Cloud 9

Hi beautifuls. I hope y'all are having as wonderful of a day as I am. The sun is shining. The mountains are kissing the sky. I had my morning coffee. So this morning Aaron's parents (Roxanne and Chuck) flew into Seattle and I picked them up from the airport. They had a wonderful flight and were transported safely to the rental car agency and are currently getting settled in. Funny that I saw Aaron's parents before he did. Speaking of, he is taking his team from Amazon to hike Mount Si today. I wonder how that is going...

I was hanging out at South Lake Union Park and just taking photos of the plants. I took this photo and looked at it more closely and noticed the Space Needle chilling in the background. Turned out pretty well, eh?

Deep in their roots, all flowers keep their light. -Theodore Roethke

Before I delve into climbing and nature adventures, I think I should slow it down and tell y'all some other cool news. I had my first day of work at Starbucks and I can make a latte like a professional. I've never had a job in the food/beverage industry in high school, so it's all new and I'm learning a ton. Also, learning about making coffee beverages and different brews flavors and what food goes rather tastily with them meshes really, really well with my plant pathology knowledge of growing coffee and it's diseases. I'm beginning to know the entire process from planting coffee, disease management, harvest, drying, roasting, grinding, brewing, tastes, aromas, and techniques. I know that is exactly what y'all think when you go into Starbucks and order a grande vanilla latte. I just really like it when what seems like two totally opposite things fit together like puzzle pieces and suddenly you get a big picture but have all the tiny details as well. And the partners/coworkers there are hilarious! We are a bunch of sci-fi and fantasy movie/book nerds. Game of Thrones and Star Wars all the way. Oh, and to top if off, work is a mere 3 blocks from my apartments and I get a lot of free caffeine all day every day. Megan is happy.

Collect moments, not things.

Leave nothing but footprints. Take nothing but pictures. Kill nothing but time.

This is the creek that was right next to our campsite. So soothing to fall asleep to.

One more quick note. Thank you everyone for the birthday wishes via whatever method you used! i felt very loved. And a huge shout-out to Anna for the English chocolate - I ate half of it already :)  Although she is 8 too many time zones away, we make a long distance friendship work very well. I promise you I am doing everything I can to save up money for a flight to London because it has been way way way too long since we've seen each other.

Sawtooth Ridge looking mighty fine in the clouds.

Needle Pass! 

Okay, so now the climbing/mountain/nature spiel. On Memorial Day Weekend, Aaron and I went to Olympic National Park to go do Mount Cruiser. After battling traffic, talking to a few rangers, and obtaining the correct permit, we were on our way. With heavy packs strapped to our backs, we set off on a 7.5 mile hike to where we were going to camp. We cruised the first four miles in an hour 15. Then we hiked the next 3.5 and gained roughly 2,500 feet. We set up camp, refilled our water from the creek, ate some oh so delicious freeze dried food, hung out, and fell asleep pretty early. Sunday is the funday.

Photo credit: Aaron Wait

I'm improving on my snow skills. Slowly. Surely.

So Sunday morning we woke up, ate breakfast, and took off towards Glady's Divide. After another 2 miles and gaining 2,000 feet, we made it to Needle Pass. Thankfully we stopped to take a little break and looked around. The clouds had cleared just enough so we could make out where we were trying to go otherwise we may have walked right on by. We made our way across some talus and scree to get to the snow field. We put our crampons on and grabbed our ice axes and started up the kind of steep snow on the Pass. Miraculously, I didn't slip, fall, or stumble too much and made our way up the snow quickly. BUT, we did see bear paw-prints. Then we scrambled up some third/possiblyfourth class to gain the ridge. We made our way across towards Mount Cruiser by squeezing through some rocks (awkward photo to prove it), down a gulley, across a catwalk, and more third class. And BOOM we saw it through the clouds. Anyways, we got to the base of the climb, roped up and started our way to the summit. It was super easy climbing but it was exposed when you got up there. We were literally in a cloud. Cloud 9. You know, I thought that would have been the coolest thing ever when I was 5. At a wise age of 23, it's not what I imagined it would be. Anyways, the view from the summit was awesome! There were another 2 guys up there that we chatted with and rappelled with.

Then came the get down the snow time. Megan is not nearly as gracefully descending as she is ascending. I learned to self-arrest on the fly/slide thanks to Aaron calling up to me as I'm sliding down the slope getting snow in my pants. I was a very happy camper until that happened. Once we got back to the talus/scree my joy returned. We returned to camp, managed to get it all back in our packs and made the mad dash back to the truck. We were going to stay one more night and maybe do a short hike the next day but we decided Mexican and a bed sounded a little better. My quads would definitely agree with that decision. Anyways, Monday we lounged, ran some errands, and that's about it.

Mount Cruiser. 

The clouds were so cool. Totally disguising the peaks on one side and exposing the peaks on the other side.

