Wanderlust and Post Antarctic Plans

It's funny how it has taken me this long to realize how dangerous wanderlust can be. After all, I left the safety and comfort of civilized life in Washington D.C. to work in the wilds of the American West fighting wildfires or on the southern most continent that is Antarctica to ensure safety of those exploring science down here. I find myself constantly thinking of new ways to go farther, to do things and go places that no one I know has heard of. On the other hand, the life of a rambler is sometimes met with black clouds. I feel my "sins" of leaving my family and friends coming to haunt me. I wonder how I'm going to make it wherever it is life and God takes me. Then I think, that's the best part of my life right now. Dreaming about where I'm going and just doing it is probably the most rewarding feeling I've ever felt. It doesn't matter how I'm going to do it, or who I'm going to meet knowing I'm not going to know anywhere where I'm going, no. That's what makes it an adventure.

A few things have come up while trying to plan for the next few months. Because I wasn't able to get my Idaho EMT (Idaho EMT = National Registry EMT = Easier dealing with my expired VA EMT) and my Virginia EMT expired before I left for the ice, I've opted to take Wilderness EMT through the National Outdoor Leadership School's Wilderness Medical Institute before the beginning of the fire season which I think is a really cool idea. I've been meaning to take this class for years and what better way to do it than to drive to Yosemite Valley in California, live out of my truck, and climbing and fly-fish when I'm not in class or studying. After the class is done, I'll drive to Cedar City and spend the rest of the 10-12 days before the beginning of the season climbing around Zion. The only down fall of this all is I have to cut my trip short to the South Island of New Zealand by two weeks. To be honest, with everything that has happened in the past few months back home, I really can't wait to see my family. We'll see what happens...