Halloween Screw Ups

So today is Halloween. For most people, Halloween means getting dressed up as some kind of alter ego and, depending on your age, walking door-to-door in an attempt to fill a sack with candy, have an excuse to throw a party, or go out and about spreading mischief. For me, this year Halloween took on a whole new spin.

Each year, the powers that be in the SC get together to decide when to have the actual trick-or-treat night. Since October 31st falls on a Sunday this year, it was decided to have trick-or-treat night on Thursday. Why Thursday you ask? Well, Saturday night was the Penn State and Michigan football game and I guess people thought it would be a bad idea to send small children out for candy on one of the busiest weekends of the year.

There aren’t many kids that live in my neighborhood and I had been told that no one shows up looking for candy so I didn’t think much of the actual trick-or-treat night. What happened next will have a significant impact on every Halloween that occurs from here on out. As the sun started going down I noticed the streets filling up with kids going door-to-door looking for candy. This wouldn’t normally be a big deal, but there I was, sitting at home with not a single piece of candy in site. Reaching this disastrous conclusion I did what any respectable homeowner would do.

Recalling my childhood training, I began running around the house turning out all the lights. As any good kid knows, you don’t go to a house that is dark because they don’t have candy. Usually this means they are not home, but in my case it meant that I was afraid to have anyone come to the door. There I sat, in a pitch dark house for the allocated two hours of trick-or-treat night. It was highly embarrassing but at least next year I’ll be prepared to hand out candy.

Be Double E…

Once again, this weekend graced us with some unseasonable warm weather (at least for the end of October). With an all but full moon, we rallied the troops and planned a little camping trip. It was an all-star cast that included eight adults, three kids, and one dog. Since some of the kids were going to be first-time campers we chose a spot that would allow people to drive close or hike in depending on their prerogative.

Clay, Cathy, and I decided to hike in from the Little Flat Fire Tower. This would give us about three miles along the ridge to get out to the campsite. It was about seventy degrees when we set out so it was an ideal day for a light hike and camping excursion. The ridge was ablaze with colors and the views were spectacular as we made the hour long hike.

Once there, we gathered wood and started our obligatory fire and settled into camp. Slowly, the rest of the group trickled in and the merriment ensued. As the evening progressed, we made our way out the rocks to take in the moonlit views of Bear Meadows. It was truly an amazing site.

It was a fantastic night to be camping and everyone had a great time. We were out in the woods with a nice little fire for warmth, a slightly overcast yet moonlit night, and great company. We laughed and joked and just enjoyed everyone’s company. Hopefully it won’t take another year to get back out for another campout.

Refreshed

Don’t let the title of this post fool you. While I’d like to tell you a story of how I had a relaxing and casual weekend; the reality is that this weekend was no different than most. However, instead of spending time out in the woods being radical, I was spending time being “responsible.”

This weekend marked the annual refresher that I must attend to maintain my position in good standing with the Nation Ski Patrol. That basically means that I had to get up crazy early and drive an hour and a half to run through various scenarios that I might encounter in my day-to-day while patrolling the local ski hill. In reality I may never experience most of these scenarios presented, but there is definitely a lot of value in learning the variety of medical situations that could arise throughout the course of a season.

While I truly do appreciate the fact that this is a necessary evil and I whole heartedly admit that I need all the help I can get in having the basics drilled into my head, it would have been nice if this wasn’t a 70 degree weekend with abundant sunshine. See, we’re getting into mid October and that means that weekends like this are few and far between. It means that I’ll need to start changing my yard work schedule from mowing grass to splitting wood. More to the point though, I don’t feel like I’ve had adequate time to get in all the riding I’ve wanted, and that’s what really keeps me refreshed.

The Man With the Hammer

As is typical in the SC, this weekend brought about some fantastic October weather. The evenings were cool while the days were sunny and hovering around the mid seventies. This all adds up to the perfect recipe for mountain biking. With the leaves slowly letting go of green and giving way to golds, reds, and oranges; five of us gathered at the shale pits because as Brian likes to continuously point out, I only ever ride in Coopers Gap.

The plan was to ride some of the standard trails in the Coopers Gap area. We anticipated about four hours of riding and would see almost exclusively singletrack. I hadn’t been on my bike in about three weeks so I wasn’t sure how it was going to go but I was looking forward to the ride. Everything started out great and I was feeling strong. I was riding fast and choosing lines that allowed me to float over rocks and trees with little effort. Then about three hours in, there he was, waiting for me to come by so he could ruin my day.

