Blog

Hello everyone my name is Stuart.  I am a alcoholic/addict in recovery.  A little about myself I grew up in a very small rural town in Montana. My early childhood was very stable and had a loving home to grow up with my brother in. At seven years old things took a drastic turn for the worst. I suffered a severe and nearly life ending leg injury in a Go-cart accident. I won’t go into detail because it is very graphic.  I was rushed to the hospital in Bozeman MT, where it was decided immediately that in hopes to save my leg I needed to be taken to an advanced surgical center. I was taken by life flight to Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City, UT. I was hospitalized there 1.5 months there requiring massive amounts of surgeries to be able to save my leg from being fully amputated.  I was…

Pat Celebrates 10 years! Pat is the Chief of Admissions and Marketing at Jaywalker, but more importantly an alum. Pat enjoys snowboarding, hunting, mountain biking, cycling, and hanging out with his wife and dog. To celebrate his ten years, Pat went on a 100 mile bike ride around the Roaring Fork Valley.  Pat has been a true example of what is possible for an alumni of Jaywalker. He lives a life full of happiness and joy that is grounded in a program of recovery. He lives by the principles and always is giving back to the people around him. He continues to be a pillar in the Jaywalker community and we are that much stronger for having him in it. Thanks for all you do, Pat! Congratulations on ten!

Jaywalker Lodge Outpatient Program – Moab Expeditions From the first time I rolled into Moab, Utah years ago as an Outpatient client, I remember feeling anundeniable sense of awe that I had never felt before in my life.  The colors of the orange sand and blue sky, the arid smell of desert air, and sounds of four-wheelers revving their engines had me feeling electric.  It was like I woke up in the middle of a John Wayne movie.  I sat in the car fantasizing about Indians, cowboys, bandits, uranium, and gun powder. Just 6 months prior to this trip I was back in Texas hopelessly addicted to crystal methamphetamine. I was homeless, buried in debt, and reaching new bottoms on a daily basis.  As I sat in the car in Moab, I felt grateful that I was no longer where I was, but I was still scared because I knew gratitude…

Over the last 2 weeks we have had a plethora of Jaywalker staff and alumni complete personal goals set in their recovery to push the mental and physical abilities within their passion for the outdoors.  These feats are milestones of personal accomplishment that we would never set or complete without personal recovery. Brendon K:  Leadville Run 100 Breton M: Leadville MTB Stage Race David K: Pro MTB Status and multiple podium race finishes this month: Honey Stinger MTB 50, Telluride 100, Pierre’s Hole 100 Patrick S: Honey Stinger MTB 50 Ryan B: Aspen Half Marathon Max G: Aspen Half Marathon These efforts are monumental in self discovery, training, and perseverance.  The mental challenges that present during the course of these distances and events are best processed revering the journey not the destination.  All of these endeavors require support teams of family and friends.  We complete personal goals as a team….

The Solutions participants traveled to Pine Ridge, South Dakota, to volunteer on Oglala Lakota Pine Ridge Reservation.  Our group makes this trip twice per year to partner with a non-profit organization called Re-Member.   The Pine Ridge Reservation spans over 2.8 million acres and is the second largest Native American Indian Reservation, yet in one of the poorest counties of the United States. Volunteers can be shocked to see the harsh, third-world living conditions on the reservations.  It is a culture of poverty like a “Prairie Ghetto.” The population has the second lowest-life expectancy in the Western Hemisphere coupled with staggering high rates of diabetes, alcoholism and suicide. It is common to find homes overcrowded with extended families.  Such overcrowding leads to a shortage of beds and mattresses, leaving children to sleep on the floor. Many homes lack running water, functional bathrooms, or kitchens.  The non-profit, Re-Member, recognizes a need for adequate…