekking poles for my fishing pole and tried to bag a Golden Trout from an alpine lake. taken in Mount Langley by @gavinbroatch

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3 days ago

Mazie and I decided to head to the Anza-Borrego desert to check out the Galleta Meadows sculptures and explore Fonts Point. 10/10 decision! You never remember the days you stayed home. taken in Fonts Point by @gavinbroatch

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10 days ago

“No one can fully understand the meaning of love unless they’ve owned a dog.”

Our best boy Wrigley will always be in our hearts. We are gutted without him, but so honored to have received his unconditional love. Rest easy, Wriggles! ❤️ by @gavinbroatch

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12 days ago

Happy 22nd anniversary to my everything! I love and appreciate you more and more with each day we are together. Cheers to another 22! taken in San Diego, California by @gavinbroatch

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2 months ago

This one has been on the books since March 1st when we found out we got a permit for Mt Whitney. My buddy Martin and I have wanted to take our two oldest kids (Britten and Drake) to Mt. Whitney ever since we summited together in ‘23. To sprinkle a little extra fun while we were out that way, we decided to swing by Badwater Basin in Death Valley National Park. Why not hit up the lowest point in the continental U.S. before we hit up the highest point? The trip was epic! Everyone crushed it. The vibes on the mountain were amazing too. Everyone encouraging each other. The hiking community is really special. Happy trails! #Badwater #MtWhitney taken in Mt Whitney Summit by @gavinbroatch

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2 months ago

Yesterday, my daughter Britten and I completed what Backpacker Magazine calls one of the hardest day hikes in America. The Cactus to Clouds hike is almost 22 miles from the desert floor in Palm Springs to the summit of Mt San Jacinto (10,834’). We had to start in the middle of the night to avoid the extreme heat. It was 93 at 1:30 am. I am so proud of her. She absolutely crushed it. We completed it 11:14 minutes, which is an hour faster than my first attempt back in 2023. We saw all kinds of wildlife, two speckled rattlesnakes right on the trail, 7 tarantulas, 4 banded geckos, a common Poorbill bird and a camel spider. It was a brutal day, but one that I will never forget.

“THE PATH TO HAPPINESS IS MADE OF DIRT, LINED WITH TREES AND LEADS INTO THE MOUNTAINS.” taken in Cactus to Clouds Hike, Mt. San Jacinto Peak by @gavinbroatch

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2 months ago

Thanks to @kanes_k9s for such a fun morning of Puppy Yoga at @baycitybrewing. Our family had an absolute blast! The four amazing puppy instructors (and our human one) were exactly what these novice yogis needed. Cheers to Merrill, Gwynn, Machado, and France, may you find your forever homes (All named after @padres players). If you are interested in one of these sweet pups, or want to foster one of them, please reach out to @kanes_k9s. by @gavinbroatch

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3 months ago

One last prep for Fool’s Traverse next weekend. We did 6 of the 11 peaks yesterday. Learned a lot about the course; timing, water consumption, etc. A super fun 11-hour day in the San Gabriel mountains.
Mt Baldy - 10,064’
West Baldy - 10,002’
Mt Harwood - 9,556′
Thunder Mnt - 8,587’
Telegraph Peak - 8,989′
Timber Mnt - 8,303’

LFG!!! #FoolsTraverse by @gavinbroatch

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4 months ago

Welp, they all can’t go as planned. Julio and I have been training really hard for a big hiking challenge coming up in a few weeks. To test that training, we decided to tackle the Cactus 2 Clouds 2 Cactus hike. Backpacker Magazine rated Cactus to Clouds one of the hardest day hikes in the world: almost 11,000 feet of climbing from downtown Palm Springs to the summit of Mt. San Jacinto and back. This time last year, we also attempted this hike, but Julio got sick and had to take the aerial tram down. He encouraged me to go on without him and I was thankful because it was epic, but this weekend was supposed to be his redemption story. Unfortunately, he battled the same issues and couldn’t keep anything down. I was so bummed for him. Due to his condition, I didn’t want to let him take the tram solo. Bailing was the right call and the mountain will be there next time. taken in Cactus to Clouds Hike, Mt. San Jacinto Peak by @gavinbroatch

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4 months ago