The Man with the Hammer came out of nowhere and rocked my world (don’t worry mom, that’s just a euphemism). I bonked, hard. For those of you that don’t know what this is like, here’s a little taste. Take a bike. Get on this bike. Find a giant tub of mud. Put the bike (with you still astride) into said mud so that the wheels are completely covered. Now pedal. I was sapped. Nothing worked. It was a struggle just to turn over the pedals and I was losing.

Fortunately I wasn’t too far from the end and most of it was downhill. I coasted back to my car and found the rest of the group. They managed to get in a few more trail sections while I slowly pedaled in on the road. I was glad to get off my bike and be done. Even better were the beers that Rich brought to share.

The New

This past weekend I spent a few days at the New River Gorge in West Virginia. It was the 2010 Local Conservation Summit being hosted by the Access Fund and NRAC. Since I’m a member of the board for our Local Climbing Organization (C3PA) I thought it would be a good idea for me to attend.

Friday morning Scott, Ieva, Anders and I made our way down to the New for what would be a fun filled weekend with lots of climbers that are very passionate about their craft. I knew I would be one of the less apt climbers in the group but that didn’t matter to me as this was more of a reason to spend a few days hanging out with Scott, Ieva, and Anders and less about the actual event. Also, I thought it would be good for me to show my face around this group of people that I didn’t really know (and didn’t know me).

The event officially started on Friday evening with some general socializing but the real action didn’t happen until Saturday morning with formal presentations and an actual agenda of work to perform. We spent two days talking about climbing specific issues and working through problems that generally affect all the Local Climbing Organizations in one form or another. We also managed to fit a little climbing into the weekend on some really fantastic rock. Overall, I’d say it was a worthwhile trip but once again, I over did it and now I’m trying to make up for a lack of sleep. I guess it’s a good thing the work week has started again.

The Wedding; Part II

So as I mentioned before I was out in Montana last weekend for a wedding. There were about seven of us from both the SC and Pittsburgh that went out and we were all staying together so it was like a mini vacation under the guise of a wedding. I arrived on Friday afternoon and met up with Jared who had just come off a four day bender in Vegas, while the rest of the crew would be touching down at BZN around eleven o’clock that night. The wedding wasn’t until Sunday so we would have plenty of time to hang out and get acclimated to the area before the big event; or at least that was the plan.

Saturday’s agenda included a cookout for all the out-of-town guests, which was just about everyone and our little east coast crew was in charge of bringing drinks. We started the morning with a shopping spree and got what we felt was a sufficient amount of beer, soda, water, and assorted juices for the crowd. We procured more than enough to put a hurting on the suspension of the mini-van the seven of us were traveling in (or at least planned to travel in). As we were getting ready to depart, the van decided it didn’t want to start. Fortunately Brian’s parents were there (since they live there) and we were able to make a vehicle swap that allowed all seven passengers and four coolers full of assorted drinks to safely find the venue.

The next morning (Sunday) we were “recruited” (and I use the term loosely) to set up all the chairs in the alpine meadow where the ceremony was to be held. I was given a general idea of what was to happen the night before but no real strategy was established so we were on our own to determine the best location and set for the seventy plus chairs that would (hopefully) accommodate the guests. Everything must have been satisfactory because nothing was changed when we returned later for the actual wedding.

At this point I’ll skip ahead because let’s face it; a wedding is a wedding is a wedding. It was a very touching ceremony with tears and laughs and a backdrop that couldn’t be beat. The reception followed which was great as well. That brings us to Monday when there was a plan for a nice little hike that turned into a full-on scramble to the top of the peaks. At this point I think it’s important to note that I was woefully ill prepared for any kind of hike as the only shoes I had with me were my Pumas. While these would have been the perfect footwear for going out on the town, they were not ideally suited for a seven mile hike through the high mountains of Montana.

Following the hike (and a short soak in the hot tub) we proceeded to make our way to a classic Montana steakhouse in one of the many sleepy little towns. At said establishment, we embarked on a full out voracious festival of meat, soup, salad, bread, potatoes, beer, coffees, and desserts. When it was all said and done we had eaten almost half a cow. We then sluggishly made our way back to the house for some additional soak time and beers. After all, it was a vacation.

Tuesday morning and I got into an argument at about four thirty. I was upset that I was seeing him and he just wanted me gone. We reached a mutual agreement and I was at the airport and on my way back to the SC. I somehow managed to drag myself into work on Wednesday, but it wasn’t easy. In the end, everyone had a grand time (or at least seemed to) except for our uninvited guest, Jared’s neck. I guess it goes without saying but congratulations Nate and Ali. Thanks for a great time in Montana.