(no subject)
Well, behind the cut contains my final plans for summer this year. It's a little long, but I bet you'll be really jealous by the time you finish reading.
Okay, so this all starts out with National History Day in Washington, D.C. We don't know if I might be able to compete yet, but I'm definately going regardless of that fact. We're flying out on the tenth of June and flying back a week later. The competion and pressure is bound to be fierce, but the people of NHD are sure to make it a fun experience.
But, for the most part, we're spending a lot of the time sightseeing.
Basically, seven great days of eating cheap food, swimming the hotel pool, shopping, and touring the corruption of America.
YAY.
After that, I'm coming back home to rest before my next adventure. I'm not sure if anyone here has heard of Outward Bound before (and its probably not most of your guy's cup of tea), but it's an amazing 50-year-long program. They teach you what real hard work is through your choice of a number of program.
Since I have some background in it, I chose the Washington State Sea Kayaking and Backpacking course.
People from around the country all meet at the Sea-Tac airport and we get bused for about an hour and a half to base camp Anacortes. We do a variety of icebreakers and welcoming activites before we pack our personal stuff in our gear bags. Either that night or early the next morning, we immediately head out to the San Juan Islands for five to six days. We'll paddle most of the entire day in the company of orca whales, sea otters, and puffins. Depending on the tides, we later set up camp at one of our chosen islands for night after an exhausting day.
After that, we get picked up and are bused to Misama, our next base camp. That night we trade our water shoes for hiking boots and go into the North Cascades for our backpacking journey. Its expected that we'll travel about 15 miles a day, give or take. Somewhere in the middle of the second week, we do a peak ascent (meaning, um, climbing up a giant freaking mountain). At the very end is a 24-hour solo reflection period. We go out of sight from everyone else in our group and are only within earshot of our instructors. Apparently, most people sleep 85 percent of the time. But for the remainder of the time alone, many come to life-changing confrontations with themselves and their meaning in the world.
Did I mention you actually fast during that period? Yeahh.
You might think its a little harsh, but don't be mistaken- this is no recreational summer camp. Many times people spend all-nighters paddling (think 11AM to 5AM). Backpacking until you can't even stand is typical. You don't bring makeup, ipods, cell phones, or even other food (which consists largely of backpacking dried food and canned meat... yuck). You're lucky to have the luxury of a shower once or twice the entire trip. OB also practices Leave No Trace, meaning you pack out anything you take in, including food, ashes from fires, and.... well, poopoo. It is so tough, there's an eight week training program on their website and most people still end up losing about 20 pounds on the trip. However, people swear up and down that though its tough and you're pushed to the breaking points of your emotional, physical, and mental limits, it's still fun and "one of the most important things you will ever do in your life".
Here's just a sample of what I'd be doing:
Add that to my three week East Coast trip in October, my cruise in spring break, and possibly Europe next year.
But for now, here's to one bad ass summer. :]
Okay, so this all starts out with National History Day in Washington, D.C. We don't know if I might be able to compete yet, but I'm definately going regardless of that fact. We're flying out on the tenth of June and flying back a week later. The competion and pressure is bound to be fierce, but the people of NHD are sure to make it a fun experience.
But, for the most part, we're spending a lot of the time sightseeing.
Basically, seven great days of eating cheap food, swimming the hotel pool, shopping, and touring the corruption of America.
YAY.
After that, I'm coming back home to rest before my next adventure. I'm not sure if anyone here has heard of Outward Bound before (and its probably not most of your guy's cup of tea), but it's an amazing 50-year-long program. They teach you what real hard work is through your choice of a number of program.
Since I have some background in it, I chose the Washington State Sea Kayaking and Backpacking course.
People from around the country all meet at the Sea-Tac airport and we get bused for about an hour and a half to base camp Anacortes. We do a variety of icebreakers and welcoming activites before we pack our personal stuff in our gear bags. Either that night or early the next morning, we immediately head out to the San Juan Islands for five to six days. We'll paddle most of the entire day in the company of orca whales, sea otters, and puffins. Depending on the tides, we later set up camp at one of our chosen islands for night after an exhausting day.
After that, we get picked up and are bused to Misama, our next base camp. That night we trade our water shoes for hiking boots and go into the North Cascades for our backpacking journey. Its expected that we'll travel about 15 miles a day, give or take. Somewhere in the middle of the second week, we do a peak ascent (meaning, um, climbing up a giant freaking mountain). At the very end is a 24-hour solo reflection period. We go out of sight from everyone else in our group and are only within earshot of our instructors. Apparently, most people sleep 85 percent of the time. But for the remainder of the time alone, many come to life-changing confrontations with themselves and their meaning in the world.
Did I mention you actually fast during that period? Yeahh.
You might think its a little harsh, but don't be mistaken- this is no recreational summer camp. Many times people spend all-nighters paddling (think 11AM to 5AM). Backpacking until you can't even stand is typical. You don't bring makeup, ipods, cell phones, or even other food (which consists largely of backpacking dried food and canned meat... yuck). You're lucky to have the luxury of a shower once or twice the entire trip. OB also practices Leave No Trace, meaning you pack out anything you take in, including food, ashes from fires, and.... well, poopoo. It is so tough, there's an eight week training program on their website and most people still end up losing about 20 pounds on the trip. However, people swear up and down that though its tough and you're pushed to the breaking points of your emotional, physical, and mental limits, it's still fun and "one of the most important things you will ever do in your life".
Here's just a sample of what I'd be doing:
Add that to my three week East Coast trip in October, my cruise in spring break, and possibly Europe next year.
But for now, here's to one bad ass summer. :]