Life Goals... workin on it

Back in May of 2011 I granted the world access to my "Under 30" list: http://sevsgoeswest.blogspot.com/2011/05/before-im-30.html

Basically, after I graduated Tufts undergrad, I made a list of all the stuff I wanted to accomplish before the ripe age of 30.  Whelp: today I turn 27.  Which means I have exactly 3 years to complete this list.  It seems daunting, but after looking at what I've accomplished so far, it looks like I'm on pace.  I mean, some of these things are going to require a serious shift in life priorities, but it's good to know that I'm on track.

1. Oktoberfest in Munich - I should begin preparations to research this for 2014.  Who's in?
2. Get a dog - after Kyle obtained Beckett (click here to transport to puppytimes), it became clear that my mastery over such a creature must commence shortly.
3. Skydive - COMPLETE (there was this one time when I fell out of a plane but an altruistic parachute saved me)
4. Triathlon - COMPLETE.  Well, it was a sprint triathlon, but still I'm counting it.  I might try an all-out-no-chance-of-survival triathlon sometime in the future too though.
5. Climb Kilimanjaro - COMPLETE.  I'm going to be honest here, that one was a stretch, but I pulled it off.  And my life lesson was that it sucks to breath when you're at 19,300 ft and there's no oxygen.

Climbing to the Top of Africa should be on everyone's "Under 30" list

6. Go to California - COMPLETE.  I was a kinda-resident for a few months.  You know... the title of this very blag?
7. Go to Yellowstone - COMPLETE.

It was majestic in all the right ways.  I even made a couple of bear and moose buddies.

8. Learn another language - um... well on the bright side, when I was there I was able to have VERY simple (VERY horrendous) conversations, so maybe I'm getting there?  I really need to put in some time for this one...
9. Learn how to solo on the guitar - my current tactic to "completely ignore my guitar and forget everything I once knew about it" does not seem to be paying off.  I'm going to have to switch strategies.
10. Go to New Orleans for Mardi Gras - ok, so my options are to do this either next year or the year after.  I should figure this thing out.
11. Go to Japan - WHY DID I SET SUCH LOFTY GOALS.  But no, I'm going to do this.  Just you wait.
12. Eat the Vermonster - COMPLETE.  It took a handful of ice cream warriors, but we pulled it off and kept the bucket as proof.  Side note: you will not be allowed into the Hong Kong with a giant empty bucket.  Who knew?
13. Paint the Tufts cannon - I need to just buy some paint and do this.
14. Drink around the world at Epcot - the idea is to drink one specialty drink from each of the countries in Epcot.  It sounds like a fantastic day.
15. Wear Greenman suit to a sports game - COMPLETE.  I went to a pre-season Eagles game when they came up to New England to play against the Patriots in full Greenman attire.  It was great: the Eagles destroyed them (and then proceeded to have one of the worst seasons in years).  I got a lot of strange looks, but that only fueled my pro-Eagles rage.
16. Eat the world's spiciest burger - COMPLETE (UGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH I REGRET EVERYTHING).
17. Get Master's Degree - COMPLETE.  No thesis defense is complete without getting the worst migrane in the world and throwing up on your way home.
18. Backpack in the Alps - I've got a backpack and camera.  Now all I need is the money and time.
19. Brew beer - COMPLETE.  I have since brewed 7 different batches, and will be working with fellow n00b brewers on the 8th soon (RIGHT Alex???)
20. Hike the Presidentials - COMPLETE.  It took 15 hours, but we got it done in one day.  EPIC HIKE 2k11.

Some of it was inside a pingpong ball, but that's how the White Mountains operate

21. Go to Bay to Breakers - COMPLETE. Run?  No.  Dress up to the theme of Rumspringa while raging across San Fransisco?  Yes.

The weather is... perfect?  Is this really SF?

22. Hike all 48 4000 footers of the White Mountains - COMPLETE. Great way to get out and hike a bunch of different mountains (while also trying microspikes, snowshoeing, not dying in freezing cold weather, etc.).

It's Skyrim

23. Go to Smokey Mountain National Park - after reading things like "A Walk in the Woods" and "anything ever written about the Smokies: this isn't a book it's just me typing in quotes," I must visit.  They have ridiculous synchronous firefly mating.  Planning a Tennessee road trip for this June.

13/23 completed.  These next three years are going to either be epic or heartbreaking.

I hiked some mountains and my ankle didn't snap in half

Before I start hurling awesome adventurefest memories at you and pummeling you with superlatives, let me first make a few comments. That's actually less of a request and more of a "hey, shut up for a second because I'm going to say some semi-related stuffs."

After tearing nearly every ligament in my ankle, I spent a few months stomping around in a horrific-smelling boot and working through PT and can now say that my ankle is doing ok. I can at least hike and play flag football, so: good enough for now. But sitting on the sidelines for over two months was enough to make me want to increase my adventure rate 300%. It was kind of like one of those near-death experiences where people go out and live life to the fullest after almost dying. Except for my foot. The week after I was cleared in PT (actually, it was a week before, but whatever, everything worked out), I hiked 3 days within an 8-day time period. It was great and my ankle didn't explode, so good news there.

