You know what they say about the size of your spoon

I hope that the title drew you in for a great story because I think this one is pretty funny! Well as you hopefully know, I am in Beijing right now. I've been in the city for the last 4 days or so and I'm pretty sure that the most amusing thing that has happened to me occurred within the last hour. Marya, Circle and I went out for dinner... a pretty normal event and I wasn't very hungry so I thought, well I'll just get a bowl of hot and sour soup and that will be perfect. When lo and behold the waitress came out with a GIANT bowl of soup. When I say GIANT, you need to picture a bowl that is about twice the size of a normal head, maybe half of a basketball. And what should go along with a GIANT bowl... but an equally impressive GIANT spoon, most people would fondly call this a ladle. My expression at the moment she set it down said it all, slack jawed and gasping. As I pulled this GIANT bowl towards me I realized that it weighed aprox 4 pounds. I then preceded to sit there staring at it for about 5 minuets trying to decide if I was actually supposed to eat with the ladle or if they were going to bring me another spoon. When no such spoon arrived I decided to dive in with the ladle. Only at the end of the meal (after eating about 1/100 of the bowl) did another table order soup, to share might I add, did I see them use the ladle as intended to pour the soup into smaller bowls for proper consumption. I can only imagine what the other restaurant patrons were discussing as I just went ahead and dove right into my GIANT bowl.

Ok, now that I feel better after relaying that story and I can get on with how the rest of China has been treating us. Let's see, it was a pretty long day of travel when we left. After about 17 hours on various planes and whatnot we made it to Leo's Hostel where we have been staying for the last 4 days. The place is pretty great, there is a fun restaurant bar area where the hostelites hang out, internet, pool, and some neat courtyard type thing. I would highly recommend it if anyone is coming to Beijing in the near future.

On our first day in Beijing we decided to stretch our legs after the long travels and took a walk around the city hitting Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Both were interesting, I especially enjoyed the very large portrait of Mao in the square and the amazing names of the different areas in the forbidden city. I think my favorite was the Hall of Mental Cultivation, even though I didn't feel smarter after visiting.

Day 2 we headed to the great wall. Through the hostel we got to go the path least traveled and avoided the tourist trap reconstructed wall and went to the secret wall farther out into the country. The path we took started in a little out of the way village where they have apple farms. There we met a local villager who took us up the wall, you aren't allowed to go alone. It was a pretty steep climb but it was well worth it, the wall was crumbling most of the way as it hasn't been restored in about 600 years. There were about 3 watch towers on the section we climbed and all offered a great view. At the end of the hike, all in our group went back to the village and had lunch with our guide at his house. It was great relaxing and getting to know some people from other parts of the world, Germany, France, and Korea to name a few.

On Day 3 we went back to the tourist track and visited the Summer Palace on the outside of Beijing. It is the place that the royal families used to visit to get away from the city. It is enormous in size, both the building and the lake that it surrounds. This is how I pictured ancient China in my head, elaborate architecture, paintings, and stone carvings. There was a bridge that actually had 100 stone lions carved on it.. amazing. It also possessed some great names, one that even beat my favorite in the Forbidden City... the Hall of Excessive Moisture, where people would pray for rain. So great!

Today was an adventure in itself. The three of us embarked on a pretty long trek to a part of town that I started calling embassyville. It was a piece of the west plopped into the city. We went to a great grocery store and got some fresh fruit and soy milk! There was even a cake shop to make you think Paris. Marya and I then tested out our bargaining skills at the silk market on the hunt for some hand tailored silk sleeping bag liners. There were so many patterns to choose from it was overwhelming but fun. I think we could have talked them down another 100 Yuan or so but we took our deal and get to pick up our fun new toys tomorrow.

Our train to Tibet departs tomorrow at 9:30 pm from Beijing. I'm excited, I've enjoyed my time in this crazy city but it is time to move on. Our train ride should take about 2 days. After that we are going to spend another 3 in Lhasa before taking off on the most remote part of journey to western Tibet and Mt. Kailash. It's going to be great!

A number of times we have all commented on how odd it is to be as far away from home as possible before you actually start getting closer again. We often think of what our friends and family are doing and realize that they are sleeping when we are awake and vice versa; it is a bit surreal. I'm not sure when the next time I'll be able to post will be but hopefully sometime during my travels in Tibet. I miss you all and hope you are doing well wherever you are.

Peace and Love
J

Off to Tibet

The time is drawing near. My last course in the Everglades ended yesterday and the commotion has begun. I've enjoyed my time down on Sunset Island, it was a good course to leave on. All girls, who were highly dysfunctional but incredibly funny. One of my favorite moments on course... picture this... one of our girls trying to go to the bathroom off the side of the canoe (they never did master that balancing act) and I look over and all I see are her legs and bare bum go up in the air. Yep she went for a swim pants down... I won't lie, I laughed.

I've been spending today getting my room packed up and loaded into the cars that will eventually head to North Carolina. Somehow I feel as if I'm always accumulating more things then I know what to do with. Now that I'm basically living out of my car that is just not a good thing. Meredith, Marya and I are about to have our own mini "duffel shuffle" (something we do with students on course) to make sure we aren't forgetting anything to important for the trip. Currently all of our crap is strewn across the lawn, it looks like a hurricane went through.

This is going to be my last post before I leave for Tibet. I'm not sure if I will come across any internet cafe's but if I do I'll try my best to sit down for a sec and get a update out there. Its going to be one hell of an adventure. I plan of taking tons of pictures and recording moments into my journal (that I have yet to acquire). Have an amazing month and hopefully we will all talk soon.

