the dirtbag

i finally managed to climb rocks yesterday. yes, yesterday was friday. i went climbing during the week around here. it only took me all summer to manage it. bouldering around here is marginal at best. lowball, contrived problems. the tops of the boulders often have too much vegetation on them, making topouts tricky. friction is also suspect in the summertime. too damn hot. not quite the season right now.

colorado got my mind running about climbing. wondering about how different my life would be right now had i started climbing in college or even earlier. i'd certainly be a better climber. would i have chosen teaching as my vocation? would i travel more? would i live somewhere else? would i be a dirtbag?

the ideal of the dirtbag climber. traversing the country, searching for the perfect season. the southeast in the fall. hueco at new year's. bishop in the spring. RMNP or yosemite in the summer. living off the grid, making only enough money to buy a 50 lb. bag of rice or a case of ramen noodles. "the life", as it were. i was inspired by several random people i met in colorado, who have all at one time or another, lived in their cars/vans/pickups and climbing as often as possible.

were the twists in my life slightly different, i doubt i'd be a dirtbag, but i'll still idealize it every summer.