A Reminder: The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I marked the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

A reminder from Robert Frost reassuring me that the road “less traveled” is acceptable too. After coming across a book titled, “Selected Poems of Robert Frost” in a used book store in Richmond I quickly realized that it wouldn’t just be a leisurely read but one that I could relate to more so than ever before. 

After a few days spent at home sleeping in a bed that’s more comfortable than I’m capable of describing and spending always precious time with family I feel re-energized. Nothing could replace the bond I have with my family and the support they’ve always given me over the years. 

Coffee and Memories, new and old

Today I find myself sitting in Cathedral Cafe after I was woken by a phone call from work telling they needed me to come in at 11. I decided to treat myself to a nice warm cup of coffee and the internet. The cold morning air is just a tease. On the way here the radio told me the high would be 87 today. This place feels like home almost, much like a coffee shop I’d find in Richmond. Facebook brings me back to memories of friends who’ve chosen to follow their own special paths. Recent memories of adventures here in this foreign but soon to be familiar place are fresh in my mind. I overhear the table beside me saying that they are climbers looking for a nice place in the shade to start their trip. I am instantly excited and intrigued. I have this idea that the excitement felt by one climber at the site of a new climb, new location, and the unknown ahead is shared by all. Despite the fact that I may not be climbing today, at least I know there’s someone out there who is. I am intrigued by their personal stories, where they’ve traveled from and where they plan to go. The climbing community is small but intricate. All sharing one commonality.  I’m more than grateful to have a found a lifestyle that has opened so many doors, introduced me to many cheerful, unique individuals and created many lasting memories that I’ll cherish for years to come. 

Blue Skies and Neighbors

After spending countless numbers of days being cold and wet without much to do I am elated to wake up to the sun shinning through an array of fluffy white clouds. The birds’ song even sounds happier today. Thinking back to those rainy days, they weren’t but so bad. I had the chance to finally hang out with my neighbor Lindsey who I can already tell is going to be constant pleasure to be around. The guys, Chris and Jason, who live in the really nice camper that kind of looks like a hotel inside are nice people too. I can’t wait to hear more stories about traveling and their past lives. Then there’s my redneck neighbor Christian and his dog Daisy Mae. I almost feel bad for calling him a redneck because he’s a really nice guy as well but I’m not sure how else to describe him. Most of my down time has been spent with Sam and his dog Kimbo inside his warm and dry camper where we’ve been playing cards, making up silly stories and simply doing a lot of laying around. All and all, rain isn’t so bad but I sure am happy its not raining today! 

Methodical Time

My watch tells me its Thursday but I have to look at my phone to tell me what the date is. Since I left Richmond for Snowshoe back in December the days and dates all seem to run together. After 4 years of planning, making to-do lists, and keeping track on monthly calendars, I have to say I don’t really miss it. Living in an environment that requires organization isn’t something that’s new to me. Maybe all that time management and planning ahead was just preparation. It all seems so different if you compare my life as a college student to the one I’m living now. Out here there seems to be a certain method to approaching most  everyday tasks that would normally only take a matter of a few minutes. Making coffee/breakfast is one of them. My morning routine now requires much more time and organization. The same end result, just a different methodology. Sometimes I wonder if I’m subconsciously tricking myself into adapting to situations like these in healthy manner or is this really how it should be? I could be completely annoyed and impatient by all of the extra steps, planning and organization day to day practices require now. It seems I don’t have much of a choice. Only time will tell. 

Living out of my car, Sleeping in my tent.

Things I’ve realized thus far:

1. Organization is key.

2. West Virginia breads a different type of people.

3. The laundry mat is a great place to go to hear some outrageous, drama filled gossip. 

The weather here has been interesting. So far we’ve had snow flurries, highs in the 80’s, maybe 30 seconds of rain and frost on my tent in the morning. All is less than a week. Welcome to the New River Gorge I guess? 

After spending 3 months at Snowshoe and not really writing much down about my experiences there, I’ve decided now may be a good time to change that. 

To be honest, my main passion for coming to the gorge was to gain more experience climbing. 

Training proved to be pretty demanding after 5, thirteen hour days. Now that’s over I feel like I’m ready to figure out a schedule for climbing that’s conducive with work. We’ll see how that goes. 

As with anything new, I am a little nervous about my check out trips for Tree Tops but assuming the process is anything like Snowshoe, hopefully I won’t have much to worry about. 

I’d like to have goals for climbing this summer instead of sporadically going out and climbing random routes. A good partner is a top priority as well. A new friend asked me what my goals were for the season. I replied simply that I didn’t really have any specific ones, just that I wanted to spend a lot of time climbing. 

I think I’ve come to the right place to find what I’m looking for.