Wednesday, January 6, 2010

West Coast Wish List

After a few months of desperately waiting, I finally landed an interview at a medical school. It's Albert Einstein back in the Bronx. I'm thrilled and excited at the prospect of returning back home and reuniting with my family and friends in New York. But, it also means that my stay in California may be nearly over.

So here's a list of a few goals I'm setting for myself before I leave:
- Visit all of California's National Parks and Mounuments.
- Hang glide in the mountains with the Berkeley Hang Gliding Club. Get my Hang 3 rating.
- Summit three of the 14,000+ ft. peaks in California including either Mt. Shasta or Mt. Whitney.
- Backpack across at least 20 miles of the West Coast, John Muir, or Pacific Coast Trails.
- Spot a California condor and quail in the wild.
- Drive or hitchhike up to Alaska in the summer.
- Complete a sub 3:30 marathon.
- Run my first ultramarathon.
- Join a CSA and learn how to cook without relying on recipes.
- Stop relying on a car if I'm traveling less than 30 miles. Walk, bike, or use public transit instead.
- Go cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, or downhill skiing at Lake Tahoe.
- Hike all of the top-rated trails in Tom Stienstra and Ann Marie Brown's book California Hiking.
- Hike through one of Utah's slot canyons.
- Hop on a freight train.

Admittedly, I'd be thrilled to complete half of these adventures and remain healthy and intact. Hopefully, I'll have some progress to report back in a few months!

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