The Art Of Constant Walking

Trip Report - Backpacking in the Hover Wilderness
September, 2009


Recently Eric, Kenneth and I adventured into the wilderness to seek solitude, and to break our long distance walking records. We also recently moved into another apartment, which Eric and I have come to realize, is a lot like backpacking. We moved from one apartment in our complex into another - It was one of the easiest moves we have ever done because there was no truck, no boxes, and it reminded us a lot of backpacking because you put your stuff on your back.. Walk. Take all the stuff out of your pack. Pack it back in. Walk. Repeat. It took us just as long to move into a new apartment, as it did to backpack 22 miles. Two Days.

Getting ready to go

On this most recent trip, we attempted to backpack to Tower Peak. We drove up to the area the night before and slept in the car (with a bivy for Kenneth.) As it turns out, most of the people we saw on the trail the first day did the same thing. A group had already beaten us to the trail-head backpacker's parking lot, and were setting up camp for the night on the hard asphalt. The next day, everyone was excited and we hit the trail bright eyed and bushy tailed. That was a long day. It seems like we hiked forever, and we weren't entirely sure if we were making good time or not. Our original goal was either the upper meadows, or Tower Lake. We didn't make it as far as Tower Lake.

Pretty Lake

After hiking 11 miles on the first day, we were pooped...to say the leased. All three of us decided it would be a good idea to sleep on top of a raised area in the medow. We found proof that people had camped here before from an old fire ring. We made dinner, cleaned up, and went to bed. After midnight we were awaken by the sound of large animals in our camp. I heard what sounded like a deer hoof, and I figured it was no big deal. Then I heard more... like five more. It sounded like these animals were throwing a party. Rocks were being tossed, trees were being bucked, and the curiosity of a few large sounding deer had taken over our camp. Eventually, Kenneth ripped open his tent and scared away the culprits.


In the morning we awoke to the aftermath of the deer. A chewed up REI walking stick, knocked over gear, and a cozy I had spilled food on chewed up and left 10-15 feet away from where I had left it. We had been ambushed by a gang of curious deer, taking advantage of a beautiful full moon lit night.

Chewed on Kenneth

The next day we were sore, and still pretty tired. We decided to take advantage of the three day weekend by hiking out the second day so we could spend Monday resting. It was a good choice. Even though Eric and I had been doing cardio at the gym to prepare for this trek, we hadn't actually been hiking in a while. This was a great reminder to our bodies that we should probably hike more.

Eric and Kenneth resting

It was a long second day, but we made it back alive, in one piece, without injury and that's what matters. We had a lot of fun backpacking in the sierra for the first time, enjoing all the wonders that create it's allure (including the boisterious wildlife!) I guess in a way backpacking got us ready for moving, it worked the right muscles and prepaired us for the hard work of walking back and forth carring stuff. Even though we didn't get all the way to Tower Peak, it was worth it. Every damn mile.

Kenneth in all his glory

Night of the Living Deer

Greetings!

I'm sitting here on my lunch break, writing a brief update on the weekend's backpacking trip, in a feeble attempt to be timely.

We never reached Tower Peak. In fact, we never saw it again after the first few miles in Leavitt Meadow. As Kenneth so profoundly put it near the beginning of the trek, "that looks far away".

Out intended, and unreached, destination. Yes, it does look far away.

But we did have a blast! We made it most of the way to our planned destination, sleeping in Piute Meadows instead of at Tower Lake, but the hike took it's toll on Amber and I, seeing as how we had done little hiking lately to get into proper condition. Still we charged hard, and did about 11 miles each day, "uphill both ways", with heavy packs.

Kenneth adjusting his pack in Piute Meadows

The need to be functional today for work precluded the sanity of any summit attempt we might have made. In addition, we experience an event we can only describe as "Night of the Living Deer" that motivated us to attempt to move camp or hike out on Sunday. Regardless, we had a lot of fun and Upper Piute Meadows was spectacular, and we can't wait to plan another backpacking trip (and maybe one a bit more leisurely).

A full trip report should be coming soon...

Related Posts:

• The Tower Calls...
  

Photo Gallery:

Piute Meadows Backpacking

And now for something completely different:

• Night of the Living Deer, Pt II
  

The Tower Calls...

As I write this, we are already on our way to the Sierra for a long-anticipated backpacking, peakbagging adventure. Kenneth, Amber, and I are off to attempt Tower Peak in the Hoover Wilderness, some 15 miles distance from the Leavitt Meadows trailhead.

