Wanderlust 2016 – Squaw Valley, CA

 

I just got back from the Wanderlust Yoga Festival in Squaw Valley, CA, and what an amazing weekend! This was my first time at Wanderlust and the energy, people, music and scenery were all incredible.

My friend and I drove up to Squaw Valley on Thursday, which is located near Lake Tahoe in Northern CA, and it took a little over 7 hours to get there from LA. We camped at High Camp, which is located at the top of the mountain and you need to take a Tram to get there. I will say, that’s the one thing we won’t be doing again, as it’s quite a trek to carry all your belongings from the parking lot to the tram and then to the campsite.

The ground was also so rocky and hard that it’s very difficult to get your tent stabilized. On Saturday, it was so windy that our tent actually blew away! (Along with many other tents!) Luckily a friend of mine had a hotel there so we survived.

On a positive note, High Camp has extremely beautiful views, a gorgeous pool and restaurant, and shower rooms for the campers. (Note to future campers: bring layers! It’s at least ten degrees colder at the top of the mountain and gets very chilly!)

I only brought one pair of pants since the weather reports said it was going to be hot, but I ended up wearing them all weekend!

The way the festival is set up, you can register for 3 classes during the day, and then they have live music at night. Most of the classes I signed up for start at 10am, 12pm, 2pm and 4pm, so sometimes you only have 30 minutes before your next class. Luckily, there are tents throughout the whole festival that give you free protein bars, juices, cereal, protein shakes, coffee, etc. and there are also water stations and food tents (all vegan!) throughout the site.

There’s even random live music next to the tents too! And they have a free beauty bar where you can get your hair braided, massage tables, restaurants, wine tastings… lots of fun events!

Initially I was worried about wearing myself out with back to back classes, but I found that a lot of the teachers talked during the first 30 minutes of the class, or made the last 30 minutes more yin/restorative, so I suspect they do that so our bodies have time to rest.

In addition to yoga classes, you can also sign up for stand-up paddleboarding, aireal, and hikes. I highly recommend the hikes, as the forest is absolutely beautiful. There are so many gorgeous creeks with waterfalls and swimming holes, and if you have extra time, there is a 3-mile hike that leads to Shirley Lake. (I wish we had more time to do that… Next time!)

They have two different stages for live music, one is near the food trucks, and the other is the main stage. The main stage acts go on around 8pm and the headliners at 10pm. So you have just enough time after your last yoga class to shower, change, eat and then join the fun.

The Friday night headliners were Beats Antique, and the Saturday night headliner was Stephen Marley. In addition to his own reggae music, he also played lots of Bob Marley songs! So fun!

The Wanderlust festivals are held all over the world (Colorado, Vermont, Germany, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico…) so if you’re looking for a weekend filled with good vibes, be sure to check out one near you! http://wanderlust.com/ 

Until next year Wanderlust!