north carolina

Scoped out some extremely good rock in North Carolina. It was the perfect place to top rope and share the love of climbing with my family. My brother, mom and dad, cousin and even grandmother came out to the crag! That's how we Virginians do it

Ladies take to the Hills

“We are now in the mountains
and they are in us,
kindling enthusiasm,
filling every pore and cell of us.”               
        - John Muir

“Mountains are not Stadiums where I satisfy my ambition to achieve,
they are the cathedrals where I practice my religion.”             
       - Anatoli Boukreev

Under the shadow of the high sierras at home in the mountains. Here are a few photos from our recent trip into the playground that is Alabama Hills at the feet of some of the tallest mountains in the 48. Mount Williamson and Whitney loomed over our campground like sleeping buffalo. We actually had wild buffalo outside of our camp in Africa which was not quite as pleasant or comforting. I couldn't sleep, imagining all night a stampede charging my tent. Fortunately this weekend, we had Darwin the terrier to take care of any hostile threats.

Girl climbing weekend was a solid idea. We were preceded by a fresh snow in the hills that stayed only long enough to dust the mountains. By the time we got there, things were warming up. Even though it was chilly, we got away with pretty ideal camping weather. My camp mates might argue with me, but forties are not bad when camping in spring. I've stayed in this area and had frozen water by morning, so we got off easy this time.

Being the legitimate campers that we are, we performed the staples of outdoor living: fire, smores and esoteric stories of ghost, aliens, and coincidences. Stories must be told. And mountains must be climbed.

This is the Shark's Fin. It looks tiny from the road, but it is actually somewhere between 40 and 50 feet.. and look at the backdrop. Never gets old.

My first solo rappel.

Second climbing locale, still easy one pitch but from the top the view was outstanding. Then we got burnt, or at least I did.

one half of the view, looking east

Darwin; Ruthie took good care of him in the back seat. He was a pretty fierce guard dog, but has some emotional issues; I'll leave it at that. Leang's first time camping; and she's still alive.

 

Nupur drinks beer for breakfast. That's how she sends. And Leang eats 16 egg whites.

 

Signature stuffed pepper, not camping without them.

Darwin and his tongue. 

America: Red Rocks

Previous sections of our drive: South, Prairies, Mountains. Utah doesn't feel like the home stretch, it feels more like another planet. I really feel that Utahans are being too modest about their state; they need some Texan-style pride. This place is one National Geo photo after another, considering that, please excuse my instagrams.

5:54 PM Utah border: Destination -  the red arch in the picture. Because it's in the picture. I've seen this thing on license plates for years, it's time to see it in the rock.

10:12 AM Arches National Park, Utah: Looks like a toy or set backdrop.

4:32 PM Arch, Arches National Park: It took a little over an hour to reach the arch from the road. It wasn't quite a tourist march because the trail wasn't exactly marked, just large slopes of rock to walk over and shallow canyons to weave through. But the steep bowl at the top had tons of people perched precariously kind of like eggs on a countertop.

4:46 PM Arches, Utah: We tried not to look down as we climbed along the edge of the bowl with our expert climber's grip and over to the chimneys across the cliff.

11:11 AM Make a wish, Utah: Mie is unperturbed by the bus load of tourists that just blocked her view, because she has extra-sensory skills.

2:12 PM Moab: I couldn't go to Moab without doing some climbing, so we bouldered instead. It was really easy, but pretty high up

2:13 PM Moab: Note the height.

7:02 PM Overlooking Moab: Rainbows. This place is one jaw dropping moment after the other. There's something kind of relaxed about this city too. The hostel had some characters as they always do. The manager or concierge was the friendliest guy, full of advice and stories, a big happy grin. One not so small distraction though, he had a gruesome gouge where his right eye once was. It was red and hollow and so hard not to look at. I had to focus like a surgeon on what he was saying.

8:14 PM Moab: Our two mile hike put the fear of starvation in us, so we ate more than advisable at the Mexican restaurant with the rain moving in behind us. This took Mie so long to eat, I went for a walk and came back and she was still working. So much respect!

I stopped at the climbing store to add a little to my stash, still not equipped for a full mission by myself. But almost.

11:02 AM Monolith/Moai, HWY 24, Utah: On recommendation from the eyeless man, we skipped the I70 and took off through the center of the state on 24 & 12. Canyonlands veered off to the left, where Aron Ralston had to cut off his arm.

3:22 AM HWY 12, Utah:  A storm rolled in as we entered into the Indian Res. Being in the lowlands; I started to get nervous. We were following along beside a river that was already red with runoff. As we wound around a corner on the 12, we hit a patch of road with at least a 15 foot-wide flow across it. We waited for a while, building up stupid courage. One car plunged through it unscathed. It appeared pretty shallow. Though, I've heard that even two inches of flood water can wash a car away. But it was cross or drive a hundred miles back, so I clinched the steering wheel and plowed ahead. The road dropped off on the other side, so that was menacing as I tried to keep a grip on the wheel. We high tailed it after that, and fortunately started ascending again. Just then the radio beeped with a flood warning... laugh, you dont say?

4:21 PM Grand Staircase HWY 12, Utah: Just driving along and then suddenly we are on a sliver of a plateau with canyons on either side as far as the eye can see, no big deal.

5:23 PM Escalante, Utah: We ate at what looked like the only open joint in a 100 mile radius. It was empty when a guy with a big belt buckle seated us, but it started to fill up with people from who knows where. Then a band appeared and an old cowboy started playing Johnny Cash of course. I was the only person clapping, so he asked me what I wanted to hear, I suggested Hank Williams Sr, an ode to my cowboy grandpa, whom I really miss. We got a concert of Hank and Cash for the rest of the night, really felt like I was on the range.

11:03 AM Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah: We got used to the isolation and cowboy lifestyle in Escalante, back with the buses of tourists and the fees.

Superb tourist fashion

The volume of formations blew my mind, like each one is a tiny castle.

7:35 PM Paria Outpost, Utah: We found this cowboy outpost in the middle of nowhere and when I say that, I mean nowhere. It was awesome, the canyons, dust, tumbleweeds and sunset stretched on forever.

We booked up in this super inexpensive, very quaint, very clean little cabin for the night and then went up to the ranch to talk to the cowhands, who lead trail rides out into the canyons. That's on my list when we come back.  Utah is unbelievable.

life on the rocks lately

Well guys, I've been rock climbing now for about 8 months. It's something I've wanted to do since I was small, but watching people at Yosemite, I just didn't have the foggy to know where to start. The masses of ropes and clips and hardware were like looking at computer wiring, and I was the only clueless person around who wanted to unravel it. Fortunately in the last year some friends have joined me on this venture, now we actually have something of a climbing crew. Once I started going to the rock gym, I realized there are plenty of people looking for other climbers to pair up with, I should've been at this a long time ago.

I remember hiking here years ago and being so envious of the climbers on the wall. People always ask, why do you climb, what's so great about it, it seems so unnatural. Well, I'm not trying to convince anyone, because it is certainly not for everyone; just like water sports are great, but certainly not for me. I will say for myself that climbing is like a gigantic physical puzzle, and I've always loved puzzles.

I could go on, maybe I will some time on this blog. I've noticed so many benefits like a whole new appreciation for my hands.

I admit I really like knowing what all of the carabiners, slings, and whatnots do, it is like knowing another language, albeit an expensive one, and one you bet your life on. Like the language used in a hostage situation, deliberate, methodical, extremely thought out.

Repelling is still fun because I haven't had any bad falls yet, knock on rock.

Our patrons of the rope. Trash talking required.

The sunsets and the supermoon emerges.