For the first time on this trip, I’m not sure that I want to continue.
For starters, the weather has been all over the place. We had days in Joshua Tree that left us exhausted and burnt even when we weren’t climbing; only a few hours away, we faced sleet at Suicide Rock. Then, when we attempted to return to Joshua Tree, the gale-force winds made it almost impossible to walk, let alone climb.
I was miserably cold at Suicide Rock
A deceptively warm looking picture of Suicide Rock
Additionally, I’ve been feeling a little under the weather for a few days. Just fatigue and a minor sore throat, but it’s enough to make the trip decidedly less pleasant.
On top of that – after taking a break over the winter – the trip doesn’t garner the same excitement that it used to. It feels more like getting back with an old boyfriend; it’s comfortable and familiar, but lacks the excitement of a new relationship.
But most importantly, I simply haven’t been enjoying the climbing. The last five places we have climbed at are crack and/or multi-pitch. Try as I might, I just don’t enjoy crack climbing, and my fear of heights makes multi-pitch a constant mental battle. Lately, it feels like I’ve been trying to survive climbing days rather than enjoying them.
John wedged in a crack. Not my favorite type of climbing.
To be honest, I’m surprised it took nearly a year for me to hit this point. I assumed I’d get a few weeks into the trip and be missing readily available bathrooms, personal space, a good bed, and an income. Although I’ve had bad days here and there, this trip as a whole has been a wonderful experience that I have loved 99% of the time.
However, the emergence of a slightly crabbier version of myself made us realize that we have both been feeling a little antsy to move on to something else. The goal of the trip was to travel for about a year (check), look into new places to live (check), have a blast climbing and sightseeing (check), and stop when we felt ready to.
It seems we may be ready for our next adventure, whatever that may be.
It hasn’t all been bad…
Lauren and John:
I understand how you guys feel. I thought retirement would be so great. At first the change was fun…. but now I’m ready to do something else. Hope to see you both sometime this summer. Let us know if you make it to Middleton/Madison….
Take care. Tom
Recognizing when it’s time to let go of something is tricky, for sure. You never want to be a quitter, but when something doesn’t have clearly defined parameters, you just have to go with your instincts. Having recently made several endings of commitments and one long term friendship, I feel tranquility and relief. Not all things are supposed to last forever; they just last as long as they last, and that is perfect. It isn’t a failure to decide that something is finished. You have to let go of one thing to make room for the next thing, while taking a short time to honor and grieve for the loss of the first thing.
Doesn’t the fact that you put ‘cheese’ in your title mean that you might just need to come to Wisconsin for a little R&R?
Will be eagerly anticipating the news of which cities you’re considering for your next residence!