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How I Grow (By Scaring the Crap Out of Myself)

5/13/2013

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    As you can imagine, leading trad scares the crap out of me. But as I always discuss, we experience the most growth in life from doing the stuff that really scares us. If you can overcome your fear of heights and climb a big wall, you can overcome your fear of taking a leap of faith and starting your own business, asking for a raise, or saying you're sorry.
    Luckily for me, I have Joaquin Fox to keep pushing me out of the comfort zone. We climbed a spire in Sedona the day after I got back from the river trip. Awesome.
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    What do you do that scares you and simultaneously helps you grow?
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Climbing in JTree - A Photo Journal

3/12/2013

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    Ever been to Joshua Tree? I hadn't. That was dumb.

    I spent this past weekend in this paradise-like, outdoor climbing gym. Because all of the main campsites were full, our crew did some backcountry camping which opened up the whole sky for photos - no complaints here!
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    The landscape is totally different from that in Flagstaff - random mounds of rocks rise from the desert landscape instead of canyons that drop into it. The result was that the entire landscape was visible from the tops of climbs, which was an amazing feeling. It was like being in an airplane.
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    At the bottoms of the climbs, an elaborate system of water-carved tunnels and gullies made for a playground that I would have fallen in love with as a little kid. Well, I guess I still kind of am a little kid, as I still fell in love with running around the systems.
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    Pretty awesome, huh? You should go. Invite me when you do :)
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Climbing the Queen

3/4/2013

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    As I mentioned last time, Joaquin, Gavin, and I climbed Queen Victoria last weekend, which was a blast. The Queen is a 3-pitch 5.7 in the Moose's Butte area of Sedona (coincidence?) that presents a totally relaxing climbing experience. The approach was actually scarier than the climb because we had to scramble up some tough fourth-class rock that was covered in snow and ice, like shown below:
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    Being on top of a spire in Sedona is an experience that is distinct from any other experience I have ever had. I won't say that it transcends all other experiences (no pun intended), but there is definitely something special about it. The combination of being several hundred feet above the surrounding landscape with only a few square feet to move about turns the experience into something that combines the adrenaline rush of a hardcore adventure with a spiritual experience. Everyone should do this once!
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The Dirty 'Dona (aka Sedona Love) 

2/26/2013

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    It's that time of year, if you know what I mean. The days are short, the nights are cold, and I crave chocolate even more than normal. I often find myself singing along to "Spring is almost here and the summer's coming; the days are getting long. I waited all night for the time to be right just to bring you along... du du du"

    Luckily in Flagstaff, spring is usually close by in the form of Sedona. The riding is SO GOOD, and even the nights are temperate and pleasant.
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    In the above picture, do you see the tower with the rounded top right above the word "tower?" OK, now look just to the left of it at the pointed spire. That spire is called "Queen Victoria," and Joaquin, Gavin, and I climbed it last weekend. Not to leave you with a cliff hanger (pun intended), but that update is for the next post. Here is a preview, though!
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More Photos, from Climbing To Snowboarding

2/12/2013

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    My climbing shoes have officially seen better days.
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    Luckily my awesome family got me a new pair of climbing shoes for Christmas, and the last couple of weeks have been super nice out, so Joaquin and I have been toe jamming, ringlocking, and thumbstacking our way up some routes at The Overlook. So good... and I look so fresh in the new shoes, which is important for helping me climb well because you have to look good to climb good.
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    I have been playing around with my Macro Lens a bit, too. Check this shot out (the first is a cropped zoom of the second shot. Notice the crop - you can see this feature right underneath the large flower on the second shot. CRAZY detail, huh!?)
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    This past weekend, we got another big snow. Furthermore, the town turned San Francisco Street (the main street downtown) into a snowboard course and had a big competition. Cam - John's son - competed. This kid is 8-years old. He asked me what tricks I could do on my snowboard. I told him "crashing."
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    The rest of the events were impressive as well - everything from backflips to crazy spins and stuff (that is a technical term) were thrown on San Francisco street. It was cool.
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I'm Getting Old... 

11/3/2012

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So, as much as I hate to admit it, today is my birthday. I am getting old. I think I feel it in my knees. I need a knee replacement. Or I need to not eat coconut ice cream and bacon for breakfast on my birthday. But damn, was it good.

Felipe and I went out to hit up the beautiful rocks at Paradise Forks today. We met up with a few friends of ours from Flag, and had a grand old time. The spot is beautiful!
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    We stuck to the 5.9's and 5.10's only because we weren't feeling like trying too hard on my birthday... or maybe possibly because everything else is RIDICULOUSLY HARD. Anyway, we had slammer hand jams all day... I mean some hang time jams.
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Above: A great lead on "Pillow Fight". Below: Adam cleaning
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One of the things I loved most about the Forks was that the drive out goes through a huge prairie with great views. 
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    But seriously, my knees hurt. Is this what it's like to get old?
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Halloween

10/31/2012

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    Oh, Halloween. What a ... day ... for a teacher. You can just imagine how much we get done on that day. Well, at least for chemistry teachers we get to play around a bit  :)
    Danielle was also here for Halloween weekend, so obviously she dressed up as the most ridiculous character she could think of:  me.   I did the same and dressed up as her.
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    She walked around all night in my patch pants, visor, and sandals. She also stuffed newspaper in the area near her calves to make them look like mine. Then, she walked around all night telling people how she won a triathlon in her homemade sandals, demonstrating the proper running form, asking people if they had any local, grassfed beef, and eating (and probably more drinking) gluten-filled things and complaining about how much her stomach hurt as a result.

    Sounds ridiculous, right? That's not me at all... 

    The next day we relaxed in the hammock and recovered by eating bacon for breakfast. Then, as the hardcore folk we are, we went climbing with Felipe, Dustin, and Jason. EXTREME!
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The problem with liking to take pictures so much is that it's hard to get pictures of yourself to put on your blog...
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Felipe sending the last section of off-width/fists on "Megadeath" at West Elden
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Rocks

10/6/2012

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As a geologist, naturally I love rocks. Recently, though, I have gained a whole new appreciation for them as a way to have lots of fun! Just another one of the perks of living in Flagstaff. Next up - a canyoneering trip. Stay tuned.
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    Author

    marshall moose moore is a meandering biogeochemist (a type of environmental scientist who studies elemental cycles) who is always on the lookout for good stories. The blog is a place to tell some of those fun stories. Check out The Course or The Brave Monkeys Speak Podcast for lessons and actionable goals to apply to YOUR life.

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