Moving on

Sorry, no creative writing, but I have some updates on a few vaguely related topics...a little more to-the-point this time...

Living in San Diego has been interesting and it’s been fun, but I am even more excited for my next move.  A few day ago, I told my manager at Domino’s that I am leaving, so Sunday is my last day. Even though it has only been a few weeks, it was difficult to break the news.  I also told Bobby of my plans to leave earlier than planned (I initially planned to stay here until mid April)...we will probably have a farewell dinner on Tuesday, and I will be driving to Joshua Tree Wednesday morning.  I have been organizing the truck and buying a few more things, such as sunglasses and gloves for my mountaineering course, and a couple things for travelling...a solar shower (2.5 gallon water bladder with a shower head on it, made of black plastic so it is supposed to heat up from the sun), climbing tape, bath wipes (like big wet wipes, for a substitute shower), and a cooler.  I got to use my yearly REI member dividend of $265, so I didn’t spend any cash :)  I’m also stocking up on cheap, non-perishable food such as bulk 10-bean soup mix for 1.49/lb, 6grain cereal mix (like oatmeal) for 1.19/lb, a 5lb bag of rice for $3 something, Zatarains and other similar rice mixes to mix with the cheap rice.  Canned tomatoes, corn, tomato paste... pasta, and a couple jars of Spagetti sauce.  I already have seasonings and sweeteners to make that stuff edible.  I also learned how to clarify butter yesterday...if you heat real butter on the stove and skim off the cream that forms on the top, put the remaining liquid in a container and solidify it in the fridge, it supposedly lasts for a couple months without refrigeration.  It seemed to work as described in my book, so I will be trying that out for the first time.   


I talked with someone at IWLS yesterday, about rental gear. I received an email from them the other day double checking everything, since my Alaska semester is getting close. I confirmed that I have no flight numbers or accommodations since I will be driving, and camping. They have all the necessary waivers, they've received my health form, and my tuition is paid in full. The last form they need from me is a rental gear list. I will be renting mountaineering boots and an avalanche beacon for my mountaineering course, and a dry-suit and rubber boots for sea kayaking. I was also told that my instructor (for my first class?) will be Meredith Riley. I looked her up on their site...she's a professional skier, she instructs IWLS mountaineering, ski mountaineering, and ice climbing courses in Alaska and Utah, and is also an EMT.

I recently sold a few items on Ebay which will be a nice boost to my coffers.  I had sold a few big ticket items before leaving home, but I had a few other things that I decided to bring with me and sell when I got here, instead of putting in storage.  My motorcycle helmet sold for 230, my first triathlon helmet went for 75, and my old clip-on aero-bars (for triathlon) for 50.  Every bit helps at this point, especially after spending money on my truck. No car troubles per se, but I had the brakes done a couple weeks ago. Everyone will probably be glad to know that it is in good shape.  Besides the brakes, I replaced two of the tires before leaving Wichita, and got the oil changed when I got here.  And don't forget, the timing belt and water pump were replaced last summer in Anchorage! It is ready for the long haul!


I had the day off of work yesterday, and Bobby’s cats woke me up at like 5:30, so I decided to enjoy the morning and go workout, outside.  To speed my return to climbing form for the next few weeks, I’ve been doing workouts for climbing at a nearby boulder field.  Since I’m by myself with no one to belay me, I can’t climb any actual routes, so I just climb around on the boulders, near the ground, to build up my grip endurance.  Pull-ups, and core exercises work other climbing muscles and I do some push-ups for good measure.  I don’t always combine climbing with hiking, but yesterday after bouldering around, I went for a hike.  I put three climbing ropes and a few other things in my pack for weight (probably 40 pounds?), and did two laps on one of the peaks (1200-1300 feet?) at my favorite park, Mission Trails.  My last few hikes have been about three hours long, and I have gotten noticeably stronger.  I can charge up the steepest hills for 20 minutes straight without even slowing down, and whenever the trail levels out, I jog.  These hikes have also been a good way of breaking in my new boots.  I had blisters after 30 minutes my first time out, but now they feel like shoes...I REALLY like them.  