Cheers and Hugs
J

Check out my last round of pictures

Glades

Dirtbag Grant

Patagonia something called the dirtbag grant where they give money to loly travelers who embody the spirit of a dirtbag. My travel companions and I filled out this application and I thought that I would attach it here so you can getter a better insight into "why" Tibet if you're so interested.

TIBET OR BUST!!
This April, three friends will be embarking on an incredible journey to one of the most remote areas on the planet: Tibet. For five weeks these three women will be immersed in an utterly different culture, one based upon the principles of Buddhism and compassion towards one another. From the Potala Palace in Lhasa to sacred Mount Kailash in western Tibet, we will travel expedition-style and practice self-reliance as we explore as much as we can of the Land of Snow.
The three of us are choosing to visit Tibet at this time due to the recent completion of the railroad linking Lhasa with the Chinese rail system. Lhasa, at one time known as the Forbidden City, now receives up to hundreds of travelers every day and the culture of Tibet is changing rapidly. Tibetan monasteries, villages, and way of life are all disappearing, and therefore we wish to visit this country while some aspects of traditional Tibetan life still endure.
In addition to experiencing the beauty and culture of Tibet, our secondary objective is to summit a mountain in the area near Lhasa. The experience that we can gain with both mountaineering and high altitude travel is something that we cannot pass up while we visit Tibet.

Describe the prior experience of each team member as it relates to the objective of this trip:

Marya, Justinn and Meredith met and became friends as instructors for the North Carolina Outward Bound School. Meredith’s pertinent prior experience includes previous travel to foreign countries (Argentina, Botswana, Australia), mountaineering training in Patagonia, as well as extensive trip-leading and backpacking experience. Justinn spent five weeks in South Africa facilitating adventure races for South African college students before joining NCOBS. Marya has spent many months traveling and mountaineering in South America (Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, Peru) and leading long, wilderness-based expeditions to locations in Guatemala, Canada and the US.

Explain the environmental activism and cultural components of your trip:

As backcountry travelers who spend more nights under the stars than under a roof, the three of us strive to practice good Leave No Trace techniques everywhere we go, from the wilderness to our own backyards. Recently Meredith was talking to a friend who spent some time in Tibet, and he angrily described how Chinese tourists routinely trash the places they travel through. According to Brian, tour buses pull over in meadows to allow passengers to eat their box lunches; when the buses resume their journey, plastic lids and food waste are left all over the ground. It saddened him that visitors to such a pristine and beautiful land would have so little regard for the landscape and inhabitants.
If there is one thing that OB instructors know how to do for the environment, it’s pick up trash. On every course we work, we teach our students the principles of LNT (and end up picking up their micro-trash after them, too). So it was a no-brainer that we would incorporate these practices into our trip to Tibet. We feel that the very least we can do is to leave the Roof of the World cleaner than we found it. As Chinese and Western travelers visit Tibet more and more frequently, proper stewardship of the environment is increasingly critical.
There are so many places worth visiting in Tibet, and with only five weeks to spend there we want to ensure that we get away from the high-traffic areas like Lhasa and experience more authentic Tibetan culture. Therefore we are journeying from Lhasa in the east to the Mount Kailash area in western Tibet. We will hitch-hike, visit and camp at monasteries and villages, and undertake the Mount Kailash Kora, a sacred circumambulation of this holy mountain. Here, in the west, we will put our dirtbag skills and our Tibetan phrasebook to the test as we live and travel in a remote and spectacular area.

What does “do more with less” mean to you and how do you plan to incorporate this into your trip:

Doing more with less can take on many meanings: it can mean accomplishing great things with few resources or adventuring to far-off lands in the most unexpected ways. In the context of our everyday lives it means walking or biking instead of driving, getting more then one cup of tea out of a tea bag, camping instead of staying in a hotel, cooking a Thanksgiving turkey over an open campfire, spending the day on the crag laughing with good friends, and helping others appreciate this way of life so that they, too, may do more with less. We are able to set out on this journey because we have embraced the “do more with less” concept. On our trip to Tibet we’ll take advantage of all the opportunities the country has to offer by taking the road less traveled leading us to remote monasteries and villages. According to Outside Magazine, if we took the traditional tourist route this experience would cost in the range of $10,000 - $13,000 (per person), whereas we are able to visit the same places, and more, for less than a third that cost.

Summarize why you feel your trip embodies the essence of the dirtbag spirit:

Dirtbags are generally thought of as dirty, unclean people. On every North Carolina Outward Bound School Student Questionnaire, one of our questions is whether “going without a shower for weeks” will be “okay”, “hard, but I’ll do it”, or “impossible”. Lots of students choose “impossible”. We are, as OB instructors going to Tibet, dirtbag enthusiasts. We are doing what many of our students may, at first glance, consider impossible. Heck, even our families think we’re crazy. Dirtbags are not sane people. They are adventurous, easygoing, worrying-less-about-the-easy-way-out-and-more-about-the-best-way-through sort of people. We started planning our trip to Tibet while driving home from the French Broad River with a group of students last summer. We were dirty, tired and excited. We were dirtbags. We are dirtbags. And these dirtbags are going to Tibet.

