Living the High Life

We stop at red lights and stay inside the lane lines on the road. We turn on our blinkers at intersections. We have to obey speed limits and do what the signs say. Wouldn't it be nice to live the high life?

What is the high life you say? The high life is away from all of this. It's where the sun shines and the trails go on for miles. Stop lights never bother you. The only lane lines are the cliffs and rocks. The grass waves in the wind. The leaves shake in the aspens. Your company is your own breath and the sound of your pounding steps.

I went running the other day and the dog to human ratio was almost 1 to 1. I didn't hit a stop light one. Traffic consisted of a few mountain bikers a handful of hikers and a just about that many dogs. I had a little bit of a mix up at a split in the trail and a bit of foot and paw traffic, but they weren't near like the stops I sometimes have to make waiting to cross the road. The dirt helped so my knees didn't ache after I ran. Six miles came and went beneath my feet. Then I had to get back in my car and return to the world of Provo, Utah.

I know we need all the traffic regulations to keep us safe and that if the only roadways were trails my life would be much harder. That doesn't mean I have to like it.

"The mountains are calling and I must go."

-John Muir

Stranded on top of the world!

     Calculated steps by sandal shod feet took me higher and higher up into the canyon. Sucking air in and blowing it out again. Powerade and chia seeds fueling my fatigued body. Over and over I scanned the ground looking at the obstacles in the way. Maiming a foot on a run like today's was not a very good option. Long day for marathon training takes it's toll. I broke out into the campground and took the gravel road ever upward. I thought it special to be able to look down and see my own feet as I ran. The road behind me, I continued on a trail and stopped at a high point. I was stranded. I had come so far and there was no elevator down. I knew that if I tried to run down, the probability that my knee would hurt was very high. I could climb, but going down would have been torture. Looking back now I wonder what I would have given to have had a stair case that always went up and ended at the same elevation, like those I have seen in optical illusions. An attempt to run down part of the hill only racked the outside of my knee with pain. I was stranded on top of the world!

     After some more running I made it to a parking lot. God has a way of putting people in the right place. A paraglider hadn't wanted to soar that day do to the conditions, and so was able to get a ride down in his car. It made a very long run into a manageable one. Some days you look back
and know Someone was looking down on you.

     I've never snorted cocaine. I've never used meth. I've never shot up heroine. Yet I am familiar with the high not seeming to last as long as it used to. I feel sometimes as if I don't stay tired anymore. The burning and the panting and the pain stop after a few minutes and the life that I felt slips away just like that. My body fatigues. I find that out later when I put it though the paces again. I find it very possible to get addicted to exercise. 

     A person can run from their problems for a while, but they eventually have to stop and face the music. No, not the music that has been drowning out all but the loudest screams their heart and brain can muster. The endorphins eventually seem to run out and they find themselves in the same situation they were before, plus physical fatigue. No one can run from themselves forever. No one can run from their problems forever. I would much rather a person let out anger exercising than in a plethora of other more negative options, but it just doesn't solve everything. Just like a drunk wakes up the next morning remembering the problems they tried to forget the night before, a runner finds themselves in the same life before and after the run. WAKE UP!

     Does this mean I will stop running and exercising? Are you kidding me? No! Not until my legs give up completely and fall off from use. I just know that running is not the answer to all frustrations in life. Facing the music isn't fun sometimes. It is of the utmost importance to make good decisions.

     Wrestling made me realize that we can't be scared to make decisions in life. If you don't explode on the bottom you most likely won't get up. You will stay on the bottom and be beaten into the mat. You have to decide to get up. Once that whistle blows, you stand, you sit out, you switch, you granby, you try to stand again, anything to get yourself in a better place. Even if you do something wrong, at least you are moving.

     We may be tempted to try to pause our stopwatches during training runs. The race clock never stops. It doesn't care that you are tired. It doesn't care that you need to go to the bathroom. Time never stops. Time doesn't care that you are tired. Time doesn't care that you messed up.

