Jan 22-26: Joshua Tree

I was bummed that D&S had to go back home to Chicago, but that didn't stop the climbing. On Tuesday, I met up with a couple of people and we made the long hike out to the East Siberia wall, where long, well-bolted sport climbs awaited. Most of the hike was on a trail, but the last bit of scrambling was challenging. (We discovered an easier path on the way out. Going to remember that for next time.) We started on A Bull with Gas, then climbed the first pitch of Love Gas (5.10a) which shared the same anchors. Good routes, but man, are they long! Bring a 70m rope if you want a comfort zone on the rappel, because 60m just makes it, and by just, I mean you end up on a ramp you still need to negotiate to get to flat ground. Not bad, but a little more thinking involved. Two long climbs after climbing three of the past four days meant my dogs were barking, and given that we still had a 2.5 mile hike with scrambling to get back to the car, I decided to take the next two climbs off while my left toe, which was barking the loudest, recovered. The guys climbed Dos Chi Chi's and Yasmine Bleeth, which both looked like a lot of fun. Next time. The scramble out was much better, having found an easier path, and eventually the path led us back to the car.

Wednesday was a non-climbing day, spent hanging out at the campground (overcast, but warm), reading and running six miles. It rained a but overnight, but my tent was dry by the time I woke up. Unfortunately, I lollygagged in the tent and it started raining again, so I missed my opportunity to put away a dry tent. The forecast was not great, but I headed over to the park anyway. I met up with one of the guys from Tuesday and a couple of other younger climbers, hoping the weather would hold out. We played it safe by sticking to climbs close to the car, starting at Roadside Rock in the morning, and got on Just Another Roadside Attraction (5.9), that probably would have been easier if I had any crack climbing technique, and then tried Cheap Thrills (5.11a), which only one of us got up. The skies looked clearer, so we headed over to Illusion Dweller, a 5.10b crack that one of the guys wanted to lead(it was one of his goals for the trip) and he got it. The other young guy decided he wanted to lead it, too, and he did; this was among his first leads! He was really strong physically and mentally. I decided a 5.10b was well above my pay grade and just worked on my scrambling and created problems on a very low boulder in the area. The rain stayed away and it was good to grab a little climbing, because the forecast for the next two days was even worse.

I figured if I booked a couple of nights at a hotel, the rain would stay away, but that turned out not to be the case. I was glad to be indoors for a couple of nights. I went to the park to run 6 miles in the drizzle on Friday afternoon, glad I could take a long hot shower after being out in the rain. The rain stayed away for the most part on Saturday, but as the rock was still wet, I decided to do my 9 mile run instead; it wasn't pretty, but it got done. I set up camp again, then headed over to 29 Palms for dinner at The Rib Co (perhaps this will be my Saturday night thing while I am in J-Tree), followed by grocery shopping. Looking forward to another fun week on the road.

Jan 17-21: Joshua Tree with D&S

As my friends were boarding their plane at Midway to fly west, I was getting into my car to go the same direction. We would end up arriving within five minutes of each other at the hotel that afternoon. The Hi Desert Motel is still a fabulous dive, with actual keys for the room keys and a “cleaned for your protection” paper band across the toilet seat.  Throw in free wifi, fridge and microwave in every room, and you’ve got a pretty good deal for $50ish a night. I mainly booked a couple of nights in the hotel so I could watch “Person of Interest” since it’s not a streamable show, but this week’s episode was a rerun! Oh well, it was nice being in a place where the bathroom was attached to the living quarters for a couple of days.

It was too late to climb on Thursday (the downside of escaping the Chicago winter is that if you stay in the northern hemisphere, the days are only warmer, not longer), but it was just the right time for some dinner, which ended up being the garlic pizza at Pie for the People. Delicious.

