Failing is Good for You

A few quick thoughts on failure after a weekend of climbing in Tennessee and not necessary succeeding. These are mostly applicable to my situation of being shut down over and over while leading a 5.9 named L.A.G., but maybe these thoughts can work in general life as well.

1. Failing puts your ego in check. You aren’t as amazing as you think you are. Get your brain back down on the same plane as everyone else. Have confidence in your abilities, but don’t think you’re the most talented person in the room.

2. It means you tried! Most likely, it also means you tried something difficult and or scary. Even if you didn’t nail it, you pushed yourself outside your comfort zone.

3. You’ll do better next time. Even if you don’t finish, you’re progressing forward with each piece you put together.

4. You probably learned something. Maybe how to do better and also have a better attitude next time.

5. Anyone who has never made a mistake, has never tried anything new - Albert Einstein

A Weekend With Strong Women

In January, Melissa, Paige and I took a weekend trip to Eastern Tennessee to stay at Pickett CCC Memorial State Park’s rustic cabins, get off the grid, have some bonding time, and hike out some stress.

These cabins are nearly a hundred years old and were built during the great depression by the Civilian Conservation Corps. They aren’t bare bones by any means, but there is no cell signal and no wifi and it was perfect. Sometimes you just need to get away from regular life and spend quality time with people you love.

I’m not going to go into detail about every aspect of this trip, I’ll let the photos speak for themselves, but, we got to eat pancakes, dance by a fire, get absolutely frustrated during a game of UNO that wouldn't end, walk on frozen lakes, lick massive icicles, explore a giant cave filled with sand, hike up rock formations, pet cute dogs, drink all the coffee, and best of all, had plenty of wonderful conversation with two incredibly strong women. It's honestly hard for me to make friends with ladies. Many of them annoy me (okay, actually that's just most people in general), some  just have personalities that stress me out, and a lot of them actually intimidate me. So for me, it's truly special when I can connect deeply with some ladies that share my same morals, interests, and some of the same goals. Because of that, I'm able to truly be myself and feel at ease just spending time talking, listening, laughing, and growing.

Make time to get away and enjoy the company of your friends, those memories are the ones you’ll hang onto the longest.

"It’s a tough route but it's all there!"

“If the weather’s good, I’d love to go outside this weekend”. Usually that sentence gets thrown around at the gym and it’s a lot of “I wish I could, but”....and then the idea fades. Somehow this weekend the stars aligned and a solid group of seven all committed to Kings Bluff.

It was almost too cold when we left in Saturday morning, but by the time we arrived at the bluff, the sun was shining perfectly on the rocks, and we were all shedding layers after we tied our figure eights.

It had been almost a year to the day since I’d been sport climbing outdoors. It’s amazing how much harder a 5.9 is outside than in the gym. It was a lovely and humbling reminder at how much strength is needed when you’re outside doing the real thing. Gym grades are sometimes inflated or exaggerated, but none of that really matters. The main thing is to have a good time, enjoy the climb, make some memories, and come home in one piece.

I think my favorite thing about a group getting together to climb, is the description of the routes/the beta we give. If only I had written down the ridiculous things we'd say to one another. One I do remember is this little tidbit of advice given when my friend had taken a pretty good fall and was trying to figure out what she’d missed before a second attempt. “Well, it’s a pretty tough route but it's all there!”. Noted.

Anyway, I'm already itching for the next trip and a few more quotes.

P.S. Shootout to Clinton for snagging shots while I climbed!

Rock Island and Greeter Falls, TN

My friend from Arkansas contacted me a few months ago about coming to the Nashville area and doing some hiking. Right away I started making a plan to rival the one Carolyn had made for me when I visited earlier this year. I created a loop that took us from breakfast in Nashville, to Rock Island State Park, and then down to Greeter Falls in Savage Gulf State Natural Area, and then back to Nashville again. A perfect day trip that had us leaving Barista Parlor by 9am and arriving back in the city at about 6:30pm.

Any time people come to visit, I make sure they experience the glory that is a Barista Parlor biscuit. It’s the perfect way to start out a day of driving and hiking and then driving and hiking some more. My friends were definitely not disappointed, but honestly who in their right mind has ever been disappointed by that miraculous biscuit??

Our first stop was twin falls at Rock Island. This is one of the best middle Tennessee falls you can see for the least amount of work. Trail time is about five minutes before you can hop off and start rock scrambling out to the side of the river. You’ll be able to get pretty close to the falls so prepare yourself to get a little wet from the spray. We hung out at the falls for a bit before driving to a restaurant in McMinnville for lunch. Collins River BBQ and Cafe
gets a 10/10 from us if you need a bite before heading to a new location.

We drove about an hour down to Savage Gulf to hike Greeter and Boardtree Falls. It’s about a mile and a half hike to see both falls. There is definitely some elevation changes in the trail but nothing overly strenuous - hiking poles or a walking stick is always helpful no matter the terrain.

Greeter, in my opinion, is one of the most beautiful locations in TN. White falls cascading into a pool of perfect blue water. Even though it was warm that day, the water was so cold that the bottom of the falls was a bit icy. It created such a beautiful shine at the base.

We had the falls to ourselves for a bit and then worked our way back up the trail - and the slippery spiral staircase - to find the suspension bridge and the top of Boardtree Falls. This falls isn’t anything spectacular, but it’s unique in that you can easily walk out on the top of the falls since the water is always pretty calm. There’s usually a dry rock right at the top where you can sit and take in the view.

This is a great day trip if you want to get the most out of your time. Roundtrip it’s about a 4 hour drive, but with all the views and hiking, it feels like much less. However, if there is extra time in your day, there are multiple other state parks and natural areas to and from both locations. Middle Tennessee has unlimited possibilities!