Pre-Trip Activities

How do you train? Although I usually like to have fun without getting yelled at, some human-constructed "chimneys" are just too good to pass up. Here I am at the Portland Museum of Art.
I will be documenting this expedition in numerous ways, photography being one of them. In order to get in the habit, I started the walking and shooting early.
It's been my great fortune to have my family around these last few days prior to departure. Here we are entering Monument Square.
Thanks for checking out the blog! There's more!

Gripping the Gunks

I just got back from a remarkable trip to the Gunks! The brief synopsis is that we successfully climbed life-changing routes and shared many memorable moments of boisterous laughter and fear-conquering. By we I mean myself, my best bud from college, Wesley John-Alder, his girlfriend Ariana, and our buddy Dan Herr, also from Oberlin College. So, here are the goods, starting with The Dangler, 5.9+To get to The Dangler, Wes led a route aptly called Something Interesting, 5.7+, a great warm-up for The Dangler, which I couldn't help but lead twice. Here's Wes mastering his way up Something Interesting!And here's a video of me loving the great feelings revealed by indulging the dangle:Day Two, we're onto the next wonder route. This time, CCK. Pitch one is chill. Pitch two clearly is the business. The hard part for me was route-finding. Wes again let me lead this awesomely-exposed climb since he had already done so on a previous trip. I'm so glad I did it. It has awesome, memorable moves with commitment. Here I am traversing:And here I am on the flake, one of the more interesting parts:There were also two good nights, held around a campfire and our tents. Nothing makes climbing better than sharing it with people you care about.And who have hair as wild as yours.Let the training continue! Just over 2 months until The Monster Trip.

More Monster Training

It has become regular exercise for my brother and I to share our daily body beat up sessions. Sean messaged me today saying: "Just logged a run...2.7 in 18 minutes". And I don't think wow. I think, good for you, Sean! Keep up the good work! It no longer astounds me. I like that. The same goes for doubling up workouts. Tonight, feeding off of the inspiration from the Reel Rock Tour, meeting representatives from the likes of The North Face and Sterling Rope from Maine, and seeing Ashima and Caldwell and Richards et al live their hearts out, I could not stop myself from biking in the drizzle and then immediately going for a run. And when I think my run is over and I'm about to pull into my drive way, jogging now, I have adopted this ridiculous habit of tacking another mile or so on to practice recovery and relaxation. And then I add a sprint to get out the last bits of extreme energy remaining. Then I feel good to dance or walk or strut home, having released my soul into the open.

Anyways. If you have any good ideas for training, please send them my way!

Monster Climb - The Documentary!

We have launched the website for our Monster Climb documentary!

Check out http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/860240596/monster-climb-the-documentary for more information on this awesome expedition and how to be a part of it and get awesome rewards!

We have 60 days to surpass our fundraising goals or we get none of them! Every bit helps! Please help us spread the word to people who would love to be a part of it and get some awesome rewards!

Pirate Triathlon!

On June 12th, 2011, over 450 humans readied themselves for battle. I was one of few without a wetsuit, and nervously convinced myself that the water I was toes away from would feel balmy, and my quick transition into the bike portion would make up for any chill induced by the swim.

But there is much to tell and much to learn from the events and the competition. Suffice it to say that I have found yet another activity or group thereof that has captured my zealous attention! I somewhat unexpectedly placed 2nd in my age bracket in the Pirate triathlon, much in spite of a horrendous swimming performance. This has led me to a) research YMCA membership with pool access details and b) sign up for the Lobsterman Tri in Freeport on September 10th!

Stay tuned for pictures, more stories, do's and do not's, and more!

