SNOW!?

Having been raised in Columbia South Carolina is a most a bad joke. I think it snowed there four years ago... that was cool.

Since moving to NC I have been quietly steeping with anticipation of our first real snow up here. Five days ago it actually happened! SNOW! WHAT? I was in my dorm room on a friday afternoon, totally done with class when I saw the first of the many snow flakes to fall. Awesome! I had heard rumors of anything between 6 to 12 inches by the weekend's end, so when the light flurry turned into a guster of ice i was not surprised just very excited!

I had to get in on this action!

I decided to wait an hour or so to let it build up a bit. It didn't take long; within the first 60 mins there was already half an inch to an inch of snow built up.

I texted four of my friends with plans to hike up to the top of Look Out mountain. None of them seemed to have received my message so i decided to make the ascent anyways (solo adventure can be a very good thing). However on my way up I bumped in to Rodrigo and Javie, then outside of Howerton we found Lisa and Will! All the people who i texted just happened to have the same idea and we all went out at the exact same time!

We stopped at Javie's house to pick up a sled, and then walked all the way to the top of Look Out. Slipping and sliding the whole way up i would randomly throw myself into the snow covered trees agitating a sudden downpour of winter magic! One at the top we sat in a circle and admired the powerful gusts and swirls of snow being blown around the white sky.

After appreciating the flurries me and Rodrigo decided to blaze a trail back to the trail head. Look Out being a very steep mountain it didn't take much effort as we allowed gravity to drag us downhill through piles of built up snow.

Once at the trail head we reassembled and prepared to arrange our selves on the sled. For those of you who don't know look out road it is very steep and very long (this is what we had hiked up to get to the trail and this is what we were going to ride all the way back into campus). All five of us squeezed on to the sled and shoved off! Best sled ride of my life! We had to work together to steer it down, all leaning in the same direction at the same time to avoid parked cars. We rode for for what seemed forever (probably 10 mins) but thats a long time for a sled ride. The road took us straight through the center of campus where we hopped off and walked into the caff for dinner! Epic.

Later that night me and brandon took our boards out and attempted some urban campus rides/tricks. Every ledge, hill and stair case turned into a challenge waiting to be conquered by us.

Then the next day we woke up at seven to head off to Wolf Laurel slopes for a sweet day of snowboarding.

I love the snow.

Walk Your Own Line

The academics have kind of officially picked up now just finishing my second week of classes. My schedule has been pretty packed with that so its been harder to get out as much; also the weather has been kind of crappy with a lot of chilled rain. Days have been a little more standard than the first week of 0 responsibility, but we jumped at the first opportunity when classes were out and the weather cleared.

We went back to the same place where we set the first swing up but this time with bigger and bolder ideas.

We set out to build a high-line. For those who dont know what this is its basically a tight rope that is suspended off the ground (usually more than ten feet). In this case we went to set one out over a wide stream about twenty or so feet up. To do this safely we decided to set a safety rope up along side the line we were walking on. We would then clip our harnesses to that safety line. Set-up took way longer than i expected. It took close to two hours because we had to make sure that when we brought the ropes across the stream that they wouldn't get wet (it happened anyways). So anyways, we got everything set up and tightened the safety rope with a pair of ascenders. Go time.

I've set high-lines up before but had never successfully walked all the way across. Slacking on the ground and slacking 20ft up over rocks is a whole other story! I can consistently walk a line w/o falling and can even do a couple tricks but stepping out on this line felt like the very first time again! I nervously let go of the tree and took my first step out over the gully. My feet shook with nerves on end as i tried for step two. Success! When i reached the middle of the line I realized "oh dang! I can actually do this!" but as soon as i thought about how awesome it would be to finally complete a high-line I immediately thought about how terrible it would be if i fell. This thought spiked my nerves all over again! With both feet on the line my entire body swung dramatically to the left and then to the right. Desperately my feel clung to the narrow strip of webbing trying to regain control. To my dismay i managed to calm my nerves and slow the swinging. Cautiously I decided to try another step. Then another, and another. Before i knew it I had done it! Oh man what a great feeling, I was super stoked!!! I wish you could add these kinds of things to job resumes or something. Ah well these life experiences are way better than anything money could get me.

