Sold My Coat When I Hit Spokane

There's something oddly enjoyable about seeing lightning from the top of a mountain. That's not to say that there's not also something very frightening about it if you are with a group of Trek campers, but it certainly makes you feel alive.

Yesterday on Mt. Guyot, I had a rather interesting summit day with the youth group from Granbury Church of Christ. As we were sitting on summit enjoying the view, I happened to look up and notice a very dark, menacing cloud heading towards our position. Two things about this cloud struck me as odd: 1. I had not seen it when I had looked up five minutes earlier and 2. It was coming from the east. Now, perhaps Mark Scirto could handle this better than I can, but due to my limited meteorological knowledge, I usually expect "weather" (i.e. storms) to come from the west.

With that said, we had to drop off of the ridge to the northeast. (Note: If you are ever on Mt. Guyot and have the option of descending anywhere besides the northeast ridge, please do it). I wish I had taken a picture to accurately convey just how steep the ridge that we descended was, but let's just say that I was extremely thankful to reach the bottom and not have to carry any stray limbs from my campers. All in all, we had a 11-hour round trip yesterday, and the kids from Granbury will be able to tell ever-escalating stories about their legendary descent from the treacherous slopes of Mt. Guyot. Good times all around.

In other news, Liverpool defeated South China by a score of 3-1 in the Asia Trophy competition on Tuesday. Goals for the Reds were scored by John Arne Riise, Xabi Alonso, and Daniel Agger. The tournament is hosted by the Chinese side and features English Premier League clubs Portsmouth, Fulham, and Liverpool. The Reds will meet Portsmouth in the final tomorrow.

I'll be back with more tomorrow.

A Picture of You Holding a Picture of Me

For many people around the world, young and old alike, Christmas in July took place today. That's right, the final installment of the Harry Potter saga was released at midnight last night, but unless you've been living in Ted Kaczynski's cabin, you probably already knew that.

I must admit to a little Potter blasphemy. I wrote last week about my distaste for the 5th film, but I have an ever bigger bombshell to drop today. Ladies and gentlemen, I've only read the 1st and 4th pieces in Harry's quest. That's right, it's almost as if I only watched Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade and completely ignored the Temple of Doom. Although if I'm going with the Indiana Jones metaphor, the first and third films were vastly superior to the middle installment, but I digress.

Now that I've laid my soul bare to you, the reader, I must admit that any book that can cause this kind of excitement makes my day just a little bit brighter. If J.K. Rowling can cause thousands of kids around the world to put down their XBox 360 controllers for a few days, hours, and minutes in order to use their imaginations conjuring up another world, I'm fully supportive.

In other news, Liverpool brought home a 2-0 victory yesterday in a preseason friendly against a French club, Auxerre. Skipper Steven Gerrard and defender Daniel Agger both scored goals for the Reds. Here's a short highlight package:

For the next week on trail, I will be spending some quality time with Granbury Church of Christ on a mountain that is to be determined. I'll be back with more on Thursday.

'Cause There's a Feeling Won't Leave Me Alone

Prof. Osler wrote recently that when someone shares a book with you, they are not only sharing a few pieces of bound paper, they are sharing something that has value to them. Something that has perhaps inspired, challenged, or shocked them.

I think the same thing happens when we share the music with those around us. Today, my friend Payton McCollum, who was also mentioned earlier today, brought along Ray LaMontagne's album Trouble as we traveled to Buena Vista for lunch. Since Payton shared with me, I felt compelled to share a little Ray with you. Enjoy "Jolene" by Ray LaMontagne.

Honey, Please Don't Stop Your Talking

Here at Trek, staff members have one day off per week. If you are on Saturday rotation, your group obviously comes in on Saturday and leaves on Thursday. If you are on Sunday rotation, your group comes in on Sunday and departs on Friday. This means that Friday and Saturday are precious, precious days for those on each respective rotation.

