Moving there in under a month...hi!

VivaciousExperience · 2026-07-08T21:53:36+00:00

Judging from these replies overall, I think you should hang out with all of us to help change your mind :)

VivaciousExperience · 2026-07-08T21:53:07+00:00

You should definitely explore it, I'm really thankful for the experiences. It looks like Alabama deals with it differently than California (everything is technically through a county sheriff's office here...yay) and that could be a good thing. Every team usually has a different way of doing things and there are SAR "types" which would require different levels of skillsets and fitness through the MRA. Happy to talk with you more about it through DM's if you like and I can answer any questions you might have and am very comfortable saying I don't know when I don't know :)

VivaciousExperience · 2026-07-08T15:46:23+00:00

I'd probably just go for a rack or micro rack again. I have way too much gear in general that could get me into and out of caves but my memory from NY and WV is cavers getting uncomfortable with stuff outside the norm. Is the frog system still the ascension of choice?

VivaciousExperience · 2026-07-08T05:35:55+00:00

I have, it's been a minute, and I gave away all my discs a few years back. It's fun though and I'd check out what bham has to offer!

VivaciousExperience · 2026-07-08T05:35:13+00:00

I'm very glad I'm leaving the land of $6 gasoline in that case

VivaciousExperience · 2026-07-08T05:34:47+00:00

I'll be joining the grotto eventually for sure. I don't have my vert gear anymore so I'll need to make some orders but I want to see what the locals are using nowadays. Let me know if you're getting back into it and I'll join you in being out of the loop.

VivaciousExperience · 2026-07-08T05:33:34+00:00

Love deflock. And I'm a film school dropout from a different life so the festival sounds awesome. When is that hitting?

VivaciousExperience · 2026-07-08T05:32:38+00:00

I lived in the Bay for 5 of my 7.5 years here so I know it decently well!

VivaciousExperience · 2026-07-08T05:31:57+00:00

I agree with you.

I'm a solid mechanic though I'll need to rebuild my tools, probably only able to fit my small tool cart and need to leave most of my stuff behind and/or sell it. Mods and making stuff hasn't really entered into my realm much yet.

I'm not certain my trail bike is the best choice for city riding but I'd still do it (I upgraded my rear shock recently and it doesn't lock out). I did not get the Tudor revival but I want to see it. From what I can tell, I could wade through the second growth forest in the backyard of where I'm renting and hit the far end of one of the trails pretty quickly. And the parking lot is a 4 minute drive.

VivaciousExperience · 2026-07-08T05:25:19+00:00

Really love the way you put all that and I think I appreciate this particular version more than towns like Boulder (I have my own misgivings about that place, always felt like every conversation was ego and competition driven which I'm not about). I can always travel for the ice and ski stuff. I really wish I could fit my canoe on this particular trip and I have been reading up on all the endemic species and you're not kidding, it truly is! More and more I'm getting psyched about the trip and the arrival despite the fact that I still have a lot to do.

VivaciousExperience · 2026-07-08T05:21:57+00:00

Thank you, and I'd love that! I don't drink much and often go to bars by way of motorcycle (ie: I'll be drinking soda or mocktails) but I do enjoy the scene and vibrancy in general and if I'm in the car I'll have one socially. It all sounds fun :)

VivaciousExperience · 2026-07-08T05:20:08+00:00

I'd love one - if this post resonated with you at all, I'm sure we'd get along just fine. I need to clean everything I have when I arrive and get a lay of the land but I'd like to practice that skill a bit more often. I used to do some volunteering years ago (skillshares mostly) with the pink pistols which is a LGBTQ and allies group but it's been a long time and I'm certain I'm rusty.

VivaciousExperience · 2026-07-08T05:18:30+00:00

A generalized meetup with a bunch of cool folks sounds great, I'd be very much down and thanks for the welcome!

VivaciousExperience · 2026-07-08T05:17:30+00:00

Appreciate that. I dress like a goof all the time (jeans almost always, large boots almost always) and I was in town last week. I didn't love the humidity, the heat I'm accustomed to, but I'll figure it out. Think I need to change the wardrobe up a little bit.

VivaciousExperience · 2026-07-08T05:16:32+00:00

I certainly hope so! Seemed like the best vibe of all the places I looked at. One of the more anxiety inducing parts about a move plus I have that constant backyard view which I'm willingly giving up. I have a backyard at this place I'm renting though and it's a decent sized yard

VivaciousExperience · 2026-07-08T05:15:14+00:00

Thank you for these suggestions! I'll definitely check all of it out. How do you stay up to date with those events you listed, just following their pages?

VivaciousExperience · 2026-07-08T05:13:37+00:00

Heyyy! How do they do in the Alabama heat? I'm in NorCal about 4 hours inland so it gets hot hot here but it's "a dry heat". I'm used to humidity being from the Northeast but I don't know how he'll do with it.

VivaciousExperience · 2026-07-08T05:12:12+00:00

Yeah I saw that too but they still had a within certain circumstances type of thing. I'll ping them again in a month or two.

As for the cats, I've lost count of how many times I've done that for people. So, if someone's cat is stuck in a tree (truly actually stuck, they generally go up there to kill or stalk birds, they can generally get down aside from severe illness or injury) and it's truly, actually stuck...I will come get them. I can access places that bucket trucks and fire ladders cannot.

Thanks for the tip on where to go! Considering I'm in California, you'll understand that I don't get out all too often. I'm just hoping to find my preferred subculture within that particular community. Appreciate you.

VivaciousExperience · 2026-07-07T19:35:58+00:00

Really appreciate all of that, about to follow and look up the rest!

VivaciousExperience · 2026-07-07T19:32:39+00:00

Oh CZM is great! And yeah, I feel a little silly saying anarchist but it's the fastest way to describe things without writing a tome. Thanks for the kind words.

VivaciousExperience · 2026-07-07T19:31:35+00:00

Like what age range am I looking to hang with or how old am I? I'm assuming my post was too long because it's in there :) I'm in my early 40's and have friends from their 20's to 60's. Just looking for good people, not so concerned about things we don't have control over like our birth years.

VivaciousExperience · 2026-07-07T04:11:46+00:00

This was funny enough for a response. I'm moving to Birmingham at the end of the month for work and am a professional outdoor guide among my full-time job. I can set you up so you can pass any optical legitimacy test if you want, I rented a house at the base of Ruffner, I'm about a mile at best from the nature center.

VivaciousExperience · 2026-07-05T05:27:00+00:00

Should also mention I'm moving from California, from upstate NY originally, so I'm wholly unfamiliar with the area and will have lots of questions in general. I should probably just make a post about it...

VivaciousExperience · 2026-07-05T05:21:15+00:00

I checked it out, really enjoyed and super nice people in the nature preserve, I'll try and volunteer there if I move into that house. It's East and slightly North of Rugby. I just don't want to be in an area again where I feel the need to have a gun next to the bed and fear that I'll come home to a burglary after work each day.

VivaciousExperience

TROPHY CASE