Sunrise light on a grove of tufa towers emerging from the water of Mono Lake with soft green and dusty-red wild grasses in the foreground, Canada geese in the shallow water with reflections of the rocky towers, and desert hills in the distance.

Lee Vining gets Trail Chic for a great cause

Sunrise light on a grove of tufa towers emerging from the water of Mono Lake with soft green and dusty-red wild grasses in the foreground, Canada geese in the shallow water with reflections of the rocky towers, and desert hills in the distance.

This post was written by Gabrielle Renteria, 2015 Bookstore Assistant, 2016 Mono Lake Intern, 2016–2018 Project Specialist.

This year’s Trail Chic fashion show was a huge success!

The fashion show is a ton of fun and raises funds for the Mono Basin Outdoor Education Center Access Fund that helps us bring underserved youth to the Mono Basin for five-day trips full of life-changing outdoor activities while they learn about the source of their water.

Some of the runway models pose before show time. Photo by Elin Ljung.

Thank you to everyone who attended, all of our runway models, Patagonia for donating silent suction items, and the Mono Market for donating trail snacks. A special thanks to Randy Arnold and Barefoot Wine & Bubbly for donating the wine that helps make this event so successful!

Birding Intern Jenny helped pour Barefoot Wine & Bubbly. Photo by Elin Ljung.

It’s a hard event to explain but think AstroTurf runway, interns and locals dressed in costume, and LOTS of wine! To help you get the idea we’ve added a few photos as well.

Office Director Jess dressed as an alkali barfly. Photo by Elin Ljung.
Interns Char and Molly and Canoe Coordinator Julissa collectively dressed up as the gull fence. Photo by Elin Ljung.
I dressed up as the endless winter of 2017. Photo by Elin Ljung.

To learn more about Trail Chic click here and to learn more about the Mono Lake Committee’s Outdoor Education Center click here.