     This doesn't mean that no one cares. Even when it seems like no one in the world knows what's going on. Hit your knees and you will find someone that cares.

     Anger with oneself may be the most difficult to handle. Others can be forgiven and if you desire never seen again. You never get away from yourself. You can run around the world. You will never get away from your own mind. You might as well be at peace with it. 

Pedal Hard

     Sitting over at my old apartment on a bean bag, watching Tour de France. There were a bunch of bikers jockeying for position and pedaling hard. These guys RIDE their bikes. The talk was turned to the wrecks which had happened this year. Former champions were already out of the race. Watching road biking is sometimes about like watching paint dry. I  enjoy road biking as much as the next, but watching it isn't exactly the most exciting thing in the world. 

     I hung around and talked to my old roommate Joe about girls. Then we wanted to go do something. I had a problem. I had to get my bike back to my apartment before dark. I have no reflectors on my bike, so any reflectors would have had to have been on my shoes or my backpack, if they even had reflectors. I had no headlight. I was wearing jeans and a green shirt.

     Headphones in and helmet on, rock battering my eardrums I took off and then turned around. As the wind hit my eyes my vision was blurred and took a while to clear. I pedaled and maneuvered my way through town back toward my apartment. I reveled in the exertion on my legs and the speed as I rolled on my hard tail.

     I am not a totally reckless rider, but I take my risks sometimes. I will take corners quickly, ride with traffic, and jump around at times. I am normally pretty conscious of my limits and the traffic around me. When riding you have to ride for you and drive for everyone around you.

    Tonight I looked up some statistics about cycling. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Traffic Safety Facts, "In 2012, 4,743 pedestrians and 726 bicyclists were killed in crashes with motor vehicles (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Traffic Safety Facts)." I found this information at this site. http://www.pedbikeinfo.org/data/factsheet_crash.cfm#No1

     Why wasn't I one of them? Well one big reason is that in 2012 I was out of the country. One of my friends during this time said that he didn't want to become a statistic. I don't really want to become a statistic either. What kept me from being one in 2010, when my dad and I took our epic bike trip up into Canada and back down? We certainly had the opportunity to become roadkill more than once. Riding through a canyon in the rain with log-trucks running up your back isn't exactly a party. Hence the miracle of everyday life. Heavenly Father looks down on us.

     Pedal hard! Live life!

To all the shotgun jokesters of the world.

     I would first like to preface this post. I myself am guilty of making the jokes about needing a big stick because my sisters were/are/are going to be pretty. Also, someday I will probably have a daughter and someone should show me this post.
    Today I saw a picture of a beautiful girl on Facebook. There were comments on the picture about how pretty she was. How great! People can build up someone's confidence a great deal by telling them that they look good. Then it was almost ruined for me by two posts. Dad, Mr. Man came in and joked about how he had a gun and other "intimidating" characteristics he had. He's probably a great person, but obviously it has been on my mind for a while now. Could it be because I have had a bad experience with someone's dad making similar jokes? Probably.
     I have something to say to any dad who does anything like this! If you want to gain my respect it's not going to be by cleaning your gun as I walk in the door. I'm from Idaho. Almost everybody has one! How would you like it if the next time someone came to take your daughter on a date they had an AR-15 strapped to their back?
     "How many times has someone actually come to the door with a gun when I was going to take their daughter on a date?" you might ask. A grand total of zero. I have been in a situation where the girl's brother had a shotgun at some point. So why am I so angry?
      I must be old fashion, or maybe not considering that this tradition has been going on for a while, but I would like to share with you some of the greatest examples in my life.

