The Value of Paying Attention

Good afternoon, friends! As you may recall, after my last post, I set out for Yosemite National Park. I decided to drive in from the west through Bishop, California and to the Toulumne Meadows side of the park. This was a full day's drive and well into the evening I passed signs stating that the Highway that I was aiming for that goes through Yosemite was closed at a certain point. Rather than slowing down to investigate, I just kept on trucking. I arrived in Yosemite to find that the highway through the park was closed due to a fire (a "controlled burn" that got out of control!). The only way to get to Yosemite Valley on the other side of the park--a point approximately 45 miles away where I was scheduled to meet up with John and Amanda-- was a 6 hour drive out and around the park. I spent the night at Toulumne Meadows and tried to decide whether to make the drive.

After hearing from several rangers that the road would indeed be closed for at least the length of John and Amanda's visit I decided to make the drive around. I hurriedly packed up camp and pulled out. Unfortunately, I wasn't very careful in doing so and managed to run my car up on a giant rock that lifted the front wheel off the ground. And so, I once again found myself in the midst of a completely avoidable delay simply because I failed to pay better attention when setting out. Does anyone else think I am supposed to be learning some kind of lesson here? I was certainly getting that feeling. Fortunately, my fellow campers mobilized to build a ramp for my little car and lift it off the rock!

The rescue squad and the big rock!

Thanks to their help I was on my way before too long and made the drive into the Valley. What a spectacular thing it was to finally arrive at this place that I have heard so much about! It certainly did not disappoint. For those of you who have not made it here yet, it is an amazing place. It seems to be surrounded by dry, desert-type landscape but when entering the valley you see green meadows, lots of pine trees, and massive, steep, beautiful granite walls. My first glimpse of the most famous of all those big chunks of granite, El Capitan, is something that I will not soon forget.

First glimpse of the Valley's steep granite Walls: El Cap on the left, one of the Cathedrals on the right

I met up with John and Amanda and the next morning we did a beautiful 5-pitch 5.8 climb called Nutcracker on the misleadingly named, Manure Pile Buttress.

View from the top of Nutcracker

This place is truly amazing and the setting is beautiful:

Oh, and the climbing's not bad either. After John and Amanda left, I moved into Camp 4 and started looking for climbing partners. I didn't realize that Camp 4 would be such an international place. The folks sharing my campsite (6 individuals are assigned to each site) are French Canadians and Germans and so far I have climbed with a Swiss, a Kiwi, a Canadian, 2 Brits and a guy from New York! Finding climbing partners has not proven to be a problem and I am finding that climbing with so many people is really helping me to build confidence in my climbing and leading as I find that I am just as capable as those around me.

Thomas (from Switzerland) leading the third pitch of Central Pillar of Frenzy (5 pitches, 5.9) on Middle Cathedral Rock. This was a great climb and also provided great views of El Cap, just across the valley:


The highlight, however, has definitely been the climb I did yesterday (with Callem from Toronto and Rob and Robin from Bristol, England), a link-up of Serenity Crack (3 pitches, 5.10d) to Sons of Yesterday (5 pitches, 5.10a). Serenity Crack follows a single crack line up pin scars for the first pitch, through thin hands for the second pitch and finally through the finger crack crux at the top. I got to lead the second pitch of this one. It was my first attempt to lead 10a on gear and also my first fall on 10a on gear! I popped off a foothold unexpectedly but was able to get right back on the rock and make the move.

Sons of Yesterday also follows a single crack line from a hard off-fingers section at the bottom, through several pitches of perfect hand jams and even has a bit of easy off-width at the end for good measure. The climbing literally got better with every pitch and was relatively sustained 5.9 to 5.10 the entire way, making for an outstanding day. The climb culminates with a short left-leaning offset crack, the bottom of which protrudes just far enough beyond the top of the crack to allow you to walk carefully along it and bend down and try to peer into the crack to place gear. Good times!

A good hand crack to start the last pitch, followed by a careful balancing act!

I am planning to stay here for about another week, and I can already tell that it is going to be difficult to leave!

Coffee, anyone?

Mmmmm, doesn't it look delicious? Not so much. But a coffee addict's got to do what she's got to do to get her fix. Which is what I did at approximately 5:30 this morning at the base of the Grand Canyon, where I spent the night. I only have my smaller climbing pack with me and there was simply no room for the French press on the trip. Earlier this spring, Thomas found this stuff called Java Juice for just such an occasion. We tried it once to see if it was bearable, with the hope that it would never actually be necessary. It is coffee extract that can be mixed with water when brewing a fresh cup isn't an option. Which is how I found myself drinking coffee extract plus cold water out of a plastic Nalgene at, as Dad would say, 0-Dark-hundred (I think that's military speak for "way too early") this morning. And that's when I realized that I have a problem. There was nothing pleasant about this "cold coffee-like substance out of a plastic water bottle" experience. I was simply choking it down to avoid the adverse consequences of skipping my daily coffee. To buy Java Juice is, I think, to acknowledge that one has a problem. But, I can live with that, and, it did the trick. A small price to pay for all those delicious, steaming cups of good coffee and Americanos. But, back to the Canyon...

I started out yesterday morning from the South Rim of the canyon on the Kaibab Trail. There were cloudy skies and light showers throughout the day, which made the tempature and the hike more pleasant.

Fortunately, the trail was so well-marked that even I could follow it without incident.

The canyon is spectacular and it seemed that I was stopping at every turn in the trail to pull out my camera and attempt to document its beauty (just for you, my dear readers.) After a couple of hours and a descent of several thousand feet, I got my first glimpse of the Colorado River at the base of the Canyon.

And after a couple more hours, and a couple thousand more feet of descent, I arrived at the base. It was hot down there!

But, fortunately, the campground was right beside a lovely creek.

After a pleasant evening, I awoke this morning to clear skies and set out for the rim on the Bright Angel Trail. This was another spectacular walk, and my legs were tired but my heart was happy when I reached the top.

Looking back, I realized that I had come a long way!

Prior to the Grand Canyon, I had an opportunity to visit Cris and Dave, good friends from Atlanta, who now live in Flagstaff, Arizona. It was great to see them and also to experience some of the excellent climbing around Flagstaff. In fact, I was fortunate enough to enjoy a day of trad climbing, a day of bouldering and a day of sport climbing.

Paradise Forks is a basalt crag about 45 minutes west of Flagstaff, the climbing is pure crack climbing on columns reminiscent of those at Devil's Tower (although the rock felt considerably slicker). This place was rad, and I would have loved the opportunity to spend more time there.

The next day we visited Kelly's Canyon for some fun, sandstone bouldering. It was like being back in the South for a day!

Cris on a fun slab problem

And, finally, on Sunday we visited the Peaks for some sport climbing on dacite(?), a type of volcanic rock that was new to me and that I don't know how to spell.

Cris on the fun upper section of a thin 11a

And now, I am headed West to a place that I have wanted to visit for a long, long time...Yosemite National Park! But first, I'm going to finish this Americano...