Tyrhee Moore: An Ordinary Student, Making an Extraordinary Impact

When I first heard of Expedition Denali several questions came to mind: 

What is Denali? Who is this Tyrhee guy? Why is he speaking at WVU?

Well, what I learned is Expedition Denali is one of the many expeditions designed, developed, and led by the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). The program brought together a diverse group of African American leaders to be the first all-black mountaineering team to summit the largest peak in North America, Mt. Denali. The goal of Expedition Denali is to be a catalyst for public dialogue, by advocating diversity in the outdoors and inspiring under-represented groups to become more involved in the outdoor community. The Denali team demonstrates that no matter what race, age, gender, or geographic location an individual identifies with, there is an equal opportunity for everyone to experience and enjoy time in the outdoors.

Sounds cool, right? So who is this Tyhree guy?

Tyrhee Moore was born and raised in Washington, D.C., and is currently a junior at WVU, studying sports management. He first became interested in the outdoors around the age of 12, when he was introduced to the City Kids Wilderness Project. City Kids enabled Tyrhee to attend two NOLS courses while still in high school, exposing him to the western United States, mountaineering, and the skills to be a leader within the outdoors. In 2012, Tyrhee was contacted and considered to be an eligible candidate for Expedition Denali. After a long selection process and months of training, Tyrhee was chosen to be a member of the Expedition Denali team.

"I was really surprised I was chosen. Some of the world's best climbers were considered, and I was just this young college kid, with minimal experience, and a love for the outdoors."

At 20 years old, Tyrhee is the youngest member of the Expedition Denali team, demonstrating that you are never too young to make a difference in the world.

I had the good fortune to meet up with Tyrhee, and hear about his experiences with NOLS and the Expedition Denali team. For Tyrhee, attempting to summit Mt. Denali was the first step in launching what he hopes the outdoor world can evolve to be in the future. Tyrhee sees Expedition Denali as so much more than a historical expedition. He sees it as an opportunity to share with others his love for the outdoors, and to inspire all people to become involved and experience the beautiful world we live in.

"The mountain doesn’t care what color you are. Expedition Denali is so much more than being the first to do something. It's bringing awareness to the outdoor community and promoting these experiences. This world is an amazingly beautiful place, and if more people do not start to interact with it, view its beauty, understand its profound wonder, and give it a voice, it will only continue to be marginalized, until it is gone forever."

Tyrhee is most excited about the opportunity Expedition Denali has given him to impact others by sharing his outdoor experiences in a public forum. 

"It has been such a meaningful experience to me to be able to go to schools and show kids how I am just like them, and that every opportunity I have been given is also available for them."

For me, meeting with Tyrhee and listening to his stories helped me gain a better understanding of his perspective. Since then, I have been inspired to share with others my love for the outdoors and relay how taking the initiative to try something new can be such a rewarding experience.

Tyrhee will be sharing stories from his Denali experience along with fellow team member, Billy Long, Wednesday, February 26^th in Ming Hsieh Hall at 7 pm on the downtown campus.

"By speaking with my fellow mountaineers, I hope to inspire them to take advantage of the beautiful landscape and resources we have so close to us."

Come support our fellow mountaineer (literally) and share with him the first steps in his journey to make an impact on the world! Check out the Expedition Denali website, the event page on Facebook, and follow our Twitter @AdventureWV, to remain involved with Tyrhee as he continues to be a catalyst for our diversifying world, and be an inspirational voice for all people in the outdoor community.

Watch the Denali Documentary Trailer Here

Happy Adventuring Mountaineers!

-Birdie :)

Winterfest with The Coopers Rock Foundation

Here's a cool event that I seriously regret only just finding out about.

When I came into work at the Adventure WV Office last week, our program manager, Marcedes, asked me how my weekend was. I don't remember what I said, but it was probably something generic about how I watched Netflix studied and am already stressed about applying for graduate school next year. That's not the point of this story. The point is that Marcedes' weekend was way cooler than mine.

Me: [after ranting about the hardships of undergrad life] "So, how was your weekend?"
Marcedes: "Great! I'm the 2014 Frying Pan Toss Champion."

Apparently, it went something like this:

Marcedes trained all year for this moment.

And that's how I found out about this awesome event that I had missed: Winterfest! Apparently many of my office-mates had been there, and I had missed the boat...

On the left: Our associate director, Nathan, and his daughter, Simone, testing out the sledding hill!








