“We’re at about 3,093 meters,” Jeremy said. The numbers didn’t really register, we were on top of Mariuolumne Dome having just finished the multipitch climb, Hobbit Book (5.7R). Jeremy added, “that’s over 10,000 feet, the highest I’ve ever done actual rockclimbing”. This was coming from a guy who was not a stranger to altitude, having just weeks ago summited Mt. Kilimanjaro.
Something registered then, I recalled years ago a friend of mine having our party wait while on Cathedral Peak because he was helping another climber down who had altitude sickness. I had been skeptical then, but I was under the impression that altitude sickness could only hit once you hit the 10,000 foot mark, instead of being able to strike at 8,000 feet on up.
This trip I think I felt the altitude a bit though. It made me realize that, yes, we were indeed alpine climbing.
Jeremy, K, and I had just done Hobbit Book, a climb K and I had done back in 2007. I hadn’t remembered the approach being that long or hard, so I was surprised both when I read it described as such in the guide book, and when I found myself out of breath and having to rest a moment during the approach (I usually never stop, just slow down at times). Contributing factors in my feeling the altitude was arriving in Tuolumne from sea level the night before, getting a poor night’s sleep, and having to wake up early (we stood in line to get an extra campsite), also K had been worried about time so had set a fast pace on the approach which I foolishly tried to follow.
When we got to the base of the climb (after a 4th class traverse which I did remember as airy from 2007), I found myself recovered enough at least. There was a party ahead of us on the route. Once we got situated, K combined the first two pitches of the climb, which caused Jeremy to simul up a slope (I clambered up after him to a safe point). Then it was waiting time for me as one member of the party above us was still at the belay near the guys. Once I was on the move, I went up the knobs on the right of a protruding formation, remembering that last time I had gone up the middle. The right side was easier, though it would’ve been a more unpleasant pendulum fall had I come off. Gaining the belay I saw the next pitch (our 2nd, but the 3rd pitch in the guide book). It was the famed 5.7 runout pitch. This was also K’s lead. I had recalled that though the climbing was technically within my range, there were distinct high steps and reaches for a gal of 5′4″ and I didn’t really want to find out how that felt on lead with a 60′ runout. We were also still concerned about time so it made sense for K to take the pitch.
K lead it without a problem (there’s footage of him climbing in the video). Jeremy followed and then myself. Just after K finished the runout pitch we realized we had been making good time so it was my turn to lead the last pitch. I remembered it as crack climbing but when I looked at the printout of our topo I saw that first I had to do some face climbing, either as a traverse out to the left, or up and to a roof crack. The route actually showed a triangle of choices. I decided to do the traverse. Breathing became a little difficult as I did the short, easy, but exposed traverse with the wind blowing my hair around. I could blame it on the altitude but I’ll admit it was nerves. I happily placed a piece in a crack after the traverse and then continued on up and to the right to harder technical climbing that at least had more places to put pro. When I rounded one overhanging part, I was surprised to see the top of the climb in sight, I had remembered it being longer. I was surprisingly disappointed. Topping out was a great feeling though. I had only followed Hobbit Book in 2007 and this time I was finishing it as having led one of the pitches in style. I was also gratified when both Jeremy and Kelly told me, “Good lead” when they came up.
We had made good time and took in the view and took some pictures before looking for the descent. I had left my shoes on because I remembered a small “down step” on rock. It wasn’t as bad as I recalled and put on my regular shoes right after it. We found a few cairns but then had to go on past memory that we needed to go down a gully between tall rock cliffs. We found it and were on the way out. We made to Jeremy’s car while there was still light and nearly made it to the store before they closed (got there at 8:04 pm, they closed at 8:00 pm). Jeremy had decided to crash the night, and drive back the next day.
Campfire was fun, our friends had done Oz. on Mariuolumne as two parties of two, and in fact we had seen them on it as we hiked by. Apparently it was challenging and made for good stories.
FUD. Feminine Urinary Director. Lovely sounding isn’t it? Squeamish guys and any male relative of mine, you can stop reading now.
So what does it do? Well it’s a way girls can stand up to pee. Writing your name in snow? Inconclusive.
Before my Indian Creek / Desert Climbing Road trip I decided to try out the whole standing up to pee concept. I did a lot of research on what was out there and read Jenn Field’s “non-review” of sorts (she ended up not taking it outdoors so she called it a non-review). Eventually I just thought,”What the heck”, and first ordered one of the cheaper FUDs out there, a GoGirl and then also ordered a Sani Fem Freshette when I belatedly read about issues with the GoGirl and using it without removing one’s pants. I even ordered some wax coated cardboard type disposable ones. Overkill? Yes, but having never been to Indian Creek before or driven out to the Utah desert I feared long stretches of road with no rest areas, bathrooms or trees. Plus I also had a review in mind. What can I say, I’ll take one for the team!