Friday was a climbing day, but not before we loaded up with a tasty breakfast at the Crossroads Café. The in-room fridge and microwave came in handy, as my portion of eggs, potatoes, biscuits and veggie gravy was enough for two meals. Having loaded our stomachs, we next loaded the car and drove into Joshua Tree National Park. First stop, Echo Rock, to do Double Dip. Next up was Stichter Quits, a classic 5.7. While we were on that route, we had the distinct displeasure of overhearing the conversation between the couple that hopped on Double Dip after us. He was an experienced climber, she wasn’t. The fact that she didn’t even know how to tie in didn’t stop him from deciding to climb the route. I guess the fact the she said yes when he asked, “Do you know how to belay was enough.” They were still alive when we left, though, thank goodness. Our last climb of the day was The Sound of One Shoe Tapping, S’s first 5.8 lead in Joshua Tree. Mexican food sounded good after a long day of climbing , so we stopped off at Santana’s afterward for nachos and other goodies. I then spent the rest of the evening “doing my hair” (cut and bleach) while watching a Cold Case marathon on TV. Exciting Friday night!

On Saturday, we decided to make the long (90 minutes-ish) hike back to Mental Physics, a classic 5.7. We aren’t the world’s fastest hikers, and a few stops to verify we were indeed on the right track added more minutes to the journey. As we were getting close to the final scramble, we were passed by a group of young, fast-moving climbers who beat us to the base of the route. Given the size of the group, we decided to hike back rather than wait. A bit of a bummer, but we explored the area as we journeyed back to the car. I took advantage of the early finish to set up my campsite (ah, light and warmth), then we tried scoping out some routes in the Rattlesnake Cove area (we were on the right path, but hadn't gone far enough). We had an early and delicious dinner at The Rib Co in 29 Palms - fabulous!

Petting Snoopy

We decided to beat the crowds on Sunday by climbing some routes in the shade. Cold, but we had them to ourselves. We all warmed up on Easy Day (well, we needed to move into the sun away from the climb to warm up fully), then climbed Give a Mouse a Cookie which was next to it. 5.4 to 5.10b was quite the jump, but we did it. S was feeling good and thought there was a sport route on the other side of the rock that looked like he could do. After confirming that it was indeed a 5.12b (Satanic Mechanic) he decided to give it a go anyway. It didn't go down, and was followed by an epic scramble, a lost leatherman and D getting attacked by the flora while belaying. We tried to find a more reasonable route once we were all back on the ground, but it was getting late and the rocks in the area were pretty packed, so we hopped on a couple of boulders in the Turtle Rock area to end the day.

The temps were nice on Monday, but since we opted to grab Walk on the Wild Side when it was still in the shade, we didn't benefit from the sun's warmth. S did a great job of leading, especially given that he could barely feel his fingers and toes. D and I followed, and the three of us shared a cramped anchor at the top as we tied both ropes together for the rappel. (The first pitch was quite enough, but someday, we will do all three pitches.) It was pretty late in the day by the time we all got back on the ground, hiked to the car and ate lunch. but we had just enough time to scamper up Southwest Corner on Headstone Rock. Only bummer of the day was that the restaurant was out of the apple pie we had been dreaming about all day for dessert. Well, that and the fact that D&S had to fly back to Chicago the next morning, but that was Tuesday's bummer. I had a great time hanging out and climbing with my friends and am looking forward to meeting up with other friends on this adventure.

Smiling after a great long weekend climbing

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The Climbs


Friday
Double Dip 5.6
Stichter Quits 5.7
The Sound of One Shoe Tapping 5.8


Sunday
Easy Day 5.4 1st pitch
Give a Mouse a Cookie 5.10b 1st pitch


Monday
Walk on the Wild Side 5.8, 1st pitch
Southwest Corner 5.7

Jan 14-16: Back on the road, Saguaro National Park

Bouldering two days in a row must have worn me out, because I slept in late on Monday morning. Wasn’t bad to get an extra hour or so of sleep, since I needed to run eight miles before packing up the car and heading west again. Unlike the seven-miler the week before, when I felt great, these eight miles were hard fought, mainly due to the wind, which I had to run into for half the miles, but the desert air didn’t help. It wasn’t all bad, as a Siberian Husky in the neighborhood ran out and gave me a friendly greeting.

