We are right in the middle of it, the season with no excuses. this is the one time of year where getting outdoors and getting active has no limits except for that the days on the calendar are counting down.
Think back a month or two, when you were eagerly awaiting the warmth and the light of the shining sun. You talked to your friends about all the plans you'd hatched for the summer. The concerts to see, the patios to visit and maybe even a camping trip if you're brave enough.
How many of these plans have you seen through? How many things can you cross off your summer to-do list?
Look at your calendar and start putting the things you really want to do in the spaces where work and partying are.
This past month i've spent over 200 hours at my new job with AmbuTrans. A private ambulance service that does patient transfers between hospitals, nursing homes, rehab, residence etc. I've wanted to blog about my work for a long time now and although I have been writing and keeping notes on the experience I haven't been ready to publish anything until recently.
I'd love to be able to sum up my time in an ambulance in a neat section of prose but it's tougher than it seems. There are a lot of mixed emotions that come with working in healthcare. Some days you feel like your really making a difference and have finally found a place for yourself in the world, and then there are the days where every moment feels like you've been put in the deep end and your in over your head.
On my second day a patient had a seizure in my arms. I found him on the floor and after some struggle managed to carry him back to his bed. After the nurses and doctors came into the room and the ward was put on code blue and isolated I walked away from the bed towards the sink to wash the blood from my arms and remove my gloves. It was only my second day, I had barely removed the tags from my uniform and I was already keeled over the sink trying not to throw up.
Other days I talk to elderly patients for hours about everything they've seen in their long and full lives and we swap stories about travel, adventure and watching the city of Toronto change over the years. Sometimes i'll ask about life during WWII and others they'll go on for the whole ride about their grandkids and how lucky kids are these days. It's these days that your compelled to do more, see more, learn more.
My days in the ambulance are shared with people of all races, colours, religions, tax brackets and borders. In all the conversations i've had so far i have yet to hear anyone complain about exploration or travel. When I say exploration it's not just trekking through a jungle, I mean trying something you've always wanted to. Whether it's eating sushi for the first time or paddling class five, explore your limits in everything you do. You'll never regret missing a day of work to cross an item of your bucket list. You'll never apologize to your friends for missing a drunken night so you could see a part of the city you've being meaning to visit or finish that climb thats been on your mind for so long.
Dont wait for the right time, it's now. Don't ask for approval, it's up to you. Do the things that make your heart race and your head spin.
Although the experiences at my new job might be taxing on my heart and head they drive me further into doing what I love, because it's only once the road ends that the real journey begins.
Get Outside
OS
10,000 Hours
Silence is one of those essential elements that people crave when they're lives are too cluttered or busy. It's also the thing we try to avoid when our lives aren't busy enough. When there's too much silence our thoughts can consume us too quickly.
Driving has always been a therapeutic activity for me and especially lately because the stereo in my Subaru is on the fritz. I've often done the five hour drive from Pembroke back to Markham/Toronto with friends, hitch hikers and other travel buddies but this time I was alone with my thoughts and a car full of my belongings (finally moved out!).
At first I really despised my car for not having any music to listen to but thats changed in the last few weeks. The endless kilometers started to rack up on the way home and my brain started to run numbers. It might seem strange at first but I think on long trips of any kind you start to wonder how far have I gone exactly? how many litres of gas have i burned? how many paddle strokes have i taken? how many meters of rock have i climbed? how many? how much? how long?
(May 2009-May 2010) (Estimates)
This year i've driven over 35,000km, climbed over 500m of rock, spent over 100 hours tied into a rope, bouldered more than 100 hours, hiked more than 100km and taken over 4000 photo's of people participating in things they love.
Some of these numbers are impressive others are just notable.
In my third semester this year my professor Jeff Jackson brought up an idea. Malcom Gladwell a writer for the New Yorker wrote a book called "Outliers" and in this book he repeatedly mentions the rule of "10,000 hours". Too be truly great at anything (painting, climbing, writing, driving ..anything at all) you have to reach the 10,000 hour mark in your specific activity.
It's only there, at the 10,000 hour mark that you can seperate yourself from the field of the merely average.
There are obviously other factors that play into this theory and i recommend people take a look at this book. But what i'm trying to get at is finding out what you really love doing.
What is it that you want to be great at? How many hours, kilometers, paddle strokes, meters of rock and brush strokes have you committed already? Run the numbers, find out how far you have to go to be truly extraordinary.
My goal for this coming summer and year is to double those numbers. Go farther, go faster, climb harder and get closer to the 10,000 hours.
Get Outside
OS
Buoux
After 12 days of climbing in Buoux (Be-you-ex) we can say without a doubt that we lived the dream. It was everything we expected and more. Our graduating class gave their presentations on the various expeditions they executed and we showed the trailer to our film (currently titled Buoux).
It's tough to summarize everything that happened while in France because it's only been three days since our return and I still feel very involved in the wrapping up of this expedition.
The trailer is able to describe the expedition much better than I can in writing for now. We're hard at work trying to get this project finished so we can show the final product.
Thanks again to all our friends, familys and especially our sponsors!
Algonquin College
Running Free
Hardings Pharmacy
Yantha Cycle
As well I'd like to wish the Outdoor Adventure graduating class of 2010 goodbye and goodluck. It was the wildest two years yet and I hope everyone keeps pushing the boundaries of adventure travel and sports. Thanks for the memories and the inspiration. Save a spot on your couches and living room floors for me where ever you go because this party just started.
