It's been a while and I figured I'd write an update. Lets just start out by saying that I had high hopes of being really fit this summer and I definitely didn't get the training in that I had hoped for. Beach life does that to you, especially when you don't have a Swiss boy to chase around and motivate with. here's a look at my summer so far.
Point O Woods and the Grand Canyon were both part of another good summer with all things considered.
The Grand Canyon trip went really well. I forget how much I like it down there. Life is just simpler, and you kind of get into a rhythm. I remember looking forward to getting off of the trip around day 12 of 16, but now I miss it. I felt like I had good runs where it mattered (I nailed it in Lava, probably best run of our trip that day). We had 1 flip and 1 hole punched in a dory, both were committed by the trip leader. The flip happened in Horn Creek, which is the first rapid after the Phantom Ranch passenger exchange. It's gotta be crazy to be a passenger at this point. Basically people hike down from the rim, meet us on the shore, have lunch, and then get in the boats to run one of the biggest rapids in the canyon. We give them a brief safety talk of course, but they have no clue what they're really getting into on that day. The ding that cracked a hole in the boat happened at Lava Falls.
It's eerie approaching Lava. First, you haven't had any real rapids for a couple of days. There's this strange feeling because you visit some spectacular side attractions in the days leading to Lava, but the absence of rapids on those days makes you wonder what's around the bend. Next, there's a lot of worry about catching the river at the right water fluctuation. We camped about 10 miles above Lava the night before, and did a lot of calculating to make sure that we got there at the right time of day when we would be expecting to be on the low water from 2 days previous (it is so weird that we were far enough away from the dam to be floating on yesterday's releases). But I'd say the scariest thing about approaching Lava is coming to Vulcan's Anvil which marks 1 mile from the rapid. Here you get an ominous looking volcanic rock in the middle of the river reminding you that Lava Falls was formed because of a lava flow which dammed up the river momentarily (geologically speaking). We scouted the run and ran it all together in-stead of running in groups so that people could see each others runs. I was glad to get it over with and didn't want to have to sit on the shore being nervous any more. All I remember about the trip leader's boat wreck was seeing her disappear below my horizon and hearing a load thud. I then saw her again after the rapid pulled onshore with the other wood boats. I guess she was too tight on the hole we were supposed to clip the corner of at the top and ended up catching a piece of the chine on the rock that formed the hole. We had the whole trip pull the boat up on shore and had the bow up in the air on a inflatable tube, while the other dory boatman mixed up some epoxy from the repair kit. nothing too major though, just a small crack in the foot well. We camped soon after that and broke out the tequila.
All in all a great trip. The water was clear in May. I had never seen it like that. We also had really good whether. Typically in spring there is some pretty stiff wind in the afternoons, but it wasn't bad at all.
Now on to NY. It didn't have the magic that it had last year, and that was probably a combination of things. I think I was more used to how things ran on the island, and I also had more work to do with both the sports field and the teens. I did more sailing this year and am happy about that. I got to go out on a boat a few times, and I know a few more knots that I think will come in handy on the river too. I also tried to stay true to my mountain roots by enacting a little project I called "summit sunday". Maybe you've seen the pics on facebook, but I decided it was my duty as a mountain man to get on top of something in that flat-land each Sunday. I had to get creative.
Right now I'm in SLC living at my parent's for a bit, looking for work. I just got done working on a fence with my dad, but I'm looking for something else maybe a little more permanent to do (maybe something eco/conservation oriented. That or ski coaching, of course!). I have an interview for an internship with the Utah River's Council, but I think it's only for fall, and I'm not sure it is paid. I've got a buddy who has offered me a room to live in here, but I don't want to accept until I know what I want to do next. I've also been toying with the idea of a move to Tahoe. I'd love to be in Tahoe City doing something environmental and skiing my guts out, but I don't know where to start looking and am not quite brave enough to just move out there without a job lined up. We'll just have to see I guess.
I turn 24 on Tuesday and my mom defends her dissertation for a PhD in disabilities studies on Thursday, so next week will be a big one. We're looking forward to celebrating at our family cabin that weekend.
Okay, I think I've begin to ramble, time to go,
G-unit
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