Preparing for Pilgrimage

The Google Map For Our Trip

 

2700 miles in 10 days. Crazy. Fun. Awesome. Epic.

The week of my road trip has finally arrived! Some of you probably already know of my travel plans, but for those who do not, I thought I would clue you in to what the next 2 weeks will hold for me. My best friend, David, and I have been talking about taking a road trip together for years, so it seemed like now was the perfect time. This pilgrimage is incredibly important to me as it will serve as a marker of the end of one adventure (graduate school) and the beginning of another (having a baby). And I'm so glad to be making this journey with David.

We are leaving Seattle this coming Friday, April 27, and will be gone for about 10 days, arriving home again on Sunday, May 6. Our furthest destination from Seattle will be Moab, Utah, before meandering home through California and Oregon. We will be in Boise, Idaho for about 24 hours, mountain biking and rock climbing with my cousin Nathan, before heading on to Utah. We will spend about a day at Joe's Valley, one of the greatest bouldering spots in North America, and then will head on to Moab. Neither of us have been to this area of the country, so we are eagerly anticipating great weather, epic mountain bike rides on slickrock, amazing desert bouldering, and fantastic views of God's incredible creation, especially within Arches National Park.

After Moab we will begin our long journey home with a brief stop in Salt Lake City and a night's stay in Reno, NV. The next day we will arrive in Bend, Oregon, with prior stops at Larsen National Park and Mt. Shasta in California. We will mountain bike in Bend for a day, followed by a morning of climbing at Smith Rock State Park, before heading home to Seattle. And while David and I are both really looking forward to the mountain biking and climbing we will do in some of the greatest places in the country, we are, strangely, almost more excited about the incredible amount of disc golf we are going to play along the way. There are 16 courses that we have mapped out that are potential places for us to play, and I would guess that we will actually play at least a dozen of them. While I definitely feel a little nervous about leaving my very-pregnant wife at home by herself, this is a trip that I just need to take, and I can't wait.

2700 miles in 10 days. Crazy. Fun. Awesome. Epic.

Climbing as Spiritual

For those who know me well, you know that my am addicted to the drug/sport of rock climbing. It has consumed me and I doubt I will ever kick the habit. Climbing has even become a type of spiritual practice for me. I could say more, and I eventually will, but I don't have time now. So for now, I will let this paragraph from the climbing magazine Rock and Ice suffice in capturing a part of why climbing is so important in my life.

Boulderers know that the sport transcends mere amusement when you find a line of holds that you simply cannot climb unless you change in some meaningful way. You have to be better--physically, mentally, or even spiritually. Transformative problems like these are more than climbs. They are thresholds between existential planes. To borrow a term from anthropology, these complex problems are liminal states complete with the "ritual death" of repeated failure, the "strictly prescribed sequence," and the "post liminal rites" where you feel like a new being--if only for a moment.

--Jeff Jackson, editor of Rock and Ice

The Revenge Lie

I spent this last weekend rock climbing in Oregon and took this picture during the drive. Every so often I am reminded of the anger, hatred, and revenge that is so ever-present in this world. This sign on the back of a semi-truck was one of those examples. Now don't get me wrong...I'm as angry about terrorism like September 11 as the next guy and wish America would never have had to suffer through that horrific event. But I continue to be surprised by the incredibly ungracious and unforgiving quest for revenge and retaliation that has permeated American culture since that fateful day.

The true sadness is that this desire for revenge is built upon a lie. Scholars call this lie the 'myth of redemptive violence,' that the next act of revenge and violence will settle the score once and for all. We all know that this is not true. Violence only begets more violence. That next, and assumed last, action only perpetuates another action..and another action...and another action.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is clear that the appropriate response to violence is grace and peace. The only way that we ought to respond to terrorism is through forgiveness and love, not hatred and retaliation. I understand that some might argue that this way of living would never work, that it would never stop violence and terrorism from happening. Maybe they are right. But maybe they aren't...we don't know because no society has ever tried it. It is obvious that war and further violence has not succeeded in ending violence, so I wonder what the world might look like if took the words of Jesus seriously when he calls us to turn the other cheek and walk 2 miles rather than 1. At least that seems closer to redemption than redemptive violence.