     When I was growing up my dad was my wrestling coach. Anyone who has been around wrestling for very long should know that wrestlers tend to be the tougher sort and not always the most well behaved of people. We fight for our sport, is it really a surprise that we are a little rough sometimes? I have a sister who is about three years older than me and she is beautiful. (She now is married and has two kids.) My dad is about as level headed as they come. He decided to help out with wrestling practice with the high school team. He gained the respect of many of the wrestlers there. I don't mean that they feared him. I am talking about respect. The kind of respect that goes both ways. He is a strong man. He has hands that have become hard from years of work. He is so fast that by the time you notice that he is setting you up for a shot he is already on your legs and you are headed for the ground. 
     One time a few young men were overheard talking about him. One said that he was cussed at by my dad. One of the others said something like he might have gotten mad or yelled at you, but he didn't talk like that.
     Long story short he respected young men and gained their respect. He is the kind of guy that looks people in the eye and shakes their hand. Why does he even need to get out the gun? He certainly has one!
     My sister was at seminary when her boyfriend flipped her some money and told her she could have the night off. This was totally inconsiderate and inaccurate. Mom caught wind of that and she told the boy off herself. My sister said that she was too hurt to tell him off herself. This boy was over six feet tall. Did my mom care? No. At least it didn't seem to stop her from doing what she did. She has gained respect herself. When this boys little brother, who is my friend, was acting up it didn't take her doing much for him to say, "Yes Mrs. Hoch."
     So maybe you aren't a wrestling coach or a fearless woman. Please find a way to gain respect and respect others. I just hope that people can talk to one another. Get to know us. (Us being the ones taking out your daughters.) Maybe we aren't the monsters you think we are.
     

Y Run June 17, 2014

     Looking up into the Wasatch, I could see the misty clouds hanging over the peaks. The cool air touched my face. I have wanted to hike in misty mountains for some time now. I went in my house though for some time.

     I read Born to Run as the rain fell. The pages turned and revealed more stories of persistence hunting and running in the desert. By the time I went out of the house my mind had become filled with the idea that I could run for miles. I ran toward the gym. I saw the beautiful mountains in the East. Beautiful spring green toward the bottom faded into snow as the altitude increased. It looked like something out of Lord of the Rings. I wanted to run up into the mountains. I thought about the story that that would make. I continued toward the gym. Upon arrival I put in my information to get into the gym. I found out that I would need to pay to get in. Pay! Really? I went out and took down an email for a job posting. I ran east.

     The BYU Creamery served as a supply station. I grabbed a granola bar and a Powerade. Sweat on my face made it look like I had been out in the rain. To my knowledge the rain had stopped already. The girl at the counter asked me if it was from the rain. I told her that I had been running. She said that she was a runner. We conversed about the difficulties of running at certain times in our lives.

     I started again toward the snow and wore a hot spot on my toe. I decided to walk. As I did I found two interesting people. They had what looked like an over-sized tricycle and a scooter. I found out that they were from Saint George, UT. One had hit his face in an accident on the tricycle. They stayed there as I continued my march toward the snow.

     The fading light in the parking lot by the trailhead made for some great picture taking. The sunset was beautiful. Raindrops dotted the leaves of the plants.

I was intrigued by a stairway made of rocks as well. 

     I sat on a rock and talked to my grandma who had just made a trip with my mom and sisters to a funeral in Wyoming. They had had some adventures. It was so nice to just be up high and feel the sun. I sat there for a while just soaking it in and drinking my Powerade. 

     Anyone who has been up to the trailhead under the Y knows how steep the road is. It is brutal to climb and jarring to come down. My feet slipped forward in my Vibram FiveFingers as I took short steps down the hill.

     I saw them again for just a moment. The trike was rolling down the hill. I continued down the hill and talked to the individuals who had been riding it. They said that they would make another run. I asked if I could take video and pictures. They didn't seem to have a problem with it. I set up on a corner to get video of them coming down. One hooped as he came down on the scooter. I caught the other sliding the trike down the road. Ammon and Dan were the adventurers of the day.

     The day was beautiful. The weather was good. I had gone mountain biking the day before, and, let's be honest, the day before that as well. I put up this post on the BYU Outdoor Adventure Meetup Page. This was the reaction that I got. Too bad no one went with me. I had a blast. Of course there were times that weren't so blissful, but such is life. Right?

