Midlife in College

Late in the summer or at the beginning of the fall semester I took a river rafting course as part of my outdoor leadership program at UAA. The goal of the class is to teach students the fundamentals of river rafting in a fun and safety conscious environment.

All of the outdoor classes at UAA are designed the same way. You spend a classes nights in a classroom signing endless forms and waivers, go over the trip and gear, and get to know your team.

The third night of class we headed over to Jewel Lake in Anchorage to get our feet wet and get introduced to the boats and the gear. It was surprisingly chilly for late August and very windy out on the lake. We were all happy to be wearing drysuits, which are required at UAA. We spent a couple hours on the water taking turns in the oar boat and the raft. With the wind it was tough to maneuver the big rafts against it.

On Friday we headed south the the Kenai River. This was our first of three days in the rafts. Again it was very windy and cold. We worked our way up river for six or seven miles doing the run twice. Each team of rafters took turns in both the raft and the oar boat. It was a lot of fun and some of us even swam the rapids will the rest of the team practiced swift water rescue techniques.

That night we camped out in a campground near the river and feasted on a big Mexican dinner and spend a long time telling stories around the campfire.

Early Saturday morning we headed to the Portage Creek near Whittier. It was a beautiful day. We did two runs like the day before and this was a step up in terms of rapids. In the late afternoon we watched the salmon heading upstream to spawn and spent the lunch with the team along the creek.

Saturday night I stayed in a hotel in Anchorage rather than driving all the way back into town early the next morning.

Sunday we headed to the Matanuska River north of Sutton and launched the boats. There were quite a Class 3 rapids and it was fun to shoot the gap! It was an absolutely beautiful day along the river and we admired the leaved changing to their beautiful gold. We ran the river twice again before packing up the boats and heading home.

Monday night we met again in the classroom to turn in our gear and say our good byes to our new friends we became close with over the weekend.

I love these trips. Where else can you have an experience like this for five hundred bucks and receive college credit. A trip like this with a guide up here in Alaska would costs a couple thousand dollars or more with a guide outfit. While it had been over a decade since I had been in a raft it was still fun to learn from a couple of great instructors.

Like I said one of the best parts is meeting new friends. There is something special about spending time with a group of folks. You immediately form like-minded bonds over a camp fire and on the adventures. I hope we can keep in touch well after our trip.

 

After looking at Rolex watches for years I finally walked into the Ben Bridge store in Anchorage, the only authorized dealer for Rolex in Alaska last weekend.

At this point I had never held one of these watches in my hand and really didn’t know what to expect including the price. I had read a lot of forums online that said to beware of fakes that look very close to the real thing and only buy a watch from an authorized dealer. Besides who would want someone else’s used watch anyway?

I looked at the Submariner and the GMT-2 and a passing glance at the Explorer II.  I told the jeweler I would contact my bank about a loan and promised to get back to her. She gave me a catalog.

Now it was time to convince my wife, Michele. One night, pretty late she sent me a text while I was downstairs watching Netflix and said, “buy the watch if you want to with a link online for the Explorer II.”

I could hardly contained myself.

On Tuesday I called the jewelry store and asked them about the Explorer II and said they had a black dial but just sold the white one. They said they could overnight one to the store if I put down a deposit over the phone. I did.

We set a date for Friday to go into town and get a collateral loan against our savings. I thought of it this way: This would be an investment for the last watch I will buy in my lifetime and by getting this type of loan it would be at a much lower interest rate (2.1%) versus a credit card purchase. Also for each payment I make the money is returned to my savings account so it’s a win-win!

On our way into town, Macey from the store called me and said the watch was in and I made an appointment for later in the afternoon.

We arrived and made the purchase together. That was important to Michele and I as she bought me my last “nice” watch more than 15 years ago when we first met.

We made the purchase  and they resized it for me, told me about the warranty and about bringing it in for a check up in ten years!

I had never made a purchase this large before for a watch but I think it’s worth it. We work really hard and deserve to splurge every once in awhile.

A little about the Explorer II:

“The Rolex Explorer II, first released in 1971, is the natural heir to the original Rolex Explorer – yet with a character all of its own. A robust, highly refined tool, the Explorer II swiftly became the watch of choice of speleologists, volcanologists and polar and jungle explorers, thanks to its specially designed features.”

As Michele said, “it fits your lifestyle.” I love it! After owning watches all of my life I can tell this is a masterpiece far beyond anything I have ever worn. While it’s not clunky, it’s heavy and fits well on wrist. The oysterlock band is impressive. It doesn’t jingle when it moves like all of the other watches I have ever learned. The case is made from one piece of stainless steel and the inner workings are what make Rolex legendary.

It is beautiful. While most people associate a Submariner or even the GMT as the classic Rolex look, the Explorer II is in a class of its own with its clean, white face, white hands accented in black and second orange accented hand that is used for a second time zone setting. The sapphire face has its trademark cyclopse over the date. The movement is smooth and is an automatic wind using the motion of your wrist as you wear it daily.

Overall it is a truly beautiful watch that would not be out of place in a boardroom or on the sled dog trails, my outdoor expeditions, or on the beach. I’m not a watch collector, and like to have one good watch I can wear every day. And for me this is it. So it being versatile and not out of place was an important factor for me. And this watch has that.

Follow Robert on Twitter @robertforto

Here is a slideshow of my internship exit presentation.

This is a video of our winter multi-sport expedition. It was created by one of the team members who is also a journalism student at the University of Alaska Anchorage.

After months of meetings and a ton of work, the multi-sport winter expedition through the University of Alaska Anchorage is on!

I am so honored to be taking a group of 10 outdoor leaders on a week-long expedition in the backcountry of Alaska this March. This is my internship through the HPER program and a cumulation of my experience as a student in the department.

A big thanks for my mentor, TJ Miller for believing in this. It’s going to be great!