The past week has been amazing. I have three stories to tell.

First, my full moon hike. A couple months back, I hiked up a mountainside on a trail that starts by my favorite campfire spot in Green Canyon. The hike was phenomenal. I wrote a review of it for a friend and I will just share that to describe it.

From the canyon floor, you hike 2.1 miles up the mountainside. The terrain is rocky and open, then becomes lush and green, ending in a picturesque forest of tall pines near the top. At the ridge, a campsite sits where the trail splits. One trail heads down to Wind Cave Way in Logan Canyon, the other up along the ridge toward Beirdneau Peak. As you hike along the ridge, you are treated to multiple views of the valley behind you and an awe-inspiring scene in front of you as you climb higher and look out over the entire Cache National Forest wilderness. As you approach Beirdneau, only the sounds of nature are heard as you walk along the ridge through meadows of wildflowers, pine forests, and aspen groves. Keep an eye above you for a natural arch on the mountain slope. At the base of Beirdneau, there is a great view from a rocky outcrop of the canyon as it turns northward. The trail continues along the side of Beirdneau, but to reach the peak, a long scramble up the steep mountainside is required. Once at the summit, a plaque sits on some rocks just to the side of the peak. Enjoy the amazing view across miles and miles of uninhabited lands to the east and of Cache Valley and beyond to the west. This amazing hike is most beautiful during the cool early summer, when wildflowers are in full bloom. It is also a great hike to do under a full moon at night and it is worth staying to watch the sunrise over the mountain back country before hiking down. Time from bottom to top, approximately 3 hours. Reverse trip down, about 2 hours.

In the light of the full moon with a light haze, it was a really fun hike. We left at 1 am and reached the peak just before 4am. We were ill equipped for sleeping (I was in shorts and a t-shirt), especially with a steady wind on us, but we managed to each get a short power nap in before battling the cold. Eventually, we realized we would not be sleeping much more, so as dawn approached at 5, we began our descent and watched the morning light blaze in glorious color as we hiked down. At the bottom we went into town and had breakfast before going to our homes to sleep. The hike was fantastic and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

The second story is of running. I ran my first half marathon on Saturday. Prior to Saturday, the last time I did any running was Ragnar in June. The longest distance I had run was about 11 miles. Somehow though, I ran as if I had prepared for it well. I paced myself well and held a good position and moved myself from 19th at mile 5 to pass one final runner 100 yards from the finish line to take 10th overall. I also placed 2nd in my division of men ages 19-24. I also won a raffle drawing with my bib number and got a free entry into the 10K next year. My time was 1:42:11. In one month, I run another half marathon.  Hopefully I will be ready for it.

The final story is a gory one. During my annual firework show Saturday night, right as we were preparing for our finale, a shell went low and exploded right on or next to my left ear. It felt as if my ear was blown off as it swelled instantly and felt numb. I dropped everything, shouted that I had been hit, then carefully felt around for my ear. To my complete and utter surprise, the ear was intact! I honestly believed it was gone. I cannot adequately describe how it felt other than it felt like it was blown off. I ran to a well trained first aid certified member of the search and rescue and determined it was bleeding good, but I would live. So, being me, I ran back to the fireworks, lit some more off while we set up the finale, then concluded our awesome show. The show lasted just over half an hour and was very successful. The only lull was when I got hit. Immediately after the finale, I went up to the house we were at and washed off the blood, then held a cloth with ice in it to my ear. I iced it all night and with the help of a healthy dose of ibuprofen, was able to get to sleep. The swelling reduced a little Sunday and by Monday my ear was almost the normal size again. There is lots of scabbing and it is extremely tender on the backside, but, even with a couple bits of skin gone, I think I will make a full recovery with plenty of time to plan the next show!

Now for photos!