In terms of the long drives, it turns out I didn’t have to worry, the rest stops were nicely spaced and in decent condition and there was rolling terrain enough for a gal to be able to otherwise drop her pants if she had to.
Where I did try out the FUDs was on climbing days. Sometimes that led to interesting circumstances. I was trying out the GoGirl near a climb several feet up from but still near the road in Zion, when to my horror a bus load of tourists pulled over to watch my friend climbing a single pitch route just on the other side of an arete from me. I was faced away from them but I feared they had binoculars. I couldn’t help but still look for a bush to hide behind.
On to my review. The directions on any FUD suggests you practice in the shower. I did that and had no issues. But, having read Jenn’s review I was afraid I might get performance anxiety. Turns out I had no issues with either device. The difference in the two non disposable models I used is that the GoGirl is flexible silicon, and the Freshette is hard plastic with a pull out tube. This sturdier model was better for using more discretely (I didn’t have to lower my shorts). With the GoGirl I wasn’t confident to do that so it was a little pointless in the convenience area, however it worked in the “don’t have to balance squat” way. Since the GoGirl can stow smaller I can see how it might be useful in areas where it isn’t so much standing up is a convenience but a way to get away from unsanitary positions (portapotties or unkempt bathrooms) or to put distance between you and poison oak / ivy, bugs, etc.
Bottom line, if you’re thinking of peeing on the go without pants removal grab the Freshette. Otherwise the GoGirl is fine. The disposables I’d pass on or just keep in my car if I didn’t have either of the other two.
And oh yeah, ladies, don’t pee into the wind or try to pee uphill. Fortunately I didn’t do either of those things since I read those tips on Amazon reviews. However, these devices are so freeing that I can see how some girls might try to do either one. I haven’t tried the snow trick either, if you have let me know
PS If you’d like to share your experience with these devices in a private forum or ask for more detail from me, feel free to join the Rockgrrl Discussion Forums and then ask me to flag you for admittance to the Female’s Only forum. Click here to register for the forums.
Just a quick post to give a shout out to some friends of mine who summited or are very close to summiting a mountain peak. First off Jeremy, who I’ve known because of Twitter and because of two Climbing Tweetups (JTreeTweetup and Red Rocks Tweetup), he just summited Mt. Kilimanjaro and is now preparing for a safari. Congrats Jeremy! You can read about it and follow along here.
Here it is, my first product available via my OpenSky partnered shop, and it’s my tried and true water filter, the Katadyn Hiker Pro.
I first encountered this wonder when my then boyfriend (now husband) brought it backpacking on a trip we were taking in Yosemite. It was so much faster and smoother to operate than other filters I’d tried. Years and many backpacking trips later, it still works great. I’ve been asked in the past what filter I use so thought it was a good share here. While I’m intrigued by the new gravity fed filters, I don’t admire their price since most of them are double what this little guy costs. I may change my tune down the line, but if you’d rather pump and go than wait for gravity I’d say this filter is still a steal and would be especially useful for short trips while covering a lot of ground. It would also be useful in places where it may be hard to scoop out a lot of water, for example, when the water is below or there is just a small opening to a running stream of water, just plop the float down into it and pump away from more stable ground. Product Details:
Long lasting AntiClog pleated cartridge requires no maintenance or cleaning.
Very large filter surface for fast output.
Easy to use because of minimal resistance whilst pumping.
Active carbon core reduces unpleasant tastes and odors from the water.
Small pre-filter on in-hose protects filter cartridge life in turbid water. [Rockgrrl's note: while I've used it for years with no problem, it was mainly used in places with relatively clear water (the Sierras for example) so I can't attest to how it works in turbid water. I did find the prefilter float to be handy in keeping grasses, etc out even before it got to the inside filter though.]
Compact design and easy operation–fits in any backpack or travel bag.
Easy Fill Bottle Adaptor attaches directly to a drinking bottle. [Rockgrrl's note: I love this, it fits great on Nalgene bottles]
Feature Details:
Technology: AntiClog Technology with 0.3 micron glassfiber and activated carbon granulate
Output: ca. 1 liters/minute
Cartridge Capacity: Up to 750 l (depending on water quality)
Weight: 11 ounces
Size: 7.6 x 16.5 x 6.1 cm (3 x 6.5 x 2.4 inches)
Includes: Prefilter, bottle adapter and carry bag
Click here to add it your cart!
Also there’s a special shipping promotion through August 16th. Use coupon code FREESHIPPING to get free shipping from my OpenSky shop! And remember… OpenSky has a year long return policy and they’ll even provide a UPS label so you would get free shipping back!
