2014: What The Hell Did I Do?

In case you haven’t noticed, it’s 2015.

Yes, I too am aware that time is a social construct, but should you choose to ignore it then how will you know when its time for you to die?

This year a lot changed for me (I now have near-daily sits on a heated toilet seat) – hopefully 2015 will continue to bring more of the same.

Here’s where and what I managed to get myself into:

NOTABLE ADVENTURES

• Solo road tripping across the United States from Washington DC to Los Angeles (zero accidents and zero animals harmed).
• Catching a glimpse of the Northern Lights from Kiruna, Sweden (will have to make it even farther north next time).
• Moved to Japan (and acquiring the title of sensei).
• Diving Molokini Crater in Maui, Hawaii (fish are friends, not food).
• Hiking the Puy de Dôme section of the GR4 in France (how I spent my birthday).
• Traveling around Europe via hitchhiking (my new favorite form of transportation).
• Climbing Haleakalā from sea level – 10,023 ft / 3,055 m elevation change in a day’s time (and without risk of AMS!).
• Trekking to Everest Base Camp in Nepal (thorough documentation on the way).
• Making a pilgrimage to the beloved Madison, Wisconsin (Memorial Union is one of my favorite places in the world).
• Paying visits to Arches, Zion, Yosemite, Kings Canyon, Sequoia, and Grand Canyon National Parks (not nearly enough time spent in any of them).
• Sitting front row behind home plate at Yankee Stadium (thank you, Matthew). Go Dodgers.

SUMMITS

• Mount Kasa – Gifu, Japan (9,506 ft / 2,897 m)
• Haleakalā – Maui, Hawaii (10,023 ft / 3,055 m)
• Mount Fuji – Shizuoka, Japan (12,388 ft / 3,776 m)
• Half Dome – Yosemite, California (8,839 ft / 2,694 m)
• Everest Base Camp – Khumbu, Nepal (17,598 ft / 5,364 m)
• Chukhung Ri – Chukhung, Nepal (18,208 ft / 5,550 m)
• Kala Patthar – Khumbu, Nepal (18,514 ft / 5,643 m)

Looking forward to what the next 365 days will bring (and what else I can tick off the bucket list).

Hopefully not death!