Finally...it’s raining today; pouring right now actually!  The third rainy day we’ve had in a month-- what’s up with that San Diego?!  

Random photo of me and Adam at J-tree, in the good ol' days!

San Diego

I decided to start this post with a short narrative...

“Hoooolyyyy crap”....I shift uncomfortably in my seat and scowl in disbelief at the hill that I'm about to climb... in my truck. I prepare to shift to my lowest gear as I approach the roller coaster like incline ahead of me. “you've got to be freakin' kidding me” I think. I have driven in hills and mountains before, but nothing like this. No time to second guess, I charge into the hill, afraid of losing momentum and instantly determine that there's no way my truck could do even second gear. The little four cylinder motor howls at high rpm, using max power just to creep up at 15 mph. I tensely lean forward in my seat and look toward the houses next to the street and see that there is a nearly 45 degree angle between the level lines of the houses and the street. “Ludicrous!...Insane!...WTF!” I think. "How can such a road.... be allowed? This is like an off road park." The road levels out at an intersection, then climbs again, and repeats. I nervously scan to look for addresses as I approach the house I'm looking for, wondering if it will even be safe to stop in the middle of such a ridiculous ramp. I see a number and decide that I'm close enough, so I swerve over to the curb and quickly press hard on the brakes just after gravity hastily halts my forward progress. It occurs to me that on such a grade, turning the wheels into the curb isn't just a precaution, it's quite necessary. And the parking brake alone would be about as useful as a WalMart plastic bag used as a parachute in a free fall.
With the front tire biting solidly into the curb, the parking brake pressed to its last click, engine off, and in gear, I carefully release the brake pedal, expecting to somehow slide downhill despite all my efforts. But it holds...so I slam my body back into the seat a couple times to test it...it still holds. I tentatively step out of my truck onto the asphalt “hillside” and deliver the Domino's pizza and parmesan bites to this house on a hill. Mission accomplished, I get back in my truck, write a 3 on the receipt to record the $3 tip, put my pen back in the visor, stick the receipt with the others, and start the truck. Like climbing Everest, getting up this hill is only half the battle, so I survey the situation to determine the best method of turning around to get back down. Luckily there's a driveway behind to the right that I can roll backwards into, and thus avoid the unsavory task of starting out on a steep incline, with a manual transmission. I arrest my descent by rolling in first gear, and applying the brakes every couple seconds.

I feel relief to be done with that delivery, and also take comfort in knowing that I will only be punishing my truck like this for a couple more weeks. But also, I appreciate the learning aspect of this kind of challenging driving. I knew delivering pizzas in Spring Valley, a totally unfamiliar part of San Diego, would be a challenge of my navigation skills, but the terrain has been equally challenging to my driving skills. I sought a job when I got here in order to cover my expenses during my stay in San Diego, but it has been almost as valuable as a learning experience. Not so much work experience to be applied to later jobs, but simply life experience...the challenges of finding a job, getting to know a new crew of coworkers, and learning my way around a new city.

Fortunately, most deliveries aren't on such outrageous hills and my job delivering pizzas for Domino's has been pretty enjoyable overall. My previous delivering experience helped me to learn my way around within the first couple days of delivering and my coworkers are all pretty cool as well. It feels good to have put some money back in my bank account, and in my pockets as well, with tips. But, I am anxious to get on the road, so I have decided to leave San Diego a few weeks earlier than I originally planned. Instead of heading straight to Alaska from here, I am going to do a three week stint as a climbing bum at Joshua Tree National Park, before continuing north. It's on the way, about three hours north of San Diego. I will be camping there, living meagerly, and climbing as much as possible. J-Tree is a high elevation desert, strewn with what look like mounds of giant boulders ranging from 4 feet to 150 feet high, and garnished with more plant life than you might expect in a desert. It's a strange and beautiful landscape with unusually blue skies, spectacular sunsets, and dark, clear nights thick with stars.  It’s a major rock climbing destination with a resident population of climbers, and I have always heard that one can go there alone and easily find people to climb with.  