Sometimes it takes me awhile to do things. Over a year ago, I got an email from OpenSky, inviting me to their program. I thought, “What is that?” and basically ignored it. Well a few emails (and months later) I finally found out in a big way.
OpenSky is an online community of shopkeepers picked for their expertise in their field and provided with a platform to sell the products they know and love. It goes beyond Amazon affiliate links in that a shopkeeper can pick from an existing catalog of goods but they can also have OpenSky create a new relationship with companies they know and like. In this way OpenSky isn’t just a company that fulfills orders but also builds relationships within an industry.
I’m happy to announce that I will soon have an OpenSky shop of my own. My store isn’t ready just yet — hence the countdown timer graphic in the sidebar — but I’m hoping my OpenSky shop will be an easy way for you to buy things I’ve already mentioned I love and showcase some things that you may not be familiar with or that aren’t carried in your own local gear shops. Another OpenSky pro point? They have a kick butt return policy… if you don’t like it return it within a year! They even provide a USP shipping label so you don’t need to pay for return postage!
Stay tuned for my shop opening! Oh, and I’ll also take suggestions on companies I should work with, though keep in mind I have to be familiar with the product for me to carry it.
Summer is upon us, at least for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere any way. Depending on where you are that can mean hot and humid, hot and dry, scorching hot, or hot and thunderstorms. Can you still get your climb on?
I’ve found myself climbing in all of those conditions in various parts of North America. Here are a few tips I’ve found that work for me:
Adjust your climbing schedule. My climbing partners and I tend to shift to an early morning session if the weather’s going to be really hot. This is particularly advisable if you are some where where afternoon thunderstorms can develop like the Sierras. Locally in Southern California, we’ll sometimes climb early, take an afternoon break and then climb well into the evening. Always having a headlamp in your pack gives you great options.
Dress accordingly. Some might think this always means shorts and tank tops (or no shirt if you ‘re a guy) but
Wearing a Hat and a Wicking Shirt at Indian Creek (South Six Shooter)
if you’re going to have a lot of sun exposure you might think about a wicking long sleeve shirt for a cover up. I’ve been cooler wearing my white long sleeve sun shirt than bare arms at times. Also, don’t forget about a sun hat. You may not wear it while climbing but even short approaches can be made more comfortable if you’re bringing some portable shade with you. Think about your footwear as well. Approach shoes with a lot of mesh or Chaco sandals are my top choices for when it gets really hot. I’ll sometimes wear Injinji sock liners with my Chacos on a long approach where I want to be careful not to get blisters. Speaking of blisters, I try to air out my feet when I can on a hot day, for example if we take a break from the approach before climbing. Moisture can mean blisters (and smelly climbing shoes!).
Drink lots of liquids. I think we all know how important water is when you’re climbing. Bring more than usual though. I always like to bring “Sports drinks” in the summer, I find the flavor helps me drink more and this is one time my body really can use the electrolytes. There are two ways I might bring a sports drink. One tip a friend shared with me is to bring the powdered version of a drink, then you can decide how strong you want to make your drink, or if you just want to stick to water for a bit longer. My favorite way to bring a sports drink though is to bring it frozen. I freeze a Gatorade bottle before a crag day and then I have a nice slushy/cold drink at the crag!
Climb in the shade. Follow the shade! This is how I was able to climb in Joshua Tree in August. Do a bit of research before heading to a new place and find out climbs will be shaded. If you can’t research before you got to a place, ask some locals. A nice waitress in Mammoth steered my friends and I to a new crag with advice for shade. We were quite grateful for it.
So there you go, my top 4 tips for climbing in warm weather. I’ll do a follow up post on some specific bonus things I found handy for warm weather but for now, let’s share some information! What’s your favorite way to combat the heat and keep climbing?
Now through July 18th, your friends get $10 just for signing up
The Clymb is building the planet’s most dedicated network of core outdoor enthusiasts and athletes. So tell like-minded friends and family about us. We’ll credit your account $10 when their first order ships.
What is The Clymb? It’s a members only site that features different outdoor brands for a limited time and offers that brand’s items for around 40 - 70% off. I’ve purchased from them before and got a great deal on Kuhl clothing and Icebreaker clothing. They have also featured Teva and Sigg (right now they’re doing a multibrand Summer thing featuring some Sigg stuff , Dakine, Teva and some other stuff). Each featured run only lasts a few days long.
Disclosure: As the quote above mentions, I get $10 if you sign up with my invite and purchase something but membership is free for you (and as mentioned, you’ll get a $10 credit just for signing up, which to my knowledge they haven’t offered before).
