Being a tourist until more rock climbing

Coastal Redwoods

The Redwoods are cool. Redwood national park is the type that you just drive through and see some big trees. Fortunately that is all I was looking for out of it. I am definitely happy to get to see the Redwoods, since I’ve wanted to see them for a long time. 

These are actually Coastal Redwoods. They are very closely related to the giant sequoia, which are actually a type of redwood as well. There is a third type, called the Dawn Redwoods, that is located in China. Kinda random distribution… Anyway, the Coastal redwoods are taller than the giant sequoia (up to about 400’) but not as wide.

The redwoods were Saturday. Then on Sunday morning we finally made it into Oregon, and drove on to Crater Lake. This is a really beautiful place. The lake is so clear and pristine, surrounded by the rim of this giant volcano. It is also the deepest lake in the country at almost 2000’! Also it is al trapped in the volcano, and so there is actually no inlet or outlet.

Hanging out on the rim

But since the coolest thing here is surrounded by a road that goes all the way around the rim, there was not much to gain by doing a hike. So on to Smith Rock!

Smith Rock State Park

Smith Rock is among the best sport climbing destinations in the country. There is something like 1800 climbs here, and it is all very accessible. There is also quite a good variation of climbing styles and types, which made it a whole lot of fun. Also 2 minutes down the road is a campground filled with slacklining hippies, youth climbing camps, and a few random climbers like us. Quite an interesting place, but at least it has a communal cooking area and showers! It had been a couple weeks since I last had an actual shower and not just a riverbath…

Climbing at the Dihedrals

Nico and I got two days in of some wonderful climbing, until our fingers were completely raw. Next time I will need to build up my callouses a bit more before coming out here, and it would definitely be worth another trip sometime since there is so much great climbing there that we did not even touch.

Climbing at the Morning Glory wall. That is Nico at then top right finishing a climb.

From Smith Rock, we head to Portland, just to see it. I realize that I wrote most of this a little while ago. We are now on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington, spending a day in a library planning and waiting out rain. So at the start of this post when I mention Saturday... that is exactly a week ago. Down time for internet has been difficult to come by, although we may be attempting to slow down a little bit, so we'll see if posting can become a little bit more regular. No promises though.

More Redwood Photos

More Crater Lake Photos

More Smith Rock Photos

Half Dome is Epic

Sometime in late winter, Andrew sent out an email gauging interest in a big wall climb out in Yosemite this summer. Ever since then, it had always been on my mind. I spent many sessions at Lindseth (the Cornell climbing wall) practicing aid climbing and prepping for this part of our NW road trip. Finally as we enter Yosemite valley, staring at the giant faces of granite, and trying not to run over the oodles of tourists, the time is coming near. I was very much excited, yet nervous and worried about my sunburned hands (damn you doxycycline...) and lack of climbing over the past month.

Andrew James and I (left to right) with Half Dome way in the distance

Andrew and James had a week in the valley and we decided that we would take advantage of the best weather window. Turns out that on Saturday we all met up at the ranger station, and decided to get our permits and go for it the next day. This led to a flurry of getting the last bits of food and then finalizing our plan and sorting our gear (which was no small feat)

Taking up a lot of space to sort everything.

The next morning we started packing up the last of the gear, while I drove Nico to her trailhead. Her plan was to do a 4 day solo backpacking trip and meet us on top of Half Dome on day 3, and then we all hike out together. Crazy how the timing worked out that this day (June 15) also happened to be our one year anniversary. Fortunately we had already talked about this possibility and were okay with it... With a slightly teary "Happy anniversary, I'll see you in 4 days", I head back to the trailhead to get started to the base of the climb with Andrew and James.

One year anniversary

Day 1:

We hiked to what is known as the Death Slabs. This is a steep hike up the talus pile at the bottom of Half Dome, and the most direct route to the base of the climb.  It gains 3000' of elevation, and varies from hiking on a trail to needing to harness up and ascend some fixed ropes that you hope don't break on you as they have been there for who knows how long.

