Happy Halloween!

I think this year's pumpkin is rather fitting considering this is what I'll be doing on the 31st! Headed to New River tomorrow with Regina and Scott.

Passion Before Paycheck

I love spontaneity on a daily level, but when it comes to big decisions I’m a serious over thinker. I like to weigh all of my options, look at the pros and cons and sleep on it…preferably for several nights. Even shopping, a seemingly simple task for most Americans, is a highly calculated process for me. No matter how small the price tag I will carry the object in question around the store with me for at least 20 minutes trying to justify the purchase, and I’ll most likely end up putting it back. I have long since come to terms with my glacial paced decision making process…which is why I am slightly surprised to find myself blogging from my new room in Stafford, Virginia. Let me rewind...

Last week I had an epiphany. I realized that not only was I not making any money, I was also absolutely miserable. It wasn’t all bad…I liked my coworkers and I genuinely enjoyed getting to know some of the regulars…but to be honest most of the time whenever I thought about work I got slightly ill. I promised myself a few years back that I would never stay in a job I hated just because it paid well, and I would never turn down a job I loved just because it didn’t pay a lot. So it seems that what to do about a low-paying job that I hated would be a no brainer. Of course you just can’t up and quit a job without having some sort of alternative plan, and finding someone willing to hire me knowing I was leaving with the Peace Corps and needed two weeks off at Christmas would be nearly impossible. So I called a friend in Virginia who owns a security company to see if he had any temporary work available, and as soon as he said he could help me out I up and quit my job. I wish I had dramatically walked out of the gym never to return, but in reality I gave them my weeks notice and quietly finished out a few more shifts. No sense in burning any bridges.

Last Saturday I packed everything I would need to live for the next four months into my car and said goodbye to New Jersey. It still feels very strange to be here. I’m not one to make rash decisions, so I can’t help but wonder if it was the right one. I suppose only time will tell. One thing is for sure, I have friends down here and a lot more chances to climb. If nothing else comes of it, at least I will have had the opportunity to do what I love a few more times before the winter sets in. Part of me doesn’t even really want a job and would rather just have as many adventures as possible between now and when I leave in March. Between family vacation at Christmas and taking a few weeks off prior to departure to pack and tie up loose ends, I actually don’t have that much time left to work, but I suppose I should be responsible with my finances and try and save as much as possible.

Either way, look for some interesting updates in the future as I figure out what I’m actually doing here. As a side note I made an interesting observation as I was packing. My trunk and backseat are full of climbing and camping gear, and all of my clothes fit into a milk crate. What does that say about me?

Seneca in Pictures

This weekend I got out to do a little climbing at Seneca Rocks, WV with Regina, Scott and Dave. I figured rather than bore you with words I would post the best pictures from the weekend (click to enlarge). Here goes...






































































"Seneca Slop": carrots, potatos, 2 types of baked beans,
spaghetti sauce and 3 packets of chunk tuna. Heat in
tin foil bowl on open flame and serve over spaghetti.























Scott crushing it on The Threat (5.11d?)
I made it to a hare lower than where he is
in this picture, which pleasantly surprised me.

Ringing Rocks Park

Today I made a little side trip on the way home from dropping Jen and Kevin off at the Airport in Philly. I figured while I was over there I might as well make use of my $4 toll and spend a few hours at Ringing Rocks Park in Pottstown, PA. It's basically a seven acre open space covered 10 feet think in big boulders, and when you hit them just right they ring like bells. Don't believe me? Check out this video:


When you strike the rock it creates a series of tones at frequencies lower that the human ear can hear, but when they interact with each other it creates a sound high-pitched enough to be audible. We know how they ring, but no one really knows why. Scientists suspect it has something to do with stress within the rocks.

I was secretly hoping to find something large enough to boulder, but since all the big rocks are half buried by smaller ones nothing really has any decent height to it. The only thing I found was a little three move problem that was easy even for me in tennis shoes. Still I managed to entertain myself with a little rock hopping and I discovered some features on my camera to take a few cool pictures. Mostly I just relaxed in the sun until the clouds rolled back in and forced me home.

Sew...a needle pulling thread

My mom tried to teach me to sew when I was younger, but I just didn't have the patience for it back then. Now that I'm older and (slightly) more patient, I figured it was time to give it another go. I'd love to make my own clothes someday, but I decided it was best to start with something a little simpler, so I've got enough different kinds of fabric to make 8 copies of what my friend Jess calls my "hippie bag." Being a perfectionist means it takes me about 10x longer to make it than it would your average sweatshop worker, but the idea of owning something not manufactured in China or India is worth it. I'm taking this one down to DC with me tonight as a present for Regina, but keep it on the down low...its a surprise!

