Auburn

Night #1

Everyone arrives, we exchange hellos and head over to campus for a fun night run. On campus we practiced cat leaps (over a bike rack), wall runs, vaults, and curb-to-curb precisions. Hype for the following days of intense training rose to epic levels. The group split up for the night: Chris, Lou, and Amir at Cody's, Andrew at Alex's, and John, Carson, and Stacy at Eric's.

Day #1

Morning

After a restful (or restless, for some) night, each group wakes and eats a light breakfast (whether protein bars, cereal, or sweet potatoes). Everyone converged in a grassy spot in Auburn Trail (where Cody and Eric live) where Cody gave out spiffy bags with a towel, skittles, maps, and water bottle - courtesy of Cody's fiancée and the tourism agency.

Chewacla

We all moved out to Chewacla park in a caravan of cars. After a short run to the rocks, we explored and warmed up. The location was an apparent parkour paradise - large rocks, small rocks, grippy ones and slippery ones... everything you could want from natural training was there. We stretched, with one person after another giving a stretch (as usual). We practiced: many, many precisions (required more awareness of foot placement than usual - several, including Carson and Eric, fell to their doom in ankle high, clear water), QM goodness, cat leaps (onto misshapen rocks), and some rock climbing. Akil and AJ showed up mid-morning and joined in.

People trained between the varied structure of the rocks, never able to land the exact same way twice and having to make split second decisions regarding foot placement and balance. The water made for an amazing tangible hazard without actually being hazardous, essentially making for the perfect game of "the ground is lava". The terrain was steep, with many rocks jutting out above the stream, making for good climbing and views of the surrounding landscape. There was some follow the leader activity but for the most part the activity was free-for-all, with people scrambling across the rocks using all their physical awareness to propel them forward. There were a few people who were just there for the scenery but were very accepting as we moved around on the rocks. A choice quote coming from a 9 year old girl after observing our agile group, "Look at them, they're ribbit frogs!" Afterward, she started to hop around, imitating a frog.

The weather was beautiful. Chilly when the wind picked up, but after we warmed up, it was just right.

Chewacla Review

The group had a quick warm-up going down the parking lot trail towards the rocky bottom where many hours would be spent jumping, running, and climbing. After a stretch-and-greet the group dispersed to try out their footing on the time-weathered river bottom. Some people went straight towards the dam wall, where they scrambled up only to meet a huge body of water. Others explored the many tricky paths around the river, performing precisions of all manners, even cat leaps from rock to rock. The entire session was focused and intense; even a moment's loss of attention could mean a slip into the cold water. As a further hindrance, wet shoes gripped the rocks like grease. Most people, however, only got a little wet and nobody reported any major injuries. At the bottom of the canyon there was a huge rock formation jutting out of the mountain. A few people, upon seeing the jagged climb, hurried to test the best routes up the towering boulder. A further route revealed other smaller boulders up the mountain, taller than the treetops at the bottom.

All in all, our stay at Chewacla ingrained a sense of precise movements into our minds. Traversing from stone to stone with only the hope of a stable surface requires careful attention and coordination, and moving at any speed at all requires slipping into the mindset Parkour emphasizes. Chewacla will be remembered by all those who attended, and hopefully there will be another chance to return.

Break for lunch

One group went to Arby's for lunch, the other - in an effort spearheaded by Alex - drove to Wal-Mart in a quest for a healthy and light lunch. With Amir throwing suggestions around and John agreeing to anything in the produce aisle, it wasn't long before we had a cart full of fruit and sandwiches. Let's not forget to mention Akilus and his smoothie goodness. We also procured ingredients and materials for dinner.

After eating, everyone converged at Alex's house for a brief rest before moving on. Packed into his room, we watched parkour vids like "Pineapples for Everyone" and "Cambridge Joy." Once the camera charged, we jumped into the cars and went off for Hickory Dickory.

Hickory Dickory

From the the beginning - the long line of rails leading to the playground - everyone knew H.D. would be an excellent place to train. Once inside, everyone dispersed into small groups, each training a technique. There were plenty to go around, from precisions, kong to precisions, kong to cat, all sorts of vaults, and more. With all the little kids running around, we felt right at home. Unfortunately, after only an hour or so of training, an officer came and rounded us all up. Amir, Stacy, and Eric (?) stood off to the corner, ignoring whatever was going on. Eventually, we headed back out and had to decide on what to do for the remaining 2-3 hours of daylight.

Campus

Dinner

Night

Night time at Cody's apartment meant one thing... relaxing in a hot tub, and after a long and amazingly fun day of parkour it was just what the doctor order. Lou, AJ, Eric, Cody, and Chris made their way through a slightly chilly and breezy valley of apartments to the hot tub which appeared as a mirage of an oasis in the middle of the desert. Between the clearly visible steam rising into the air to nice little concave of shrubbery it was a wonderful spot where roughly an hour was spent just soaking aching muscles and talking about all things from parkour to weather to people who could make such a frightening face you would actually crap yourself... after the hot tub (the walk back was not nearly as cold as any of us had thought it would be) the group pretty much passed out one by one

Day #2

Morning

Campus

Lunch

Farewell

The Drives Back

Quotes

* "Chewbaccala?"
* "Ribbit frogs!"
* "Cody never falls!?!?!?!"