Moab, Utah - Day 5 of our Desert Climbing Road Trip
We had been given a detailed Google Map showing a scenic route from Zion to Indian Creek but decided to take the more direct route of using the 70 most of the way to Moab. It turns out this way was more scenic than we had thought it would be. K and I stopped at a rest stop for lunch and also stopped at two view points, one of which had a pretty but very gusty view.
We made it into Moab sooner than expected even with these stops. “It sure has been built up,” K said as we walked around, he’d been to Moab a long time ago. I imagine it really did look “built up” now. We saw guide and rental shops galore plus coffee houses, cute restaurants, and many shops with that ubiquitous “kokopelli” character.
We were scouting town for a restaurant or bar that might show the Laker game as K is a big Lakers fan and it was his birthday. A climbing shop, Pagan Mountaineering, was near one of the places we scouted out and of course we went inside. I started trying on harnesses (yes, I’m still on my quest to replace my harness) and I ended up having a nice chat with a female climber named Bevin. She warned us Indian Creek might be hot and I learned that Monticello’s weather forcast was NOT indicative of Indian Creek’s. I had been checking Monticello’s weather during our trip because on maps it looked closer to Indian Creek than Moab did. It was closer as the crow flies but the catch was that Monticello was at a higher elevation. Oh well, so much for highs in the 70s. Bevin also told us that Monticello’s businesses all closed on Sundays since it was a Mormon town. Good to know in case we wanted to do a resupply run on a Sunday. And on the topic of supplies, Bevin mentioned that stores sold beer with only 3.2 % alcohol by volume, you need to buy it from a Utah State Liquor store (at room temperature) if you wanted the “real thing”. Fortunately we had brought beer from California.
By the time I was trying on my third harness, Cliff and Vina had caught up to us. We ended up renting motel rooms (hint: shop around for hotel/motel rates, the first place we went to quoted an outrageous price). Being able to shower was nice, prior to this I had been relying on Action Wipes which work great, but since the next leg of our trip was going to be the most “primitive camping” it was nice to start it off with clean hair as well. After showers we had an organic pizza/basketball/gear sorting party, with a brownie & semi-melted icecream desert for the birthday boy.
The next morning we got ready for Indian Creek at the motel by eating a hearty free continental breakfast (and we grabbed a few extra apples for the road) and filling up water containers and putting ice in our cooler.
Day 6 - Indian Creek, Utah
It didn’t take long to drive from Moab to Indian Creek even with a very brief stop at Newspaper Rock. With our first sight of the cliffs we got excited at the crack climbing possibilities. And, unlike Zion, we didn’t have to wonder if it would be possible to rap down from any of these fantastic looking lines, there were probably anchors on all of them.
As pre-planned, our group checked a message board which told us where my friend David and his gang were climbing that day. Supercrack Buttress it was. We parked and got our gear out. We had finally arrived!
The approach up to Supercrack Buttress was pretty easy, a very nicely made trail led right up to the base of the cliffs where we had no problem spotting David and his friends. The weather was sunny but occasional gusts of wind would chill you a tiny bit and make you hold on to your hat. They already had a rope up on Twin Cracks, a 5.9, which turned out to be my first Indian Creek climb. As someone said later, “climbs here are like, boom, 5.10 right from the start” (substitute whatever grade the climb is). Climbs were also quite tall! I went up Twin Cracks and knew that: 1. we had come to the right place, and 2. climbing at Indian Creek was going to be like a shot of… well, crack, for my crack climbing skills. Twin Cracks was one of the shorter climbs at 60′. It was a good intro to the place and though I did not do it in the best style, I thought I might be able to lead it next time. The rock was different though, of course it was softer than Joshua Tree’s quartzite monzonite, but it was still tough enough to rub at your skin. Zion’s rock had been quite dirty, with loose grains, Indian Creek wasn’t as dirty but there were occasional places that reminded you were on sandstone. I had mistakenly brought up my “bad tape gloves”. By the end of that first day I had regretted it and had a large “strawberry” below my right wrist that needed cleaning and covering later. The highlight climb of that first day for me was The Incredible Handcrack, 5.10, 100′ with a small overhang/roof section. I watched Lea, a friend of David’s I had just met, lead it and watched as she got to the roof part. She’s about my height so it was a treat to see her do it,
On the overhang
knowing I had a chance at pulling the same moves. I did the climb on top rope but had to hang at the overhanging part as I couldn’t get my hand above the directional cam placed there - and yet I didn’t want to take it out too soon of course. At the top I thought that I was done for the day. But with a little rest I continued of course!