Get Outside
OS
It's tough to summarize everything that happened while in France because it's only been three days since our return and I still feel very involved in the wrapping up of this expedition.
The trailer is able to describe the expedition much better than I can in writing for now. We're hard at work trying to get this project finished so we can show the final product.
Thanks again to all our friends, familys and especially our sponsors!
Algonquin College
Running Free
Hardings Pharmacy
Yantha Cycle
As well I'd like to wish the Outdoor Adventure graduating class of 2010 goodbye and goodluck. It was the wildest two years yet and I hope everyone keeps pushing the boundaries of adventure travel and sports. Thanks for the memories and the inspiration. Save a spot on your couches and living room floors for me where ever you go because this party just started.
Get Outside
OS
Too Far Gone
It's literally down to the hours now.
In the morning the eight people who have worked so hard to reach this point will load their vehicles, board their buses and check into their seats on their flights only to realize their goals are now within arms reach.
Our friends have wished us well, our family's have given their support and love, our mothers have made us recheck our bags and warned us about staying away from strange people/places. Our instructors have made us clear about the rules and reminded us of equipment to recheck and our travel agents have reminded us over and over not to miss our flights.
In the last hours I want to thank everyone who played a part in the planning of this expedition. The instructors, professors, work colleagues, students, family's, sponsors and all the friends of the group who made this possible and reminded us of why we love doing what we do.
It's easy to forget where that original excitement came from during stressful times. 8 months ago we sat in front of a computer with a digital image of planet earth in front of us. Pointing, zooming, rotating, researching and always laughing we felt like the entire world was at our finger tips.
Tomorrow planet earth is going to feel a whole lot smaller than the image we pulled up on that screen. Our promise to all the people involved and all the readers of this blog is to make the most of the journey and remember that the spirit of adventure lives on.
Get Outside
OS
Paper Trail
Hours have been spent pouring over maps, staring at pixels of a digital image that is supposed to represent cliffs, campsites and mountains. This place is half a world away, but i've never been more sick of looking at a place i've never been.
In 10 hours this 80 page document that details our climbing trip to France is due. Itinerary's, meal plans, budgets, safety plans and endless descriptions of the route are spread across the library table. The room is empty except for Drew and I, but somehow we have never felt so cluttered and confined. The pieces of paper are falling off the desk (no desk seems big enough to hold them all) and no matter how many times I number pages we can never find the ones that are needed.
This is trip planning.
Later that night after bringing down the beast that was our trip report I started my walk home. Exhausted, brain hurting and wondering why I took this on in the first place, I wondered about where this love of a vertical life came from. What sane people spend thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours of planning to camp out in a foreign country so that they can climb up cliff faces?
Staring at the bathroom mirror, brushing my teeth I thought about how climbing is an inexplicable addiction. Endless articles have been written about how mountaineers swear off climbing after close calls or even watching their friends die on the mountain. How sport climbers can shatter ankles & break legs but will hike back to the climb site so they can try again before even fully recovering.
I remember speaking to a climbing guide once and the subject of love & relationships came up. He immediately laughed and said that for a climber (and guide especially) "Our chapstick outlasts our relationships"
I still consider myself very new to this community of climbers but never have I have found such a collection of enigma's.
All I can determine for now is that if this sport really is a lifelong addiction, then I'm already too far gone.
Here we come France.
OS
In 10 hours this 80 page document that details our climbing trip to France is due. Itinerary's, meal plans, budgets, safety plans and endless descriptions of the route are spread across the library table. The room is empty except for Drew and I, but somehow we have never felt so cluttered and confined. The pieces of paper are falling off the desk (no desk seems big enough to hold them all) and no matter how many times I number pages we can never find the ones that are needed.
This is trip planning.
Later that night after bringing down the beast that was our trip report I started my walk home. Exhausted, brain hurting and wondering why I took this on in the first place, I wondered about where this love of a vertical life came from. What sane people spend thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours of planning to camp out in a foreign country so that they can climb up cliff faces?
Staring at the bathroom mirror, brushing my teeth I thought about how climbing is an inexplicable addiction. Endless articles have been written about how mountaineers swear off climbing after close calls or even watching their friends die on the mountain. How sport climbers can shatter ankles & break legs but will hike back to the climb site so they can try again before even fully recovering.
I remember speaking to a climbing guide once and the subject of love & relationships came up. He immediately laughed and said that for a climber (and guide especially) "Our chapstick outlasts our relationships"
I still consider myself very new to this community of climbers but never have I have found such a collection of enigma's.
All I can determine for now is that if this sport really is a lifelong addiction, then I'm already too far gone.
Here we come France.
OS
Shine On You Crazy Diamond
(The view from Kid Goat MTN of Yamnuska, June '09. Alberta)
It's happening slowly but surely enough, the sun is peaking out from behind the clouds and the signs of seasons changing are starting to show again. Here in Ontario it's been a short and somewhat disappointing winter (for snow and ice) but as always we can look ahead and look forward to more.
Right now big trips are my main focus, Final Expedition is on it's way and Buoux, France is starting to look sweeter than ever. Sport climbing at this remote locale in one of the most beautiful sections of our planet has never sounded better.
The planning for summer expeditions is also starting to roll, anyone with ideas feel free to contact me. I'd like to learn more about whitewater or cycle touring, tell me your thoughts.
Spring is around the corner, a time for for renewal. New adventures, friends and reasons to smile.
Go, Get Outside.
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