Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Fun has delayed blogging








One full week has passed since my last blog, and I'd like to apologize to all of my readers for this transgression. Due to an abundance of work-oriented motivation and a ridiculous amount of fun being had in Colorado, I have been unable to sit down and update the blog. The last week has been full of ups and downs ranging from minor bumps and smiles to very distressing news and total euphoria. It's been a little nuts - in the best way possible. Life is an interesting deal, but so unreasonably rewarding. I'm enjoying mine.

I ran into a guy in the backcountry at the summit of the Great Divide (it's crazy fun to jump back and forth between the Pacific and Atlantic sides, by the way) that was wearing a beanie that was custom-knitted by his girlfriend that said "fun is awesome" across the front. I thought that ruled, and tried to buy it from him on the spot (unsuccessfully). That being said, I aspire to one day have a lady that cares enough about me (Mom, you don't count - but I love you very much) to knit me a similar beanie. It's on the "Life Goals Checklist" now.

I now have 3 days of riding in the books for the season, and it's November 17. I'm very excited about this. 2 of those days were tallied this weekend, thanks to 2 backcountry day trips with some new friends here in Crested Butte. We went to Monarch Pass, which is like it's own little climate zone. 7 miles away we were in above freezing temperatures and there was little to no snow on the ground - on the top of the mountain (about 12000 feet elevation) it was puking snow and in the singe digits. Just wild. After about a 30 minute hike to the top, we were treated to some of the best turns I've ever had in my life. Knee to waist powder, completely untouched by other people. There were plenty of riders and skiers up there, but the sheer amount of options meant that you could easily not cross a single track on your way down if you wanted to blaze your own trail. There's one line across the ridge back down to the Atlantic side that is just ridiculous, and I can't wait to show a lot of you just what I'm talking about. Although it's not identical to the line I'm describing, my friend Ray shot a video with his helmet cam on the first day up that can be seen here. That should give you an idea. Probably the coolest thing about my first Colorado backcountry experience was running into sooo many people out in the middle of the woods. I even knew like 5 of the people I ran into randomly in the woods, and I've lived here for 18 days. Craziness. Not only did I run into a lot of other backcountry enthusiasts, many of them brought their dogs up with them. Quite possibly the coolest thing I've ever seen. Every pup up there was so excited, and I'm sure they were having the time of their lives. Such a cool dynamic here. Everyone who comes and visits me: I will guarantee you the backcountry trip of your lifetime.

I've been pouring myself into the gym - I'm as motivated as I've ever been to make this work. It's a lot of hard work (especially knowing how much fun there is to be had outside), but I'm fully confident that my investment now will allow me to build a viable and fulfilling lifestyle design for some time to come. It's going to be a challenge, but what worthwhile pursuit isn't? I'm much more comfortable knowing that I'm taking a shot at something that matters to me and has a realistic future in my life than throwing 30+ hours a week at a meaningless job that I don't want to do in the first place for some extra financial stability. The tradeoff just isn't worth it to me anymore. I know what I want to do, and I'm confident that the only thing stopping me from making it a reality is myself. And when that's the case, the world is your oyster.

I've got a fair amount of work to do today (and every single bit of it is self-appointed, which I love), and I've got to get to it. Entrepreneurship is funny like that - if you don't get it done it's not getting done. And when I think of that, I smile.

Currently listening to: Paul Simon's self-titled 1972 album - I highly recommend it

1 comment:

  1. that picture of the town is now plastered as my background picture. gorgeous.

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