It's Been Raining for Hours, There's Water Everywhere

2007: Part Deux

July:

• 14: The kids from Memorial C of C in Houston compare me to the evil German camp counselor Lars in Heavyweights. I'm strangely honored.
• 20: Honestly, eating spam is not that bad for a few weeks each summer.
• 26: Lightning and I are almost tragically united.

August:

• 15: I call out Bear Grylles and somehow still survive to this very day.
• 16: Michael Vick: Federal inmate and covert operative for Al Qaeda.
• 22: Anchorwoman begins its rather brief run on Fox. The residents of Tyler exhale as one in response.

September:

• 4: "Battery Hut, Battery Hut, Battery Hut!!!"
• 7: Matt Phillips, we salute you.
• 24: Mike Gundy and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: Just a Couple of Guys Keeping Things Crazy.
• 27: If you are a Texas Rangers fan, hope must spring eternal.

October:

• 1: If you don't think this is yet another opportunity to bring up the GSP Sing Song win streak, well, you just don't know me that well.
• 7: I manage to send the Baylor Bear football program to even greater depths of despair.
• 19: College football fan arrogance at its finest.
• 25: The 3rd Anniversary Post.

November:

• 8: The Trinitarian Opposition to the Evil Empire.
• 13: Ruminations on the phenomenon that is Soulja Boy.
• 15: Take it from me on this one: Always try to remember who's alive and who's dead.
• 28: The Sports Guy's date with destiny.

December:

• 5: Take this quiz and help determine the fate of the free world.
• 10: The best piece I've read so far on the 2008 Presidential election.
• 13: Happy Mitchell Report Day!
• 17: Gus Johnson's status as a liar is still up for debate.
• 19: Anton Chigurh v. Jason Bourne for all the marbles.

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.

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.

With the Words You've Borrowed From the Only Place You've Known

Congratulations to Mr. Dan Carlson for correctly naming "Decatur, or Round of Applause for Your Stepmother!" by Sufjan Stevens as the Sunday Song of the Day. You'll remember Dan as one of the proud majority shareholders in Team Jodayyy and as the current leader of the "Palace and Friends" March Madness (NCAA Trademark) Pool. Dan, if you think this isn't a conscious attempt to jinx you, well you have another thing coming.

This afternoon, as we sat and listened to a presentation from an attorney at Hunton & Williams during LAPP, something pretty neat happened. This is not to say that the presentation was not interesting, but something really good was happening outside of Room 127. I love those moments when the heavens just open up and rain comes pouring down in what can only be described as a deluge.

I began to think about how I view rain in the different contexts of life. When I was younger, rain was something that stood in the way of playing outside, but when the rain stopped, oh, that's when the fun began. We would go out and ride our bikes through the huge puddles that would develop on Gatewood. I'm pretty sure that my Mom didn't like doing laundry after those days due to the fact that I would have a racing stripe up and down my back from the muddy spray that came off of my back wheel, but when you are doing laundry for a young boy, your standards can't be too high.

I thought about all the times on Trek that I have spent a rainy night under a crew fly or in a tent. Out on the trail, the rain was often the thing that I dreaded the most. Well, besides the token kid who wanted to complain about eating Vienna Sausages. Trust me, that argument carries no merit with someone who has to eat them throughout the summer. If you ever have me on trail (which this summer is probably the last time), don't even try that sob story with me, but I digress.

Today, as I sat in the classroom, I was reminded again that spring has arrived. Besides seeing the bluebonnets bloom along the roadways, nothing signals the beginning of Spring better than a good, soaking rainstorm. As I observe the changes in the seasons and the renewal of the earth, I am reminded that my life is an everchanging process. Just as sometimes we must walk through the winter, Spring is always around the corner. I can't wait to see what it brings.