Now feeling like a Buddhist Monk instead of a climber, Jon shouts out, “holy shit, we just passed a big boulder.” I glanced back repeatedly as we weaved in and out of three lanes on Route 95 South. In fact, there was a large stone sitting besides the highway, and it was basking in the rays of sun that would force even Floridians to wear T-shirts in February here in New England. Seeing this as the perfect opportunity for an adventure and for fun, I weaved into the right and lane and exited immediately. By the time Jon had figured out what was going on, I had the car on a back road somewhere in Massachusetts, pointing towards the boulder. We hugged the highway on a pock marked road that soon lead us to a large industrial park. There, in the middle of the woods engulfing the large metal structures that made up the industrial park were several large granite boulders. Smiles cracked our pale faces. Out came the wire brushes, pads, chalk, shoes, and camera. Screw the Woods we thought, we’re climbing right here (even though we weren’t quite sure where here was).

With out a doubt, my most memorable days of climbing have been days like this one. Days when we make a random decision to go to some random area, be it a new discovery, or well-traveled destination, will always be days I’ll never forget. Its on these days, when we do something totally out of the blue, that I feel most at home, the free-est in a sense at the cliffs and boulders. It's in these days that I can seemingly feel every molecule of wind brush over my hair, I can feel every grain of chalk ground into my phalanges. Simply, on these days, something indescribable happens. I’d guess I’d call it euphoria. Perhaps its because all of the worries, and hype usually associated with “sending” a problem or route, be it a long term project or newly found gem, are dropped by the wayside. For once its truly is just you and the stone. For once their really are no worries, no names, and yes, even no numbers. Also, I feel that I climb my strongest and best on these days most likely because I’m free, “weightless” essentially on these days.