     Rock Canyon is a wonderful place just above the Provo Utah Temple. It is a short drive from pretty much anywhere in Provo and there are quite a few people that use this trail to get out of the city life. It's so great to have nature so close.

     Exploring the trails around Provo has proven to be a rewarding experience. It is so easy to get out into the mountains. They are, in a sense, right in my backyard. Some of the trails that I have come across here have been, Bonneville Shoreline Trail, Rock Canyon Trail, and Slate Canyon Trail.

     When I posted the above on my Facebook I don't know if I knew what I was in for. It was to be the third day that I would take my Gary Fisher out for a spin. The weather was good. The air was a little heavy and it could have rained, but to my knowledge it didn't. 

     A girl with attended me from behind the counter at the bike shop that day. I proudly told her I needed two 26inch by 2.1 tubes. She asked me if I wanted the thorn resistant tubes or regular tubes. I asked the price and decided on the regular tubes. Thinking back now, the thorn resistant tubes would have been nice. I got some gloves and as she was helping me check out I noticed that her hands were blackened by what looked like grease. Impressive, a girl that works on bikes! How many of those do you find walking around? I might get myself in trouble saying that, but really, think about the last five bike shops you have been in. How many of them had girls working in the shop.

    I drove up to the parking lot and got myself ready to go. The trail is steep so I took off at a good pace. I had done this once before. There is no reason to kill yourself at the bottom with your big chain ring. There will be plenty of time to die on your small ring up higher. The trail up Rock Canyon is not one to be taken lightly. If you do you may not make it up. I just spun near the base and slowly climbed my way up. Near the base of the canyon there is a lot of loose gravel. There are bigger rocks spattered here and there. I passed a man that told me another biker was ahead of me. He also said he didn't envy me.
     As you go up the trail gets narrower and the rocks turn into obstacles and there seems to be more dirt in between them. Somewhere in this mix of gravel and rocks, snow adds to the treacherousness of the trail. In the midst of my struggling I saw the other biker! He was a little way above me! I think my competitiveness kicked in and I tore at the hill.

     I had gone up some nice single track the day before. I had run out of time and had to go back down. The video I sent to my family said "tempting," referring to the trail ahead of me. This day I got my chance to take off into that frontier. I kept going through mud and obstacles. It was a great challenge! I finally got to the campground that the other cyclist had stopped at.

     He had some wood and a small wooden bowl and was using snow to get a shaving brush wet for some reason. I later found out that he was going to take pictures of a shaving set for a photo contest. He tried taking pictures of his shaving equipment in the snow and by some flowers. I had my little camera as well, so why not snap off a few shots. The yellow flowers had an intriguing shape. I didn't understand it fully until I saw one fully open!

      We finally decided to head down. The other biker had no rear brake so I let him go down first. I didn't envy him! I worked nimbly down the trail, braking, accelerating, picking lines in the rock infested trail. My back end felt weird so I stopped and pressed on the tire and heard air spew out of it! I changed the tube and continued on my way. I kept going down, feeling a little more confident than the last time I had come down this path. A bridge crossed the small stream that trails along the path. I crossed it and flew off the end. The back tire slammed down something and was pinched flat again. I was close to the car but after a while I decided to fix the tube anyway. I watched as rock climbers maneuvered above me. I patched what I thought was necessary and then put the tire back together. As I pumped air still escaped. I found that there were more problems. I fixed them and tried to put the tire back on. This is where I pinched the tube with the tire lever. I put a quick patch on it and put it back together. Finally I was on my way!

     The decent was quick and fun! Many people used that same trail that day, an old man that talked to me about having the means to fix my bike, couples out climbing by the green gate, and two little princesses in matching purple dresses hiking up with their family.

     I got to play a little and explore some new places that day. All I can say is get outside! Go exploring. Life's too short to waste it!

Pictures by Coben Hoch

To see the rest of the comments on the Facebook post check out BYU Outdoor Adventure Club Meetup Page.