Overwhelmed & Out of Rhythm

I'm in a funk. I'm sure you get those days...or weeks...or months. I'm there. My fall semester started over a month ago and I still haven't settled into a rhythm of life. I can't quite put my finger on why either. I find myself unmotivated in nearly every aspect of my world and badly want to work my out of this conundrum.

For weeks now I've realized my desire to read and write and blog but have failed to do much of any of those things. I've had things to say and stories to tell but lacked the energy to make them public. I keep telling people that since we didn't have any break after summer semester, my mind took its own break to rest and recover. I'd say its time to snap back into intellectual action though.

I've got a huge paper due Thursday for my Church History class and then a week and a half off for Reading Week. The 2nd weekend of Reading Week I'll be heading to Oregon for four days of rock climbing, so hopefully this relaxation will snap me out of my funk and back into a desire to learn and grow and experience the fullness of life that was so present last year. Lord help me.

My Ultimate Obsession

The past few years have brought with them a deep love for the sport of rock climbing. I don't talk about that love much on here but I experienced a personal-best this past week that could not go un-noted. Last Thursday I climbed my first ever 5.12. I realize this doesn't mean much for most of you, but it really is quite an accomplishment for me. I have been climbing 5.11s for about a year, but had not yet conquered the seemingly impossible goal of a 5.12. I find it hard to explain to people, but the joy and ecstasy that comes from finally sending a route I've been working on is beyond compare. Here is a video I compiled last fall that includes pictures and video of me and my friend David climbing both outside and in the gym where I work.

An Incredible Weekend

It has been so much fun lately with the summer weather we have had here in Seattle. This weekend was incredible, as Friday afternoon I left Seattle with 2 friends to go camping and rock climbing on the Columbia River near Vantage, WA. We camped out Friday night and rock climbed all day on Saturday. It was such a great time of getting away and enjoying the outdoors.

Then today, following a great service at our church, I headed downtown to watch the Mariners play the Boston Red Sox. I was excited about the game since the Red Sox have such a good team with many notable players, and the game did not disappoint. The Mariners entered the bottom of the 9th inning tied 2-2 before Franklin Gutierrez hit a walk-off single to drive in the winning run. The weather was great, the crowd was pumped, and there really isn't anything else like the feeling of live professional sports. What a weekend!

Is That Him?

I work at a rock climbing gym here in Seattle and yesterday we had a fairly famous visitor walk through our doors. I must admit that I didn't recognize him, but when he said his name was Daniel Bedingfield (in a British accent), I instantly began to wonder if I was speaking to the singer/songwriter. I knew that he was from Australia and England, and we don't get many British accents through our doors, so I actually thought there was a chance.

After doing some research, I found out that it actually was him. I am not a huge fan of his music, but still think it is pretty sweet that I was chatting with a celebrity yesterday. The thing that makes him most famous, however, is probably the fact that his sister is Natasha Bedingfield, a really famous female pop singer. Daniel has a month pass at the gym, so maybe I will be able to talk with him again. He is not a part of the "Christian" music scene, but supposedly he is a Christian. I am interested in chatting with him about what it looks like for him to navigate the tension between honoring his faith while remaining true to his art. I commend Christian artists who can find a way to move with integrity through the mainstream market.

Here is a YouTube video of Daniel's most famous song, "If You're Not the One":

A New Personal Best

I'm sure you are all well aware by now, but I have a deep passion for rock climbing. It has become quite an obsession for me and has absorbed much of my time over the past year and a half. Today I reached a new height in my rock climbing resume, as I climbed at 5.11+ on lead today. I realize that this data may not mean much to many of you, but it really is quite an accomplishment for me so I thought I would share my joy and excitement with my blog community. Thanks for indulging me.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you. I hope that you all have fantastic weekends with friends and family. Mandy and I will be at our cabin in Glacier National Park for the weekend, so we are excited for a weekend away with my family and a chance to hang out at one of my favorite places in the world. Blessings to you!

Totally Exhausted

As the title details, I'm completed drained from a weekend of rock climbing. A group of 10 of us traveled to Vantage, WA on Saturday morning to rock climb yesterday and today. Amidst terrible rumors of nasty Pacific Northwest weather, we have had relatively good conditions and this weekend was great. I did freeze my butt off last night, though, as it still is late November. All in all it was a fantastic weekend of connecting with old friends, making new ones, and spending time on the rock. I'm already looking forward to the next trip, whenever that may be.

