Why Self-Imposed Rest Days are Awesome

In the past I've felt that rest days are something of a battle. A battle to occupy the many minutes of the day in such away that is restful, productive and not totally mind numbing. This is easier said than done, especially when taking solo rest days as there is no one to play Yahtzee or Settlers of Catan, run joke tolls at the campground entrance or go adventuring with. This pickle is made all the worse on days like my last rest day, when the weather was perfect for being in the outdoors, with light clouds and a breeze, with temps perfect for climbing in the shade, going for a high country ride or paddling down a river. I have to battle with myself to avoid all of the activities to allow my body to at least partially recuperate from the past days of hiking, biking and climbing in the desert. This down time is crucial because while my psyche and internal energy levels are super high and drive me to push past the crackling knees and deep muscle soreness in my shoulders, arms and back not to mention the open and oozing wounds on my hands, I know ultimately with out a rest day I'll be in trouble.

While this anguish might not sound awesome (don't worry I'll explain the title), I assure you it is. Self-imposed rest days like the one just described are awesome because of their necessity. The fact that I can force myself to take a beautiful day off in anticipation of spending upcoming days, weeks and months climbing, biking and adventuring with such regularity that one down day is ultimately no sweat. Perfect days filled with rest are in fact an affirmation that I really do have it pretty dang good.

If this sounds less mopey and more gloaty than you originally anticipated...well you're correct because it is times like these that a little reflection in the shade, surrounded by blooming rabbit brush, staring out over grande and inspiring cliffs and towers just paces from home that I most fully appreciate the van life and irregular employment!

Coming soon, hopefully a bunch of photos and other neat things!





"Having disinterred our dream, having used the power of love to nurture it and spent many years living with the scars, we suddenly notice that what we always wanted is there, waiting for us." - Paulo Coelho