🌲 Six Days in Big Bear: What I Found When I Stopped Trying to Find Anything

Welcome back to The Shift—your weekly dose of mindset rewires, perspective pivots, and internal upgrades for ambitious dreamers and doers ready to move through blocks and into bold, aligned action.

I just got back from Big Bear a few hours ago, and I'm still processing what happened up there. I survived 6 days and 5 nights of camping 😅

Actually, let me rephrase that. I lived it up. Just not in the way I usually think about "living it up."

This wasn't a trip with a crazy itinerary or bucket list activities. The goal was simple: stop working, pause from all the thinking and doing, and just be. No expectations. Just be in nature.

Tuesday started with a surf session in Ventura with a friend - the perfect warm-up to disconnecting. We explored the town (which we both loved), set up camp, and eased into a slower rhythm.

Wednesday brought another morning surf session before we headed to Big Bear. We chilled at Boulder Bay Park, made lunch, then did a hike at Castle Rock before my friend left.

After that, I went searching for one of those free Yellow Post campsites. Cue me driving around until dark on bumpy dirt roads, heart pumping, not sure if I'd found the right place. When I finally parked and set up for the night, I was so spooked by being alone in the woods that I covered my car windows with towels and blankets. Not my most graceful moment, but hey - we start where we start.

Thursday morning changed everything. Sunlight revealed where I actually was, and suddenly the fear melted into relief.

I made my first camp breakfast with my camp stove - protein oatmeal with bananas, apples, peanut butter, and hot coffee. That breakfast became one of my favorite moments of the entire trip. There's something about making yourself a real meal outdoors, with your own hands, that feels like coming home to yourself.

This trip wasn’t luxurious. It wasn’t even that comfortable. I barely slept the first few nights - curled up in my car or restless in a tent. But finally, tucked between trees at Hanna Flats, I got a full night of rest. And in that quiet, I realized: you don’t need perfect conditions to come home to yourself. Just enough space, and a little stillness.

The days that followed found their own rhythm. I kayaked (love being in the water), hiked, read "Living Untethered," and spent hours journaling at different lakefront spots. I lucked into better campsites - first at Serrano Campground where I made my first campfire and cooked coconut curry, then at Hanna Flats, tucked away with more privacy and less scary night sounds.

By Saturday, I was fully in the flow. Thanks to my vegan content platforms, I got to try some amazing local spots - vegan donuts from Dank Donuts and vegan dinner at Stella Luna. Between those meals, I spent hours journaling at Gilner Lakefront and Veteran Park. Sunday I got a facial and red light therapy in Ventura (also a collab) before heading home.

But here's what really happened during those six days - the stuff that can't be captured in an itinerary.

This wasn’t a vacation in the traditional sense. It was what I can only describe as a needed mental health reset. A nature retreat and a call to stop working and just be. I camped for 5 nights to be outdoors, in nature, to calm my mind and pause from all the busy thinking and doing. That was the luxury. Quite frankly, I'd never done it with this exact intention before, but from my travels I've learned that time away helps you gain clarity and perspective on life back home.

We sometimes think a trip will solve everything. But this wasn’t about escape - it was about clearing the noise. It wasn’t thrilling or glamorous. Honestly? Sometimes I was bored. But boredom brought presence. It gave me space to ask: What do I really want? Not from the trip - but from life. (P.S. They say boredom can be a powerful tool for unlocking our creative potential.)

Sitting by the lake with my journal on Saturday, I found myself staring at the mountains - all those trees growing, being, living, existing in abundance. The mountains aren't going anywhere. They're constant. And the trees? They grow and change with the seasons, accepting whatever comes.

Looking at them, I realized I'm not so different. I'm also always growing, being, living (for now lol), and I do exist with abundance when I really think about it. I'm always here for myself. And sometimes things shift with my seasons too - like how I'm rethinking some things right now.

Not only is that okay, but it just is. It's the nature of being.

That thought kept coming back as I wrote page after page in my journal. What if, instead of leading from pressure and the need to prove myself, I led from what actually feels true? What if I trusted my instincts about what feels right in each season of my life?

I started asking myself different questions. Not "What should I be doing?" but "What season of life am I in, and what season is trying to bloom next?"

There's something about being alone in nature, with just your thoughts and a camp stove, that strips away all the noise. No WiFi demanding responses, no mirror reflecting back what you think you should look like, no schedule telling you what you should be doing. Just you and the mountains and the question: who are you when no one's watching?

These days it's too normal to spend all of our time behind a computer screen, scrolling our phones. Spending time outside isn't just necessary but needed for a healthy life.

Doing something like this should be integrated into a lifestyle, not just a one-off thing. More weekend nature getaways for mental health. Even 2 days, a weekend is enough. That's taking care of oneself.

In daily life, it’s all work. Out here, it was all nature. Neither is fully balanced.

What I’m learning is that real health means having both. Moments to grind, and moments to pause. To serve, and to be still. That middle ground? That’s the dream life I’m after.

I found someone I recognized but hadn't spent time with in a while. Someone who gets excited about morning coffee and sunset journals. Someone who trusts that authentic connection matters more than perfect content. Someone who remembers that this whole journey started from a philosophical place - a genuine desire to see people live their truth and potential.

The scared person covering her car windows with towels on night one? She's still part of me. But so is the person who made herself a beautiful breakfast the next morning and decided to stay curious instead of leaving. Both are allowed. Both are real.

One thought that kept surfacing was how life itself is a gift - and beyond that, the chance to even pursue our dreams? That’s a gift too.

Not everyone gets that opportunity. But many of us do.

The power to choose something different - to create a life that feels aligned - is already inside you. The gift is in your hands.

The question is: will you choose to take it?

I'm still integrating what these six days mean for how I want to show up in my work and relationships. But I know this: there's something powerful about giving yourself permission to just be for a while. To let the seasons change. To trust that leading from truth, rather than pressure, might be exactly what the world needs from you.

I'm looking forward to my bed and a good night's rest after all this camping. And excited to get back to my work with fresh eyes and a calmer mind.

Speaking of new seasons - I have something to share with you all on Wednesday. Stay tuned 👀

And hey, sometimes the best thing you can do is pack a camp stove, drive toward the mountains, and remember who you are when you're not trying to be anyone at all.

Imperfect adventures make for the best stories and memories anyway :)

With love,

Ysabel

P.S. Did you make it to the end? You read all this? Wow. That means you’re a real one. Appreciate you 🫶

This was all slightly comical in hindsight. Thanks for being here.

Also, if any of this resonated, I’d love to hear your reflections. DM me what landed or what you're walking away with :)