Hello old friend. I still don’t really know weather or not to treat you as a mouthpiece, or a journal, or something in between, but I do feel as though I owe it to you, to myself to do a bit of catching up, as the last few months, weeks, and days, have held a lot of change, and there’s always some sort of tugging reminder to share, or record it, here, for you, for myself, for whatever reason. This has never felt like a project with boundaries, deadlines, or an end, but rather an ongoing and evolving space to share my thoughts and actions, organize them, realize new ones, and continue to strive to be a better human. I’ve always told myself I would not apologize for not blogging, and I won’t. I feel no obligation to myself, to you the reader, or to anyone. Much like the ebb and flow of physical awareness, where it takes an injury or illness to get realigned with the priorities of health and wellness, my aptitude for clear thinking and writing often falter and fizzle, but will in time return.
Another season at Alta has gone by, my first season of ski patrolling and living at the base of the mountain. I can only say how incredibly lucky I feel to have found this place, and offered this job, that allows me to live out and be paid for so many of my passions. Unfortunately my backcountry skiing and adventuring took a backseat to this experience this year, but I imagine as the seasons unfold, I will be able to find more comfort and balance between working, playing, and being in my ski boots for 7 days a week.
Liz broke her foot, and although it wasn’t that bad, meaning not requiring surgery or a cast, she’s still recovering. today marks the 7 week anniversary and she’s had her boot off for about a week, is walking OK and feeling better. but he injury was still significant enough to change our plans and goals for this summer. As a result of this accident, the occasion of my brother’s wedding, and some long overdue family time for myself, we’ve decided to spend the better part of the summer recovering and exploring on the east coast, and that’s where we are now.
After once again packing away our lives, and saying goodbye to Alta, we jumped on a plane bound for Boston Massachusetts. It was both of our first plane rides in several years, and was probably one of the better travelling experiences we’ve had in a while. While we understand the impact of air travel on the environment, the time, ease, and cost make it such an appealing option it couldn’t be overlooked. I don’t expect to be flying often, but the next time I have to travel across the country, I’ll be hard pressed to consider taking the bus or train, knowing how far they have to go co catch up with the ease and affordability of the airplane.
So here we are in Boston, staying with my brother and his fiance Carly for a bit before heading up to Vermont to see my family for the first time in a couple of years. It’s Liz’s first time exploring the east coast and we’ve got some pretty good bike tours planned for the coming months. Hopefully she’ll be back up and climbing by early June, but we’ll be taking it easy till then, hoping to foster a complete recovery.
I’ve got no expectations for the next few months and that feels really good. The only absolutes in my life are my brothers wedding and our eventual return to the Wasatch, which lingers off in the distance like an illusion, somehow more real now, because we just left, then it probably will be in another few weeks. Our bikes are waiting for us up north, having shipped them out previously, and I’m obsessed with getting up there, putting them together, and riding. Liz and I both bought new bikes, racks, and a bunch of bags to make our bike life as enjoyable as possible, I’m sure I’ll be writing about that soon enough.
The seasonal life can be a struggle, being forced to move your life, without a car, every six months, can get pretty stressful and frustrating. but it’s got it’s rewards as well, like the chances to reexamine your routines, goals, and priorities, fresh starts, re-invigoration for life and adventure. it feels great to get off the snow and be around so much water, to smell the fertility of spring. Probably my favorite thing about the seasonal life is the annual re-discovery of my passion for the life in nature: plants, gardens, forests, birds, all the movement of this life is inspiring in ways that resonate deeply with my spirit. The sharp contrast to our winter lives only makes it more appreciable, knowing we’ll soon enough be returning to the stark landscape of the mountains dressed in winter, where the most movement comes from the wind and growth of snowdrifts.
Thanks for continuing to be here, weather or not anyone is reading. Thanks for being place to spill my thoughts and see their (dis) organization, evolution, and cyclical nature. It feels good to be back, here, in this thoughtful headspace and time where this all began. It’s been just about a year since this car-free experiment began, and I’m looking forward to seeing where it’ll take us. I never would have thought we’d be spending a summer on the east coast, but that might be the most exciting part, being faced with surprises and adapting to them. I look forward to traveling slowly and seeing where we’re taken.
happy turns.