Salt Lake Adventure! The beginning of many...

Trains, homeless people, slack liners, Brazilians, FAMILY… 

     This weekend I took a trip up to Salt Lake City. I decided to make an adventure out of it! Traveling around with a backpack and a camera, getting to know new places, it sounds a lot like a dream to me. Look out for more trips like this.

     I got a ride to the train station from one of my roommates. Ahead of me was a girl that was going North on the train as well. I didn't know exactly where I was going…. PERFECT opportunity to ask directions. I got to know her as we rode the train north toward Salt Lake. We got off the train together and parted ways. 

      Drinking my Gatorade on the train left me with a certain fullness in the bladder area. I looked around for a bathroom and finally asked someone who pointed me in the right direction. At some point I talked to the Security guard who said something about the station being a war zone. I don't think I fully grasped the situation at that point. 

      I took off and saw another photographer taking pictures of the local scene. It was a good place to take some shots. He asked what looked like a random person to pose for him. It was great. I learned that that is a totally feasible way to get subjects for your shots.

      I got off a long way from my destination. I could have probably taken a tram or a bus closer to where I wanted to go, but where is the adventure there? It gave me an opportunity to learn. I passed a street lined with homeless people. I got pictures of some great flowers by the Little America. I learned that macro mode pays off.

     I used the technique that I saw employed by the other photographer and asked some slack liners if I could take a picture of them. Look what I found.

      These were some of the best slack liners I have ever seen. The one in the picture above was a skier who attends West Minster college. If he had his choice, he would ski six days per week. 

The mission reunion with Brazilian friends coupled with seeing my family made the trip all worth it!

Pictures taken 04/05/14

Turn around and the weather will change!

     The clouds shroud the mountains like a magicians cape. The rain comes down like spittle from someones lips. Everyone walks around with their faces scrunched from the wetness. Then the clouds give way just enough to see some of the mountains, not as much snow as I would expect, but there is some up there.
     The weather in Utah has it's ups and downs. There will be nice days and then days like this. I looked outside and saw white coming down. It was not an April fools joke, but if it had been it would have been a good one. According to the National Weather Service it is 45 degrees and overcast. We have a 50% chance of snow for tonight and a chance of snow for tomorrow.
     According to the BYU ESC Weather Summary on April 1, 2013 the low temperature bottomed out at 39.7 degrees Fahrenheit. The high for that day was 57.7 degrees. There .21 inches of rainfall were recorded. In 2009 the low was 23.9 degrees the high 41.6 degrees and .09 inches of rain fell.
     I look outside now and I can see blue sky. The sunlight sparkles off the wet trees. So what should I wear. Do I wear a jacket or a tee-shirt? During spring in Provo you have to be prepared for anything….

These pictures were taken within seconds of each other. Literally, look in another direction and the weather will change!

Pictures taken April 1, 2014

Looking through my pictures I have a highlight album. I will get some of those pictures up here. I really like having an object in the foreground and also having a great backdrop…. like this.

Hanging on for dear life

Ready, Set, Go

I wanted to get a shot of the green light. As it turns out I got all three!
March 3, 2014

Timpanogos in the evening.

I finally got a charger that I can use down here for my camera! I was walking back to my apartment today and I decided to take a few shots. This is a shot of Mount Timpanogos in the evening.
March 3, 2014

What I was doing while you were on Facebook.

“What I was doing wile you were on Facebook…

So, my alarm clock went off at 5:30 this morning. Notice, I said alarm clock, and not my phone. I woke up and took a shower, and got ready to go running. That has its protocol. I went out the door and went off like a… I started running. I got down to the track and put my Poweraid, hat and jacket down on one of the seats. Then I started going in circles. There was something missing though, my headphones. Am I bitter? Well, maybe some. I ran some laps, but then I lost focus. I went home and took another shower, grabbed some pizza and a bier rock and took off munching away at the pizza. At the crosswalk, I saw a person from my ward. We said tentative hellos and eventually started talking. We parted ways. As I started toward the Richards Building I could hear some birds. I went to class and the teacher remembered my name. I had seen her once before! After class I had some time and I was in gym style clothes so I went to the gym and rolled out my legs. I got some sit-ups done and squats on a cool balance thing. I came out and walked up the stairs and went to the Twilight Zone. As I bought my water and gum the cashier and I exchanged a few pleasant words. I left, and I am sitting here writing this before my next class starts.

