A garage sale for your mind

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climbing

A collection of 218 posts

Liberty Ridge

I was buying Thanksgiving wine in Springfield when RMI called: if I still wanted Liberty Ridge, they had room in June. So I signed up. The coolest part is we get to spend the night on the summit, and our packs will only be 35 to 40 pounds.

McKinley Training - Week 4 of 26

Thanksgiving interfered with my normal routine, but Missouri gave me real running outside, because treadmills steal your soul. I started timing my stair sets, and on Friday I spent five brutal hours throwing logs up a hill. My arms are still sore.

Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim, Take Two

We are planning another Grand Canyon rim-to-rim-to-rim for October, and you are invited. You have ten months to prepare, but start now. See that picture? The entire hike just involves scurrying over to the opposite wall and coming right back. Easy enough.

Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim, Take Two

McKinley Training - Week 3 of 26

Two gym trips and three stair runs this week, topping out at sixty-three flights, and for the first time I climbed all 21 stories twice without stopping. Still cannot picture running 1,576 steps at a story every 7 seconds. Also: I won the $5 bet, my sister still has her job.

Suffering

Wes, from my McKinley team, asked why we put our bodies through this. My only answer was, "because I'm freakin' bored out of my mind in New York." I feel like I should have a better answer than that.

McKinley Training - Weeks 1, 2 of 26

A McKinley expedition wants six to nine months of training; having succeeded once, I am complacent enough to pick six. The gym got boring, so did hauling a heavy pack up the stairs, so I run them. The lack of inspiration is my job's fault: I love working from home.

Just 25 More Weeks

I get an uncontrollable smile every time I think about flying back to Alaska. Just twenty-five more weeks. Sounds close, until I reframe it as nearly half a year, which actually makes me feel better since I still need the training time.

Just 25 More Weeks

Just call me...

Just call me Mountain Man.

Just call me...

Mt. McKinley (2008) - Epilogue

Epilogue: The aftermath of the McKinley trip, bloody toenail, numb finger, fifteen or twenty pounds gone, weeks in flip-flops. I'm already planning a self-guided return in May 2009, with a solar panel and a pack made by anyone other than Jansport. The non-belonging hasn't faded.

Mt. McKinley (2008) - Epilogue

Slacking

I've been slacking, but I'm finally getting around to it: a few more days of journal entries from the McKinley trip, all my pictures gathered in one place, and more typing ahead. Still got a long ways to go.

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