Why Blog?

-Day 17 of 31-

I've posted something 17 days in a row now.  I admit, this is more of a challenge than it may appear.  Somehow a topic tends to come up.  Awhile back I whined and complained spoke to my friend who originally threw down this gauntlet of a challenge to me.  I said I was writing "real" posts while she was wimping out just putting up a picture with maybe some text and that made it so much easier on her.  She responded that at least the previous two Decembers (probably three) she wrote full entries.  Touche.  Whining over.  She's earned it IMHO.


So why blog?  Everyone has their own reasons for doing this.  I won't really speak for others or even try to go into that.  I know that for me I like to share my thoughts, especially on outdoor topics.  I see this as a good platform for instruction.  Why do this challenge?  Because I think inevitably I'm going to have good reflective posts like this...that are as insightful for me as perhaps they are for you.  And if it bores you, well you're the dummy who's still reading instead of going elsewhere. 

For six summers (1996-2001) I taught a wide range of things at a Boy Scout camp.  I was a Swimming Instructor ('96), the Nature Director ('97), the Climbing and Sports Director ('98-'99), and finally the Aquatics Director ('00-'01).  I moved back to Winchester in 2003 and shortly thereafter I took over as the Scoutmaster of my old Boy Scout Troop.  I was determined to teach "real" outdoor skills to these kids who had simply been sitting around a campfire doing nothing all weekend on their monthly trips.  Hiking and backpacking skills had been rather neglected by these kids and the adult leadership.  I remembered the trips that I'd taken as a young Scout and how I'd developed these skills both in Scouts and also while in college; I wanted to pass these things on.  It was a tough road, but three years later these guys were doing a 10-day backpacking trip in the Sangre de Cristo mountains of northern New Mexico at Philmont Scout Ranch.  A few years after that and we were on a week-long canoeing trip, portaging between dozens of lakes in northern Minnesota.  It was an amazing thing to watch the slow and steady progress of timid and unsteady young boys as they became confident and skilled young men.

However, after that last trip I was exhausted from being so involved.  I was living in the Alexandria area, yet I had been constantly going on trips to the Shenandoah Valley to work with these kids.  A change had to happen.  For the next few years I became more focused on climbing and my own personal goals.  This past summer I finally achieved a large goal of mine, climbing 5.10 trad cleanly and confidently at Seneca Rocks in WV.  But after reaching that goal, I realized that I was truly missing something.  I'd gotten caught up in the "ratings game" of climbing.  Though I'd work with other climbers here and there, I'd been climbing mostly just for me.  But I felt this nagging emptiness that comes from a focus on singular achievement.  I looked my ego in the face and said, "Enough.  It's time to start giving back more."

So that's what I'm doing.  With this blog and as a member of the Potomac Mountaineering Club (PMC).  The PMC has allowed me to meet and climb with some amazing people.  It's time to give back more than I take.  A short while ago I decided to undertake a leadership role as the incoming Vice Chair of the club.  I'm excited about the prospects this holds.  I think there are myriad ways that the PMC can work with climbers at any level to improve their abilities so that they get the most out of their climbing experiences and do so safely.  After the New Year I'll continue to blog, but I may tweak how I have this set up so that the posts on climbing tactics and skills are all in the same place.  We'll see.  Anyhow, thanks for reading...and stay tuned.  I've gotta somehow crank out 14 more entries! :-)