            It is a little annoying not to be able to call my mom, but I have gone longer stretches without doing that before.”

            During my experience of the media fast I wrote this short description of what I had done with myself. What do you do if you don’t have a computer, phone, radio, etc.?

            During the period of time scheduled for the media fast I took a trip to my home in Idaho. According to Google, this trip takes around six hours. My experience says that the trip takes more along the lines of seven hours. That is seven hours that I had to spend virtually alone. The radio happens to be my friend during this time. I luckily started the trip before the media fast. I took off after midnight and got to my house around 8:00 in the morning. I had a great weekend with my family.

I decided to start the media fast on Saturday night. I knew that I had to start then or I would not be able to go the three days before the media fast was up. I tried to start it, but then I couldn’t, I had to figure out my schedule. I used my planner to schedule the things that I would need to do through out the week. I had reading assignments and other things written down. I started the fast around midnight. The next day, being Sunday was fine. I went to church with my family, ate bierrocks, took a nap, visited my grandma, and then took off toward Provo.

What came next was something that no one should ever have to experience. Like I said before, the trip to Provo takes about seven hours. Thank goodness there is a stretch where the speed limit is 80 miles per hour. I did not get to use my radio in the car. Obviously I can’t help what other people do, like the sound at the gas stations and such. I had to come up with ways to stay awake or entertained, whichever was required at the moment. I sang and did other things to pass the time. By the time I parked in the underground parking lot at Glenwood, I was talking to myself in a weird accent. I went crazy, that’s all I have to say.

The next day, being Monday was good because I had class. This is when I wrote what is quoted above. It is impressive that my teacher remembered my name. I have a block class and at the beginning of the semester I went to it even though I wasn’t scheduled to be there. I went to the class only once. My teacher still remembered my name when I went there several weeks later.

In society today many people are, “plugged in.” What I mean by this is that we often times find ourselves shut off from the world by using headphones or searching the internet as we travel around doing our day to day tasks. My mother does not have a cellular phone. She says that when she doesn’t want someone to reach her she doesn’t have to be reached. She isn’t anti-social, she just likes her alone time. I wonder though, how many times do we miss opportunities to talk to others because we are, “plugged in?” I myself am a culprit of this. I like to listen to my music in my big green Skullcandy headphones. I do this while I am just walking from place to place. I pass people and don’t talk to them. This is another example of a non-anti-social person who doesn’t talk to people.

Not very long before this experience I had a bad experience with social media. I am not a Facebook hater, but I do see where, when used incorrectly, it can be a way for people to voice unfriendly comments.

When people have the ability to talk to other like-minded people they can gain a stronger opinion than they had before. It is amazing what kind of courage people can have when they have a group of people supporting them and they are removed from the situation, because they are communicating on the internet.

I spent lots of time on Facebook. I had it on my phone as well as on my computer. A while after the media fast I took the Facebook app off my phone. I tried to put the message app on it but was unsuccessful. I currently do not have it on my phone. I think that it is better this way. I still spend time on Facebook. Could I use my time more effectively?… Yeh.

One of the benefits of this media fast was that I could see that I spent a lot of time on electronic communication. I think that my time can be spent in other more productive ways. Like the volleyball game I am about to play!
P.S. The picture was taken in October of 2013.

May 2010

Sunlight

This blog is meant to help people see some of the beauty of the world like I see it, or at least what I can get through a camera lens. Some of the older pictures may have been shot by family and friends, the new ones should all be mine though.

See the world through my eyes.