Swing, Swing, Skate, Skate

I mentioned before that I've entered this semester with great optimism and this last friday is one of hopefully many manifestations of these aspirations.

The day started cold and rainy but later in the afternoon the sun decided to come out. Looking to take advantage of this window of opportunity my friend Rodrigo came up to my room. "Dude, get your gear out, lets just look at it until we think of something awesome to do." We ended up taking everything with us: three ropes, two ascenders, one shunt, petzl trolly, two harnesses, figure eight, atc, and tons of webbing and beaners. We headed off into the woods after grabbing another buddy Robert, together we set off looking for anything "adventure." We quickly found a stream with steep banks and an overhanging tree, perfect for some "stupid human tricks." After contemplating wether we should make a zip line, a rappel, a swing, or a leap of faith (emprovised bungy jumping we settled on a big swing! I quickly shimmied out on the tree to set a webbing anchor and set the rope. Rigo elected to be the ginny pig and took the leap. Swinging out off the twenty foot drop off screaming he soared towards the opposite bank and back again! After him, robert and I took our turns with similar successfulness!

Many more stunts will be tired here.

After our swing we went strait over to a friend's house for some banana pancakes. Later that night we had college night at the skate ring, so what ever energy we had left.

Good first weekend back, I hope keep it up!

Back at the Treat

I relize that I am terrible at keeping up with a blog.

It seems to be too big of a responcibility, so naturally the best thing to do is to start another one and keep two blogs haha.

I just started a kind of outdoor log and decided to keep it online because it may or may not be useful to others. I am really not too experianced and any of the three topics I write about (climbing, paddling, or biking) but it is what it is so if your into that sort of thing maybe it'll help. The link is

http://bolteoutdoors.blogspot.com/.

In other news, simply for the purpose of having a more recent post than my last one I'll say it's good to be back at Montreat College. I had an amazing six weeks off from school and I've just started my second day of classes today. There are good vibes floating around the air with the

hopes of a great semester! We are all very excited! My friend Rodrigo and I conspire almost everyday about all the different potential adventures we will be having this year. I'll be sure to post more as these manifest themselves into being.

Yesterday my buddy Phil and I decided to add a little humor into the world. Have you ever been camping out in the middle of the woods to take the next turn in path to find things that just don't belong? I've encountered items such as bowling balls, couches, and toilets located deep, deep in the woods.

These things make me smile and i can't

help but wonder, "how? and why!?"

We decided to contribute. Phil had an old door/door frame which we decided needed to aspire to something great. So being the clever college boys that we are, we loaded it up into my truck, and drove it to a trail head. Once there, we unloaded the door, followed the trail all the while carrying the door until we found a suitable location. Once deep enough into the forest we

settled on a location between two trees. We then continued to nail the frame between the trees until it set nicely upright by its self. Behold the Magic Forest Door! Who knows maybe one day it will serve as a portal to allow some blessed child into the world of Narnia!

Barefoot

Anyone who knows me at all will know that i am normally found without shoes. I realize that this is unusual behavior for the culture of Columbia South Carolina. While this is completely normal feeling for me, others feel differently. Some are indifferent to the idea and accept it as me being strange and no more. Some people are for it and encourage the idea, still some find me this lifestyle disgusting as being barefoot normally leads to dirty feet. When asked about why I choose to boycott shoes on a normal basis, i normally respond with an interesting, yet semi shallow half-truth answer "I was raised in Hawaii." Fact, i did live in Hawaii, but only for a year, it is also true that people there really don't wear shoes that often. I didn't even have to wear them to school! But living there for one year doesn't really classify me as "being raised there" but something about that culture has been engraved into my very being. So this being my shallow answer, I will now go forth and reveal the deeper truer side of barefootedness. 