Tower Peak in the far distance, this is taken from near where we will start

It was the sight of Tower Peak that 'piqued' my interest in climbing and mountaineering, though I didn't know it at the time. Researching the peak exposed me to many resources I now find invaluable. So, I have high hopes for this venture to be a sort of culmination of the other adventures we've had in the meantime, summit or not.

But there is one bit I'm a little apprehensive over. Backpacking.

Amber sporting a pack in the Los Padres

Though I camped a lot growing up, I never did any backpacking. Not until two springs ago when Amber and I went on a trek through the Los Padres near Santa Barbara. What a nightmare that turned out to be! Overgrown trails, bushwacking through steep canyons of Poison Oak (to which I am highly allergic), and a painful last two miles night-hiking out so as to be able to shower off the allergens.

Really the poison oak was only a couple mile-ish sections, with really beautiful trail the rest of the way. But it was enough to create psychological misery. And on top of all that, the camera broke after we passed the point we had dayhiked before!

Last year's backpacking camp, before the madness

Nope, we were beaten. And sick of hiking for a while after that. In fact, that is how we discovered rock climbing! But in the end we're very excited about this trip, even if we need to drag our asses a ways in there to get up this thing.

So wish us luck! And we'll report back!

To the Leap!

Trip Report – Lover's Leap
July 2009
Guest Blogger: Kenneth Davenport

Our good friend Kenneth and some of his fellow climbing buddies headed up to Lover's leap this past month. He spent the time taking a newbie on trad, and climbing some sweet 5.10 climbs. They experienced all sorts of situations, and it seems like they had a blast doing it! The Leap always brings an adventure with unpredictable weather, lines at the routes, stellar climbs, and more. Below, Kenneth describes their adventure in his own words-

The infamous stretcher

On Friday evening Chris drove up and got a campsite- however there were still some available on Saturday morning. Joss, James, Sarah, and I arrived late and bivvied.On Saturday Chris led Pop Bottle with Joss and myself following, then we futzed about figuring out whether to do Haystack in the hottest part of the day with two parties of two ahead of us already. We ran into a Seth (with dog Annie) and a Chad who work at Marmot, and we discussed options for short climbs.

Kenneth climbing

We all went to Surrealistic Pillar and I decided that I wanted to lead it. It was fun and challenging, but I bootied a UK nut on the way up. I went way past the first belay and ended up on top of a choss pillar. It turns out there were spots to build an anchor either there or 50 ft of down climbing below. The sky was looking bloated, and Chris decided that if it started raining she would not climb. She let Joss go, and by the time she got up to where I was, we were getting horizontal rain. With zero percent chance of precipitation in the forecast!! I rearranged the anchor with minimal cams and nuts and leaver biners, and we rapped off. Joss was a little nervous since she'd never rappelled before but I walked her through it. We auto blocked her setup, gave her gloves, and with Chris giving a her a fireman's belay, she got down safely. I pulled one of my cams from the anchor and left a solid .75 C4 and the bootied nut, and rapped down.

Chris climbing

When we got back to camp we ran into folks Topher knew (and we recognized from the gym). The Marmot dudes also came by with a couple sixers to share. I passed around the bourbon and we sat under trees to chillax, lament, play with Annie, take pictures, and set up tents before heading to the Strawberry Lodge for dinner. Cooking outdoors in the rain didn't sound appealing at this point. By the time we were finished eating however, the rain had stopped.

Who wants to boulder?

Chris and I woke up early Sunday to retrieve my gear off Surrealistic Pillar, and we found a party of three ahead of us on it at the first belay station. We hollered at 'em that we needed to bail yesterday and left gear, and not to touch it, and they acknowledged. I let Chris lead the first pitch, since we now knew where the first belay was. It was a heady pitch and Chris took her time but nailed it. Joss showed up for moral support and a photo op while Chris was setting the anchor.

Camp!

I led the rest of the climb, bootied my own gear (humming the Final Fantasy battle victory music as I did so), down-climbed back down the chosspile, watched a lizard of a climber leading an impressive-looking .11something nearby, traversed around the arete, and ran the hell out of the last 150 feet of 5.5 dike-hiking. I think I set 3 or 4 pieces and slung a horn though. I barely had enough rope to build an anchor in a safe spot at the top.