Beirdneau Peak

One of many great views into Cache Valley

The sunrise from the hike

The view from where the firework show was

Sunset before firework show

Before cleaning

After a day before scabbing

I didn't even notice it burned most the hair on my wrist and hand off till someone saw a ton of bloody specks on my hand

I am not good at celebrating my birthday. Each year, I try something new, and, each year, it fails. This year was an epic failure. I thought if no one knew it was my birthday, I would not have to worry about people feeling obligated to do something simply for the reason of celebrating it. In my mind, birthdays are best spent with best friends and/or family. They know you well, understand you, and it is completely normal and natural to do something on your birthday. They celebrate you because they care and they want to share their time with you on your day. Most everyone else just wants to throw you a party because it's your birthday and somehow parties are the birthday standard. Maybe I'm wrong, but to me it seems like those celebrations are less for you than they are for them.

Anyway, I thought I had a few good friends that I would spend my birthday with, so, I planned to make a big dinner for them. On the same night of my birthday, there was a dual stake activity at the aquatics center. I'm not a public pool person ever since working at Seven Peaks and was on the fence about going, but with friends who said they would miss the activity for my dinner, I got excited and planned out and prepared for my birthday dinner. How fickle the minds of the young, for in less than a day, they changed their plans. It was as if they completely forgot they had committed to come to dinner. That is one of my big pet peeves too. I cannot stand the blatant disregard people have these days for commitments they have made, especially when they disregard an obligation because they found something else to do, which, in this case, was swimming all day at a friend's house and then going to swim more at a public pool (still working on figuring that one out). Since the dinner was not happening, I went to the stake pool thing for the free pizza, had some good conversations, had "Happy Birthday" sung to me, then had the rest of my birthday plans cancelled on me in favor of something else once again, so I went and watched a movie with a group that was having a movie night. I was not thrilled to be there, but I did not want to be in my room alone either.

Finally, the clock hit midnight and the day was over. But the weirdness of the world was not, because the same people who cancelled on dinner later said they wished I had been more vocal about my birthday so they could have made it more special for me. Well guys, I did. The only people I told about my birthday were the people I wanted to spend it with. I even said all I want for my birthday is to spend good time with good friends. And people wonder why I do not celebrate...

I still refuse to conform, so once again, next year I plan on a low-key birthday. Though this time I may leave the country to make it easier.

To the one friend who sent me an awesome birthday picture text, that was the closest thing to a card I got for my birthday. It made me smile. And my song of the day today is dedicated to you for sending it. "Thank You Friends" by: Big Star.

This summer has been quite packed full of adventure. I have sat at several campfires, played many a game of volleyball and ultimate frisbee, enjoyed burgers on the grill, run Ragnar, hiked mountains, cooled off in lakes. On average, I would say I am involved in activities at least three nights a week. As I reflected today on how awesome this summer has been so far, I realized how much my experiences are shaped not by where I am, but who I am with.

I have been very fortunate in the time since I moved to my new house to have gained many new friends from church. It is with those friends, as well as friends from work, that I have done so much. Some people believe that the most memorable moments take place in exotic places somewhere over the proverbial rainbow. That is simply not the case. I wrote in my notebook of thoughts recently on the subject. I wrote that it is not the clear lake you are swimming in, the deep cave you are exploring, or the peaceful fire you are gathered around that makes the experience memorable, rather, it is the people, the words that are said, and the moments shared that you remember and that influence you. In those moments, you laugh at jokes together, play games, and interact in ways that allow you to build trust and to better appreciate the world around you.

I would like to share the story of a friend that exemplifies the point I want to make. A month ago, I did not know much of this friend. She was in my ward, but her face blended in with the faces of those with whom I was unfamiliar. All I knew about her was that she was leaving on a mission soon. I am kind of unsure how we ended up meeting, but we became loosely acquainted. Shortly after, I invited her to go shooting in the canyon. After enjoying the sport, we talked for a while, discovered some similar interests, then parted ways. In the short time before she left on her mission, we discovered and began to develop a great friendship. We explored an abandoned mine, jumped from cliffs into a lake, sat around a campfire, toured a cave, swam in another lake, shared a couple meals, scrambled up mountain sides, and marveled at the beauty and opportunity nature provides. In all our adventures, I recall the places we visited by recalling the experiences we had. I remember at Minnetonka Cave, we spoke in accents through the entire tour. I struggled to keep a straight face as she pretended to be from England. I gave my best shot at being German. I remember after visiting the abandoned mine in Hyde Park, we were curious where all the diverging roads went, so we traveled them all until we found a mountain with numerous open caves that seemed to beckon us to them. With nothing but flip-flops on our feet, we blazed through rocks and weeds and up steep slopes to discover not just our cave, but two small natural arches as well. The cave and arches made us late to her surprise farewell party at the bishop's house.

