Yosemite National Park
Haning out below the Great Roof on The Nose		Curry Village with Half Dome in background.

John Middendorf
Climbing No. 146

                                                       Nicole and I at Seneca Rocks, WV                       Descrepency - Seneca Rocks, WV

I just finished my 7th year as a middle school counselor at Kate Collins Middle School in Waynesboro, Virginia.  I will be starting as one of the new school counselors at the new Skyline Middle School in Harrisonburg in the fall.  My wife and I celebrated our 5th anniversary on June 25th and our son Nathaniel turned 5 months old on July 12th.  My home stomping ground is Seneca Rocks - an easy day trip (1 1/2 hours) from Harrisonburg - where I first got on the "sharp end". I mostly climb traditional, but I enjoy sport climbing. For a time, I was bitten by the big wall bug, completing 5 walls in Yosemite.   If I can't lead 5.12's, I can sure suffer for 5 days on some A3+.  I enjoy climbing anything. For me, just feeling the rock under my hands and feet, whether it is 5.4 or 5.10, is heaven.

                                                                                       Nicole on the South Summit, Seneca

My first love is my wonderful wife, Nicole. But climbing and biking take a close second.(Hope that gets me off the hook.)  Living in Harrisonburg, I am only 25 minutes from miles and miles of steep and fast single track in George Washington National Forest. The world cup downhill and the Hoo-Ha race are held at nearby Massanutten Mountain. No problems with crowds here, it is a rare occasion that I have met another biker on the trail.

                    Chris Wells and myself biking in George Washington National Forest.
 
 

        Rafting Upper Gauley in WV.

 Neal Singletary after awesome weekend climbing in NC.

"This has been a delicious day, the kind whose taste lingers long after it ends, whose memory even months later activates all your senses. Good food, good conversation, spectacular scenery, and vivid experiences. The hot sun to warm your back, a cool river to escape into, and the luxury to enjoy them both. Simple pleasures.  Trails to explore, mountains to climb, vistas to view, and good companions to share them with you. A day, like the surroundings, that will remain forever in time."

                                                                                                                                                                                            Dayton Duncan - OUT WEST

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To Find Out A Little More About Me, Check Out Some Links That Interest Me:

Think On These Things
Politics:

• Michael Savage The one guy I would love to hang out with a have a beer
  
• The Drudge Report
• Thomas Sowell Great columnist cutting through the feel good liberal bent in the media.
• The Heritage Foundation
  

• GOD.COM The name says it all!
• Christian Apologetics
  
• Evolution
• Creationism
• Theology Today
• Extreme Theology
• Audio Bible
• C.S. Lewis
  

• The Origin of Words  Where did "off the wagon" originate? 
• Thoughts of the Greatest Thinkers
• Alan Watts  While studying psychology in college, I became fascinated with this guy.

Get Outside, Go Somewhere, Now
• Road Trip Nation
• National Geographic
• Big Wall Home Page
• Yosemite Super Topos  Best road map up the big wall mecca.
• The Rotondo area of Switzerland Awesome ski-mountaineering in Switzerland! (The owner sent me the link.  I have never been there, but looks sweet!)
• Mountain Zone.Com
• "This Is Why I Ride." New Year's Eve Mt. Biking

Experience Beauty
• Poetry by William Wordsworth
• Photographer Ansel Adams       
• The Year in Pictures 2007
  
• The Year in Pictures 2006
• The Year  in Pictures 2005
  

• The Year in Pictures 2004M. C. Escher  

Live Simply
• Simple Living Network

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Last Updated: 7/28/08    

ncurtis101@aol.com