Hit El Taco Tote on the way out of town; that place has some HOT salsa. Mmmm.

After lunch, I got back on I-10 and headed west. I will definitely be exiting at the east-most exit in New Mexico next time though, because I noticed an awesome sign for a bowling alley as I drove past. Getting back to it on this trip would have involved going through the border patrol stop again. Not that I had any issues the first time around. I guess it didn’t look like I was smuggling anything in my packed car, the contents of the cargo area cleverly covered with a picnic blanket and a teddy bear riding shotgun. I stopped driving when I hit Tucson. As they were experiencing record cold (lows in the teens) I opted for a hotel the first night. I ignored the Denny’s that was attached to the hotel and had both a late dinner and breakfast at the Waffle House across the street. After a morning performing the laundral arts, I head over to the Adventure Bound Campground to set up my tent while it was still warm and sunny. Although the cold front was leaving (overnight lows were going to be in the upper 20’s, plenty warm for camping), it’s much more pleasant to deal with the tent in sunlight and warmer temps. The place is primarily an RV park, but they have a few tent sites and hot showers, so it was a pleasant place to camp.

With the housekeeping taken care of, I headed over to Saguaro National Park for some sightseeing and hiking. Beautiful place and I didn’t get lost. I went park to the park on Wednesday to run, picnic and bike. It was good to get to use the bike for the first time on the trip, and the bike trail was fun, although there were several moments where I was squeezing the brakes pretty hard. Hey, Chicago is not exactly the pinnacle of trail biking! The ride was easy compared to getting the bike back into the car, but I eventually squeezed it back into its place.

Wandering around a small portion of Saguaro National Park was a great way to spend a couple of days between climbing destinations, but I went to bed excited about my next destination, Joshua Tree National Park, where I would be meeting my friends D and S for a long climbing weekend. Yay!

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Jan 10-13: Hueco Tanks

Bouldering at Hueco Tanks was my reward for driving across Texas, and it was totally worth it. I was also finger (and hand) shredding, butt-kicking, beautiful, fun, inspiring and awesome. I even managed not to injure myself on the hikes in and out. Definitely need to work on my scrambling with a crash pad and backpack strapped to my back skills.

Access to Hueco Tanks can be challenging, plus, I was by myself, so I opted to join some commercial tours run through Wagon Wheel Co-opt, which provided access to the guide-only areas of the park, plus people to climb with. Pretty sweet.

Thursday's group was all female. There were some strong women bouldering, working V8's and such. That's more than a little above my pay grade, but there were problems nearby within my range, and I even managed to get up some of them. Definitely feeling the effects of spending most of the past year route climbing instead of bouldering, not to mention the additional junk in the trunk. Regardless, it was fun. We warmed up on some V0's and V1's with big huecos and juggy topouts, just the way I like them. We moved over to the other side of the Warmup Roof boulder and tried some harder stuff. I got on The Guillotine (V2), which has a long move at the beginning that I made progress on, but didn't put together and then the start of another problem that had some moves I could work on, even if completing  it was not going to happen, which it didn't.

The Guillotine

We packed up our pads and headed to the Dragon's Den, where the strong ladies got on the blender problems (Hobbitt in a Blender, Hector in a Blender), among others, and I worked on a V2 called Ostracizer. The topout is harder than it used to be, as a giant flake has come off the problem, but I didn't get to that point on this day anyway. Shredded up my hands quite nicely, though. The shredding continued on Satan, Satan, Satan and Sweat Loaf, two V1's with big holds on about a 60-degree angled wall. The day ended on a high note when the guide sent her project Ultramega (V8.) Sweet!