James finding the trail on the Death Slabs

We got to the wall for a late lunch and admired it for a little while. It is immense. I wish that photos could do it justice.  We still had work to do, which was pack up the haul bag (food, water, sleeping gear) and start up the first three pitches. Once up there, we had just enough rope to reach back down to the ground, so that we could come down for the night and then get a jumpstart on the morning by just climbing the 350' of rope.  Up until this point we were thinking we were going to get lucky in that no one else had come to the base of the climb today. Its no fun to have another group on your heels, and letting a group pass can take a long time and also increases the chance of rock fall above you. There was a group of two who showed up right before we went to sleep who were planning on doing the climb in a day... so we let them just start before us, although this did mean leaving the ground almost an hour later than planned.

Day 2 - the long day

It was easy to get up to the top of pitch 3 with the fixed ropes.  After that, it was some interesting climbing, very different from what we are used to on the east coast. We were moving a little bit slow, and I was surprised when it was well past lunchtime at the top of pitch 8 and we had barely eaten or drank anything at all yet.  And we still had 9 pitches to go for the day… I started preparing myself for a long day, but did not make much of a deal about it.  It was also around then that I realized that there is no turning around. We have to go up. The route had traversed quite a bit and at this point it would probably take more time to go down. It is not like a climb at the Gunks, where basically anywhere you can, at the worst, build an anchor, leave a couple pieces of gear and be on the ground soon. Realizing that we were moving slowly and not having a way out, and really having no control over that was the mental crux of the climb for me.

Andrew and I sorting gear at the Pitch 6 belay

So at the top of pitch 8 we pulled our sandwiches out of the haul bag and ate them when we had a chance, and continued on. Pitch 10 was a fun one, being the Robbins Traverse. I led it, and climbed up the bolt ladder until a point where I had to be lowered down and then run back and forth across the wall until I was able to grab onto something and pull myself over to the next set of anchors.  So glad to have had the training at Lindseth, cause we knew exactly what to do when we came to this.

Trying to grab something while swinging on the Robbins Traverse

James led off the next pitch, and we continued on our way. This was another big traverse. I was the one being lowered out on the haul line, and Andrew was going to clean. This was the first big lower out with one of us on the rope… We had a line to control the lower out, but unfortunately it was only 30’ long. By the end of the rope, I was just about under the anchor, but the haul bag had a little ways to go. Andrew looks at me, and shows me that he is about to have to let go. As he does, I move right under the anchor, but the 70lb haul bag swings past and takes me for quite a ride. Only my arm scrapes the wall in a big poof of feathers, as my puffy coat rips open. Fortunately it was just a minor scrape, and so I jug up and prepare to lead the next pitch. Needless to say, this put me a little bit more on edge…

Feathers were following us up the rest of the climb...

When I got to the top of the next pitch, I noticed the sun starting to get low in the sky. After this pitch, James led pitch 13&14 (as one) which were the main chimney pitches.  At the top of 14 was the squeeze chimney. Huge props to James for having the balls to do this. The chimney gets tighter as you go up and as you go in deeper, so there is no gear and the rock tries to spit you back out. This is nothing like what we’ve climbed before. At one point Andrew and I were sure that he was at the anchor because he stopped moving up. Then a few minutes later the rope moves a couple inches… then extremely slowly the rope inched up over the next 30 minutes or so.  Also it got darker and darker until we could see the stars, but we could not even see a headlamp up there!  Until finally we heard a scream of relief as James popped out of the top of the chimney.  It was totally dark by the time that Andrew started jugging the haul line. I cleaned this pitch, and when I got to the squeeze chimney, I understood. First I had to take off my backpack and clip it to my harness, letting it drag below me. Then as I ascended the rope, it took me deeper and deeper into the chimney where James got in a single piece of protection. Although at this point I was still 5’ away from it and could not even turn my head because it was so tight.  At one point, the rock pulled my headlamp off my helmet, and fortunately it landed on my shoulder. Extremely slowly and carefully I managed to reach over my head with my other arm and retrieve it.  I would have totally lost it without light in there.  I also realized that since I was climbing the rope, there would be no safe way to get that gear back, because as soon as I took it out I would fall out of the chimney.  Fortunately a bit of the haul line was accessible, and so I attached the backpack to it for them to haul up, and then transferred onto the haul line to go clean the piece and finish out the pitch. I have never been so scared on rope before, and so I cannot even imagine what it was like for James leading it.  Up until this point I was thinking that we would get to our bivy by around midnight…

Andrew starting to jug the chimneys in the dark

I slept here...

