2010: The Year in Review

It was a pretty crazy one for me, and easily blew away 2009 and all the years before. Started a relationship with an awesome girl in early January, so far I haven't scared her off! Did the Polar Bear Plunge on my 30th birthday with my new friends from BSOM (E2P2!!!). We all managed to keep our lives and all our limbs despite the entire event being shutdown due to the cold - AFTER we had all plunged. This of course all happened right in the middle of Snowmageddon, during which The Bat Mobile earned it's hefty car payment.

From Snowmageddon Dec 2009 - Feb 2010

I cemented my position at the Sleep Lab. While far from my dream job it is a lot less travel and more money, so two steps in the right direction. This freed up time and funds for me to get outdoors again, doing the things I love. Biking, Hiking, Kayaking, evening running again. Camped out in the Outerbanks during a rainstorm, and then hit the beach when the weather finally broke. The Batmobile again gets a workout hauling people and gear out on the beach.


Went on several epic hiking/camping adventures, including the incredible adventure to Capital Reef National Park in Utah with my former college roommate and a hilarious group of guys. Also hit trails all over Maryland I had never experienced before, went to Skyline drive for more hiking with my girl and the next week back to the same area for another overnight backpacking trip in the gorgeous George Washington National Forest where we nearly froze to death at night.

From Capitol Reef Expedition

The entire year was definitely a roller coaster, lots of time spend with friends and family, lots of new friends made. A gazillion dollars spent on outdoor gear, gas and air travel. It was worth every penny, and I hope to fill 2011 with even more epic adventures. Just need to find a way to work less and get paid the same or more......

Even when I wasn't on some crazy adventure I was hardly bored. Every week there was always something going on. It really felt like the year just flew by. In the midst of everything else my girlfriend officially moved in. E2P2 graduated from BSOM and closed out the year with the marriage of two awesome people on New Year's Eve. I don't even know what to expect from 2011, but it will be hard to top last year!

Running again

Since treating it with kid gloves hasn't been helping my knee to get back to it's old self, I've been taking it in the other direction. Hiking again has been a big help, but not enough. So I started hitting the pavement and the treadmill. It was brutal to get running again, but I figure it's either gonna get stronger or totally explode so I can just get a replacement. I'm up to running 3 miles without having to stop, and so far it hasn't falling apart. Gonna go for more distance this week and see how it goes.

Calvert Cliffs on New Year's Eve

On the way to a New Years Eve wedding, my girlfriend and I decided to stop by Calvert Cliffs for a quick hike. Southern Maryland had gotten quite a bit more snow than we did in the 'Dena.  We parked the Forester in an icy space, I grabbed my trusty Maxpedition Versipack
and off we went. The weather was surprisingly warm (at least in comparison) so the trails were a mix of wet sand, mud, melting ice and slush.  I hadn't been here since I was a kid, so it was a fun flash back.  As time was pretty limited, we took the Red trail (the shortest route) to the beach.  We passed a surprising number of people and families for as cold and messy the trails were.

From Drop Box

From Drop Box

Part of the trail looked incredibly desolate. The marshy areas of the park were still frozen solid. So it made for an interesting hike. The Red Trail is a pretty easy walk, minimal elevation gain unless you explore the side trails along the way. We made it to the beach, and spent some time exploring. Got lucky and found one sharks tooth that the scavengers ahead of us had missed.  The sea breeze on the beach started to freeze us to the bone after awhile, so we headed back into the woods a made good time to the car.  Overall, it was the perfect short hike, and we made it to the wedding with time to spare.


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