November 5, 2012 
The Stoke the Fire 1.6 back on June 5 sparked some really interesting discussions.
- Marissa of The SpokenCoast Project asked how folks make a living out of adventures. “How do you pay your bills? Is it selling articles to publications? On your blog? With videos?” I offered my response in the form of another blog post called 6 Things I’ve Learned About Living Off My Lifestyle.
- Marissa also asked, “Have you ever had a favorite “outdoor” organization resort to aggressive mail & telephone spamming for your dollars? She was referring to her own experience with the Sierra Club.
- Kurtis of Spindrift Photography commented on how the party scene in some of our mountain communities is getting old. “Do you move to the mountain town to get crazy and party while you’re young or do you move there to Zen-out and live peacefully with the animals and mountain air?” Secondly, he asked, “Is there such a thing as an authentic lifestyle in the mountain culture or is it trendy?” Marissa and Meghan offered their responses. I also redirected to another post on the definition of an authentic mountain community.
Here we go again! This is your chance to Stoke the Fire with any topics you’re discussing on your blog, anything you’ve been thinking and writing about lately, the best post you saw on the internet this week, your latest travel log, the most dramatic photo that was sent you via Facebook, or a shot you took that turned out unexpectedly well. Anything.
If it’s something worth sharing around the campfire, it’s worth sharing here. Try to keep posts relevant to The Campsite, though don’t hesitate to post something you thought was just pretty darn cool.
So, go ahead. Brag, share, link, and promote. This is your day (again) to do it. Use the Comments feature below. Please refer to the Discussion guidelines under the Three D’s.
Let’s make this the biggest blaze the Internet has ever seen.
This past weekend was an important milestone for me, as I accomplished a year long climbing goal of mine – to send twelve 5.12′s in 2012!
Here’s the link to my post about it: http://cragmama.com/2012/11/twelve-5-12s-in-2012-and-fashion-makes-it-a-dozen/
Wow, Erica. That’s amazing! I can’t wait to read all about it.
I’ve always worried about getting older and how I would deal with life in my 40′s and what do you know? I just realized that I am not 20 any more and I turn 40 next April. I thought I could be more prepared, like some grade 10 student handing in a 10 page report that he wrote only the night before – not really well though out. However, I interviewed one of the founders of WestJet this fall and what he said to me while discussing his own age/lifestyle really struck me. I was eating lunch with Don Bell (57, retired from Westjet and now doing 10 times more things then I think I could handle even while finding time to get lots of skiing and flying in) and when I brought up my age he cut me off with, “life begins at forty”!
I’ve heard this before but something about the energy in Don really brought me to my knees and this statement just stuck like a shingle over a door, “life begins at forty…”!!? For the last few months I can’t stop thinking about this and it has given me energy. I want life to begin at 40, I want the experience I have gained yet have enough energy to live well in my 40′s. So I have decided to not wait until I am 40 before I make a lifestyle change but I have started now so that when I get there, I can hit the ground running. So far this last month I have ridden nearly 200km, lost 16 lbs and feel better then I have in the last 10 years. I’m doing yoga everyday and for the first time in 15 years I can’t feel any back pain. Now I’m not saying I’ve turned back the clock but I’ve never concerned myself with working on my lifestyle like I am now, and I am experiencing the benefits.
I guess what all this means to me is that I have never been the “mid-life crisis” guy but the idea of a mid-life crisis should be given some serious consideration. maybe it’s your spirit kicking you in the ass and sayin, “look buddy, if you want to act and feel young, your going to have to earn it now”. No more free rides. And how does this relate to the mountain lifestyle? Well I see those who gravitate to the Rockies are the kind of people who want to be connected, who want to play in their back yard, who aren’t afraid to work for something and who know they will be rewarded for challenging a bit of gravity, fear and the elements. I see a lot of these people with big smiles on their faces, weathered skin, a little grey hair and a deep sparkle from years of unapologetic living. I’m looking forward to it.
Wow – what an inspiring entry, Kurtis! I also find a lot of motivation in looking at the people who really live the mountain lifestyle to the fullest. “Go big or go home” seems to be the mantra. Good for you for making this commitment to your ‘best years’ – it will no doubt lengthen your life as well (yay, more time!). I look forward to seeing how this goes for you, and how you remain motivated week by week. Thanks for sharing your latest realizations and learnings!
I turned 40 in August and I decided, like you, in the year leading up to it that I wanted to hit the ground running and make this new decade rock.
It didn’t happen over night. It started with changing my attitude and dealing with some health issues before I could put the physical plan in place. I feel more like my old self now than I have in 10 years or more – healthy and strong physically and emotionally and hopefully smarter than I was in my 20s.
I have lost 30 lbs and am running, working out and playing team sports again. I live right in a national park so get to explore and enjoy the wilderness every day which I do fully!
Yesterday i went out to take photos of hoar frost and wildlife (otters, foxes, bull elk, wolves are often easy to catch on camera here) and a bald eagle came flying low over the road straight at my vehicle for several seconds, wings stretched straight out and at the last instant, veered up and over the hood of the car which I had careened to a stop anyway at the sight of it. I jumped out of my car and hollered with glee and called COME BACK!!!! which it did not but it was the best moment I never got to photograph that I’ve had in a while.
40′s Fun! Keep us posted.
Thanks, Shannon! It’s amazing how some of these milestones in our lives really kick us into gear!
A friend commented that my latest blog post about teaching young adults to shoot was like a Christmas gift for me. I love teaching a new skill. My daughter brought six friends home from college for the weekend Four of these young adults had never fired a gun. We set up targets and walked each person through gun safety, step-by-step, individually so they could ask every question they needed to, go over something they didn’t understand about the gun, and handle it before it was loaded. Some were quick studies, some needed a lot of ammo before they made great shots. Every shot, every sore shoulder, every missed target–all worth it. They left confident in what they’d learned.
I definitely can’t claim to know anything about shooting. But I can appreciate what it means to teach someone something new. We should all be learning each and every day! Thanks for the comment.
Thought this might bring something to the surface. Once I get some response I will give my opinion. Outside mag asked if anyone Celebrates or condemns this act…
http://www.outsideonline.com/news-from-the-field/Kayaker-Makes-Illegal-Descent-of-Marmore-Falls.html
I suppose I’m curious to know why it is illegal in the first place. But I still think that if a place is deemed ‘off limits’ that adventurers should respect that. In Nepal, Machhapuchhare is a sacred peak that is illegal to climb. There are a few examples around the world. Adventurers and climbers can just go somewhere else – there are plenty of other rivers to run, in my opinion.
I have been playing with Battery Jump Start Boxes while car camping. Here is a great article I wrote on different uses of Jump Start Battery boxes
Thanks for the link, Rick!