One of the ropes was on a 5.10 climb called Gorilla which shared anchors with a 5.12- or 5.11 route named Pringles. I started up the 5.12 but switched to Gorilla and then back again and ended up using both at the anchors. It was fun just to even get on the 5.12, I’d never tried a 5.12 crack before. It was mainly liebacking for me and I’m sure my smaller hands and fingers were an advantage on it. I moved over to Gorilla when I got tired though, did some of a strange width section on Gorilla then moved back to Pringles. At the top the two cracks converged and I stemmed using both. Russ, another of David’s friends who lives in the area, did the 5.12 route with style, not using the other crack even near the anchor section. You can see him in the video footage I took.
Me liebacking some of the 5.12
We didn’t do the famous Supercrack climb, as some folks were on it. On a side note, we were a party of 9, and even on Memorial Day weekend at the most popular wall in IC we only saw two other parties while we were there so our group was “the crowd”.
Sunset was awesome. One of the reasons I had wanted to go to Indian Creek was because of the scenery and wildness. The other major reason was of course the climbing. The sunsets were well worth it.
Day 7
The following morning we all went to Second Meat Wall. This wall required a bit of dirt road driving to get to the parking area and it had a longer hiking approach. A few climbs had partial shade and this is why this wall had been chosen. The weather definitely seemed hotter than the other day. The highlight climb on this wall for me was Tofu Crack, 5.10, 110 feet. I got to its base at the end of the day and heard some grunting going on. It was tall and had some variation in crack sizes as well as in the steepness of the climb. I got on it and proceeded to have a blast. The climb started as a strange crack in a face then continued into one that was part of a dihedral. I used a variety of techniques to climb it and managed to do it without resting on the rope at all and with only a few brief rests while on the rock. I used fist jams, cupping jams, liebacking, and maybe even a ring lock or two. It was ridiculously fun and tiring.
On the photography front, I had hoped at some point to go up a rope and shoot from above. Carlos, another one of David’s friends who I had by coincidence met before in Joshua Tree, was also a photographer and did indeed hang for awhile on a rope, unfortunately I think it was long enough that he got a little too much sun exposure. I never did get up a rope but took my shots on the ground, which was a pity, but I did get some very nice vantage points. Additionally another climber in our group named Tim was kind enough to lead a climb situated with a nice background so I could shoot him from higher ground. As far as landscape shots go, I think I got a few good ones, but you can be the judge of that.
View from Second Meat Wall
Day 8
The group had talked about doing one of the desert towers in the area, South Six Shooter. David’s group had been there a day earlier than us and were looking for a “rest day”. Vina and Cliff unfortunately were going to start the drive home to California as they wanted to break it up into two travel days. K and I were game to do the tower though. We ended up dividing into two parties of three.
No one in our groups had done the tower before, there was some information on it in our guidebooks: three pitches, one bolt for a 5.8 run out section, anchors on top. We did know that the approach was potentially the hardest part of the climb though. David parked his 2WD CRV not that far from the entrance gate (there are a lot of unlocked gates in this area due to cattle). K parked in the same area and the three of us took off after the other party which had already gone ahead. We knew it’d be a minimum of a two hour approach, but a lot of it would be following a dirt road to the base of the tower. We hiked along spotting flowers along the way and also following the footsteps of the first party. After awhile though we realized we were getting closer to North Six Shooter than to South. We headed back to where we figured we had gone wrong back at a fork in the road. Right about when we got to the fork we saw some cars approaching. In fact it turned out to be four cars, one of which was some kind of special off road six wheeled car. David had said we’d watch them and if they turned towards South Six Shooter then we’d just go cragging for the day. They did turn towards South Six Shooter. We confirmed it anyway with the driver of the first car.
That settled it, it was hot, we had a long way to hike and when we got there we’d be behind two parties minimum. It was off to Donelly Canyon for the three of us. All the hiking had taken a toll, we had a mellow climbing day after that. However K lead two climbs there, including Binou’s Crack. We also saw Russ out there with two clients (he’s a guide). After that we headed out to a little store near Canyonlands National Park for ice cream and ice and David grabbed a shower as well.
Back at camp we learned that the other party had also seen the car caravan and in fact gotten a ride with them after they too had taken the wrong turn while hiking (recall that we were following their tracks). However after getting to the base of the tower mesa, the car folks had headed straight for the tower, leaving them behind… with some cookies. Not a bad trade. After the climb they even got a ride back to camp which they were all really grateful for as they said the hike in would’ve been much longer since the road meandered. One of them estimated it would’ve taken them 3 hours to hike back.
Day 9 - South Six Shooter, Canyonlands National Conservation Area
Keeping in mind our friends’ words about the hike to South Six Shooter. K and I had decided we’d like to have a second go at it but this time try to drive our way to the base. K has a Suzuki SX4 with 4WD. We got mixed assessments on whether or not it would make the drive but we were going to try it.