I could kick myself

Why? Because I lived for four summers in Washington DC without knowing about Carderock and Great Falls! This past weekend I drove down to do a little climbing with Regina and I loved it so much that I'm driving back down to climb again on Friday. I headed south immediately after work on Friday and made it just in time to catch the 5:00 service at National Community Church, then stayed the night at Regina's house. We got an alpine start Sunday morning, and due to some confusion as to the location of the crag we got on the rock at about 8am...2 hours earlier than we expected!

Carderock was unbelievably crowded with groups, but we managed to get a top rope up on a 5.7 crack climb and we each climbed it twice to get warmed up. After that we hiked to the other end of the cliffs to see what else the area had to offer, but there were so many people that we couldn't get on anything else until after lunch. Even still, it was great to be outside on such a beautiful day. The second climb we managed to get a rope on was on a slightly positive face with a lot of possibilities, although nothing over a 5.4. Since it was the only thing free at the time we decided to run a few laps on it and try to climb it as many different ways as possible. We actually ended up climbing the entire route with no hands to work on foot placement and balance, which resulted in some extremely sore legs the next day! Things started winding down around 4 and we were able to put up a top rope on a crack that we had originally eyed as a warm up. We climbed it twice (once in tennis shoes) then decided to swing over and do the face climb right next door. At this point we were feeling too lazy to set up another anchor somewhere else, so we wrapped up the day with some bouldering with our new friends Scott and Dave.

Regina had to work until 3:30 on Monday, so I spent the morning hanging out at the Panera in Alexandria, did some browsing at REI then met her at work to go straight to Great Falls. After some searching we met up with Scott and Dave and managed to squeeze in two good climbs before the sun went down. Once was a diagonal crack and the second was a flake to an overhang. Not sure what they were rated but they were definitely more challenging than the stuff we had seen on Saturday. The area was decidedly less crowded than Carderock, probably because there is a $5 entrance fee...but the scenery and the quality of climbs was totally worth it! We finished off the day with an impromptu picnic provided by Scott...fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, mango and a baguette!

Overall it was a fantastic weekend and it was over much too soon. I wish that I had known about these places while I was still living in the area, but as far as I'm concerned Great Falls is not an unreasonable day trip. I wouldn't drive three hours just for Carderock, but it would definitely be a good place to take a beginner or go to work on technique or endurance.

The Gunks!

This weekend I traveled up to the Gunks to do some climbing with David and Maraya, some friends I met at the Rendezvous. Since I got to New Paltz first I was delegated the critical task of securing a good campsite at the multi-use (read multi-abuse) area. I managed to claim a relatively flat and rock free spot pretty far from the road, and it didn't get very crowded since no one else seemed to want to hike up the gigantic hill that lead there. After pitching the tents we went out to dinner and then to shop rite to pick up some last minute supplies.

Despite a rain scare in the early morning hours, the weather on Saturday was warm and clear with a light breeze...perfect climbing weather! Our first climb, Beginners Delight (5.3) was aptly named since it was to be my very first multi-pitch route and to say I was delighted would be the understatement of the century. It took me a little while to get used to how much more exposed the cliff there is than other places I had climbed, but by the second pitch I was hooked. Nothing like looking down during a climb and noticing birds soaring a good fifty feet below you!

For our second climb of the day we settled on Updraft (5.5) a three pitch climb that ended with a rather narrow chimney. One thing I will say about the Gunks is most of the climbs seem rather stiff for their grade... The second pitch could have easily passed for a 5.7. That, combined with the necessity of using 3 rusty old pitons in a row as protection, means Maraya gets mad respect points for leading that thing. There were a couple of sections that had me rather nervous and I was on top rope! We ended up moving a bit slower that we expected, which resulted in a totally safe but still rather freaky three pitch rappel by moonlight, involving one scary tiny ledge.

We got a rather late start on Sunday, owing to the fact that we slept soundly until 9:30 and still had to break camp. We did a bit of bouldering to warm up and then had a rather leisurely lunch, which left enough time for just one more climb. We settled on Andrew (5.4), a four pitch climb (one pitch being walk across the GT ledge to the next belay station...) with a long traverse on the third pitch. Learning from our previous mistake we took along a headlamp, even though we were starting the climb at around 3pm and should have been down in plenty of time. Thank God we did because we ended up getting caught up behind another party and by the time we got started on the last two pitches (which David combined into one) the sun was already going down. Without the headlamp we would have had a lot of trouble finding the rappel station, which was some 400 yards climbers left, and even more trouble checking our setup as the moon was completely useless in the cloudy sky. To save time David took the second rope down first to set up the second rappell and I continued right on to the ground while he waited for Maraya so he could pull the first rope. Once off of the actual cliff we commenced a rather treacherous 4th class scramble back to the main trail.

Needless to say we packed plenty of adventure into those two short days. The funny thing about adventure though is the more you have the more you crave. I'm hoping to get back to the Gunks at least two more times before the season ends...who's with me?