Below: Even this dog knew about Winterfest.

Winterfest, which took place on February 8th this year, is an annual event that takes place in Coopers Rock State Forest. This winter-time extravaganza, which is organized by The Coopers Rock Foundation, offered a variety of snow-related activities, including sledding, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, and snow obstacle courses. Oh, and of course, there was a fire, hot chocolate, and chili. Yum. Classic cold-weather foods. You can see all of the offerings on the event's agenda, here. (I felt super jealous that I had missed out after I saw all of the fun activities from that day!)

Since pictures are worth 1,000 words, check out some more Winterfest photos on the Coopers Rock Foundation Facebook Page.

I'll be sure not to miss out on the snow filled fun of Winterfest next year! 
I hope everyone is staying warm and finding some way to enjoy the snow for as long as it may last! :)
Olivia

Adventure Inspiration!

I wasn't even planning on writing a blog post today, but I just stumbled upon an outdoorsy website and instantly fell in love. I knew right away that I needed to share my discovery with the Adventure WV community! Although the site appears to have been around for at least two years, I'm sure there are other adventurers like me who haven't discovered it until today. And, like I said, I only just found this site about fifteen minutes ago and fell in love. It's that serious.

Moraine Lake in Banff National Park, by Carl Zoch (from adventure-journal.com)

The website is Adventure Journal. At first, I tried to pick just one thing from the site to re-post or to write more about, but I couldn't. There's just so much fantastic, inspiring, entertaining content to fill your outdoorsy soul! The photographs range from picturesque, woodsy cabins to powdery ski slopes. There are videos and gear reviews galore. I honestly don't know how I haven't been to this website before!

Looking at Adventure Journal, and especially gazing at all the amazing, diverse photography, made me feel inspired to keep skiing all winter and to journey out on my own adventures in the spring! For example, since last summer, I've wanted to challenge myself by going backpacking solo. The video, Overlandia: Bigfoot Country, inspired me to go at it. There was just something about watching this guy solo surf and sleep in his homemade pop up tent/truck contraption that made me miss traveling, sleeping outside, and exploring the outdoors on my own. (Obviously that guy had a camera crew with him, but whatever, it's still a great clip.)

I hope that other people can find inspiration from the content on Adventure Journal. Feel free to let me know what you think, and to post links in the comments below of other great outdoor websites you want to share!

Oh, and Happy (almost) Valentine's Day! If you don't have a valentine, at least you can always fall in love with the outdoors (or in my case today, a website about the outdoors). :-D

Olivia

Hike Across America

My name is Brendan Powell, I am a Junior at WVU studying Forest Resource Management within the Davis College. Last summer I had the opportunity to lead the Wilderness Orientation Trip with Adventure WV. In 2011, before enrolling in WVU, I hiked the Appalachian Trail with my brother, Garrett, where I met Josh Seehorn. After completing the trail, the next time I heard of Josh was when I learned about his plan to go big and hike clear across the United States. In March 2013, Josh set out from Point Reyes, California with his destination of Cape Henlopen, Delaware, 4800 miles ahead of him. The emphasis of Josh’s trip is based around his passion for Envirothon, an academic organization that allows high school students to test their environmental knowledge in a competitive manner on a county, state, and national level. The program encourages high school students across the country to create their own outdoor experience.

Josh has earned a degree in both fisheries biology and wildlife biology. He loves being outdoors and broadening his understanding of nature. After Josh discovered the concept of running and hiking The American Discovery trail, he took the challenge head on. His father plays a major role with Envirothon in Georgia, and with that exposure, he partnered with North America's largest high school natural resource education competition (The North American Envirothon 501c3) in an effort to raise awareness and funds for the competition.

Josh will be getting off route this Thursday, February 6^th in order to come to the WVU Student Recreation Center. He will be giving a presentation, using pictures and stories, to tell us what his journey has been like so far. In addition to this, he will be incorporating the goal of his journey regarding Envirothon. Josh is excited to be speaking to college students here in The Mountain State, and will appreciate any amount of attendance and donations (the event itself is free, though!). Come out and hear what awesome stories this fellow adventurer has about the people, wildlife, and scenery of America the beautiful!

 You can find Josh on campus tonight, February 6^th at 7:00pm at the Sports Café inside the Student Recreation Center. To view this event, visit the TAP calendar where you can also check to see what other events are going on this month within the outdoor community.