Getting closer to South Six Shooter Tower
And off we went. We ended up going the wrong way at one point and I had to get out of the car a few times so the car could travel lighter (it has ok clearance but not up to normal sized SUVs) but we made it. In fact, K exclaimed more than once how much he loved his car and I gotta admit I was really happy we didn’t have to hike in, because it really was still much further than where we had stopped the other day. We both loved that we were able to get just as far as those other guys we had seen in their bigger vehicles.
Now it was time for the approach. Once parked near the tower we could see that just getting up to the mesa was going to be interesting. Fortunately it was as the book said and there was a “faint trail”. It led up a slope then to scrambling and finally to a bit of a chimney, fourth/nearly fifth class section at the steepest part. Once on the mesa we then saw how broad it was. We still had a way to go before the first pitch of the climb.
We followed cairns through the mesa and through scrambling sections. We paused at the base trying to cool down and hydrate up in a small bit of shade. We spotted the petroglyph mentioned on the book as near the first pitch of the climb. It looked untouched by time to my eye.
The first pitch was a chimney pitch which Carlos had described as easy. This had factored into my decision to bring my SLR camera, something I normally don’t do for multipitch climbs that require chimney climbing. When we got on the pitch, I’d say I’d have to agree with Carlos. Easy chimney, and only one spot where my small pack gave me any hint of trouble. Pitch 2 included some walking and then a few moves of crack climbing. The last pitch was where the money was and included a mantel move before K clipped the only bolt then some face sort of climbing to the top.
A lizard greeted us at the top. It even ran under K’s leg for some shade. We could see North Six Shooter in the distance and a great view of Indian Creek / Canyonlands all around.
On top of South Six Shooter
Getting down we took a different route and then walked a bit on the wide mesa before finding the way down that (which looked steeper going down than coming up). By the time we got to the car we were really glad that we had air conditioning. I had to get out of the car a few times again, but it was all part of the fun.
Day 10
K and I left earlier than the others because we had decided to go back a different route, one which would take us to Monticello and then on to Arizona and Monument Valley. Monticello was quaint, a guy asked K where he was headed at the gas station after we had heard him chatting with a neighbor. The drive home was very scenic as well, though, thinking about the long drive back home, we skipped a few scenic loops and didn’t stop too much.
Wrap Up
I learned a lot on this trip. As it turned out we ended up getting to do a bit of sport, crack and tower climbing (heck even a tiny bit of aid climbing if you count that little bit in Zion). I learned a little more about camping while on a road trip and going “primitive camping”. I also learned about what gear I liked and used and what I didn’t. I’ll be writing more about my Mountain Hardwear top, Clif Bar, Crunch bars, Action Wipes and TC Pros in future posts.
I’d definitely like to go back to Indian Creek. I’d also like to visit Zion again and Bryce and Arches National Parks for the first time if possible. One traveling couple we met in Zion had been to Arches, Bryce, and Zion and told us that Bryce was the prettiest hands down. I’d like to do another desert tower as well, maybe Castleton.
However; we heard from Russ that it got quite hot there after we left so till next season my dear sandstone climbs, till next season!
“It’s snowing,” a woman to my right called out. I smiled, thinking, “Aha! There’s another climber who showers folks with a light dusting of chalk!”
Then I saw the white flakes floating from the sky. They melted a moment later on my face and hands. What!?! We were in the Nevada desert, I was about 50 feet above the ground on an unknown (to me) sport climb in Black Corridor, attempting an on sight lead of a climb of which I didn’t know the name nor rating. I thought I was heading for the last bolt before the anchor, but I couldn’t be sure as the corridor was so narrow I couldn’t get a straight look at the anchors but had just judged from the height of the climbs around it.
More moisture fell on me. Well, if it wasn’t snow, it was certainly a light sprinkle. I looked again at the small overhang ahead of me and what I thought must be a good hold… but I wasn’t sure. For all I knew this could be the part of the climb that made it 5.TooHard. I decided to back off and asked to get lowered. The white flakes disappeared immediately and even the sprinkles stopped. It was a crowded climbing spot, climbers up and down the corridor, it seemed only the ones on the higher end had seen the brief moment of snow though.
K finished my lead and then I went up on top rope. Coming to the same point as before I found I could have done a temporary move to clip that last bolt and then moved on off to the right to get what was indeed a decent hold before getting to the anchors. Oh well, redpoint next time.
The trip had been surprising so far. For one, our original, though truthfully vague plan had been to make it to St. George, Utah camp and climb. Saturday morning had different plans though and our group of four ended up leaving quite a bit later than planned. That night we made it into Vegas and out to the Red Rocks campground, luckily Cliff and Vina had arrived before us since we had taken a long lunch stop, and had gotten a campsite.