Finally, I'm physically capable of returning to my "I want to go do ALL the things" mentality, and as such became more interested in completing the White Mountain 4000 foot challenge. This is where you hike all 48 mountains above 4000 ft in the White Mountain range in NH. My friend Katie aggressively accomplished this feat within a year (and I helped!). You should probably check out her blag, because it highlights the highs and lows of her adventures, and does a good job explaining how crittering around the northeast can be a mind-blowingly awesome challenge. The 4000 footer challenge has both positive and negative aspects though. On the plus side, it is a great impetus to get out and go hike some friggn amazing mountains and try things you normally wouldn't seek out. It also provides a safe outlet for those of us who need to hardcore adventure at least once every seven days or else we'd destroy entire cities with our pent-up rage. On the down-side, it seems fairly easy to get wrapped up in the whole "check this mountain off the list" mentality. If you are going through life saying "I'd need to complete my little list of hikes and will only go if it's on the list and if I haven't done it yet" then you, sir or madam, are losing the game. SHIT we all just lost the game... But anyway, I see it as a driver to hike more instead of "knocking out another mountain on the list," so I'm not too worried about falling into that trap. In fact, I'm starting to plan a 3-day backpacking trip sometime in June, hiking around something like 12 mountains. It's going to be epic; let me know if you want to join.

So anyway, at this point I've done 16 peaks. Calm down, 8 of them were on one trip. We hiked 21 miles from sunrise to sunset, I think we battled a dragon, all-in-all it was pretty baller. I also already wrote about it and have no intention of repeating myself.

I had also done two peaks, the Osceolas, back in June. It was a lot of fun, had a bunch of great views, but was infested with skin-nomming bugs that were particularly interested in Michelle's neck. It was a great hike for beginners; I would definitely recommend it. Oh and I did Moosilauki sometime in August. THAT was an awesome hike. A lot of really cool waterfalls and really steep rock scrambles. The fog was pretty heavy at the top. Definitely the view from inside a pingpong ball. Oh well, it was a really fun hike. And nobody died, so that's always a plus.

Then, a couple weeks ago, when I was like "meh, my ankle is good enough. Let's go hiking," Katie, Michelle, Rob and I hiked up Garfield. It was a pretty easy hike, which was helpful when you're going from "no hiking for two months with a broken limb" to "climbing up mountains before you're technically allowed to?" But it was still somewhat warm IN DECEMBER, so that helped.

It was basically Skyrim

And by the time we got to the top, my ankle was only minimally throbbing and BEST VIEW EVER.

There were even some questionable Titanic-esque poses, but we're going to keep this PG. If you want to see them, they are here, but be careful because they might cause a violent digestive reaction.

The next morning Sarah and I decided to go hike the two Hancock peaks. The next morning. My foot was still balloon-sized from the previous day, and all my muscles were like "you bitch. We haven't done shit for two months and then you go and play football and hike a goddamn mountain? Fuck you." The... conditions in which we decided to hike this particular morning were... hilarious. However, that story is not for prying internet eyes. But yes, we drove up to New Hampshire, spur of the moment, and hiked two mountains. It was a really flat, easy hike up until you get to the Hancock loop. Then it is a vertical climb to the top of the mountain. That is a small exaggeration, but we definitely got quite a workout. Again, another clear, warm day in December. What the fuck is going on New England?

The headband is less for ear warmth and more about making a fashion statement

Then last weekend, Sarah, Katie and I hiked the two Tripyramid peaks (well there are three, but only two are on the 4000 footer list). It was a little bit colder than the preceding weekend and there was a deal more snow on the ground, but for December it was a really nice, clear day. Finding our way to the parking area was a bit confusing, but after getting there it was a fairly easy hike. We didn't need microspikes or snowshoes or anything. River crossings were a bit icy and precarious, but nobody went swimming this time. We scrambled up the south rockslide, with one of the best, Skyrimiest views I had yet seen in the White Mountains.

I own this land

Trudging through the snow was a lot of fun, and actually made the loose pebbly rocks stick together, so it wasn't as difficult as it could have been. Katie and I took a few shocker pictures, made some snow angels, the usual.

Katie's snow angels are often mistaken for those of children

Gloves and a hat were a good idea. Also, Katie's camelback tube froze, so I might want to consider getting some kind of thermal insulator. Or not, because I rarely get around to things like that. But it's a good idea.

It was SO CLEAR out I could just DIE

We opted NOT to go down the north rockslide, but instead took a longer, less steep option. Katie had PTSD from her first time sliding down the rocks when it WASN'T icy out, so I was glad we had an alternate path. We finished around 2:30, which is great because the Sun was still up, which isn't always the case in December, when it's dark out for like 43 hours a day.