LuLu Beach

Have you ever had one of those days that just ranks up there as great in your life?
Yesterday I went out to an island in the gulf of mexico called lulu and spent the day in the sun, swimming in the water, reading my book and just hanging out. It's not one of those beaches that you can just pop into, its a bit of a journey off shore so it isn't crowded by people or high rises. Just the beach and the water. Being out there just made me smile and think "wow what a great day" and that is amazing!

The whirlwind craziness is about to start for me. My next course starts on Monday and then I'm working straight through until the 25th. After that there is only 3 days before the plane takes off for the other side of the world. It's hard to wrap my head around that sometimes for sure.

Family Expedition

On Tuesday there was a great outward bound steffe/rose family expedition. My parents are here in south Florida soaking up some sun and hanging out on the beach. I was able to pull them away from the life of leisure to partake in an adventure canoe trip down the Turner River in the heart of the Everglades National Park. My friend Meredith's mom and aunt also happened to be in town at the same time so we combined efforts. The trip was loads of fun and a great success! We were able to use outward bound gear and just enjoy the river. It was about an 8 mile stretch where we paddled through mangrove tunnels, into open lakes and around saw grass fields. Wildlife was everywhere, tons of wading birds (egrets, ibis, herons etc) and we saw our fare share of gators. The best was this mama gator and her youngin's that were tiny (about the size of my forearm). I'm glad that I had the chance to share this amazing place with my parents and let them see a bit of the outward bound lifestyle.

I'm off until Monday and then I start the last block of 2 courses that I have in the glades this season. It is starting to heat back up in FL making the bugs come out and the air sweltering. Those are the sure sings that it is time to start making my way back north. I've really loved my time on Sunset Island, hanging out with amazing people and experiencing this crazy place called Everglades City (I'm convinced there is nothing else like it in the country).

Plans are being finalized for Tibet, we leave 3 days after course ends with our plane taking off on the 29th... of this month... AHHH. Hopefully I'll be able to put another post on before heading off.

Hope this finds you all well!
Cheers
J

Oh you know... Swamps & Key West

Well this is me trying to get caught up on my blog posting. Yes, I know, it has been a while... a long while and I apologize for that. I'm a slacker! But anyways, lets see. 2 weeks ago I led another course down in the Everglades. It was with students from Savannah (8th graders to be exact). They were a fun group, pretty young so it was a lot of management but still a good time. The weather was difficult, rainy and cold with a couple warm days. My co and I gave them a nice hard course. One night we all woke up at midnight ate some dinner and then started an all night paddle getting in the next morning around 10. We were up for about 26 hours that go round but they got a lot out of it. The last day/night of that course we took the crew on a swamp walk. It was my first experience there and woah, entertaining! You pretty much walk down this trail and then head off into the swamp whenever it suits your fancy. We got into water about up to my chest so quite high on the students. I'm sure you are all picturing exactly what they were thinking in their minds... there are gators and snakes and who knows what else in this water, we can't see anything and this is creepy as hell. I'm attaching a couple pictures :) But yes, your imagination is pretty accurate although I didn't actually step on a gator (to my knowledge). :)

The last couple days my friends Marya and Marybeth and I went down to Key West... it was a great time. Good to get away from the island for a bit and chill out. We also happened to be there on fat Tuesday so good timing on our part. We didn't book anything before we left but lucked out and got 3 beds in a hostel for 2 nights. Worked the big strip one night (not that many young people around) and then spent the rest of the next day at the beach recovering. It was a fun experience hanging out but not really my speed, the beaches weren't all that great and it was beyond crowded!

Hope that this post finds you all well and good. Check out the pictures. Miss you tons. I'll try to be better about posting I swear.

Cheers
J

Key West

Everglades

First Course in the glades

So I just got back from my first course instructing in the Everglades. It was with a girl scouts crew of 7 girls from 14-16 that flew in from all over the country. They applied throughout a year long process and were chosen based on applications for the course. They were a great group of highly motivated students and I had a blast working with them. We did 8 days out and about paddling through the inner sections of the Everglades and working our way to the outside on the Gulf of Mexico to spend a night on beach. This is such an amazing place! So much wildlife and history. Its sad to think all of the damage that has been done to it over the years by draining the water and polluting the sources. It is currently the most expensive reconstruction plan being taken on by the government. Hopefully that will stop the destruction from going any further. A real highlight for everyone were the number of dolphins that we saw. They were just all over the place. One night while we were sleeping on the boards (which means right on top of the canoes in the water) dolphins were playing and hunting all around us. Some crazy noises and lots of jumping, I really couldn't believe it. Sometime really special about that!

I'm back on Sunset Island now. The girls leave tomorrow morning and then its time for course end paperwork and what not. I'm going to be hanging out around the island for another week or so which will be great. It is amazing weather down here right now. I'm hoping I might get out in the sailboat, maybe check out some islands farther out. Not sure I want to camp again when I don't have to, but maybe one night if I don't have to use my own person power to paddle out there :)

Red Rocks

I've been back in MI for almost a week now. It's taken me a while to sit down and write about the last couple weeks or so. I spent about 8 days out in Red Rocks Nevada close to Vegas and it was an amazing place. I drove out from Asheville with Meredith and MB and passed some interesting places. In Memphis we stopped for dinner at an out of the way Mexican restaurant and the food was amazing. The next night we managed to top that by staying in a hotel called the Elegante with a free Omelet bar, how great is that :)

Anyways, Red Rocks provided 8 days of fun with good friends and amazing climbing. I'm quite sure that even if I stayed out there and climbed for a year straight I wouldn't get around to climbing everything that is a beautiful thing! The park is a 13 mile loop with canyons and great rock on every side.

