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Written by Daniel Hienzsch
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Tuesday, 27 January 2009 |
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Page 2 of 2
Scuba Dive at Least Once a MonthOne of the things I did to prepare for my trip to Egypt in the fall of 2008 was to take a Scuba refresher course so I'd be ready to dive in Alexandria. I received my open water certification back in 1998 before a trip to Hawaii and hadn't really done all that much with it. I enjoyed it, but I wasn't really all that motivated to do it. Before I moved to this apartment, I threw out a bunch of my old gear because a lot of it had rotted or deteriorated and I wasn't comfortable donating it. One thing I ditched was my old mask, so I had to get a new one. This time I got one with corrective lenses in it and it makes ALL the difference. I suppose that's what school must have felt like for me in fourth grade when I got my first pair of glasses. Suddenly I could SEE what everyone else was seeing underwater... what a difference! The intervening ten years since my original certification also has allowed me to have a little more spending money so the idea of going diving regularly isn't quite as daunting financially as it was back when I was in my mid-twenties. I'm very, very eager to see all the things I've missed behind astigmatic corneas.
Earn My Advanced Diver CertificationOk, if any of the goals on here are sort of gimmes, it's this one. I decided I was going to do this anyway after that first boat trip in November, so when I was having trouble coming up with a tenth item to put on the list, this was it. I let myself be thoroughly suckered into signing up for the class too... but that's another story for another time ;) I suppose this isn't really all that much of a cop out; my original open water certification dives were nothing short of hellacious. I did them off the breakwater in Monterey, CA in December of 1998 in six foot waves and a driving hail storm. I almost called it off the night between the two days of diving because I was cold and miserable and depressed, but a phone call to my friend Andy convinced me to stick it out.
Now that I think about it, that decision to go back for the second day of dives has fairly shaped the run of my life from that point on...
Gimme or not, getting my Advanced cert is proving to be a harder goal
than I originally thought it would be.
Go on at least One Overnight HikeWhile at the very least, I'll knock this one out when I climb Grand Teton, I'm going to plan, prep and go on at least one over night hike this year. Just me and my backpack... and any unfortunate soul I can find to go with me. I'll probably try something easy at first... a hike out to the trail camp on the way to Eagle Rock. That way I'm within one easy mile's hike of my car on the first attempt with what will probably be new gear. Then I can get a little more adventurous.
Climb to the Summit of Mount San Gorgonio and then Dive Below 100' in 24 HoursOf all the goals of the 2009 challenge, this one is probably the craziest. Obviously, you can only do this in one direction, the other way would ensure decompression sickness. This is also the goal that makes most people look at me askew and ask "why would you want to do THAT?" Well, I don't really know. I think I want to do it, because I can.
Trim down another 15 to 20 pounds prior to climbing Grand TetonThis challenge is probably proving the hardest so far. The idea of this isn't so much that I want a lean and svelte figure, so much as wanting to save the 15 pounds of weight on my knees with every step down off of the mountain. I'm still paranoid about my knees causing me difficulty, which is why I'm planning so many intermediary hikes... to prove to myself that they won't fail me. Losing 15 - 20 pounds would go along way to sparing my joints some damage. Still, I've been stuck on 200 now for a long time... exchanging fat for muscle, fat for muscle... going up one or two pounds, going down one or two pounds... but still essentially stuck. Patience... patience... patience...
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Last Updated ( Friday, 15 January 2010 )
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