I'm always confounded about what to do with my day off, but today I have decided to head to the world famous Patio Pancake Place, play a little football (soccer) with my good friend Payton McCollum at the Salida Park, and do a little laundry. I realize that this is quite possibly the most boring post that I have ever composed in the almost three years that I have written in this space, but when you spend a number of weeks living in a completely different atmosphere, the return to "civilization" is always a bit jarring.

For instance, after eating the same meal for the last three summers that I have worked here, the simple ability to choose which food I would like to eat on a daily basis is almost a paralyzing experience in those first few days after you finish up at Trek. Also, the ability to constantly head to the porcelain god or lay down in a bed becomes a luxury that you are incredibly thankful for on a daily basis. I'm not saying that Trek staffers develop the Tom Hanks in Castaway syndrome where we choose to sleep on the floor of the hotel room instead of the king-size bed, but to a certain extent you learn to deal with some of the minor hardships in life in a more evenhanded manner.

It doesn't necessarily matter that something falls on the floor before you eat it or that each mattress is not perfectly adjusted to your sleep number. You become thankful for the opportunity to head inside to escape the rain instead of running to a crewfly or your tent. In some small way, I become detached from the world when I return each week.

I do not watch the clouds as closely as I do on trail, nor do I sense each breath of wind that passes through the trees. Back here, I've learned to insulate myself from the churning rhythm of the earth. I'm ensconced in my small creature comforts and somehow I think I'm the worse for it.

Propping Mountains Up on Matchsticks

Congratulations to Mr. Andrew Tuegel for correctly naming "Warning Sign" by Coldplay as last Saturday's Song of the Day. It's good to know that you can count on death, taxes, and Andrew Tuegel naming Coldplay songs as the three immutable truths of the human existence.

Well, I have returned from a challenging and rewarding week on Grizzly Peak with YES (Youth Encouragement Services) of Nashville. It was a week of marathons. It was the first time that I have ever spent five, yes five, hours trying to get one, yes one, camper to rappel. Also, our summit trip yesterday spanned almost 12 hours, which makes for a long day for everyone, even the supposedly invincible guides. All in all, it was another great week in the mountains.

The aspect of this trip that made it truly special is that for many of the kids on this trip, this was not simply a trip to another state, it was almost a trip to another world. Many of these kids had never slept in a tent before, let alone even thought about climbing a mountain. Out of the thirteen kids who came on the trip, it was the the inaugural airplane ride for 12 of them.

Somehow, we were able to complete one of the most challenging summit hikes that Wilderness Trek throws at potential groups. I would love to think that our summit was due to the excellent guiding services of Brittany Seay, Connor Halstead, and yours truly, but deep down, I knew there was something else out there pushing those kids beyond what they thought they could ever accomplish. That's why I love this job.

In other news, I was very pleased to see Liverpool take down Werder Bremen of the German Bundesliga in a preseason friendly in Switzerland on Tuesday night. Newly signed Urkanian striker Andriy Voronin had two goals and Mr. John Arne Riise contributed a left-footed thunderstrike to complete the scoring for the Reds. You can see the full highlights here:

Liverpool 3-2 Werder Bremen - All the goals and highlights
Uploaded by lfcredsdotcom

That's about all for today, but I'll be back with more tomorrow.

I Missed the Good Part Then I Realized

Congratulations to Mr. Dan Carlson for correctly naming "California Stars" by Wilco as the most recent Song of the Day. Dan, I want you to know that I was forced to attend Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix last night. No, I was not forced into the theater at gunpoint, but when everyone else on staff was heading to the film, and I had the option of hanging out in Colorado Springs by myself, it's not as if I'm going to call up James Dobson to see what's crackin'. I'm not sure if this is healthy, but if I saw Daniel Radcliffe walking down the street today, I just might demand $9.25 from his grubby little paws.