Random in Tandem

Living in Maine is one thing. Working for three of the greatest places/companies in Maine is another. (Can you guess all three?!) I can have conversations with almost anyone and connect it to any one of my jobs. Even if I was unemployed there would be enough to talk about. Working a cash register and on the sales floor has taught me that people love to talk about the weather. It's a great way to find a common ground and understand what kind of a person someone is before opening up to them. If they are negative over mere clouds, you're likely to hurry "ringing" them up because they don't like being anywhere. If they use metaphors to describe the weather, they are creative and will usually value that same quality in others. Perhaps they will go into activities - indoor or outdoor - that they recently launched into. This will give you insight, along with how they discuss their activities, as to how much you are expected to contribute as well as how much they are interested in sharing. All this is well and good. But at the end of the day, your job remains making this experience fun, interesting, and rewarding. Luckily for those of us inclined to do such things anyways, this is what we are inclined to do anyways. I find that this task is best completed by being yourself.Let me explain. When I get home from work I usually open a bottle of wine. I usually put on music and dance. I usually cook something. I usually think about my To Do list. I usually think about my affairs of the love variety. I usually think about the activities I plan to carryout in the days to come. These are things I can talk about in depth and describe to great extents because they are innate. But what I care to do when interacting with others is not merely take note of the immediate circumstances: the weather, ourselves, and the color of our shirts and shoes, but the beyond: goals in the future, unjustified beliefs and why they are held, other worlds, concepts, abstracts, shapes, numbers, and why humans sit so much. OK, the last one doesn't really count. But not everyone's into this. That is why being yourself must be satisfied under the condition that you aren't always necessarily satisfied. It's ok to yearn for more. That's probably why I still want to dance and think and yearn once I'm out of work. And in my dreams. I think one day I'll find someone to satisfy me. I hope one day I don't dream. I strive for that day. I already don't have nightmares. What if I didn't even have dreams because my life was so darn creatively and energetically satisfying. YEEHAWWWWW!!!!!

Come on Mars. Come on Aphrodite and Cupid. Give me your best shot. I'm sure as heck gonna give you mine.

NEXT TOPIC: My life: The normal version.

I have insecurities. I have aims that I'm struggling to complete. I'm not entirely open. I'm not entirely happy. I am working to fix all of these facets and understand doing so is called life. I love doing this. I love love. My three jobs are at L.L. Bean, Trader Joe's, and Maine Rock Gym (pending a meeting tomorrow, which I expect to go splendidly due to my experience and flexibility). I don't know why I'm writing this except that I haven't written in a while and feel that I owe readers and myself a little exegesis.My parents moved to an island off the coast of Maine. It's lovely there. My brother is back in Maine. My sister and brother in law just visited. I went clamming with my brother and dad. I ran 4.69 miles with my sister and brother in law. I jumped off the pier into the ocean with all three of them. My buddy just got married to an awesome woman. Things are going quite splendidly well. It's eerie. And I'm so into life I'm feeling oblivious now and then to the other side. I guess that's another reason why I'm taking time to reflect a little now.
I hope everyone's taking life as it comes to them and giving it some flavor!

Cheers, -n8

Triathalon Tryout

I'm trying out this new thing called Triathalon. I've signed, sealed and am waiting to deliver my fate to myself. That is, I've registered for the Pirate Tri, scheduled to take place on June 12th, 2011.

I have been neglecting this blog, it's true. First and foremost I've been pouring myself during hours and after hours into my jobs at Trader Joe's and L.L.Bean in the hopes of making both places better and myself at both places better.

Secondly, I have begun a new cross-training for climbing: triathalons and triathalon-training! As much as possible I go biking and immediately follow that by running. And, if time before work and/or errands allows, I follow that by climbing. This sort of corporeal punishment is just what I want. My mind fights me on this, but I tell it to buck up and buckle up.

So if I don't post again until June 12th you know why. Meantime, happy activities to everyone! Please send me comments with favorite wines, dinner dishes, training scenarios, iphone apps, nicknames, vacation destinations, quotations, unknown artists, blogs, or whatever you're inspired by at the moment!

Cheers to all!

-Your landescaper, n8