No Shrubs is a space where T and I will document our trip over the next 3 months. The route has been set:

• September: Corsica to hike the GR20
• October: Nepal to work with Third Eye Foundation
• November Part 1: Explore Japan
• November Part 2: Australia to finish up and catch up with friends.

The purpose of the trip is to unplug and experience something new and different. The decision for the route was made jointly. T proposed the hike as a way to truly unplug from day-to-day routine, I proposed the volunteering as a way to step outside our comfortable life and to give our time in a meaningful way. Japan is an excuse to visit a new country (for me) and to be engulfed by a new and rich culture of neon and nature. Australia is a chance to bring the trip home to its finality with stays in Melbourne, Bright and Sydney.

Throughout the trip we will be grading most days on the Fun Scale. This is a scale that T introduced me to and it’s pretty simple:

• Type 1 fun – Fun in the moment, fun in retrospect
• Type 2 fun – Not fun in the moment, but fun in retrospect
• Type 3 fun – It was never fun, not in the moment, not in retrospect.

I predict that by the end I’m at 1.75 and T is at a solid 1.

Why No Shrubs?:

No Shrubs is a reference to the TLC song No Scrubs. On a mission to scramble and bushwhack up a gnarly slope in Trinity Alps, T was wishing for ‘no shrubs’ as his legs were being lacerated by gorse type brush. Nothing like early 90’s female power Hip Hop to lighten a moment. Our plan is to spend the next 3 months filling in the balance of the lyrics with suitable hiking references.

Susie/Trey : San Fran(d)isco