The Girls Tour

Friday was a rest day. Well, I am not sure if you call a day where you run 4.5 miles a rest day, but it was a non-climbing day. I was back on the rock on Saturday with another tour to East Mountain. We warmed up on the Hug-A-Jug wall, filled with many variations of hueco-y, juggy V0's. After people worked Warmup Roof and some other problems, we went to the Dragon's Den area where I got another shot at Ostracizer. I am doing the bottom section much more efficiently, but still can't grab the good part of the first hold over the lip, and this isn't the crux! Oh well, I was pleased with my improvement and wiped myself out pretty good working it. It was back to Satan, Satan, Satan and Sweat Loaf, neither of which I finished but I did better than I did on Thursday. The day ended at the Dark Heart  area. Got up a fun V0 (Moonwalk) after I avoided the not-so-fun sit start (doable, with more skin and energy) and then did a Mrs. Butterworth's impression and took my sweet time with the downclimb. I replenished my sodium at dinner, with a meal of ramen and Pringles. Lest some of you think my cooking skills have not improved since college, I added broccoli and an egg to the ramen, and I did not eat it out of the pot.

Ostracizer

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We hit a new area on Sunday, the East Spur. A good mix of people, some climbing hard, some climbing in the V0-V2 range I'm in. After a warmup, it was project time, which meant V8, V5 and V1 for various members of the group. I worked the V1 (Point Blank) with another climber, trying different combinations of hands and feet until finally he found something that worked for him and I found something totally different that worked for me. And then I didn't top it out, because I am chickenshit like that. The V5 folks got their project (and at some point, I will dig out my guidebook and put the name in here) and then the guide worked Better Eat Your Wheaties and came very close. next up was a sweet V2, The Vulgarian. Unfortunately, it was in the shade and had been all day, but it was overhanging and fun to work. I am looking forward to getting on this one again. We went back to the maze area, fairly cooked, but still game to see if any of us could do anything. (The answer was, not really.) Did some moves on Black and Blue before calling it a day.

I can't wait to do it again, preferably with M, who got me started climbing in the first place. 

Thursday - East Mountain
Juvenile Offender V0 straight up
Juvenile Offender V0 end left
Tiger Beat V1
The Guillotine V2 proj
Warm Up Roof V4 proj/hop on
Ostracizer V2 proj
Satan, Satan, Satan V1 proj
Sweat Loaf V1 proj


Saturday - East Mountain

Hug-A-Jug Wall V0

Warm Up Roof V4 proj/hop on

Ostracizer V2 proj
Satan, Satan, Satan V1 proj
Sweat Loaf V1 proj
Moonwalk V0 without the sit start

Sunday Tour, East Spur
It's Not the Heat V0
Point Blank V1 minus the topout
The Vulgarian V2 proj, super fun
Black and Blue V1 proj

Jan 7-9: Driving to Hueco Tanks

On Monday morning, I kicked off three days of driving across the rest of Mississippi, Louisiana, and most of Texas as I made my way to Hueco Tanks State Park. Enjoyed the "free Louisiana coffe and Louisiana smiles" at the first rest stop in LA. Drove past some awesome oil derrick picnic tables at a picnic area  in Texas and plan on stopping there for a meal next time I pass through. No time this trip as I was hoping to hit the Dallas area before rush hour got too crazy. Other than having to dodge a table that had fallen between two lanes and a couple of slow spots, the drive to Bedford was pretty quick. I met my friend K at her apartment and we went out to a local joint with her friends for a tasty meal and good times.

Hanging with K

Later that evening, the first injury of the trip was experienced by Purvis, who was mistaken for a dog toy by K's dog while we weren't looking. Fortunately, his injuries were repairable with a little superglue and he is recovering nicely. However, the surgeon (me) was not so good with the superglue, so he will have to undergo a series of supergluectomies to remove the excess. 

Purvis recovering with his friends.

Slept in Tuesday and shared a late breakfast with K, who brought home some Waffle House while on a break from work. Afterward, I headed to a local climbing gym to get a workout before getting back on the road. A storm was rolling into town, and it was not pleasant driving through the downpours, but I made it to the hotel safely. Wednesday featured even worse driving weather, as it was windy and rainy. The spray from semis made passing them a terrifying endeavor as there was always a split second where the visibility was zero. Ugh! The rain eventually cleared, and I was able to take advantage of the posted 80mph speed limit. Passed another sweet picnic spot, this time with teepee picnic tables. After being in Texas for three days, I finally had a meal at Taco Cabana before driving out to the Hueco Rock Ranch, my home for the next few days. Glad to be in one place for a while instead of driving several hours a day. I know my next job won't be a truck driver!