Ladies and gentlemen, young and old, faithful readers of Running Down a Dream,


I know that it has pained you to be without my musings for almost a week, and for that I am sincerely sorry. Along with Isaac Bray, I had a fantastic week on Mount Arkansas with Memorial Church of Christ from Houston. Somehow all of the kids in the youth group thought that I looked like "Lars" from Heavyweights. They were constantly throwing out phrases like "Don't pee in the vater", and other things that are enjoyable to say in a German accent. I'm pretty sure that I look nothing like the Tom Hodges (the actor who plays Lars), but sometimes wisdom proceeds from the mouths of children. Lars is shown in the photo above pandering to the masochistic tendencies of master trainer, Tony Perkis. "Campers, today lunch has been cancelled due to a lack of hustle."


Next week, I am going to be on trail with Ms. Brittany Seay and Mr. Connor Halstead as we lead YES (not the rock band, Youth Encouragement Services) from Nashville to the summit of Grizzly Peak. I'm pretty sure that I'm going to make constant "Owner of a Lonely Heart" references until the kids acknowledge their musical compatriots, but I probably shouldn't hold my breath.


Until Thursday...

Wake Up From My Starbed and Make Another Day

After a quick trip to Aspen yesterday, I'm ready to start the Summer 2007 Trek experience with a week on Mt. Arkansas accompanied by Isaac Bray and the youth group from Memorial Church of Christ of Houston, Texas.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to visit the below pictured Maroon Lake just outside of Aspen. I often get frustrated with myself at how I take the mountains for granted each summer, but as we drove up to the lake and the Maroon Bells came into view for the first time, it was all I could do to not pull over the car and simply stare in wonder at the sheer force of the peaks jutting into the Colorado sky.

It's good to be back in Colorado. I'll be back with more on Thursday.

I'd Like to Dream My Troubles All Away

Faithful readers of Running Down a Dream, I'm coming to you LIVE from the Salida, Colorado Public Library!!! This is my first time to write in the SPL since last summer, and I am looking forward to using it as my base of blogging operations once again.

During my journey from the 903 to Centennial State I enjoyed a nice 36 hour stopover in the one and only Key City. (Abilene, Texas for the uninitiated. Or those who didn't pledge GSP. Either way.) It was a genuine pleasure seeing old friends, watching Joey "Jaws" Chestnut restore America to the top of the gluttony ladder, and view Michael Bay's latest offering, Transformers. All in all, it was one of the more enjoyable Fourth of July's that I have ever spent sans pyrotechnics.

In fantastic news on the Liverpool FC front, yesterday the Reds signed Atletico Madrid and Spanish National Team striker Fernando Torres to a 6-year deal . Torres, 23, is an outstanding pickup for the Liverpool and may be exactly what they need to return to the top of the Premiership next season.

With all that said, it's great to be here in Salida again. I knew I was back at Trek earlier this afternoon when one of the other guides sent a camper over to ask me inane questions about the Battle of the Bulge. The kid thoroughly enjoyed it when I was able to tell him the 4-letter response that General Anthony McAuliffe gave to the German Commander's request for surrender: "Nuts."

Nuts indeed, Tony.

I Was Chewin' Gum For Something to Do

Congratulations to Mr. Mason Orr for correctly naming "Pleasure and Pain" by Ben Harper as the Thursday Song of the Day.

Now that the month of July has arrived, I have finished my internship at the Tyler U.S. Attorney's Office and it is now time to move on to the Centennial State (Colorado) for about a month. Due to the unfortunate fact that most of the mountains I will be spending time on do not yet receive wireless internet coverage, I will probably not be able to write with great frequency in the coming month but fear not. I will still come to you each weekend with detailed accounts of my adventures on the trail. You'll have to wait about a week for those to begin though. Such is life.

Honestly, the real reason I'm headed to Colorado is a little place called Asssssssspen and the purchase of this house. Saudi royalty? Saudi smoyalty. I'm probably going to lose an appendage for that one.