I have been meaning to start a blog for quite a long time now, but other things seem to always take up my time. The purpose of this blog will be to record all of my adventures, so that I can share them with friends and family. Growing up I used to keep a journal at times almost daily, and over the last 15 years or so I have really let that slide. Hopefully this will also be a place that I can record my thoughts, so that at a later date I can recall the way I felt and also remember the experiences that I had.
I have always been a very active person. I enjoy almost every sport that I play, and I have always stayed in decent shape, so that I could participate in sports and other active pursuits. In the summer of 1990 I went on my first 'real' hike with my friends, Scott Thorstensen, and Jackson Ferguson. I had been on several hikes while participating in scouts as a kid, but I had never tried to climb a summit like this before. It was our quest to climb Lone Peak, which is one of the more difficult mountains to climb in the Wasatch mountain range. You can read about our adventure here:
http://www.summitpost.org/trip-report/264520/Lone-Peak-Where-it-all-started-.html
This hike to Lone Peak is what started my addiction to climbing mountains. From that date on I have had something in the back of my mind that I want to climb. It has been like an addiction. Luckily, I am married to a fantastic woman that allows me to do these crazy adventures, and is very supportive in all of my pursuits.
In May 2009 I started keeping an exercise blog. At first this was to keep track of my running miles, weight, and the days that I worked out, but I found that it became a big motivator for me. I enjoy the interaction with all of the other bloggers. It is a lot of fun, and it helps motivate me knowing that others will see what I did (or didn't) do. You can see my exercise blog here:
http://scottw.fastrunningblog.com/
I started running in 2009 to stay in shape for mountaineering trips, and I found that I really enjoyed it. I decided that I wanted to run a marathon at some point, so in 2009 I ran my first half (Provo River Half), and full (Provo Canyon) marathons. They were unbelievable experiences, and I would say I got the same rush that I get when I get to the summit of a peak. Hearing the starting gun go off and crossing the finish line gave me a HUGE adrenaline rush, and I am definitely hooked.
Running races and climbing peaks are very similar. You have a goal in mind that will take a lot of work to reach. You have to plan and then train for the unknown. You can read about the experiences of others, and that only makes the anticipation greater. You put in a lot of hard work, sweat, and training, and then you push your body, at times harder than you ever have before to complete or finish. They both also require you to be strong mentally. Hiking or running 20+ miles in a day is not easy, and at times it hurts a lot. Pushing through pain is something that I have come to really love, and I get to experience it in climbing peaks and running races.
I also have a profile at summitpost.org. This is where I have been posting trip reports from my hiking/climbing trips. You can also see a log of the summits that I have climbed. I have posted over 300 pictures from my mountain adventures there.
http://www.summitpost.org/user_page.php
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