A Climbing Video from this Weekend

This is a collection of videos and pictures from 3 out of the 4 days that David and I climbed while he was in Seattle visiting us and the University of Washington's Graduate School. Enjoy!

David's Trip So Far

My best friend, David, is in Seattle visiting this weekend, so needless to say, I've been a little too busy to blog over the past 3 days. David was my climbing partner back in Sioux Falls, so we've been doing a lot of climbing while he's been out here. We climbed for about 3 hours on Friday at the climbing gym where I work. I thought that David would really love that style of climbing, and he did. I also accomplished a feat that I've been working on in the gym for quite some time. The following video is one of my finally getting this huge dyno (jump from rock to rock). I've only ever seen one other person get this.

Friday night we met some friends downtown on the waterfront and took a ferry over to Bainbridge Island. Once there we walked around for a while and then had dinner at a mexican restaurant and enjoyed great ice cream for dessert. The last time Mandy and I were on a ferry was in November when we were visiting Seattle and the seminary and trying to decide whether we should move half way across the country. It was so fun to be back on that boat and to see how far God has brought us in the past year. What a ride it's been!

Yesterday, David and I spent the day rock climbing outside at this place called Exit 38, cleverly titled due to its location along I-90. It was so fun to be in Creation and see the changing leaves and enjoy a day with David like old times. We had a blast. I'm sure there will be much more to report later, but that's all for now. Peace.

A Mixed Weekend

For those of you who frequent this site, I promise that I have some deeper thoughts about life and faith that I am excited to get in writing, but for now I'll just include a quick synopsis of my weekend. Yesterday was a fantastic day of rock climbing. Climbing has become quite an obsession of mine, and Saturday was especially good as it was spent with great friends and I was able to learn and try a new type of climbing that I had never done before. I am trying my hardest to relish the final good weekends we have here in the Pacific Northwest before the rainy season (i.e. the next 6 months) begins.

Today got off to a great start with a morning spent at church. The worship was good, the sermon was fantastic, and it was special to celebrate the Eucharist with our church family. My day got worse, though, upon my return home from church. When I started up my computer and connected to the internet, I was surprised to see that I was getting demolished in fantasy football. I try not to talk about fantasy football on this site because it could easy absorb my blog life as it has my real life, but I can't help but be disappointed by my first loss of the fantasy season. I was 6-0 and in first place in the league, and just got blown out by a guy who was 1-5 (ouch!). Hope my guys (as if we're friends or something) will bounce back next weekend and return me to my elite fantasy status.

A Great Weekend

I told you I would report on how this past weekend was, but I didn't think it would take me a week to getting around to posting. Mandy and I spent the weekend with 6 other people near Vantage, WA. Vantage is located right where I-90 crosses the Columbia River in central Washington. It is one of our favorite views in Washington so far, as basalt cliffs rise majestically above an enormous river basin. It is breathtaking.

We climbed on Saturday at a place called Frenchman's Coulee and had a great time of physical activity and Christian fellowship while enjoying God's creation. We camped at a beautiful campground on Saturday night before enjoying another half day of climbing on Sunday, returning to Seattle that afternoon.

On Sunday I took a fall while climbing a route. The rope was caught between my legs and when I fell (only a few feet) the rope burned my ankle and the back of my knee pretty bad. Other than that, we had a fantastic weekend climbing, camping, and strengthening relationships with some great, new friends.

Too Much for Words

I realized that I was starting to give people a hard time for not writing enough on their blogs while I had failed to post in about a week. Sometimes my lack of writing is due to not having much to say or write about, but that is not the case for me at this season of my life. I am constantly inundated with new and challenging ideas in class and with my classmates that it is hard to instantly put these thoughts to words. I feel like I would be doing these ideas an injustice to quickly resolve them here with words, so I pause for a few days to think but then often fail to come back to write about these triggered thoughts. I'll try to improve in that area in the future.

For now, I'll just report that life has been great. I am loving class (not really loving homework though) and am really growing in knowledge and depth of character. This weekend I am going rock climbing at a place called Frenchman Coulee near Vantage, WA. Vantage is right on the Columbia River and is absolutely gorgeous, so I'll be sure to take plenty of pictures and let you know how my sabbath (weekend of climbing) went. Peace.