We hiked around a bit from Turn off 1 to basically Turn off 2 to get to Black Corridor, we climbed a bit before the rain started, then pulled on rain gear and retreated to a little cave, everyone else vacated, the rain stopped in just a few minutes but we knew climbing was over for the day since sandstone is pretty delicate. We hiked and scouted a bit then went for dinner.
Sunday we went back out to Black Corridor and focused on the side that hadn’t gotten as wet from the sprinkles the day before. We met a climbing family from Germany who had a toddler with them. We climbed some fun overhanging routes then hit the road.
Zion National Park
“Do you see anchors up there?”
I didn’t know what to expect of Zion National Park. I had a vague idea that there’d be pretty rock formations with rock that wasn’t great for climbing. Zion turned out to be a nice surprise. First off, there was a heck of a lot more greenery than I had expected. Secondly Zion was like a sandstone Yosemite with tall cliffs and dramatic formations which did indeed have climbing opportunities. We spent our time there getting a nice tent campsite by a creek, with no shade but away from most everyone else (yet still conveniently close to a running water bathroom). We spent the most time driving and hiking around with our necks craned for anchors and potential climbs. It really seemed like a playground! It was fairly hot though, so part of our searching was for climbs in the shade. We did a scenic hike to a lookout point where we could see many of the big formations in the park. While we did get beta on a multi-pitch climb where we met a trio of climbers, our climbing highlight was a cliff where we found two crack climbs, one with an aid start where we got to practice using etriers.
Hiking to the lookout point. Photo by Vina Lustado.
Zion Highlights
Beautiful scenery. More greenery than I had expected (we also caught many plants in bloom).
Fun hikes / reconn trips
Nice tent campsite away from others (yet near a running water bathroom)
Nice shuttle system (I think Yosemite should do this, they’ve been talking about it for years).
Nice dinner at a lodge there that served us even though we came in right at 9pm (dark caught up to us unexpectedly as we were on a reconnaissance shuttle trip/hike to the Narrows).
Getting the beta on a multipitch climb from some folks who turned out to be guides.
Randomly heading towards something that looked like a great crack climb with shade then finding a fixed line and anchors on it.
Aid climbing up to the crack climb. Fun!
Vina on the aid part of the unknown climb
Beautiful moonrises.
It seems there was also a lot we missed out on at Zion, for one the off trail part of the Narrows was closed due to high water, also we didn’t do any of the longer hikes, and we also really wanted to get on a few lines we scouted out. But… all things in their time right? Road tripping means you gotta move on some time.
Here’s a video mainly of still photography shots covering the trip from CA to Zion National Park:
An exasperated driver next to me exclaimed, “Really!?! Guy, really!?!” I had pushed the pedestrian crosswalk button and a car had stopped about 3 feet away from the painted lines - right in front of the other driver who was wanting to make a left hand turn. I only heard this driver because his window was open, but I felt his frustration, the other driver didn’t even appear to notice. I walked my bike across the street to a fish taco stand and tried to give the would be left turn driver a sympathetic look but I don’t think he noticed.
Contrast the above with the following exchange.
“Target and Big 5 right?” Bob, a road trip biker I had just met asked me from across the street. “We’re going in the right direction right?”
“Yeah,” I called back and smiled. “Have a good trip!”
May is National Bike Month in the US. I’d never really paid attention to it before but thanks to the wonders of the internet and to the folks at Pembaserves and their #CarFreeMe movement on Twitter, I especially wanted to bike to do my errands today instead of drive.
What followed was not only a bit of exercise for me but a reminder that shutting oneself up in a car can cause a disconnect with those around you.
It was such a pleasant ride. Part of my ride takes me along a beach bike path, when I travel on it I always wistfully think that it would be great if this was how the majority of folks traveled. I passed 3 bikers going the other way, one had panniers, one a handle bar basket and one had a plastic shopping bag hanging from the handle bars. It seems others were out doing errands/commuting and were not just out for leisure as well.
I couldn’t help but smile at the other cyclists, they nodded or smiled back.
In town I waited in line at an ATM as a guy in front of me did his transaction, his bike propped up on its kick stand next to him. When he turned to leave he did a double take seeing me holding my bike, I’d like to think there was a flash of “fellowship recognition” there. Unfortunately this was marred with me realizing I had forgotten my ATM card. I ended up having to move my bike to the back of the bank and going inside.
My next stop was a local outdoor gear shop, I wanted to check their sale racks in preparation for an
Ben - He biked from Utah, I biked from my apartment. Yet he was impressed I rockclimbed ;)
upcoming climbing road trip in Utah. I didn’t see anything I wanted and left, getting my bike from the bike rack out front just as two guys pulled up in cycling gear with luggage laden bikes. “I think you guys have come from a lot farther than I have,” I said nodding at the bike trailer and then indicating my little mini purse (I usually bring a backpack but didn’t this time).