This friend and I shared in many fun activities that taught us a lot. Had we not become friends, we never would have had those experiences. I am grateful we did and that we were able to share so much time before she left.

I hope you all are taking every chance you get to gather your friends to go out and experience the many wonders of life together. Life has limitless opportunities for you to seek, but partaking of them alone profits you little. Share your time with friends and family, and I promise you will understand and appreciate this life more.

In my great quest for personal growth this year, which, by the way, is going far beyond any level I could have imagined, I have recently discovered the outlet through which I can comfortably exhibit my sentiments and emotions towards people. As anyone who has known me for even just a week is aware, I am not an outwardly emotional person. I do not share the profound thoughts of my mind with many, and I certainly do not go around hugging everyone. I have a strict unwritten policy on hugs. In a nutshell, I believe that there are times when hugs are both acceptable, and also needed. To the shock of some, I have, upon seeing a friend in need of support, gone forth and actually initiated a genuine hug. Let me explain the difference between the types of hugs. There are obnoxious hugs like people do just because they know I'm not a huge hugger. There are what I will call happy hugs, where girls who have just seen their best friends run with flamboyant excitement to embrace them for inordinate amounts of time while almost falling over rocking back and forth. There are protocol hugs, such as when I visit my grandma. No matter who you are, you hug my grandma when you arrive and you hug my grandma when you leave. Then there are genuine hugs. A genuine hug occurs when a deep emotion in you is felt and where there is no other way in which to share that feeling other than through a hug. A genuine hug is appropriate when a friend is visibly in distress, or when a person is leaving and you will not see them again for an extended period of time, and other similar situations. During a genuine hug, there is an emotional connection between the two embracers. That inner emotion I mentioned rises from within you and meets with the inner emotion of the other hugger, creating what we call "a moment". That can be a moment of love, care, relief, true happiness, and other strong bonding emotions.

Now I'm sidetracked. I was talking about my outlet for exhibiting sentiments and emotions, which is NOT hugging.

 A few weeks back, I was sitting in church. I do not remember what was being discussed at the time, but I felt somewhat impressed that my friends needed to know how greatly I valued their friendship and that they were important to me. Specifically, a couple friends came to mind who have unknowingly influenced my life in remarkable ways and through who's example I have learned and grown tremendously as a person. Now, I can carry on interesting and insightful conversations all day, but, insert emotions, and it gets more awkward than a racist joke told at church (not that I would know). I ignored the feeling until, a week or so later, it came again. This time, I pulled out my notebook I keep for writing down such impressions and scribbled a reminder to follow through on it. I kind of knew how to approach the subject, but I had some trepidations. I have always been a little old fashioned. One thing I love is writing letters. However, in my experiences with them, I usually never get a letter back, so I kind of stopped sending them to people. It was only recently as I contemplated this situation that I realized that my purpose in sending letters was not to receive one back, but to relay information to people via a method that is more appropriate than an instant email or a text message. To me, writing a letter and either hand delivering it or mailing it signifies a more personal relationship with someone. Emails and text messages serve their purposes, and neither one I find appropriate for sharing deeper messages with.

The point of what I'm saying is I know that I have at least some level of talent with writing. Through writing, I can convey the true intent of my heart and mind without awkwardness or difficulty. That is what I desired to share with my friends, so, I wrote a couple letters. Therein lies the outlet I mentioned at the beginning of this somewhat scattered tale. If you do not write letters to anyone ever, I suggest you try. I guarantee you will be glad you did, and so will your friends, or family members.

Patriotic music for the Song of the Day. USA! USA! USA!