For more information on Josh and his journey across America, check out his website: Outdoor Josh

Hope to see you all at the event! Have a great day and GO EXPLORE!

-Brendan Powell J

I'm New and I'm Excited!!

Hello! Welcome! You are currently reading the first post of 2014 for the Appalachian Pineapple! Woohoo! New year, new and improved blog!

My name is Birdie Hawkins, and I am the new intern for the Media/Marketing department of Adventure WV. As the new intern, I will be primarily focusing my time on expanding our viewers and the amount of posts on the Appalachian Pineapple. I will be working under the supervision of the lovely Matthew Shreve, the department director, and working with the Adventure community to further spread our message and all that we do in the amazing world of Adventure WV!

To give you a little bit of background about myself, I am currently a sophomore at West Virginia University, and am seeking a double major in Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Resources within the Davis School, as well as a degree in Strategic Communications: Advertising, within the P.I. Reed School of Journalism. I have recently been hired to be an Adventure WV staff member for the summer of 2014, and am currently in LEEd class taught by Assistant Director, Marion McClure, and Program Manager, Marcedes Minana. During each weekly class, I learn skills that will prepare me to become the best Adventure leader I can be!

That's me on my recent backpacking trip through Cerro Castillo National Park, Patagonia, Chile.

I participated in the two week Adventure WV International Trip to Patagonia during Winter 2013.

As a sophomore, and a newly added intern, I have high hopes and grand goals for the online presence of Adventure WV. Until lately, I have shunned computer programs and was always reluctant to join the new wave of social media. It wasn't until recently that I have begun to challenge myself to learn more about computers, cameras, and the ever-evolving world of social media. I'm not a fan of gluing myself to my phone or computer, but I hope to keep this blog updated on a regular basis with fun information and stories to share! If you, too, identify with not being so keen on technology, this blog is a great place to start! We will update you about local events within the greater Morgantown area, as well as specifically in the Adventure community.

To remain connected: 'Like' our Adventure WV Facebook page, add events to our TAP calendar, and don’t be afraid to comment on the posts, ask questions, or suggest ideas on things you would like to see on the blog!

Happy Adventuring! J    -Birdie Hawkins

Forgoing the Comfortable for the Unknown

Recently, I've encountered a few situations which have taught me the valuable lesson of accepting changes and the uncertainties of the unknown. I always think of the Adventure WV Community as a group of open-minded individuals, and so I wanted to share what I have learned with everyone via this blog. During my summers, I’ve talked with incoming freshmen a lot about challenging their beliefs and taking steps outside their comfort zones, so I think this post is relevant to some of my summer discussions! I hope that this post may be thought-provoking or valuable to anyone reading it!

The idea of forgoing the comfortable certainties of life for the unknown has been a constant theme in my life, especially throughout college. When I began my time at WVU, I had a perfectly mapped plan for my future. I was on-track to graduate with my Master’s Degree in Occupational Therapy in just five years. During the Spring 2012 semester, I began to realize that I wasn’t very interested in my major classes. Instead, I discovered I really liked the material from the speech pathology and audiology course I had decided to take as an elective. Changing majors and deciding to become a speech pathologist instead of an occupational therapist would mean tackling an additional year of undergraduate work, plus two years of graduate studies. I could think of plenty of reasons why I shouldn’t take the leap into the unknown world of a new career path. I’d be in college for so much longer than I’d planned. Studying speech pathology would probably be really tough, and I might not be smart enough or patient enough for the job. I’ll end up in so much student loan debt.  What if I don’t get into grad school? What if I find I don’t even like speech pathology? After all, I had only taken one class in the subject. What if occupational therapy really was the right choice?

This kind of situation has appeared in my personal relationships, too. Have you ever found yourself in a relationship that no longer seems like a good fit but struggle to change anything because the unknown is just so…unknown? Maybe the two of you want different things in life even though your partner is really nice, maybe you want something you aren’t getting from the relationship, or maybe he or she is a straight up jerk? I know I’ve been there. It’s tough! I’ve also had times where my life is so intertwined with another person’s that sticking to my familiar, though unsatisfying, situation seems easier than leaving. After all, I know the person, the relationship, and I don’t have to be subject to any uncomfortable, unexpected circumstances or unknowns. Again, I’d think of plenty of reasons not to change my situation. What if I never meet anyone else? What if I make a mistake in deciding to move on? Maybe things aren’t that bad…right?