“Well, we came from Utah” one of the riders said with a laugh.
Turns out these guys were from Florida and were on a bike trip which started in Utah. They were on the last part of it, which ended in LA. It was just the two of them and I was impressed with their packing. After a short conversation we split up until I saw them again when they asked for reassurance they were going the right way.
If I had driven to the store I would have gone straight to my car, instead I got to meet some interesting folks.
Moral to the story? I’m not sure if there is one, except that biking to do my errands put me in a happy, “the world can be an OK place” frame of mind and I wish more folks could experience it.
National Bike Month was a good idea. And, while I’m not going to propose my climbing buds and I bike to Utah for our road trip, I do intend to keep biking locally. Every little bit counts I say, both for the environment and our sense of community.
By the way, you can read about Bob and Ben’s ride at Bob’s blog here.
Bob - He was just in Utah. I'm going there but not quite the same way.
when I belatedly read about issues with the GoGirl and using it without removing one’s pants. I even ordered some 
. Overkill? Yes, but having never been to Indian Creek before or driven out to the Utah desert I feared long stretches of road with no rest areas, bathrooms or trees. Plus I also had a review in mind. What can I say, I’ll take one for the team!
Community: Biking Versus Driving
An exasperated driver next to me exclaimed, “Really!?! Guy, really!?!” I had pushed the pedestrian crosswalk button and a car had stopped about 3 feet away from the painted lines - right in front of the other driver who was wanting to make a left hand turn. I only heard this driver because his window was open, but I felt his frustration, the other driver didn’t even appear to notice. I walked my bike across the street to a fish taco stand and tried to give the would be left turn driver a sympathetic look but I don’t think he noticed.
Contrast the above with the following exchange.
“Target and Big 5 right?” Bob, a road trip biker I had just met asked me from across the street. “We’re going in the right direction right?”
“Yeah,” I called back and smiled. “Have a good trip!”
May is National Bike Month in the US. I’d never really paid attention to it before but thanks to the wonders of the internet and to the folks at Pembaserves and their #CarFreeMe movement on Twitter, I especially wanted to bike to do my errands today instead of drive.
What followed was not only a bit of exercise for me but a reminder that shutting oneself up in a car can cause a disconnect with those around you.
It was such a pleasant ride. Part of my ride takes me along a beach bike path, when I travel on it I always wistfully think that it would be great if this was how the majority of folks traveled. I passed 3 bikers going the other way, one had panniers, one a handle bar basket and one had a plastic shopping bag hanging from the handle bars. It seems others were out doing errands/commuting and were not just out for leisure as well.
I couldn’t help but smile at the other cyclists, they nodded or smiled back.
In town I waited in line at an ATM as a guy in front of me did his transaction, his bike propped up on its kick stand next to him. When he turned to leave he did a double take seeing me holding my bike, I’d like to think there was a flash of “fellowship recognition” there. Unfortunately this was marred with me realizing I had forgotten my ATM card. I ended up having to move my bike to the back of the bank and going inside.
My next stop was a local outdoor gear shop, I wanted to check their sale racks in preparation for an
Ben - He biked from Utah, I biked from my apartment. Yet he was impressed I rockclimbed ;)
upcoming climbing road trip in Utah. I didn’t see anything I wanted and left, getting my bike from the bike rack out front just as two guys pulled up in cycling gear with luggage laden bikes. “I think you guys have come from a lot farther than I have,” I said nodding at the bike trailer and then indicating my little mini purse (I usually bring a backpack but didn’t this time).
“Well, we came from Utah” one of the riders said with a laugh.
Turns out these guys were from Florida and were on a bike trip which started in Utah. They were on the last part of it, which ended in LA. It was just the two of them and I was impressed with their packing. After a short conversation we split up until I saw them again when they asked for reassurance they were going the right way.
If I had driven to the store I would have gone straight to my car, instead I got to meet some interesting folks.
Moral to the story? I’m not sure if there is one, except that biking to do my errands put me in a happy, “the world can be an OK place” frame of mind and I wish more folks could experience it.
National Bike Month was a good idea. And, while I’m not going to propose my climbing buds and I bike to Utah for our road trip, I do intend to keep biking locally. Every little bit counts I say, both for the environment and our sense of community.
By the way, you can read about Bob and Ben’s ride at Bob’s blog here.
Bob - He was just in Utah. I'm going there but not quite the same way.
Posted in: Biking, General.
Tagged: bike commuting · Biking · commentary · community · cycling · musings · national bike month