Kenneth busting a move

After topping out we went back to camp, packed up, ate avocado, brie and tomato on flat bread, moved crap to the car, and hiked up to the Main Wall to look at stuff. James and Sarah tried an 5.11a sport route on Tombstone Ledge and lobbed off a couple times before calling it done. Before that they'd talked me into leading a 5.10a sport route called Arctic Breeze. I flashed it and Chris, Sarah and I ran laps on it afterward. After the long hike down, we bade farewell to Chris and headed to Z Pies before the long drive home. YUM!**

Lovers's Leap by Joss

Fun In The Yosemite Sun

Trip Report - Yosemite With Eric's Parents
Toulumne Meadows, Hetch Hetchy, Yosemite National Park, CA
July 16-19, 2009

It was a warm weekend in the park, but once again we found ourselves having a blast. I was able to see some things in Yosemite I've never seen before, and visited some good ole' fashion tourist attractions. Eric, his parents, and I hopped in a rented SUV and headed towards the park.We stayed at a hotel just outside Yosemite named the Evergreen Lodge. Eric's parents booked a family suite, and it was very nicely decorated. There was no TV in our hotel suite, but who needs it when you have ping pong, hammocks, pool, foosball, board games, and a full bar? Not me!

The view from Crane Flat fire lookout

The first afternoon we visited our favorite fire lookout just before Crane Flat. It was fun to show the Clark Range to Eric's parents. The fire lookout is the best place to learn the layout of the park. After we checked out the views, we headed down to the Giant Sequoia trees just a mile from the road near Crane Flat. We walked down the one mile path and found some pretty cool trees with an amazing history. Bigger, taller, and heavier than any living thing on earth ever.... pretty impressive. I made sure to give one a big hug.

Eric walking by a huge Giant Sequoia

Later that afternoon we drove out to Hetch Hetchy. The scenery was beautiful! I can't believe I've never been there before. The drive in felt long due to the anticipation of driving into a beautiful hidden valley tucked in the shadows of its popular neighbor. The valley there is gorgeous. Its just as impressive as Yosemite Valley proper, just a lot smaller. I would love to spend more time there, but this time we were in a hurry because we had dinner reservations at the hotel restaurant that night. It was yummy.

Hetch Hetchy Dam

The next day we headed to Tuolumne for some climbing. Eric and I tried to climb at pothole dome, but we failed to find the bolts for the top rope climbs. It was kinda annoying knowing we were just missing the bolts right in front of our faces. It was getting pretty warm so we had lunch and then hung out at Tenaya Lake. While we were there a Search and Rescue volunteer approached our picnic table to tell us that lightning storms were coming. She was doing a preventive program warning people of the dangers of being in Tuolumne during the summer months. That's a really smart way to get people in tune with weather in the wilderness, and in tune with safety.

Eric checking out the view with his Dad

The last day there we headed into the valley during the morning so we would beat the heat of the afternoon. We parked at Camp Curry and did the tourist thing- hop on a valley bus and see the sights! We visited the dried up Mirror Lake, Yosemite Falls, El Captain, Bridal Veil and Camp Curry. Everyone had a great time and we all came back with some amazing memories. I can't wait until the Fall when we get to do it again! Eric and I are very Lucky to live so close to a place many people will only visit once in their lifetime.

Janelle and Phil- Eric's awesome parents

Photo Gallery:

Yosemite July 2009

We Won't Need Rain Pants

Yosemite is known for it's scenic hiking, and one of the most popular trails is the Mist Trail. Eric, myself, and our friend Jen decided to visit this trail during our most recent visit to the valley. Everyone knows that hiking the mist trail during the spring is the best time to do it. Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls are raging, and the water is blasting at full force. It's a very popular hike during this time, but we decided to do it anyway. Our plan was to get to the trail as soon as we got to the valley, because Jen wanted to run up to half-dome.

Vernal Falls

When we got to the valley the weather was dim. Gray storm clouds rested peacefully on top of the giant granite walls that tower over the valley floor. We had our sun roof open so we could see the top of the walls, and it started to rain a little. We still decided to go on our hike. Fate also gifted us with a parking spot at Curry Village. We had some lunch, threw on our boots, and headed to the trail. We opted to leave our rain pants in the car however, because we didn't think we were going to need them. Good thing we had enough sense to bring our shell jackets.

The gray sky

Jen decided to not do Half Dome because of time so she headed up the mist trail with us. The hike started off pretty dry, but when we reached the bridge everyone realized how much water we were dealing with. I have been to Yosemite many times, but I have never seen Vernal Falls as powerful as it was this time. There was so much water...it was breathtaking. We started with the rest of the hike up the cut stone steps. Doing the stairs always amazes me. Going up stairs for a long time is totally a chore, but when you add a gushing waterfall soaking you wet to the bone, you seem to forget all about being out of breath. The scene was so lush, the bushes and trees so green. It felt like we were in a tropical paradise. A rainy, tropical paradise.