Thanksgiving under the stars was an unforgettable experience. Meredith and Alex stayed at camp all day and cooked the turkeys over the spit. They were very diligent and amazing cooks, keeping the birds moist with PBR until they were ready to go. Everyone else (about 25 in all) were responsible for bringing a side. We had everything from cranberries, scalped potatoes, sweat potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole and everything in between. The night was full of great food, music and friends. I definitely felt lucky to be part of the whole experience.

I'm definitely planning on going back next year!!!

There are some pictures posted here... check them out :)

Red Rocks Thanksgiving

West Bound and hot beverage obsessions

My week spent in Orlando was great. It was awesome seeing old friends and getting the chance to hang out and catch up. 5 OB folk and I made the trek back from FL last night. We were making great time until the new van (with only 7000) miles decided it wanted to make that process a bit more difficult. Only 45 miles away from Asheville the engine decided to sieze and we were stuck on the side of the road. With AAA being called from one phone and an OB rescue party summoned from another we waited. Two hours later, after much random stories and signing in the dead van, we were on our way home. Unfortunately, this made for a long night and I didn't get to bed until roughly 2 am. Normally this would just be a minor inconvenience. However, I am about to start my roadtrip out to Red Rocks for Thanksgiving. We are getting a later start than anticipated due to the late night and have three full days of driving to look forward too. It has been quite sometime since I made a cross country road trip, so despite my sleepy disposition I'm excited for the adventure. Meredith has informed me that there are very few coffee shops on the way that take their espresso drinks seriously and that is sad sad news. I had a grand revelation this morning as I packed for the trip, if anyplace can make someone a new found coffee drinker it is Outward Bound. In fact for the past 26 years I have been very against coffee and found it mildly disgusting at times. The way that it is cherished and revered around this community sucked me in and I must admit I'm becoming a fan (of at least espresso drinks). However the beverage that I find myself developing an addition for is Matte, oh yum!

It appears my road trip partners (MB and Meredith) are ready to hit the road and if we don't want to be driving all night I should join them. I'll be in Red Rocks (around Vegas) climbing until the 28th when I head back to MI.

Cheers

New Staff Training

5 days later and new staff training is over and done. 9 of us spent the time canoeing around the Everglades talking about Outward Bound systems and getting ready to lead courses down here this winter. It was pretty great. We started with a day and a half creek push which was hilarious. It hadn't been paddled since hurricane wilma and it was crazy how much debris was blown down in the way and making our life difficult thats for sure. The mangroves were overtaking our boats at times but it was all good. There is this great system called the boards that we use. It makes us really flexible with courses because we don't have to find land to camp everynight. Basically all the canoes are rafted together and then the boards that we carry in the canoes are brought out and set across the canoes and then you can cook and sleep and do whatever on them. It is definitely close quarters thats for sure with the bathroom and kitchen and sleeping all in the same VERY close area but all good. After our schwack it opened up and we paddled on the open sea some and got some great views of beaches and what not. The one thing that I am NOT a fan of is the freaking no-see-ums. They are these absolutely horrible little bugs that tormet me and swarm around. I got eaten alive, apparently I'm allergic to them and that makes for a very unhappy Justinn! I'm still dealing with the bites my plan is to find a great bug system before the next course.

I'm off to Orlando tomorrow for a couple of days before heading back to Asheville for about 7 hours. Then the road trip out west starts, lots of long driving days but great climbing to follow.

:) J

Sunset Island

Hello all,

Well it appears that it has been forever since my last post! So sorry about that, I've been slacking. Well I figured a new location so I'll start getting better at posting again, if anyone is still checking this thing anymore with my slack behavior.

Sunset Island is the name of the NCOBS base camp in the Everglades. It is really its own island with a lodge and cottages and docks and sailboats. This is where we run all of our winter courses in FL. Canoeing throughout the Everglades. I never thought that I would move back to FL but it appears I was a bit off on that estimate. I'm leaving tomorrow to go into the field for training with some other OB people to get ready for the season. Should be a great time even though the bugs might drive me nuts!

This is a short post to start myself off back on the right track. I promise I will write more later.

Cheers and hugs
J

Women's Paddling Camp

Hello all! I hope all is well since the last time that I posted. I can't believe that August is almost over, the months just seem to fly by. Over the weekend I participated in Women's Paddling Camp, it was a bunch of Outward Bound women who got together to spend some time on a few different rivers and develop skills. The first day we were on the Tuckaseegee, I made my first attempt at white water kayaking. It was fun but I won't lie, I was a bit on the nervous side. There is something about being trapped inside a boat with the possibility of being trapped under water upside down that is a bit disconcerting. Anyways I made it :) That night we drove to the Nantahala to get ready for day 2 of paddling the next day. Since we were all off course we decided not to camp and slept in the van instead, just because. Although we had a heck of a time getting the seats in order as the back seat was strapped to itself with the seat belt and just kept getting tighter and tighter, one of those times where people are laughing uncontrollably and strying to lift up a seat and unbuckle the belt at the same time. Ok, so day 2 I paddled a canoe because the Nany is really REALLY cold and being in a kayak wouldn't be that great. It was a good day, we basically just practiced skills because it is a bit of an easier river and has some good places to ferry and eddy and what not. There was also a national canoe race going on that day so we got to watch some of the best boaters in the country go through a slalom course (basically a ton of manuevering and very impressive). That night we drove again to another river about 2 hours away to get ready for day 3 and yet again the van gave us a beck of a time. The interior lights wouldn't go off so we busted out the manual and Maggie was telling me things like turn the headlamp switch all the way clockwise and toggle the reset button 10 times in 60 seconds, it was hilarious! When we woke up it was pouring rain so, yet again being off course, we didn't have to get wet if we didn't want to. Therefore we decided to raft the French Broad instead of canoe it which was much faster. I got to guide the raft for a bit (which I've always wanted to do) so I was completely pumped! Overall it was a fun three days! I'm back at work today, actually in the airport right now waiting for students to get on their flights. There is a big shindig going on tonight with festive beverages and what not, I'm pretty pumped. There aren't ANY students on base tonight so it could be entertaining. I'll give an update after that :)