Jan 1-6: Atlanta with My Peeps and Horse Pens 40

I started the year hanging out with my brother and his family and friends, watching lots of bowl games and eating many shredded chicken sandwiches, leftover from the New Year’s Eve party. Mmm. Between the soreness of my muscles form spending the previous two days climbing and the all day rain, January 1 was spent on the computer, in front of the TV, or both. Got back on track with my half-marathon training with 4-mile runs on Wednesday and Thursday, extra challenging because of the hills. I repacked the car and left behind a few items at my brother’s house, so the car is a little less stuffed and quite a bit more organized.  In other car news, I noticed I was overdue for the scheduled maintenance, so I took car of that Friday morning before packing up the car and heading back on the road. After a stop for some gym climbing at Stone Summit, I headed back to Horse Pens 40 for a couple more days of bouldering. A short night of sleep plus an afternoon workout wasn’t exactly the best recipe for having the energy to set up camp, but I managed. Thankfully, the tent gets easier to put up each time I do it.

Chunky

After a great night of sleep and a tasty breakfast, I headed out for some climbing. Temps were a little higher than last week. Yay! I warmed climbing around on the Ten Pins boulders then headed over to my project. The Stranger, to work the second half of the problem. The good news is, I was able to do more than last week. The bad news is, I think I need to figure out a slightly different sequence, since the move I need to do is much easier if my right hand is on a different hold. (Being a bit taller would help as well, but that’s not going to happen.) Close to two finger-scraping hours of trying different things. I decided to let it percolate in my brain and come back to it later. After lunch, I finally got one of the groove problems in the roadside area (Groove 1, V0). I got stuck on the topout the first time, but made it up on the second go. It wasn’t pretty, but I got up. (Right calf was quite knotted the next day from all the hanging out I did.) I climbed around a bit after that, but wanted to make sure I had something left for Sunday. When I felt like taking a nap, I knew it was time to call it a day. Turns out, my timing was pretty good, as it started to sprinkle a few minutes later. I had time to get all my firewood under my tent fly and get everything in the tent or car before the sprinkle progressed to rain, passing the shower in the car, having a snack and working on this entry for the blog.

When the rain slowed, I went out to start a fire. Let’s just say it wasn’t my best effort, although the rain didn’t help. It never really got going well, although that stupid song “Firestarter” was ablaze in my brain. Ugh! Earlier, another camper was inviting people to join him at “Kamp Krazy,” his campsite, for fire and socializing, so I headed on over and enjoyed his fire and company. The rain eventually stopped and the temperature climbed to around 40, so the tent was pretty warm; I could sleep without wearing a hoodie!

It occurred to Baggy that Purvis resembles a pillow.

Morning was warm, but foggy, and as it had rained more overnight, the possibility of climbing didn’t look so good. I took advantage of the bad climbing weather to run seven miles for my half-marathon training, hoping things would dry out later in the morning. They didn’t. (The run was great, though. I did the seven pretty easily.) I packed up the camp and started making the long journey west toward Hueco Tanks.

The hotel room was big enough to set up the tent so it could dry.

Dec 30-31: Horse Pens 40

After training over the holidays by lifting many slices of pizza (gyro folder from Pizza Brothers and pepperoni from Jim's Pizza Box), shredded chicken sandwiches, forks full of pie (french silk and apple pie a la mode) and countless other tasty treats, I loaded up the car and headed out on the big road trip, with Horse Pens 40 in Alabama as the destination.

I broke up the drive by stopping over in Louisville on Friday night to hang out with my friends M and L. Unfortunately, the drive took much longer than expected, due a bad accident that turned I-71 South into a parking lot for a couple of hours. After a tasty breakfast, I headed out to Chattanooga for a night at The Crash Pad before heading to HP40 on Sunday morning. After another highway parking lot due to accident, I finally arrived at my destination. I am taking these delays as a reminder to drive safely. (Not that I am reckless normally.)

