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.

Two More Mountains... On Opposite Sides of the State (well kinda)

UPDATE: super secret hiking pictures are here.

A gorgeous 50-degree day in Boston. In the middle of January. Probably just the Earth making a statement to anti-global-warming people: "are you guys fucking serious?" Anyway, Sarah and I decided to make the most of the weather, so we hiked a couple of mountains on Saturday.

It was a pretty tame night at the Tufts Loj; just played a couple two-person drinking games. Then we woke up bright and early and drove to almost-Vermont to hike two mountains: Starr King and Waumbek (only Waumbek counts as a White Mountains 4000 footer).

This is called "snow." It is something most Bostonians haven't seen for a long, long time.

Only 6.4ish miles round trip (out and back), but it looked like Skyrim the entire way. Starr King had a "kinda-view" of a snow-capped mountain range farther off, so I'll take it. Also, it had a fireplace and chimney of sorts? I assume to light one of the beacons to warn Rohan or Gondor of an impending attack. We continued another mile to summit Waumbek: completely viewless, but it was a fun hike.

The summit is around here somewhere. Now where did I put that damn summit...

The entire trail was a constant, easy-moderate uphill, so it only took us maybe 4 hours total. We started out pretty early, but started seeing more and more people on the trail as we continued down, including a few dogs wearing snow-booties. Probably not as effective as our microspikes, but WAY more adorbs.

I think the mountain range behind us is the "Misty Mountains," known for their vast number of goblin inhabitants

It was only 11:30 and we figured we had time for another mountain, so we drove over to Tecumseh. This is a 5-mile round trip out and back hike. It's basically a straight shot to the summit with a small loop at the top. It's so close to Waterville Valley that you could probably spit on the skiers there (I recommend not doing this). It was a constant, moderate uphill the entire way. We were able to beast it up thanks to the microspikes (seriously, I friggn love those things), see a little bit of a view at the top, and then literally run down the mountain in 2 hours and 15 minutes.

Tecumseh has a view! In THAT direction!

Sarah attempts to slide down the mountain on her jacket. Maybe next time...

Microspikes: you have saved my life

This hike would not have been possible without microspikes. I owe the inventor of this fantastic hiking apparatus a sack full of gold. I'm not sure where I'm going to obtain this sack of gold, but it's happening.
Update: I have put pictures here and they will KNOCK YOUR FUCKING SOCKS OFF.

I think it's safe to say that this adventure started the morning of New Years day. My head was teaching me a very harsh lesson about the dangers of consuming alcohol, but after a hearty brunch at 3pm, I was ready for something awesome. A bunch of people had off work the following day, so I suggested we go up to the Tufts Loj that night and then hike. It turns out that Katie Rizzolo simultaneously had the exact same idea, and Michelle merrily joined our rag-tag group of immortals for the first Loj adventure of 2012. There were a few others staying at the Loj that night with the intentions of "skiing" the next day. I'm not sure how much snow there was for them to ski on, but I'll be damned if they didn't try.
The hike we decided on was a 10 mile trek traversing 4 mountains: Tom, Willey, Field, and Avalon (which isn't one of the 48 4000-footers, but it had the best viewing point of all the mountains). The first 1.5 miles (and incidentally the last 1.5, since we retrace the same part of the hike back to the parking lot) was just a solid brick of ice. I guess it had been slushy and then froze overnight to the point in which it was a slippery death-trap. Fortunately, all three of us had microspikes, which saved the day. Holy crap, they were awesome: you can RUN on the ice. We actually hiked faster than if there were no snow/ice at all. I felt like I could walk up a vertical wall of ice with these things. And I certainly intend to try.
The hike was a lot of fun, especially with all the snow. Everything looked like Skyrim.

There are HERDS of Moose in that field of snow-covered trees. Somewhere...

Tom was the first mountain. You leave the main trail for about half a mile in order to summit, and then back down. An adorbs wild bird PERCHED ON MY FUCKING HAND. This mountain is almost too magical to handle.
The next was Willey. It had a great view of the Washington Hotel and surrounding area.

Everything the light touches is yours. ESPECIALLY the Washington Hotel.

This mountain also had a bonus feature: AWESOME DOGS. So that was great. But we had to keep moving because shit was getting cold and we had moar mountains to conquer. We summited Field next - another great view of the Presidential Ridge. I didn't remember it looking so Skyrim-y before, but it definitely does now.

I kept drinking water the entire time: not because I was thirsty, but to prevent the camelback hose from freezing

Lastly, we went back a different route to go over Avalon Mountain. It was way smaller than the other three, but had the best view by far. I guess the only thing left for me to do was claim my territory:

Literally the only time I write in cursive

Recap: snow hiking is fun, microspikes are God's greatest gift to Mankind, peeing is funny