Hope all is well. Talk to you all soon. Keep sending updates.

Cheers and hugs
J

Slack Lines

Hello Everyone! This post has really nothing to do with the title, simply that I'm sitting in the lodge looking out at the slack line in the lawn and I was feeling inspired... or boring... you can make that call!

Apologies that it has been so long since my last post, they have been keeping me busy as usual over in NC. There was a stint there where I worked about 13 days in the row and I was pretty fried. It wasn't all bad since I got to spend about 3 of those days on the river with a crew and that was amusing. Most of the entire three days I paddled with a student which was entertaining. It has hard for me to relinquish control of the boat over to them as I was not keen on flipping over. Therefore the directive I made was that I would paddle with them as long as on day 3 (the only day with any real rapids) I got to paddle in the back and be in control... me like control... I'm sure that this news shocks all who are reading this... :) haha

Other then that, the internship has officially ended and I've begun my work as a logi for the next two months. I"m pretty much doing the same thing I did as an intern I'm just getting paid more which rocks. IT is also much busier this month as some of the interns have left to go back to school so the work load isn't as spread out as I"m used to it being. I'll be serving in this capacity until October then I'll take the WFR course and instruct courses at the end of October and early November. I'm currently attempting to figure out what I'll be doing with my life this winter. I've decided to go climbing for 2 months (nov and dec) in Nevada and Mexico with the intention to be back in MI for xmas. Come Jan I currently don't have any plans but I'm working on that situation right now. Looking like I'll be either in Asheville at the NCOBS town office or instructing courses down in FL for Outward Bound Discovery.

On my days off I've been getting a lot of local climbing in (trying to get ready for this winter and some more exciting climbing). It's been great though, getting up early and getting some good pitches in before the afternoon showers come down. Believe it or not but I actually took my camera the last couple of times that I've been out on the rock. I have full intention of putting up some pictures, I'm sure that you all don't believe me as I"ve been saying this all summer and have yet to do it.

Lets see, what else has been going on. Really its just been one busy day after another. I still love living at Cedar Rock and working for Outward Bound, there is the end of the season staff appreciation dinner coming up on the 29th and it should be a blow out party I'm hearing. There was a hungi (new zealand type party) the other week and it rocked out, involving some swimming late at night and other late night games.

Ah it appears that Travis is on the slck line as we speak. It is a piece of webbing connected tightly between two trees and is a balancing act to walk acorss without falling do all sorts of turns and jumping on and any other crazy things that people can come up with. It may sound easy but trust me my friend it is not. Maybe one of these days I'll set one up for all of us. I'm thinking it would be fun to have one on the beach between two palm trees beer in hand... any takers :)

Alright it is about time for chow circle (every night at 7) I think we have grilled veggie burgers so I'm pumped.

I miss you all and I Hope that all is well your way, I can't wait to see you all as soon as possible!

Love and Hugs
J

Almost August

Hi Everyone!

I can't believe that the month of July is almost over. I looked at the date of my last post and I guess it was some time ago so sorry about that! I've been keeping crazy busy as usual. Working almost everyday and then when I do have a day off I haven't been heading into town but going climbing or paddling mostly all of which is great. Actually I went to a new climbing area for me the other day, the nose of looking glass with two other people. We did a 3 pitch climb and were up there later at night so the sky was amazing. After coming down we decided to do a bit of a harder route and try a one pitch 5.11. Luckily Travis was there who is a bomb climber so he lead up for us. It is a pretty sketchy lead in that you don't get to place your first piece of protection until about 25 feet up so you are very exposed and it is a darn hard route. But I got to top rope it so I was allowed to fall and keep trying some of the harder moves over and over until I couldn't feel my arms anymore. Yesterday I went paddling on the Nanahala River with Meredith (cirle... everyone has a trail name). It is one of the coldest rivers that I've ever been in. It is dam released which is good because the pressure and flow is controlled but it is bad in that the water that comes out is at the bottom of the well and just fridged cold! Luckily it was not another day of adventure swimming for me so only my feet really froze. I keep meaning to take pictures and get them up but it just hasn't been happening, hopefully my descriptions are decent so you can visualize what I'm blabbing on about.

Last night I slept in the town office again, not a great nights sleep. But I was working here today so at least it meant that I didn't have to get up and drive. It was fun to spend a day back in the office, I got to walk around and talk with people and gain a better understanding of the organization as a whole and what goes on. Living and working out of the base camp doesn't give the broadest perspective, so I'm happy that I was finally able to do this even though there are only 6 days left in the internship.