Sunday was a gorgeous day to boulder, with sunny skies and temps in the 40's and the place was hopping. I met up with M, who had sent a shout out online that he'd be in town for a few days and was looking for people to climb with. We warmed up on a couple of V0's I had done previously on the Cadillac Thrills boulder. I was glad I could still get up them, as it's been months since I've bouldered outdoors. (I am pretty sure Trexi was the first climb I ever did at HP40.) We moved over to the nearby V1 problem JB Slab. It probably would have been easier if I had been a bit taller, but I eventually reached the hold I needed, got my foot in the crack and then topped out. Once my heart rate returned to normal, I tackled the hop over a couple of rocks downclimb. (Thanks, M, for talking me through it.) We headed over to Eight Ball (V2) which I had attempted last time I was at HP40, but didn't finish. Same story this time, but I was glad to get as far as I had before. Next up was the Millipede area, sending Chicks (V0) and working Dope (V2), a nice short compression/sloper problem. Once the crowd left the Millipede boulder, we tried the classic Bumboy (V3). M had been working it, but this was my first time. I was pleased with my effort, but it's definitely a project for me. After lunch, we went over to the Ten Pins boulders to hit some V0's to end the day. I was definitely feeling the effects of not bouldering outdoors for months and then trying a number of problems at my project level, so there was no sendage to end the day, but lots of tip scrubbing attempts on variations of Silky (V0). M had been climbing at HP40 since Wednesday and was devoid of skim on most of his fingertips, so he decided to start his twelve hour drive back home. I fired up the camp stove to boil water for coffee while the sun was setting.

A couple of nice college students, W and C, set up camp in the site next to mine and invited me over to enjoy their camp fire. Another camper came over with "boudin fresh from New Orleans" and rolls toasted over the came fire, sharing the delicious sandwiches. Good conversation made the time pass quickly and the heat of the fire meant we all went to bed warm. The temp dropped below freezing, but I stayed warm enough in my tent.

Coffee, oatmeal and a morning fire helped warm us as we waiting for the temps to increase enough to start climbing. Toast made over the camp fire made the wait tasty.  9:15 ended up being a little early, but it wasn't unbearable. W, C and I headed over to the Ten Pins boulders for some warm ups, undeterred by the frozen waterfall in the downclimb. (Fortunately, it didn't get in the way.) Breaktime went down pretty quickly for all of us. The last few moves on Silky proved to be more challenging, as it transitions from nice pockets to slopers. All the work I put in the day before paid off as I sent it on my first go on Sunday. Next up was a hike over to the Out of Box Area to try a couple of V2's, Sure Thing and Orchid. C led the way, getting up Break Time pretty quickly, with W following. I got about halfway up, but got a case of the Elvis leg and hopped off. I took a rest while the guys worked Orchid, then gave it another go before lunch. This time, I got the high right foot I needed (don't ask my how, all of a sudden it was just there) and topped it out. The guys said my send was "burly;" I was pretty pleased by that. I gave Orchid a couple of tries, but that send will have to wait for another day.

Break Time

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After lunch, another small camp fire and packing up our campsite, we headed over to the Spirit area to get a few more climbs in before the temps dropped and/or the sun set. I got up Television (V1) then did some more work on The Stranger (V2) but am still stuck at the same place as before. We called it a day as the temps and sun continued to drop. I grabbed a Buffalo Rock ginger ale for some post-climb refreshment before driving to Atlanta to spend a few days with my brother and his family, leaving HP40 with sore muscles, raw fingertips and great memories.

The Climbs

Dec 30
Trexi V0
Unnamed V0- on Cadillac Thrills boulders
JB Slab V1
Eight Ball V2 proj
Chicks V0
Dope V2 proj
Bumboy V3 proj
Silky V0 proj

Dec 31
Breaktime V0-
Silky V0
Sure Thing V2
Orchid V2 proj
Television V1
The Stranger V2 proj