Heaps of inactivity!

Hey again guys!
I've been way inactive over the last month and a half, life just sort of crept up on me.
I have been job searching, and in the mean-time been kayaking, backpacking, and generally adventuring all 'round. I will chronicle some of my adventures in the near future.

Basically I finally found a job at a day camp, and, after orientation yesterday, found out I am nothing more than a glorified towel-boy. Shit.
So I'm hoping that won't be too bad, and I'm going to start asking friends in the area if where they work has any job openings.

Wish me luck!

That Hiking trip

well, this being my next post, I feel like I need to at least explain:
that last post was about the bachelor party/hiking trip in general, but I do not remember what exactly it said. If you can decode it, congratulations, because even I can't. Looks like the whole "blog from your phone" idea has a few bugs.

Anyway, the bachelor party/hiking trip:
We decided to hike around Mt Greylock State Reserve in Massachusetts
We hiked about 12.5-13 miles the first day, we started on Money Brook Trail, but did the hardest trail in the park "Mt Prospect". This trail left us exhausted, causing us to stop just half a mile short of our planned shelter. The next day, we took it easy and did 5-6 miles, stopped at a shelter near a beautiful waterfall, and drank for the rest of the day.  After many tomahawk+knife throws, we set off for the final leg of the trip, 6-8 miles back to the van.
Once we got back, we went for big fat burgers at a local pub.
All in all, I had a great time on this trip.
I have another trip planned for 2 weekends from now, and one kayaking/camping trip in the works between then.
Should be fun!

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Exams and busy stuff!

I've been inactive over the last half a week because of exams (3 finals to do), a wedding shower over the weekend, and trying to find out where I'll be over the summer. So far, the choice is between 4 states and 2 different countries, so it should be an interesting one.
This weekend I'm headed for massachusetts for a hiking trip/bachelor party on the tallest mountain in the state. Should be a good time!
See you guys in a week's time!

Osama bin Laden death

Well, just heard the word. Osama bin Laden, leader of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda has been killed and his body is in human custody.
Let me just ask, am I the only one who realizes that this is not, by any means, the end of the war?  Al-Qaeda is by no means a simple organization, and it was well known that there was a bounty on his head.  There WILL BE a replacement for him, and the organization WILL continue to operate.  The way I see it, odds are good that within a month, there will be a retaliatory attack on US soil.  The only thing I can do is wait.

Stay safe.

Scuba Diving

  About 5 years ago, I invested in equipment and got Scuba Certified for Open Water Dives.  Unfortunately, due to my busy schedule and moving relatively far from the ocean, I have not been able to dive since then.
  After going to the Caribbean and chasing a Black-Tip Reef Shark while snorkeling, my love for the water has been reignited! This summer I plan on getting re-certified through a relatively inexpensive refresher course, so I'm excited to swim with the fishes again!

Slacklining

A few months back, I heard of one of my newest favorite outdoor activities: Slacklining.

Slacklining is done by tightly stretching 1" - 2" high strength nylon webbing between two anchors (usually trees or posts).  Everyone's method for set-up differs; I use a carabiner pully system to get mechanical advantage in the system, while some people opt for an easier to use racheting come-along to crank the line tight.

After the line is sufficiently tight, the goal is to get up on the line (standing, sitting, kneeling, whatever you what!) and walk it, do tricks on it (spins, flips, poses, etc) and just have fun in general.

Slacklining has a very steep learning curve, as it is basically a form of tight rope walking, coupled with trampoline gymnastics.  This dynamic blend makes even just an hour of casual slacklining an extreme core workout!

Check out this video of the Gibbon slacklining team doing their thing!

Rock Climbing!

Lately I've been trying my hand at learning a few more rock climbing moves, and my favorite so far is the 'Dyno', or 'Dynamic Move'.  Basically what you do is get a good footing and grip, then lunge for the next hold, completely letting go of the wall. This is a relatively difficult move to get right, as it takes a lot of coordination and finger strength.
My results:
I managed to get a few moves down, my furthest so far is about 4ft straight up, but I was forced to stop after a hold stripped most of the skin off one of my fingers, so looks like its time to give dynos a rest for now.
Here's an awesome video of an epic dyno!

Hiking and Backpacking

So recently I've been really excited about the summer because I want to do a lot of 3-7 day hiking trips across the eastern US.
Can anyone recommend me some good hiking spots or tips?
Also, hoping to invest in some good gear, so far I have a hand-me-down backpack and sleeping bag from an uncle, a tent, stove+cookware, camelbak and nalgenes, and stuffsacks. I'm looking into water filtration systems as water is kind of important sometimes.
Cheers.

Today is my first blawg.

Blawging all day.
I knew what blawgging was before it was cool.
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hipster glasses yeaa