Jen checking out Vernal Falls

We made it to the top of Vernal Falls and we were soaking wet from the waterfall. We decided to keep on hiking to Nevada Falls, but little did we know we were about to get a lot more wet. We started for Nevada Falls. When taking a break, we ran into some hikers that were trying to talk their friend into taking the Mist Trail back to the car. He didn't want to get wet, so he was talking about taking the long way back. Our friend Jen reached into her backpack and pulled out a poncho. She gave it to the hiker, and told him to use it. His friends all made fun of him for being such a baby, but he still accepted Jen's gift. His friends gifted him with a new nickname, "Poncho". Literally, a minute after we gave Poncho his rain gear for the falls, it actually started to rain.

Eric and I soaking wet

We hiked up a little further, but it stated to rain a little harder. We turned back and headed for the car, everyone (except Jen) put on their rain jackets, and headed for the top of the stairs. As soon as we got to the stairs, BOOM! There was a huge crack of thunder, and we saw lighting. Great..... It started to pour. It was raining so hard, there was practically a flash flood following us down the stairs. I thought I was wet before, but now, I was soaked. I was soaked, and it was magical. I have done the mist trail a few times, but this was the most fun I have ever had on it. Hiking in the rain is always exciting, but add thunder and lightning, and you have a completely new type of energy. It was magnificent to see the valley in such conditions. Beautiful views graced us all the way down the trail, and we took a lot of great pictures. When I got back to the car I had about two inches of water in each boot, but it was worth it.

A view from the top of Vernal Falls

Holiday Recap Pt. II

Trip Report - Winter Fun in the Southern Sierra
Lake Isabella / Kern River Valley / Greenhorn Mts, Wofford Heights, CA
January 1 - 5, 2008

After a couple days at work between Christmas and New Year's, Amber and I headed south to meet some Santa Barbara friends for a sort of ski trip with other stuff mixed in. We stayed at a rental lake house near Lake Isabella, in the Kern River Valley. A short drive away is the small ski resort Alta Sierra (formerly Shirley Meadows). We spent the next few days playing up in the Greenhorn Mountains and also in the Kern River Valley.

View to the east across Lake Isabella

Friday most of us seized upon Alta Sierra's 'Friday Special' which was a comprehensive learn-to-ski or learn-to-snowboard package for only $60. The trip was a bit of a belated birthday celebration for Traves, who was dying to try snowboarding. Keely and Traves signed up for snowboard lessons, while Mike, Amber, and I took a downhill skiing class. The place is tiny, and only has two short lifts, but as newbies of one sort or another it didn't matter much and the price meant we really got our money's worth.

Amber and I did cross-country several times last season, and I had skied a few times as a teenage, but it was good to get fresh bearings on the downhill skis. Amber soon got comfortable on the easy-turning downhill skis and went to work learning to make big esses all the way down the slope. Mike, having never been on skis at all, struggled a little more. I marveled both last year with Amber, and this year with Mike, at how difficult it is to communicate the motions of skiing. Something that seems so natural once you get it, is in reality, awkward, counter-intuitive, and difficult to communicate. But although he tumbled several times, Mike was getting it as the day went along, and was really a trooper. He would get a lot out of this YouTube Learn to Ski playlist we found before the trip.

Snowboarding seems terrifying to me, and Amber has had a bad experience with it before, but Keely and Traves took to it pretty well! By the end of the day, Keely was boarding good distances in a very controlled manner before stopping. Traves had a different approach, he would go as fast as possible and then bail. What seemed terrifying to me was very enjoyable to him, as he would howl with delight after each crash. All in all, everyone had a good time on the mountain that day.

Driving into Kernville

The next day we took it a little easier, flopping around much of the morning, then several of the guys went hiking in the afternoon. We searched for some hot springs, which turned out to be a bit of a bust, and searched for snowshoe rentals, which turned out to be a bit of a bust... The redeeming factor that day was braving the black ice for a delicious dinner at the Kern River Brewing Company, which came highly recommended. Also we were able to recon some of the climbing areas in case we should return some day. Oh, and the champagne, don't forget the champagne.