That said, I have decided to stay on after the internship and work in the field through Novemeber. After that, I'm not all that sure what I'm going to do. Today might have paved the way for me to spend the winter in Asheville working at the town office which would be great. If that doesn't pan out, who knows, maybe I'll just go adventure throughout the world on the credit card :) (Just kidding mom and dad)

But I've got to jet. All the interns from both base camps are meeting in asheville to go to dinner and have one last closing event.

Miss you all and I hope that everything is going awesome where you are.


Seriously, send updates :)

Cheers and hugs
J

New sport of adventure swimming???

Per Al's request, another post... back to back... can you believe it? I can't! It does help that I'm back at the Town Office with a fast internet connection. Anyways so what have I been up to the last 2 days, mostly white water paddleing on the Chatooga and it was awesome!!! We got a bit of a late start on the first day so we didn't actually put in at the river until around 430 which was not horrible since it was a shorter section and we were just going to camp that night. 8 of us went on the caravan and had fun stopping at Ingles (the local grocery) for some supplies. I was "in charge" of breakfast which was a nobel task, but I think I succeed with big fresh muffins, bannanas and yogurt! That first day was really my first time in a solo boat so I was a bit nervous when we started. Luckily there was some flat water before the first rapid so I could get my strokes down. I actually felt really good that whole time and was pretty pumped! We camped that night right on the river which was pretty nice. Marya and I did see a skunk stalking the camp site and were a bit nervous about that situation and the thought of smelling rotten for a while, but I made some crazy sounds that were supposed to be scary and she banged some bottles together and he didn't come back... whew

But.... the reason for the title...was day 2

We put on the river a bit earlier this morning luckily since it was a much longer section. Marya and I were slated to paddle in a boat called the squirrly tandem. The reason that its called this is because it is for two people but it is not your traditional tandem in that it is much shorter and the paddlers sit together in the middle so the boat is decently hard to control. Also we had the 50 lbs (apparently outward bound instructors go a bit crazy on fresh food when not in the field and forced to eat everything dehydrated) food bag in the there making us extra heavy in the rear. Ok, so here we are not exactly going in the straightest line possible on flat water and the first rapid coming up called the Narrows, there are 3 different sections to this rapid and some manuevers that need to be accomplished. The first part has three drops to get through, we make it through the first one and then we needed to make a sharp left to hit the second rapid on the correct line, and you guessed it, we missed the line. The boat hits a big rock and we go over. Now we have two more drops to swim, like a good girl I get in my white water swimming position and go over the second drop is stylish fashion, however for the third drop I manage to fall into a hole. A hole in white water is basically a bit deep section right under a rapid that sucks you straight down to the bottom on the river and then spits you out further down (as long as it isn't a recycling hole, which this one wasn't). Marya told me later that she was swimming behind me and all she saw was my go straight down instead of out, good times. Well I managed to find the surface thanks to my trusty pfd and fished myself out onto a rock while my float mates rescued our boat. Honestly that was my first real swim in white water, a bit scary but good to have the knowledge of what it feels like to get sucked into a hole! Now we are moving to rapid number three called Second Ledge, it is a 5 foot waterfall or drop. There is a specific line to take to avoid some sharp rocks, we line the boat up perfectly to hit the ledge at the right spot but don't get quite enough speed to get the whole boat off, I blame it on the weight of the food :), anyways we take a bit of a nose dive into the water and swim again. We are quite convinced however that we could have saved this one with a bit more effort. Not a scary swim but I was in the water nonetheless so I'm going to count it :) Glenn actually took a video of us going over this rapid that I'm going to try and post at some point, it is pretty funny! Now, for swim number 3 which I will say sucked the most for me. We are at a rapid called Thread the Needles, it is a very narrow section and you need to go totally on river left and basically hug the wall to make it through. We miss the line and hit a rock and our boat goes over close to the top of the rapid, I land my little butt directly onto a rock and then knock some other ones on the way down. Didn't feel so great and I think I'm paying for that one this morning... ouch :)
The good news is that we ate lunch right after that rapid and Marya and I got to relinquish the tandem and take solo boats for the rest of the day and neither of us swam again.... YAY!!!!

We pulled off the river at about 6, stopped for pizza in a cute little town and ordered 4 large pizza's for 8 people, I think our waitress was impressed. Got back to the town office at about 11 last night, deissued all of our gear and to sleep in because it is saturday and people at the TO don't work on Saturdays! Overall it was a great trip on the river and a blast of a time! I have today off as well and I think I might just chill out, this hasn't happened in a while so its a big thing :) I'm heading back to basecamp in a bit after some left over pizza for breakfast.

I hope that you all have a great weekend! We have a lot of courses starting next week so it should be really busy but good to have crews in the field again.

Hopefully we will talk soon. Send me updates on what is going on in the real world!

Love J

I'm at the Town Office

Hello friends! I hope that all is going well with you it has been so long since my last post I'm so sorry about that. Things are still going well out in my parts and I'm having a great time but as you can probably guess I'm also really busy which is not necessarily a bad thing. Although today when I was driving into the town office in Asheville for the second time (about a 1.5 hour drive) I was thinking that I haven't really taken a day just to sleep in and be lazy and watch movies since I started this whole outward bound craziness. And yes you guessed right that still isn't going to happen anytime soon. I actually have the next 3 days off, can you believe it... 3 days in a row how cool is that. But the reason that I'm at the town office is so that a bunch of us can leave bright and early in the morning to go and paddel onthe the chatooga. We are going out for the 6th and the 7th and willc amp in between so it should be a good time. Then on the 8th I'm tossing around the idea of going climbing, but not sure if that is going to work out. We might just hang out around Asheville and chill out with people and go to the bar or soemthing of that nature.

