experience Archives - Zachary Kenney

Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, Spain| My Story

July 4th, 2016Zachary Kenney0 Comments

After 1 flight, 2 trains, 1 bus, and one exhausting trek through the streets, we finally reached the city we crossed an entire ocean for… Pamplona. A trip that all began with the backhanded suggestion that we should go run with the bulls. Now fast forward 5 months and some heavy convincing of a few friends; there were the seven of us, dressed in white, running for our lives down the cobblestone streets of Pamplona as half-ton beasts trailed only inches behind us. As my mind raced furiously before the Bulls were released, my head was completely clear of thoughts …

Rocktoberfest: First Rock Climbing Comp

July 4th, 2016Zachary Kenney0 Comments

I began rock climbing last winter, 2014, and like mostly everything else, I got hooked immediately. It opened my eyes to a whole new world of challenges, atmosphere, people, and of course the fun. I love competition, I have ever since I was a kid playing all the sports I could, but seeing the great climbers at the gym really turned me away from entering any of the competitions my local gym held. Thankfully, this past October, a not-so-serious comp was held with more of an emphasis on hanging out and having a good time rather than beating the other …

How to: Running of the Bulls

July 4th, 2016Zachary Kenney0 Comments

ATTENTION: Taking part in the running of the bulls is an extremely dangerous event and all of you that intend to participate must understand all the risks and consequences. With that being said, it was probably the greatest experience of my life. Being chased through the narrow cobblestone streets of Pamplona while 12, half-ton beasts with razor sharp horns sprint behind you, produces an adrenaline rush that is second to none. I will break down everything you need to know to participate in the main event of the San Fermin Festival in Pamplona and include some personal advice from my …

Outdoor Climbing: Ragged Mountain

July 4th, 2016Zachary Kenney0 Comments

The perfect mixture of scared and stoked, is the best way for me to describe my first outdoor rock climbing experience. I am a very bad example when doing something for the first time. I usually just google the activity that I want to do, watch a few YouTube videos, and then go out and do it. That usually works well for something like basketball or knitting, not so much outdoor rock climbing. Granted, I had been climbing indoors for quite a while now, so it wasn’t my climbing skills that I was concerned with. I found a mountain, Ragged …

Downhill Mountain Biking: Thunder Mountain Bike Park

July 4th, 2016Zachary Kenney0 Comments

Before this day, the extent of my mountain biking experience was a few steeper trails in Connecticut. And like you probably could have guessed, wasn’t that difficult of terrain. But hey! It looked like an awesome time and the expectation lived up to the experience! A few minutes on google leads me to a new mountain up in Massachusetts, Thunder Mountain Bike park at the Berkshire East Ski Resort. None of my friends had any interest in doing some lift-access mountain biking, when excuses ranged from, “I don’t have the right bike for it” to “It sounds dangerous and I …

Mount Washington Hike: Tallest in the Northeast

July 4th, 2016Zachary Kenney0 Comments

Mount Washington was not only my first experience in camping, but it was also my first real experience in hiking mountains. Sure, I’ve walked around in the hills of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, but those don’t even compare to the ones in Vermont and New Hampshire. In the middle of the night, we finally arrived at Dolly Copp Campground. With no cell service, it took us an hour to find our campsite in the dark where all our friends had already arrived. The whole camping thing was a brand new experience to me, but we were far from roughing it. …

First Experience: Shooting a Gun

July 4th, 2016Zachary Kenney0 Comments

I’ve never shot a gun before in my life… I know, I know, what kind of man am I. But growing up in New Jersey, it just never came up. So when my friend Brody asked me if I wanted to head to a shooting range that was close by, it was impossible to say no. By the time I arrived at Hague’s Indoor Range, Brody had already checked out all the guns that we wanted to shoot and had everything set up. He was in the Army for a while and he loves to shoot guns, so needless to …