Thursday, October 16, 2008

Six Months of Update

Sometimes it is hard to believe 6 months have passed. I have said this many times before, and maybe it is because I seem to take my life in phases of 6 months. I look back on my time since returning this spring and it is somewhat blurry. I finished up with Evergreen and received my pretty little piece of paper saying I have a Bachelors of Science. I put that degree to work by guiding on the Rogue River a bit, and I managed to squeeze in private trips down a few more amazing wild and scenic rivers: the Illinois, Middle Fork Salmon, and the Grand Canyon. I did a little climbing in the Olympics to enjoy the heavy spring snow pack, and then learned to paraglide this fall. I now have my pilot’s license for paragliding and it has been a good challenge to do something completely new; I was hooked on day 1. Aside from all the adventures, the last 6 months have been a bit sobering; I have made new friends and lost others along the way. A few days after helping teach a Swiftwater Rescue course, our friend died kayaking the Green River; he and his boat disappeared into a nasty sieve and did not submerge until the water dropped 6 days later. The river is always forgiving, until it is not. It was a terrible 6 days of feeling helpless, sad, and frustrated. I was reminded of everything my WEMT instructor, Tom Clausing, taught me about wilderness rescues and recoveries. Sure enough, Tom was killed 6 weeks later in a helicopter accident while bringing in a patient from the Grand Canyon; he was a flight medic for the park service. I have been reminded of the fragility of life and being down in the canyon made me feel so small and insignificant (in a good way). On the bright side, both Mike and Tom died doing what they loved. On a happier note, I was able to attend the wedding of my dear friends, Karl and Tara. It was a great excuse for a trip out to Jackson, Wyoming and a long weekend reunion with my mzungu “Ugandan family.” Plus, it was a great 3 days of celebration for the bride and groom. It is funny how we all bonded together so well in Uganda, and in all honesty, we spent a considerably short amount of time together. However, it felt like much more and it was great to see the strong connection between all of us again. Jim and Sheri are back in the States figuring out their next “home,” Shannon is still based in Bozeman, Anna had just returned from Uganda and is off to Nepal soon, and Karl and Tara are now starting their next phase of life together. As for me, I am at my next phase of life as well. I will be returning to Uganda at the end of the month to take over Annie’s job as the manager of Soft Power Health. It is for a somewhat indefinite amount of time, but I have committed to work through next summer. I am excited to get back, but it always seems to be a bittersweet return. I will leave behind some good friends, but when I really think about it, some of my closest friends are the ones out living the life and following our passions: we avoid desk jobs, we get our hands dirty, we play hard, and we have a little fun and adventure while we can. Be well, dear friends. I will try to keep everyone updated, but occasional emails and updates from all of you are much appreciated as well. Happy days.