The first round of courses that I worked in June went really well. i got to go out on climbing days and expedition days with the crews that I was working with. The students were great and I learned quite a bit from them. It is fun to see how the outward bound experience shapes their perspective and what they think abnout the whole thing, a very aswesome thing to be part of that is for sure. I'm definitely thinking that being an instructor this fall would be a wonderful experience so I'm leaning towards doing that for a bit. Other then that, I can't seem to think of what else to write. I think the paddleing people are going to have a talk real quick to deide on the time to leave and the section we will paddle and all of that other good stuff.

Hope all is well again, and that we will talk soon.
Love J

Multi Pitch

Hello Everyone!

So it has been a bit since I've been able to post something, sorry about that. I hope that you are all doing well and having a great week, my watch is telling me that it is a Wednesday so I'm going to trust that and go with it because I dont really have anything to prove my watch otherwise.

So I had the day off today, exciting huh! But I didn't sleep in or watch tv or do those things I normally do on the day off. It appears that since I've been here I'm totally compelled to do something every second of everyday. That probably means that I'll crash at somepoint but lets hope it is later rather then sooner.

So I went climbing today. Went with my friend Matt and his friend Adam. We headed over to looking glass which is pretty close so its nice to get to some good climbing without having to take much of a drive at all. It was my first day of multi pitch which was amazing. That pretty much means that istead of climbing up one route and then coming back down we strung three routes together and climbing really quite high. YOu have to anchor and reanchor at each different pitch so we did three ropes lengths and it took about 3 hours. It was hotter then hot on top of that rock. On the second pitch I was belaying out lead climber but there really wans't a ledge to stand on so I was just pulling back against the anchor and leaning off into space and belaying him that way. Needless to say I really couldn't get comfortable and climbing shoes are supposed to be VERY tight so my feet were screaming. It was all worth it when I got to the top and saw what an amazing view that I had. One of these days I will remember to bring my camera with me so I cna share it with all of you.
After the climb my partner was showing me some anchor and rescue systems which was pretty awesome. I love learning as much as I can. I also added some gear to my climbing supply so I can start becoming more and more self sufficient. Which is a good thing.
Starting tomorrow I'm working with a climbing specialist on a three day rocks progression with a crew. We pretty much start them from scratch and teach them all the knots and climbing equipment and belaying technique the first day. They get one or two climbs and a lot of belaying in. The second day is all climbing and belaying and then we bring them to a multi pitch climb on their third day. Apparently it is really rare to bring people l(especially really inexperienced climbers) to a multi pitch as fast as three days and that is something that the school here is really known for, it comes down to the fact that they really have a great system going so that rocks. I'm excited to help in the process.

I'm pretty tired so I think I'm going to head to bed and get some reading in. I'm baked from the day on the rock. But I hope you are all doing well and having a great week. I'm thinking about you.

Cheers, hugs, and love
J

Mr. Watson

Hi Everyone!! Hope all is going well on your front. Things in NC and at Base camp are going well. So I bet you are wondering who Mr. Watson is... well he is the new base camp kitty and the cutest thing ever! We all decided that we wanted a kitty on basecampe and I was the one who got to go into town and pick him up. The humane society in brevard is inside the thrift store and a VERY small operation. But I just went in and held him and new right away he was the kitty that needed to join our family up here. After that it was pretty easy I seriously just said I want this one and the lady made me fill out a short sheet and then he was mine ready to go. Karla this made me think of all the drama we went through in Orlando to adopt baby gary and it just illustarated hyow much easier it is in a small town :) But anyways, he is black and white and so tiny and he loves to snuggle. This morning when I was working he just slept in my hoodie while I was going about my business. He might be the most spoiled kitten ever, the whole basecamp just gives him endless attention and pretty much lets him do whatever he wants. He is supposed to be a mouser when he gets older but I think that we are making him soft :)

We had a huge course start yesterday so the last four days or so have been pretty crazy around here. All of the instructors who are going out on course have to report to basecamp two days before their course start to do precourse activities. That involces, gear, food, route planning, lesson planning, and a whole slew of other things. The day of the course the students are all picked up at the airport and then dropped at their respective locations for duffle suffle. This is where we look at everything that they brought and help them transfer it to their outward bound gear. A lot of times they dont have enough of what is needed or brought way to much so it is a interesting process. Especially to see the students who really don't know what they are getting themselves into, but a lot of times those are the ones that get the most out of the experience in the end. But it did mean that I was with a crew until about 11 last night getting everything set with them and helping out to get them off into the field, but that also means that I have this afternoon off so, yes you guessed it, I'm in town :) It is rainy here so I'm thinking of the crews out on course who are in their banana suits (bright yellow rain gear). I think we are going to find somewhere with a tv to watch some of the world cup so that should be fun. Other then that it is pretty chill around basecamp with 8 crews in the field the homestaff is holding down the fort. But that also means that we have about 120 people in the field right now so we are ready to move if need be (evacuations that is).

I think thats all for now. Not much else has been going on. Lots of work, work and more work. But its a good time so no complaints here.