In a book I picked up in a Half Price Books Store this summer, I read a sentence that went something like this: “We must really love our limits. Why else would we place them upon ourselves via self-limiting thoughts?” In my academic situation, and plenty of others (like relationships), that’s just what I’d been doing! I placed limits on myself and found reasons why I should remain clinging to the way I had envisioned my life to be. Even though I wasn’t completely happy with my major or relationship anymore, and imagined I could be happier doing something else, I could still convince myself that I was relatively comfortable and secure with my situation. I had no idea what to expect if I changed my path. The unknown future was scary!

But what would I stand to lose by not changing my career path? I’d lose plenty of money finishing a degree I didn’t want. I’d lose my sense of self-respect by trying to motivate myself to do something I didn’t really see myself doing as a career. Most of all, I’d lose my chance to live the best life I possibly could. The same goes for relationships – I’d lose my chance to pursue other relationships, probably ones that would be a better match. I’d probably lose my sense of independence by continuing to entwine my life with someone else's. And again, I’d lose my chance to live the life I really wanted.

Ultimately, I deferred my acceptance into the M.O.T program at WVU, and applied to the speech pathology and audiology major. I was accepted, and although this semester (my first in the program) was extremely challenging, I feel certain that I picked a career I will enjoy. Additionally, taking that leap into the unknown yielded some other great things in my life that would not have happened otherwise. Although changing majors set me behind a year, I was able to study abroad in Ireland during my extra time before starting my program, and that truly helped me embrace the unknown and cultivate my sense of adventure. My best friend always says that if I’m unhappy about something, then something needs to change. That could mean your attitude (like when I get mad about traffic and obviously there’s nothing I can do about it!), but it could also mean changing your situation. I encourage all of you to recognize any self-limiting thoughts and change them into thoughts of encouragement instead. If there’s something that’s making you unhappy and you’re only clinging to it out of familiarity or fear of the unknown, it’s time for a change. Take that leap into the unknown, and embrace it as an adventure towards a better you. Step out of your comfort zone, and into a world of possibilities! I really believe that’s where self-growth happens, and have seen that evidenced in my own life. Most of all, recognize that the dissatisfaction of staying the same is more painful than the scariness of making a change. Go face that fear of uncertainty!

Olivia J

Reel Rock Film Tour Update!

Adventure WV was recently the host of a fantastic event: The Reel Rock 8 Film Tour.

In mid-November, The Metropolitan Theatre on High Street was buzzing with the kind of energy you can only feel at a gathering of people who are excited about something. Two-hundred and thirty members of the outdoor community flocked through the theatre’s glass doors and gazed at the totally sweet raffle items, which included a Fixie bike, Petzl headlamps and chalk bags, a GriGri2, Evolv Cruzer shoes, and much more. There was even a bike valet service, provided by Positive Spin, which was one cool way that Reel Rock was environmentally and cyclist friendly; cyclists’ bicycles could be locked and attended for free until the owner was ready to ride off into the distance. Matt Shreve, previously mentioned badass (also my current office buddy – I’ve upgraded to a desk), was the emcee of the event and gracefully handled a few minor technical difficulties. He also tossed out cool door prizes, including t-shirts, hats, and Nalgene bottles, and was looking pretty fly wearing a newsboy cap.  

The films’ coolness levels were right on track with that of the prizes. Even more than just "cool," I found the films to be really inspiring as well. The lineup included The Sensei¸Spice Girl, Stonemasters, and High Tension: Ueli Steck and the Clash on Everest. Each film highlighted a different aspect of the climbing world and culture. I also was amazed to find that Reel Rock Film Tour is showing not only all over the US, but all over the world! I’m glad that Morgantown and Adventure West Virginia got to be a part of such a large-scale, global, outdoor-based event.

In addition to awesome prizes and incredible films, Reel Rock was extra special because a little over $1,800 was raised for outdoor organizations within the Morgantown community! The Chris Schwer Memorial Scholarship Fund and Coopers Rock Foundation each received $864 from the event, and Positive Spin made $72 from their bicycle valet service!

Thank you so much to everyone who made Reel Rock possible this year. This was the first year a screening had been shown in Morgantown, but I think the event received so much support that it will hopefully happen again next year. In the meantime, spread the word! And let us know in the comments if you attended, and what you thought about Reel Rock!

Olivia J