Surface Hoar

Rime on trees (notice how it coats the windward side)

Though we couldn't find snowshoes for a hike, we did go and have a good time in the snow on Sunday. Amber and I loaded up all the snow junk we could muster and everyone else suited up as well as possible. We hiked around to find a good hill for which Keely had the foresight to get some sleds. When we arrived that morning there was good-sized hoar frost crystals on top of the snow, and the trees were covered in what looked like rime. I dug a test pit and Amber, Keely and I did our best to work through a snow assessment.

Finding the right place to play

Keely enjoying a sled ride

Then the real fun began... We divided into two teams, and spent hours building two huge snow-forts. We stockpiled snowballs then had a breif snowball fight that completely exhausted us. In the afternoon, the sun disappeared and it got pretty chilly, but everyone was doing well. Some snowboarders were screwing around nearby as well. Finally we truged back up to the car, and headed back down to the cabin to unwind.

Traves and Brett build their fort


Our snow fort has deadly spikes!

All-in-all I really enjoyed the trip. The propane tank went out one night and left us without heat for a little while, but he lady who ran the place came and fixed it first thing the next morning. The house had a nice view, and was a good deal since the area sees more visitors in summer, due to the lake. There is also a lot of rock climbing in the area, which we scoped out a bit. Since the valley stays snow-free, it would be fun to return in winter and do some climbing, as the weather was really good for it. Another reason I love California: each season brings so many different options!

Photo Gallery:

Lake Isabella / Shirley Meadows

Indian Cove Turkey Days

Trip Report - Joshua Tree National Park
Indian Cove area
November 27 - 30, 2008

The park is named for an abundance of these goofy-looking trees

Climbers' Holiday

Earlier this year, Amber and I decided that since it wasn't a good time to go to Texas this year for the Holidays, we'd spend one holiday with her family, and for the other, do something for ourselves. As it turned out, we'd be doing our own thing over the break for Thanksgiving, and in October, got invited along to Joshua Tree with the D.O.A. and some of their friends.

Kenenth, also invited, rode down with us and we met up with everyone in the Indian Cove area of Joshua Tree National Park. Indian Cove is a sheltered nook in the rocks just south of Twenty-nine Palms, outside of the 'main' park road. It's a good spot because the campsites are reservable, and Indian Cove is lower elevation and more sheltered from the wind and cold. There is a lot more climbing in the 'main park' but Indian Cove still has boulders and walls as far as the eye can see; more than enough to keep you busy.

Landscape typical of Indian Cove

We thought at first the place might be pretty empty, but, as it turns out, Thanksgiving is a popular climbers' holiday in Joshua Tree. There was a large proportion of climbers camped all throughout the campground, and the group areas were full of climbing clubs of varying degrees of formality. Luckily it had just rained the day before, so some people still bailed on their plans. It was close to full but not packed, and it was never too hard to get on a climb.

After arriving post-sunset on Thanksgiving Day, we feasted on stove-top stuffing, gravy, and foil-packet chicken. The we headed over to the Rock-Rendevous (a Bay Area club) group site, to share and feast on delicious pies. Throughout the weekend we had an excess of pie. Never before has there been so much pie consumed on a camping trip. If you like pie, I suggest going camping at Thanksgiving. Everyone will bring pie.

Our campsite, nestled amongst the rock

Lazy Lead

Feeling a little blown out from the drive, and not wishing to repeat the depletion of the last few trips, Amber and I decided to take it a little easier, since we were "on vacation". We went for a scrambling hike partway up rattlesnake canyon, which really helped loosen me up. Later we were ready to start climbing, but everyone had taken off so we had to find something the two of us could handle on our own.

Joshua Tree is primarily a trad climbing area, so we looked for something easy enough for me to lead. The rock there is awesome, similar Quartz Monzonite as you find in the Alabama Hills. Its a rock with great friction, but rough on clothing and skin as it has huge, sharp quartz crystals. The main difference to the Alabama hills, besides some differences in weathering, is the lack of bolts at Joshua Tree. There are few bolted climbs, and even fewer with top anchor/rappell bolts. It's important to scope out the descent before you head up and always take enough gear to build an anchor.

So we found this 5.3 "Double Crack" on the short wall that seemed easy enough, but turned out to be awfully awkward. It tested my skills as a leader, and even though I've worked leads on harder routes, was the hardest lead I've done to date. The main issue was awkward stances, and me spending a lot of time trying to get solid placements in the irregular rock. Amber also had some difficulty while cleaning. She slipped onto the rope a bit at one point, but that's no big deal when you're roped from above. Just as we finished, our friends showed up from their climb, and Amber and I really enjoyed the notion we had done that short climb "all by ourselves".

