Climbing to the Stars

This past weekend I went on a climbing trip with some friends. We traveled on friday to the crags of Obed located in Wartburg, Tenn., about an hour and a half away from Knoxville. After climbing all day Friday and Saturday, I was exhausted. To be honest, I have a love/hate relationship with climbing. Sometimes it feels great to be on the rock, even on the sharp end. Other times, though, I hate it. At that point all I want below my feet is solid ground, often trying to climb a route while suffering from "elvis leg" (uncontrollable shaking). At least I got some practice on my dance moves.

Climbing is something that fascinates me, though. The inner desire of people to climb up rocks, sometimes thousands of feet tall and ridiculously dangerous, is extremely interesting. What kind of passion inspires these kinds of people to put themselves through hell and back just to accomplish the seemingly impossible, defying logic and gravity? Why do they climb? John Long, a prolific climber and author, offers up some of the best explanations I have read. He explains that climbing can fill you with the most intimate feelings of fear and exhilaration, giving you moments that you will never forget. And times where you find out the person you really are. Nothing is fake on the side of sheer rock. It's just you.



Here's some music:

Great remix of the Bee Gees. It's okay, you can admit that you like them.

The Great Outdoors

Dear potential adventurers,

The outdoors is a gigantic and amazing place. It provides the opportunity for an almost countless amount of activities while learning more about nature. The best way to learn is experience, and that requires actually being out there.

There is one little thing about nature that concerns the average person: Safety.

My story for my JEM 422 is about how individuals and groups can keep themselves safe while still enjoying all the wonders of the natural world. For the story I am using the University of Tennessee's Outdoor Program as a basis for my research. I plan on doing interview of some of its staff and finding out what they do to keep the staff and students safe on trips. Also included will be plenty of pictures taken by me, your writer. It should be one heck of a story.