Hey All. If you are reading this you are likely family or a great friend so thanks for being you.
I have decided that the best way to keep in touch with the people I care about right now is by doing a blog. I have also been trying to motivate myself to write all of these crazy experiences down. So much has been happening and I think there's probably some value in documenting it.
It has been really difficult to find the time to answer emails, skype, etc. with everyone that I care about so I figure this is a nice way to show people what has been going on with me and to share my thoughts on it all.
I'll just take this first blog to post an email I wrote to some friends and family a little while back that explains the last couple of months. From here on out I'm just going to write about whatever comes to mind.
Here's the email.
Hi everyone,
I have been recieving individual emails and have been frustrated at the lack of time I've had to respond to them, so I have decided to write an update and send it out to folks. This way I can be a bit more thorough and have the chance to let everyone know what's been going on.
Note: Some of you have just been sent this email without warning and there's no need to read all this and respond unless you feel like doing so! I'm just sending out the email because I love all of ya! If you've got the time send a response back.
The last few have seen some big changes. I was back in Marin living at home and really loving Marin if not for my work. My father and I had settled into a beautiful routine of "annoy-the-hell-out-of-each-other-and-apologize-profusely-over-burritos-or-thai-food." He would ask me if I was going to put my seatbelt on when I got in the car. I would ask him how many servings of fruits and vegetables he'd had in the last year. We would steam at each other, hug, make-up, and do it all again. Right dad?
But really it was great being at home on Ellen Drive and reconnecting with family, friends, and place. I was serving tables at an Italian place and got a bartending job a few days a week at "The Candlestick Room" at the Country Club Bowling Alley. Absolutely hilarious. And I've managed to forget how to make any drinks I learned then. Oh well, alcohol is too expensive in Canada for me to care anyways. For the last three weeks I've been sipping on a single bottle of J&B scotch that I bought at the duty-free store when I crossed over from Montana.
Marin was great. I was catching up with old friends. Errol, Ali, Andy and I would get outdoors regularly. We saw some Elk in Pt. Reyes and essentially ran the Iron Man race one day near Fairfax as Errol turned his map in 360 degree rotations while ensuring us that the creek and the car were "super close." But I suppose what does not kill you makes you stronger. And congrats to Errol and Ali again on their marriage! You are both beautiful people and I look forward to enjoying long nights of drunken trivia with you and your 14 children.
Hugh and I had taken to recording a podcast which you can find at www.hellacast.com, or on Itunes! What's it about? Nothing really. It involved one intimate relationship with a self-described "cougar" and her blog. Titillated? Anyways, we like to think we weren't the only ones listening. We had also begun to brew beer, beautiful wonderful beer. The "Cutty Clown Nutty Brown" didn't work out that well, but I really do love the name.
Dana and I had taken to doing Crossfit in Novato and getting back into shape. We each discovered several new muscles we didn't know we had.
Geoff showed us all a magical treehouse in the forest where we would go and sit and talk about the inevitability of the zombie invasion. (Dana, I'm still waiting for that recording)
Kimmy and I renewed our long friendship and bickered at each other for never being around. Hmmm, I left for Canada and she's going to med school in Missouri. Serves us right for complaining.
Bartesch and I continued or streak as drunken philosophers. I would write what we got up to but I simply cannot remember. I seem to remember some pool tables...or squash. Tesch, feel free to shine a light there if you have anything.
MOVING ON
Somewhere in those few months at home there Errol got me back in touch with an old acquaintance from middle/high school who worked a wicked job with an active travel company called Backroads. I, in career terms, was somewhere in the middle of figuring out whether I wanted to jump a plane to Europe to work on farms and learn languages OR start applying to the EPA and start that 401k up right.
Luckily I found out about Backroads. It seemed right and I applied. For those who don't know it's a tour company that leads hiking, biking and multisport trips all around the world. I applied and by a combination of luck, a letter of recommendation from Gabrielle (Thank you again!), a Canadian work permit, and my chautchily baking coffee cake and bringing it to the hiring event, was chosen to work for the company.
The day I found out I was in New York City on my way to Costa Rica for a surf trip. I was ecstatic. I spent an entirely wonderful 24 hours in NYC (my first time there!) with three impossibly charming women and the insanely handsome and talented Willy Coleman, ladies and gentelmen. I spent two weeks in Costa Rica with a Tico friend I knew, surfing and reading and renewing my love for the road.
I came back from Costa Rica with two days to move my things out of my Dad's house and help him in any little way I could to move, as he was moving too. I didn't help very much. Sorry Dad! But he got the job done himself anyhow.
I packed up my stuff into a few bags and took a flight to the Salt Lake City. The next few weeks were a complete whirlwind. There were 12 of us in a ski chalet/condo thing, nestled beside big mountains. The two weeks of training were intense but so much fun. We did everything from learn how to fix bikes to driving vans with trailers. We were also completely indoctrinated into the Backroads world and philosophy. The first rule of Backroads is that you do not talk about Backroads. But in a good way!
This email is far too long already but what I can say for my time there is that the people I was with, both new staff and our trainers, were incredibly talented and wonderful people. It was talent saturation in that household.
We took a "mock trip" to Zion and Bryce National parks to get a feel for what leading a trip would be like. Hiked Angels Landing, biked through the Canyons, cooked a lot of great food and had one night of out of hand margarita consumption that ended in near fatality through acro-yoga/van balancing, stunt cycling. Yup!
After nearly three weeks we passed our little "exams" and were given our assignment. I knew I was going to the Canadian Rockies, so there was no big surprise for me. But man was I excited to go.
We drove up through Utah and Montana, through Yellowstone National Park and arrived in Alberta. Drove through the prairies and into Canmore, Alberta, my new home for the next few months.
This town is a small little mountain town, something like 15,000 people but it doesn't feel at all that big. The downtown has probably 3 main streets, a nice calm river flowing nearby, and is completely ringed by snow-capped peaks. Abundance is an understatement for the amount of outdoor activity to be had around here.
We got settled in and began a regional training, another camping trip out to Banff, Lake Louise and further on to Jasper. We hiked plenty, cooked more food and learned the ins and outs of where we would be taking guests.
One morning I was in the campground washing dishes and was charged by an elk-cow (ie - female). Elk, if you didn't know" are BIG. It ran towards me and as my one coworker dove into the trailer I summoned Jackie Chan and did a huge leap from ground to propane tank to the roof of the trailer. Turned out that the Elk had given birth, probably the evening before, and we saw the small calf come out of the bushes and the mother licked the afterbirth off of it. A pretty exhilarating and beautiful experience.
Since then I have been enjoying Canmore and enjoying the outdoors. I learned to tie some climbing knots and repel folks. (This is a climbing term. Clearly I already repel folks)
Yesterday I was invited by a friend of a friend to paddle down the Bow River for the annual Banff Solstice Paddle. Some 75 very Canadian people bring their Canoes to a put-in point in the river, paddle down a few clicks to a campsite, cook a bunch of food, then paddle back into Banff. It was a great little Canadian experience and a fantastic way to spend a solstice.
I start leading trips this coming Sunday and will be working until the end of August here in the Rockies.
Other news: I am considering buying a converted Dodge Caravan with a bed, drawers, coffee-maker and propane setup. It's $1500 bucks and is in great shape. (Dad, we can discuss this haha) I'm also considering a triumphant return to Burning Man with the old crew. I would have two days to drive from Canmore to Nevada. Sounds doable in a funky funky converted Van....
...I want to paint a white tiger on it.
Anyways, a long email. If you read this far you must now remember to eat something, you are famished. Hope everyone is well and I'd love to hear a few words from each of you.
Lots of Love!
Matt