Kenneth leading the 'Double Crack' the next day

Leading ate a lot of my mental and physical energy up, and I was a bit shaken by how difficult that climb had seemed for a 5.3. As we later learned, no one takes the numbers too seriously for the low-grade climbs at Joshua Tree; turns out they're extremely inconsistent (for a variety of reasons). Obviously we eyed up the crack ourselves and we're comfortable with it but some of the harder rated climbs on the same wall may have been easier. Enough frustration (and joy) for the day, it was time to head back to camp and recharge with a belly full of chili and wine.

Rocky Relaxation

After a great nights sleep on our new 'car camping' pads, we were ready to go at it again. We tried to find some friends of Kenneth's in the main park. They didn't show, but we found the war zone aftermath of the CHAOS (Berkeley club) campsite. The wind had thrown their chairs in the fire and the stragglers that morning looked a bit shell-shocked. We took some pictures of the park, grabbed a snack and firewood at the gas station, and headed back to Indian Cove were the weather was much, much nicer (i.e. not windy and cold).

Stunning view of San Gorgonio from inside the main park

We did a couple more climbs on the short wall with Kenneth (he didn't lead much the day before so he wanted time to play with his gear). One was a fist crack that turned out to be super fun, and not nearly as awkward as the day before. It was a good mixture of climbing and relaxation for the weekend and I was glad I didn't beat myself up too much.

Belaying attentively, with the not so bad 'crowds' in the background


Amber giving it to a fist crack... Look at that awesome fist jam!

Since we'd had a late lunch, we screwed around a long time at camp that evening. Kenneth, Amber and I made up a gear placement practice drinking game. Well it wasn't much of a drinking game, but it was still fun. Our campsite was surrounded by features and boulders, flakes and cracks, and we were able to find placements for almost everything we pulled off the racks. It was fun and we all learned a little bit by having each other test the placements.

Kenneth cleaning up after all the fun

That night around the campfire, all the climbers traded the days stories, and shared thoughts and tips about climbing (and a lot of beer and wine). It was a great trip, but we'd wished we could have stayed a little longer. Especially as that would have helped us avoid the horrendous holiday traffic on I-5 the next day. Despite the fact it took almost 11 hours (3 hours extra) to get home, we stayed cheerful and upbeat as we rode out of a near-perfect holiday weekend.

Photo Gallery:

Indian Cove (Joshua Tree)

Stanislaus Climbing Weekend

Trip Report - Climbing/Camping at Spicer Terraces
Spicer Reservoir, California
September 27-28, 2008

CJ belaying Eric on the off-width

We had the lovely opportunity to go on a brief climbing trip with some pals. Dan, Shenoa, CJ, Jackie, Eric and I all met up in the Stanislaus Forrest, near Bear Valley, and we had a blast. It was "camp for free" weekend, and we were camped near deer hunters and drunk teachers. The weather was amazing, and the company was right.

Shenoa Climbing the finger jam-lie back

On day one, we headed over to Spicer terraces, and took our chances with some crack climbs. The others tackled a challenging half width crack, and a finger crack with a lieback, while I focused on climbing the 5.7 crack in the middle of the terraces. While watching everyone cringe and yell on the half width, I realized it was most likely not at my level of climbing, just yet. I learned how to repel again, and used a prussic for the first time. Why would I have done it any other way? Our day was completed by a nice camp fire, chili, and the drunk teachers offering us their strong margaritas.

Dan on the 5.7 crack

Day two was a little less organized because of time restraints, but it was still enjoyable. The gang headed out to box canyon, and we found some great climbing. Eric got to lead a sport climb for the first time, and I mock led it! Some of the crew didn't get to climb because we ran out of time, but it was exciting to find a new destination for climbing in the Sierras! At the end of the day, CJ, Jackie, Eric, and I went to Hell's Kitchen, and did a little bouldering. We enjoyed our late lunch on a big rock, and watched some storm clouds rush in. It started to rain after an hour or so, and we decided it was a good time to end our trip there.

Jackie bouldering while the rain clouds roll in

Besides some of the time restraints, and the speeding ticket Eric got on the way down the mountain, this was a pretty successful trip. The Sierras are an unpredictable place, but also a very beautiful place. It's great to live so close to epic climbing locations. Next stop, Yosemite Valley!

This is what I call the torso jam

Related Story:

• Stanislaus Climbing Mini-Movie

Photo Gallery:

Stanislaus Climbing