In essence the whole idea is actually extremely metaphorical to the way i see life. I have been blessed and cursed with the need to explore. Now when i say need, I really mean need. I cannot sit still. I cannot accept humdrum existence. I must adventure, I must see the world, and new experiences are like air to me. While on a backpacking trip with two very close friends i was given the name Walkabout, and the definition of the name Scott is actually "wanderer." I have found that my number one passion in this world is adventure. Not just adventure like epic quests, yes i love those. But there is potentially adventure in everything. New opportunities for experience everywhere. I am so desperate for the feeling of experience, and sucking the juice out of life that even unpleasant experiences are welcome. I say this because while yes, unpleasant experiences are at the moment well unpleasant, later those times can be used in contrast with something good, and it makes that something good so much better. It is also that you would otherwise never have known. Comparatively gravel and grass hold very different textures. But if you've only walked on grass your whole life, you would never appreciate that feeling compared to the hard gravel. This is where bare feet come into play. 

For all practical purposes I will compare life to a hiking trail. (typical Scott, yes i know w/e). Regardless of what you do, you will experience during your hike. There are exausting uphill climbs, relaxing slopes, and all sorts of other things that you will classify as good or bad experience. Now consider this, by taking your shoes off while hiking this path, you open up a door to all new levels of intimacy with life. I was on this one hike that i decided to do barefoot. the beginning of the trial was all gravel. It hurt. I won't lie about that. but then after about a half mile of tedious hiking, the gravel ended, and instead of rocks the path was covered with patches of this amazing moss. It felt better than the softest carpet you've ever walked on. The moss was great, and while the gravel hurt to walk on i left that hike with a perspective and experience that i believe few people have. So take this idea and apply it to everyday life. There is so much information to take in, so much to experience. The next time you walk by a bush, lift your arm up and run your hand along its leaves. The next time you see a big puddle go for it, and don't be afraid to take off your shoes. 

The Bride.

Its been a decent amount of time since my last post, but i recently had a revelation and felt obligated to share. Its not a new revelation like when you learn something new and it blows your mind, but more of a "felt" realization, one that you already know but all of a sudden becomes reverent and real and meaningful to you. By now you've probably come to the conclusion that I am either talking about my future wife, or the church, and I don't plan on getting married anytime soon, so. Before I begin I need to confess of my terrible attitude towards the church, but God willing he'll give me a change of heart. So here we go...

I'm not sure what it is, but the easiest way to say it right now, is that myself and the church have conflicting personalities. Before I go on and share my surface-perspective of the church let me say that I know not all of this is true and some churches are awesome and totally get it, and even the church as a whole may not be this way, but thus far this has been the general perception. I see churches as very tame, bound to societies expectations. When I think of church or even the word "Christian" I think of sweaters, smiling faces with perfectly white teeth, kids sitting quietly in uncomfortable pews waiting to go home. I think of polite bible stories and felt boards, but mostly conservative, "good people". Now, like I said not of this is true, and for the most part it is a skewed exaggerated idea of the church today, but subconsciously I've noticed emotions linked to these stereotypes of church and they do not sit well with me. I don't like thinking about God as a felt character against a green background, it's too safe, or fluffy or fake for me. Growing up in the church somehow I've acquired these perceptions of God. But getting older and re-evaluating God for all the Bible says about him and all that the earth proclaims him as is nothing safe, predictable, or tame at all. God is crazy! There is no way of putting him into one of our boxes of understanding. He is simply beyond that. Beyond time, beyond mass, and space, he beyond colors and smell, he is beyond sin, or right and wrong. He is more secure than the largest mountain, and more agile than the fastest cheetah in the plains. He created creation, and even the idea of creation that we now hold as reality and scientific fact. He created all these things for us. For us to hold, to see, to imagine, he created our reality, but he is not bound by it like we are. I'm trying to say God is awesome beyond comprehension. But the most amazing thing is that the God of all that wants a relationship with us, and I feel like church misses that. For the most part it seems that the church is mostly invested in creating "good people," oblivious of the power surrounding it. Ok, Im done being down on the church, now for the ridiculously redemptive part!