Adam and I made several trips there while stationed at Miramar, I spent 5 days there during my 2007 road trip, and I have been dreaming of climbing there again ever since.  

This visit to San Diego has been a great experience...I've had lots of good times with friends, I have gotten the hang of surfing, I have relished the often perfect sunny weather; sometimes at the beach, sometimes in the hills, hiking or running. I have read a couple good books, and I learned how to brew beer at home from my friend Bobby, who I'm rooming with. It has been fun,

but with one of my favorite climbing places so close, and after climbing a couple times nearby, the climbing bug has got me again and I can't pass up the opportunity to spend some time dedicated to climbing, before I spend the summer doing all kinds of other cool stuff :D

Alaska 2011

   In my post about my path from triathlon to the wilderness, I left off around the time that Heath and I were plotting our Alaskan adventure for the summer of 2011.
That experience was greater than either of us had hoped for, and had lasting effects on us both. Yes we had a blast drinking many a beer, by many a campfire, and enjoyed supreme views of wilderness and wildlife, but what really made the the journey special was the disproportionate number of friendly, generous people that we met, and the inspiration that we felt to try new things and make changes in our lives.  In the vagabonding documentary, 180 Degrees South, Yvon Chouinard says,

      "The best journeys answer questions, that in the beginning, you didn't even think to ask".

That pretty well describes our drive to Alaska.
     We shared a lot of that trip on Facebook as we went, and of course we have shown pictures and talked about how fantastic the trip was, but I haven't written about it since returning.  We generated plenty of stories worth telling, so to get some practice writing and to more fully explore the trip that inspired my upcoming expedition, I'm going to do some looking back over the next few weeks.
   
      As far as I remember, the idea for the trip came about when I told Heath that if he ever moved up to Alaska, I would come help him build a cabin.  I was serious, but he had only been pondering the idea of moving up there.  Then I guess he must have later asked me if I would want to help him do some recon, and make a road trip out of it.  Even though it was less than a year ago, I have forgotten the details!  I was pretty well caught up in school and training for the Ironman, until around March when I started reading up on Alaska, searching for specific destinations.  I found a few things to do that wouldn't cost us too much money, but we never bothered making any reservations except for the cabin and the Fjords tour which Corey would be joining us for (the reservations were the reason that we decided Corey would be able to join us for a week).  I think Heath and I both were most interested in the simple freedom-of-the-road aspect of the journey.  We wanted to leave plenty of room for the trip to unfold as we went.  I wrote down a few potential places and activities, but we agreed that nothing was fixed.  If we met cool people, and they were doing something or going somewhere that sounded fun, we would tag along.  If some locals informed us of an attraction that shouldn't be missed, we would check it out.  And if we found the perfect campsite with good weather or good fishing, we would hang out for a while.
     The overarching theme was that Heath was feeling out a potential new home.  But I think he was also just seeking inspiration for change in general.  That's what the trip was about for me.  I have always wanted to visit Alaska, but not for any particular reason besides its beauty and unspoiled nature.  I think it happened last year because with school and triathlon coming to an end for me, the time felt right for something big.  Heath was offering Alaska, so I jumped on it--although I think I would have just as happily gone to Europe, or South America if another friend had asked me.  After experiencing Canada and Alaska though, I can't imagine any other place measuring up.  And Heath turned out to be an alright travel companion too ;)

 

Into the Wild

Two years he walks the earth. No phone, no pool, no pets, no cigarettes. Ultimate freedom. An extremist. An aesthetic voyager whose home is the road. So now, after two rambling years comes the final and greatest adventure. The climactic battle to kill the false being within and victoriously conclude the spiritual revolution. No longer to be poisoned by civilization, he flees, and walks alone upon the land to become lost in the wild. Alexander Supertramp, May 1992.