Then Tuesday I turned the age nobody likes you. 23. Thanks Blink-182. Anyways, I had a nice relaxing day, enjoyed the beautiful weather, wandered around Eastlake/Capitol Hill by accident, and applied for plant pathology jobs. Then Aaron made me dinner of salmon, rice, and veggies and we watched The Hunger Games together. It was a lovely day.

As I said before, Roxanne and Chuck are here in Seattle! Yay visitors! So I best be going to finish up my odds and ends duties before we meet up this afternoon. Bye y'all. Enjoy the sun.

This view made it so worth it. We camped under the thick cloud cover in the top right corner. I love the Olympics.

As promised, the awkward photo squeezing through the rocks. More like a beached whale roll over the top.

Oh Here We Go Again

Good morning, afternoon, evening, or night. Choose the appropriate one for wherever you are at this morning. For Anna, it's night. For me, afternoon. But for someone I never met and stumbled upon this blog, it may be morning. Whatever. You get the point.

I first started this blog for my family to read because I didn't live nearby. They followed my adventures starting in my last year at Wisconsin where I made Dean's List both semesters, traveled to Guatemala with a plant pathology class, flew over to England to see my dearest friend, Anna, and graduate with a B.S. in Plant Pathology in a short 3 years. Then they witnessed my 1000 mile journey to Raleigh, North Carolina where I started graduate school at NC State, my love for climbing begin, develop, and become my rock (haha, oh puns), and woke up with me at 3 am and go to bed at 11pm after a full day of research. They journeyed through my happiest moments in life even though we lived in different time zones. They understood why I put graduate school on pause as I went to pursue other dreams. My family was a part of my life as I drove from Raleigh back to Elkhart Lake with Kati car packed as many of belongings as I could fit. 

Reason One to come visit me in Seattle: We have a view of the Olympics from our living room and bedroom. The sunset behind them is one of the most beautiful sights imaginable. This is a view of the Olympics over the Puget Sound.

 They smiled as they knew I was going on a trip of a lifetime and doing what made me happy instead of being shoved by what society deems as "necessary to be successful." They traveled to Red Rocks, Nevada as I lead my first trad climb ever! They followed me to Bishop, California where I climbed my hardest boulder problem ever! They journeyed with me to Yosemite, California where I climbed 2 of the 50 Classics of North America and learned how to crack climb. They followed me to Seattle, WA where I dealt with the novelties of moving across the country for the second time. They felt my stress as I applied for jobs, received smashed belongings in the mail, scrambled to pay bills since I was jobless, and figure out life. They felt my anxiety on my first day of work where I tried desperately to make friends or at the least have my coworkers like me (I'm very clearly not from here...). They felt my anguish as I morphed into a weekend warrior. They could sense my joy as I climbed my hardest trad climb with little difficulty. They try to understand my frustration of traffic on I-5 (it's downtown Chicago but 37x worse - yes, that's a rough estimate). 

Then new people started reading my blog and they couldn't decipher my tone. Was I serious or joking but using a serious tone? Is she really that dramatic? They don't understand my ramblings or my sarcasm. Nothing better than moving across the country and knowing one person. Nothing better than having to test the waters to see if you can truly be your silly self around new people. Thankfully, people in the south are as endearing as you think they will be. I discovered that my quirks and slight social awkwardness would bring me friends immediately. Hence how Dane and Patrick became my immediate friends/climbing buddies. Hence how I wiggled my way into the hearts of my future coworkers. Hence how 80% of TRC members are my friends (the other 20% I just haven't met). TRC is the kind of gym where you can bust out your best dance moves and all they see is a person who is thoroughly enjoying themselves. TRC is the kind of gym where you can ride the struggle bus on a climb and the person next to you on the wall cheers you on (or rides the same bus and laughs with you). I guess what I'm really trying to say is that I miss TRC and all of the members and employees so gosh darn much. I really truly love y'all with every bit of my heart. You took the northerner in as one of you.

Reason Two: Seattle is a beautiful city. It's clean and smells pretty good for being as big as it is. I mean, Starbucks originated here, there's Pike Place, Space Needle, The Sound, ferries, expensive but delicious places to eat, and lots of lakes.

Anyways, sorry for the dialogue. Sometimes people can be frustrating and I just have to shake it off like T. Swift. And yes, I like that song. It's fun to dance to. I will happily turn up the volume and sing out of tune as I inch along I-5 towards work. Man am I easily sidetracked today! Unfortunately I wasn't able to get out and climb last weekend because I was scheduled full shifts both days. But I was working for the SBP 4th anniversary party which made the time go by super fast. So nothing cool to talk about really. It's work. Although it's at a climbing gym so that's always at least a little fun.

