Old Friends, New Experiences

View from my back deck.

Yesterday was a very nice change of pace in my training. I love training solo, because it brings me closer to nature than most other things. However, nothing compares to new stories from an old friend.

My great friend, Christian, graduated last year (a year before I will) and began attending Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo, California. Since he moved away the only way we've been able to talk is through Facebook and only for short periods of time. He came home for Thanksgiving and was up for the weekend.

I had just finished a fairly large lunch of the left over burritos from a few nights earlier and began organizing my pack and the warmer clothes I needed for my walk when he called. "Hey," he said when I answered. "What's up?" I asked. He told me he was bored at home, so I invited him to come with me.

We walked somewhere between 3 and 4 miles. I'm not sure, because I'd never walked that way before and hadn't mapped it out. We talked about life as we walked.

Topics ranged from his classes and work, downloading tons of movies and TV shows to the point that he and his roommate received notice letters, and , briefly, the endless high school drama (which always follows the same plot). "The differences," he says, "between high school and college is that there is more work and the writing on the bathroom stalls has proper grammar."

As we walked, and the sun continued on it's westward path behind the mountain, the weather went from a cool, but comfortable sunny winter day to a fairly cold evening. This drop in temperature turned the snowmelt from the day into a thin but smooth sheet of ice. It's always a comical challenge when one is forced to walk on icy, hilly roads with little more than hiking boots. Though, neither of us fell, we definitely struggled to maintain our balance.

To conclude the day, we stopped at our friend Alannah's house. This was a bit of a reunion of our old trio. The summer after my sophomore year (one where I grew immensely) and the school year following was spent almost entirely with Christian and Alannah. The three of us sat around her warm fire and, just like old times, talking about the wonderful minutia of life.

The photos included were taken while walking the hills of Pine Mountain Club on the day of the first annual snowfall.