Unlike myself, God has an amazing attitude on the present situation. Where I see an organization who is totally missing the point, God sees an opportunity for love. Which is a good thing, because if I compare the characteristics of the church to myself, we are actually pretty similar. We both are in ridiculous need of grace, and patients. Alot of times we both miss to see God and look to our own tools for salvation. But unlike me, God says, "yes I will associate myself with you, but not only that I am going to Marry You! You are the love of my life, I will never divorce you, and always peruse you! You are beautiful and despite your unfaithfulness I will never let you go!" That is Amazing! And Uber good news for me and the church. Realizing the contrast between God's attitude and my attitude reminded me of how big God love really is and made it real for me. Thank you God and please give me your heart.

just as a side note i woulden't recomend talking bad about God's woman. The person who talks bad about my woman better watch himself, and I'm pretty sure God's a LOT stronger than me.
scott

Richland Two, A Student's Tale

Calling all former and current Richland two students. So I was taking a shower yesterday (dispite assumptions you may have about me, this is a fairly normal activity), and as I bathed I began to reflect.  Just as a side note, the shower is an amazing place to ponder life, and reflect on your days. Its like you get to metaphorically (and pysically for some people), wash off all that's weighing you down. It is really a theraputic place. But anyways enough ranting about my passions of moisen bathing areas.  As i bathed/ reflected, I relized that i really should start documenting all of my school stories. If you know me at all you know i have a problem with authority.  A big problem. I don't really understand it, but I like the idea of haveing some great evil or injustice that demands to be over thrown. So for last 12 years my vile imoral monster has been the public school system. I understand most people arn't as angry at "the man" as I am, but i thought it would be cool to have a collection of all the small injustices committed against us, if for no other reason than for my own selfish pleause. So if you find it pleasing, write your story down and send it this way, I really am quite curious. 

This first storie is kind of small, but it is what imidiatly comes to mind currently. There are more, and more will be comming, but for now this is it, so, enjoy:-)

09-??-08

Anatomy Class

For the sake of manners I will keep from using direct names despite my wanting to, so we'll call her (the teacher), Madam Umbridge. We have a test in two days and Madam Umbridge has neglected all usful methods of teaching save but lectures. Which in some cases can actually be informative dispite their normal nature of being extremely, extremely boring. But in this case they were not too helpful but it was actually the only information we have availiable. Well i take that back, we have coloring packets.... COLORING PACKETS!!!.... Coloring is fine and everything, its actually a lot of fun when there's nothing ells to do; but when you have a test (not that i care too much) in two days, it would be nice to actually be in the process of disscusing the contents of the upcoming test. Oh well. The day before we began a review packet for the test, but since the distrabution of the packet, we had done nothing with it. Madam Umbridge has a wonderful way of spending 40%+ of her time sitting at her desk and surfing the web. Not to helpful for us kids. So, wanting to pass the test i inquire to find an alternate method of studying for the test because for some reason coloring funny shaped bones diffrent colors didn't really help as much as i had hoped. So i approched Umbridge. "Do you think we go over that review packet from yesterday as a class and talk about whats on the test, i don't really understand all that its on?" I thought this to be a fair question but possibly im just ignorant. Anyways, i received one of those looks. One of those "death glares." The look that says "I hope you trip into a microwave and it accidentally turns on" kind of look. "No Scott. Sit down, and finish your coloring packet like everyone ells!" Umbridge demanded. FINISH MY COLORING PACKET!? What!? Ok, since when did coloring become a 12th grade anatomy standars, and since when did anyone acutally learn anything from staying inside the lines? No one at least since second grade. Here we have a student approach a teacher, asking to learn, and with out two thoughts was deniged, dissmissed, and sentanced to an entire two periods of mindless sribble. She must have been watching somthing amazing on youtube, because that's rediculous. 

Spring Valley I really want to hear about the "Vogons"!!!!