I recently re-watched a favorite movie, featuring Alaska, called Into the Wild.  It’s a 2007 film directed by Sean Penn, based on the non-fiction book by Jon Krakauer in which recent college grad Christopher McCandless (played by Emile Hirsch) donates his $24,000 grad-school fund to charity, burns his cash and social security card and treks around the western US with only what he can carry in his backpack.  I won’t try to describe the movie in detail here but I think a lot of people have seen it so I thought I’d talk about it.  
First I must make it clear that MY MOTIVATIONS FOR LEAVING HOME ARE NOT THE SAME AS CHRIS’S.  While I share a lot of his ideals and relate with his desire for new experiences, I do NOT have an anguished childhood and oppressive parents to escape from.  My parents are great and have always been supportive of whatever I have chosen to do.  I suppose I should also point out that I do not intend to go out into the wilderness on my own with no training either, which led to his demise in the movie.
The distinction about motivation is important because a primary issue throughout the movie is the emotional damage sustained by the main character, resulting from his father’s spousal abuse, and from having discovered as an adolescent that he and his sister were born as illegitimate children.  But, his family issues are not the only reasons he is drawn to the road.  I suspect that most people enjoy the movie for the same reasons I do. Because, deep down, many of us yearn for some sort of drastic change in our lives. It may be vague and irrational; even if things are going fine, and we have everything that should make us happy, something seems to be missing, and we feel like the only solution is escape...travel.  Not a vacation, but a journey out into the unknown where things are sure to be “different”. 
 I would also say that the main source of discontent that many of us feel is related to society, as in the movie.  There is so much pressure to conform to societal norms that we feel powerless to live as we want to.  McCandless leaves not only because of his family, but primarily because he does not share the values and ideals of anyone around him in his normal life.  He theorizes that happiness does not derive principally  from “things” or even human relationships, but can be enjoyed spontaneously, anytime, from interaction with the natural world.  “The core of man’s spirit comes from new experiences!”, as he says.  He shuns the new car that his parents offer to buy him, and although he establishes a number of meaningful relationships with people during his travels, he would not settle down for anyone.  He says “money makes people cautious” and that “careers are a 20th century invention and I don’t want one”. I think he is right about money and things, but he was wrong about human relationships. As he figures out in the end, "happiness is only real when shared". (one of my reasons for writing this blog ;)
I relate to Supertramp, as McCandless calls himself, because I also feel an overwhelming desire not to conform to the culture I live in.  Many of us have some aversion to the culture around us, but differ in the degree to which we are willing or able to depart from it.  The only way to fully escape from it is to live self-sufficiently, ie. alone in the woods, or in a commune, off the grid.  I think many deviants, are like me in that they don’t seek total removal.  I appreciate many aspects of our capitalist economy and our government--I couldn't have done half of what I have done without the GI Bill and other educational benefits.  While I love travelling, I don’t want to live alone in the woods or roam around aimlessly.  I want to be around people and be productive in some way.  Actually, the more I think about this, the less drastic my aspirations seem.  I don’t know if I will end up in any counter-culture...I have taken interest in a few ways of life that I think would qualify as such, but what I am after now is really just introduction to a community of people and industries (guiding and outdoor recreation) that does not exist in Kansas.  I think Supertramp might have had a similar purpose to his wandering.  He was probably out searching for a way of life that suited him.  He obviously didn’t know exactly where to look, but he trusted (had faith) that it was out there waiting for him to find it.  Most of his apparently wreckless, selfish actions were about staying open-minded and untied.  He needed mobility at all costs, in order to find his place in the world.

For better or for worse, I have done more preparing and have more direction to my plans for the year ahead, compared to Supertramp.  But I can’t help but feel like I am heading into the wild as well.

For all the quotes from this highly quotable movie...
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Into_the_Wild_(film)