Last night, Aaron and I went to Exit 32 and climbed at the World Wall. We warmed up on what felt like a very brutal 5.10c (Girls in the Gym). I say brutal because I usually don't warm up on hard 10s especially when it's my second time at this specific crag where I'm learning how to climb on the type of rock. Then Aaron red-pointed (still not entirely sure what that really means...) Hang Them Out to Dry a 5.12a (maybe 12b?). He kept saying that his hangboarding routine is paying off. He has fingers and tendons of steel. Anyways, then I gave it a go and fared fairly well. We were both impressed at my performance! By the way, this was my second 5.12 I've ever touched outside so making it up about halfway was a huge accomplishment! I will admit, I had to jug through one section because I couldn't quite figure out how to make a move (after struggling for 15 minutes and denying I wanted a boost). Anyways, it was a cool climb and I'd be totally psyched to try it again once I get some training on.

Reason Three: Do I even need to say it? Mount freaking Rainier! I'm not even going to explain this one.

Oh oh oh! I don't really remember what weekend this was but Aaron and I hiked Mount Si and climbed the haystack via the southface direct (or something like that) to the summit! I had my new fancy pack (well, it was new and fancy in Yosemite) filled with the trad rack, my shoes and chalk, food, and water. It wasn't the lightest pack I've ever carried but I have had heavier. Anyways, we had a 4 mile, 3500ft gain hike until the climb. My quads are the strongest they've ever been, I promise you. Wall sits are nothing nowadays. Anyways, we cruised up the trail, climbed the chossy route, had a quick snack and headed back down. For the brief amount of time we were in the sun, I managed to get a wicked sunburn. I'm still peeling like an orange.

So, yup. That's all for now. I have some very exciting news about my birthday weekend. Well, actually it's Memorial Day Weekend but my birthday is next Tuesday so I'm going to say it's my birthday weekend. I'm not going to tell you the news now goofballs! But it does involve mountains... 

Not Entirely Broke

Hello you beautiful sentient beings! I hope you are having a wonderful day. It is currently sunny and in the 60s. Can't really wish for more than that eh? So anyways, we've begun to fall into a routine. It is nice and only slightly boring. Come on. Who honestly wants to do the same things every day? Well, maybe you do but I don't. I like a little diversity thrown in with the routine. Anyways, I have absolutely no idea where I was going with this. I'm not even going to apologize because I've been up since 4:51 am (my time) to get to work. 

Missing Madison....

So, this blog will be rather short and sweet! I got my first paycheck so yay! I hate to say it, but my first paycheck wasn't as big as Aaron's first paycheck so yay him! So, when he got paid, we went out shopping so he could finally get his relaxin' chair. We bought his chair at Consign Design and looked for a TV stand/table there but didn't find one we loved. So we had dinner at a local Chinese place and then headed south to Renton to hit up Target, Ikea, Kohl's, Home Depot, and some other place. We ended getting a TV stand/table at Ikea (heavy sucker) and bought a tree painting at Kohl's. WHAT?! Megan getting a tree painting? Who would have thought? Now all I need is a frame for the elephant art Aaron got me when he was bouldering in South Africa!! Oh, and he so nicely bought me a bike (which I will eventually be able to pay him back for)! Now, I can go for bike rides when he wants to relax after work and I am revving to go.

Watch out for the bus!

The only other cool things that happened were a birthday party on Saturday and climbing at Index on Sunday. Patrick and Eugene (other Amazonians) had a get together for their birthdays! I only knew Aaron and the birthday men so I met tons of people which is always nice when you first move to a city! We had drinks and food (even had veggie burgers for me) and more drinks. Then the birthday men played a game to see who could set up a game of ladder golf the fastest (although they've each had a few drinks in them). That was highly entertaining!

Sunday, Aaron and I went out to Index for some trad climbing. Unfortunately it was really busy there and we couldn't get on a route that we really wanted to. But we did get on Japanese Gardens (to the first set of anchors) which Aaron was psyched on. The first pitch goes at 5.10a so it was a good lead for Aaron. Then I had a go at it and it was sweet. Yes, I struggled to get out some of Aaron's pro especially a nut that was placed just barely ever so slightly out of my reach. I was kind of leg-barring / body jamming myself into the rock and twisting around and reaching as high as I'm physically capable of and still took almost 10 minutes to get it out. Either way, it was an awesome climb and I want to do it again.

Index, WA in winter. Can't wait!

Then Aaron and I got on Tatoosh which I believe they call a 5.10b. Aaron lead this climb and I followed on up. We had an experience with the rope not being long enough but we managed. There was a group of older men with tons of experience spitting off beta for the route and climbing in general and Seattle stuff. They were highly entertaining (most of the time). Tatoosh was another good climb which I thankfully didn't have to take out the gear. Oh, and just saying, I totally have the strongest shoulders/back/arms I've ever had my whole entire life and climbing Tatoosh proved I really needed them. I am the Layback Queen. And Aaron is the Fingerjam King.