Above is a link to Steph Davis's blog. I wrote her a letter and her response was very helpful.
Well, it really hasn't been fair of me to keep all of you in the dark for so long. I guess my pilgrimage started about a month ago when I boldly signed up for a Wilderness First Responder course. Like the falling of tiny pebbles that begin a landslide this course opened me up to so many different possibilities and inspired within me a passion I didn't know existed.
Long story short, I had a massively mind blowing time during the course where I met some simply astounding people who I am proud to call my friends. I want to continue down this path and one of my goals now is to become EMT certified.
After the WFR course I found myself in Alaska where I did a shit load of hiking and kayaking and came to the conclusion that I would like to move there. Plus there is this pretty cool girl there that I kinda like.
So after Alaska I came home and felt like I had done some pretty good endurance training while away (in 4 days I hiked 26 miles and had a cumulative elevation gain of over 10,000 feet). So, since I wasn't in any shape to strap on a climbing boot, I headed to the mountains with a snow board strapped to my back. Boon, Steve, and myself attempted to summit Adams in a day (a mere 12,500 foot endeavor) with slightly over 70lbs strapped to our backs. I pooped out just beneath the false summit at 11,000+ feet. and my compatriots managed the false summit before feeling like they were going to die. Epic fail, but the snow board back down from base camp the next morning was nothing short of amazing (with the exception of getting lost in the trees).
The following weekend I managed to do Muir and snowboard down which was probably the most fun I've had on a snowboard since Baker earlier this year. The next day I got up and did a really fun summit with some awesome friends, Gretchen, Steve, Laura, and Samy. The glissade down was fast and furious and I could not stop laughing from sheer enjoyment. Plus I got to meet some mountain goats.
Last weekend I did Mt. Si in a couple of hours round trip. The run down destroyed my knees for the next two days but it was a lot of fun and I finally feel like I have some endurance back. The only down side, besides the crippling pain in my knees, was the fact that the entire time I was in a rain cloud and when I got to the summit I couldn't see a damn thing. Real glad I brought my camera.
This week I have been fast at work to try and get all of my possesions in order and organize my route to Alaska as well as move out of my apartment. I've been really excited for some kind of change to occur in my life, and while I leave a lot of amazing people behind I look forward to new places, people, and adventures.
I've gotten to the point where I can squeeze my foot into a climbing shoe so I'm really psyched to get out to little si and Exit 38 as much as possible before I go. Plus, I want to summit Rainier and make one last trip to Lake Serene (let me know if you are interested!!)
My schedule looks like this:
July 28th is my last day in Olympia. That evening I move to Seattle to house sit for my mom while she is in Ireland and France.
August 16th is my last day in Seattle. That morning I will leave Seattle and head to Squamish for a few days before heading north to Alaska.
By August the 23rd I will finally touch down in Alaska!
Not entirely sure what is going to happen in Alaska. I have looked into getting EMT certified for free through Search and Rescue so that looks to be a promising course of action (fingers crossed). I also need to learn how to bolt rock because I have found one of the most amazing crags up there. It will only be climbable for another 3 months but hey, I might be able to establish some sweet top ropes. Other than that, the climbing front for me will consist of rock rings and a hang board, at least for the next 8-10 months. Anyway, I love you all and I will definitely keep updating my blog even though it might turn into a hiking/back country snow boarding blog for a while.
Oh yeah, I've got a new camera now which I love so lets hit the crags for a photo shoot!!
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