Can't wait to talk to you all soon!
Hugs and love
J

One hour = one move

Hola everyone... This might be a record of posting so close together. That is a great thing... but what is even better is the fact that I'm sitting the Brevard Library with a computer that actually goes quickly and I'm not waiting around for everything to process through that is just so great!! The things that I used to take for granted thats for sure. So as you might have guessed I have the day off today and am in town for a bit of it. This morning (after I slept in a bit) Keith and I went for a pretty hard core bike ride. The beginning was great because it was pretty much all downhill but you know what that means for the ride back to basecamp... yep it seriously was totally up hill and it kicked my butt. We did find a great swimming hole on the way down though, which is what we were looking for, took a REALLY cold dip and then jumped on the bikes for the quad burner on the way back up. After lunch at basecamp I'm in town now for the day with Leslie, Charlie and Keith. Made a quick stop at Walmart where I bought a watch. So I know successfully know what day of the week it is, what month it is, and even what time it is. I'm pretty pumped about that. I decided the other day that if I didn't buy a watch it would be August pretty soon and I would wake up one morning and realize that I had no clue what I was doing next and well that would be a bad thing.

Yesterday was day 2 of climbing training. Basically for the 2 days of climbing training we just went out and hit up some different crags. The first day we went and did some of the routes where we take students so we could be familiar with the territory around there and some of the hazards to watch out for. But yesterday we decided to go to some more challenging climbs. Hence the title of the blog. We had 3 different routes and a rappel set up... The second route I did had a really hard move to start it off, and no joke I was seriously on the rock trying that move for a good hour. After my arms and legs were totally dead and I had suffient rope and rock burn I came down to grab some lunch. But you all know me pretty well and there was NO WAY I was leaving that rock without trying to get up that route at least one more time. So I tied back in to give it another go about an hour later... two tries later I kicked that move in the butt and had smoothe sailing up the rest of the route. I can't tell you how pumped I was when I finally got to the top! I think rock climbing might turn into a new obsession of mine because it is honestly one of the most challenging things that I have done and you can always always test yourself out there. When I was on immersion Becca asked us all to think about the question "why climb" well I'm starting to learn why I'm going to climb, you can learn a lot about yourself when it is just you and the rock.

Tomorrow starts the offical work calendar for me, meaning a lot of the training period is over. We have a couple huge course starts coming up in the next few weeks so it is going to be pretty busy around base camp. I'm excited for the students to be around for all the hype that goes along with that. I'm still not sure what I'm going to do at the end of the summer but I'm playing around with the idea of staying through the fall and instructing a couple of courses. I really enjoy what the outward bound experience does for the majority of their students and I would like to get an up close view of that.

Hopefully all is going well on your fronts wherever you may be and whatever you may be doing this summer. I can't wait until we get the chance to really catch up whether it be on the phone or if I actually get to see you in person, which would be SO amazing!

Take care and be safe but have FUN!

Love and hugs
J

Combat Roles

So I could probably start thinking of topic titles for the blogs that don't deal with what I've been diong since the last blog but for some reason that isn't happening so you will have to bear with me on that one. I'm typing ont he sloe4st computer yet so I apologize for any typos but I just don't feel like going back to fi them... hopefully there won't be too many.

Things have been giong good since the last post. Lets See I've done some logistics training which include3s packing out gear and food and all of that jazzfor the expeditiions as well as course starts, resuplly's, evacuations, and dissue at the end of course. But for the today and tomorrow I've been doing climbing training which I have to admit is alittle bit more fun :) Today we did some pack out of climbing gear for crews but them after lunch we got to hit the rocks which was awesome. I loved being out there and once you get on top of some cliffs there is a really great view. Tomorrow we are out on the rocks for day two and are going to be doing a little bit of harder stuff which should be fun. the goal is for me to be able to manage a rock site and what not with sutdents but the even better thing about it all is taht when it is all over I'll be able to climb self sufficiently with friends or alone and that will be great. The whole summer is pretty much professional development, at least that is how I'm looking at it.

My friend circle here has taught me well I should say is in the process of teaching me how to do combat rolls in the kayak. That will be great of when I hit the river in one of those white water bad boys. It was quite comical really. We were doing it in the pond on basecamp and I spent a lot of time with my head under water which was kind of gross since I drank a ton of it as well. The funniest part was probably whenn I flipped the kayak and then actually m anaged to roll it the right way without swimming but I rolled it to far and therefore rolled promptly onto the other side immediately when I got up. I didn't have time to take a breath so t pretty much sucked... cicrle had to roll me back over after that one :) It will take more practice before I'm ready to do it in a white water situation but it was still a ton of fun.

I heard from the outside world that the nba playoffs well finals start tomorrow. we might try and get some pixxa and hit that up after climbing. It is weird still not knowing thatit is during the week because it still feels like the weekend pretty much everyday. A great thing though about living on base camp is that after a really long and hard day today as soon as we hiked back on to basecamp dinner was ready and wiating for us. that is SOOOOO nicelet me tell you :)

Al, I got your package, I sent you a letter about all the fun things that I got to do with it... it was so AMAZING and it came at the PERFECT time to play with it. let me know if you get the letter becfause I guess the mail is being kind of funky out of here for some reason.


Alright well I gotta run. I'm pretty tired and don't want to walk back to the lodge in the dark... not to fun ... and I forgot mty headlamp down here.

Hope you are all doing well. I love getting the meails to hear about what is giong on with you and in your lives. Please keep them coming even though it has been tpretty hard if not impossible for me to write back.

Take care

Cheers and hugs
J