Once I got up, I had to put that all behind me, change my shoes, rack up (all standing on this tiny ledge…), scarf down a cliff bar, and start leading the next pitch. It was a 5.9, and probably would have been some sweet climbing (open chimney with a fist sized crack), but I was a bit scared and it was dark, so I aided most of it. This was pitch 15, so two more to go. Leading pitch 17 was similar, although now it was cold and we were getting pretty tired (about 3:30am). I had to traverse a bit and then find the correct set of cracks that would get us to Big Sandy. I felt so alone up there, not knowing that I was definitely on route, and both James and Andrew had their headlamps off at the belay (and were probably mostly asleep…). Interesting though that you have no idea that you are 2000’ up on a wall since it is dark and all I know is the small area that my headlamp illuminates right in front of me. With some hauling struggles, all three of us and the bag were finally on our ledge at 5am… as I noticed the northern sky just beginning to get lighter and we also saw some headlamps at the base of the climb. Gosh I hope that they do not pass us before we get to the top… Up until that point I was hoping to get some good sleep on Big Sandy, but seeing the sky start to lighten really made it hit home just how late it was. We were so tired, James just jumped into his bag with his shoes on, gear on his harness, on a heap of rope. I collapsed right next to him on the rock, and Andrew actually laid out the lead rope all nice to have something vaguely comfortable to lie on.

Still smiling after 24 hours of climbing and 2 hours of sleep

Jugging up the second Zig Zag, with
Big Sandy below

Day 3 – top out.

At 7am, we all started to stir, but refused to get out of our bags until closer to 8.  Two hours of sleep, and 6 tough pitches to get to the top.  We resorted the haul bag, had dinner (breakfast?) and got ready for the zigzags. This is an area of the climb that has to be aided (unless you are a crazy strong climber). It was surprisingly cold (the wind never stopped) as I racked up the cold metal and started up the first one. After about 20’ I started to get the screaming barfies, and waited for a few minutes banging my head against the wall while the blood rushed back into my fingers. Fortunately after that I felt way better. We averaged a little better than two hours a pitch through the zigzags to the Thank God Ledge.

The Thank God Ledge is a necessary traverse that starts off on about an 18” ledge, but then narrows to about 9” as the wall leans out towards you. I followed this walking upright, until the narrowest point where I had trouble getting a cam out, and then things got a little scary. Like most people who do this, I ended up groveling across it on my belly with one leg down and the other heel hooking to help keep me up. It is super exposed as you can see right down to the ground. Even though it was a bit scary, it was super cool and a lot of fun to go across.

Me getting a better look at the exposure while walking the Thank God Ledge

From there it was another aid tension traverse, and then one last easy pitch to the top! Damn it felt so good to get up on solid ground and take off my harness.  It was just about sunset (totally missed out on meeting Nico up there) and the only other people up there were two guys drinking rum and two base jumpers.  I had just topped out, looked over to my side and these two guys in wing suits jump off the top not 15’ from where I was. Andrew, James and the rum drinkers were oohing and ahhing as they flew down in one minute what took us three days to climb up.

Andrew jugging the last pitch, while I clean the anchor and prepare to follow

It was a sweet and beautiful sunset that I got to enjoy for just a couple minutes before Andrew and I went to haul the bag up the last pitch and gather our gear. James hiked down to the bottom of the climb to retrieve the gear and food that we left behind. Since I had a small pack, I took all the gear for the walk down… which tunred out to be really heavy.  The way off Half Dome is the cable route. Which for something in a national park, is actually very steep and scary.  Especially in the dark, and with a 60ish lb pack. I actually had to turn around and walk backwards, and struggle to keep my eyes open. We were supposed to meet up with Nico and hike to the Little Yosemite campground, but we were way too exhausted to hike more than two minutes from the base of Half Dome. We did not have great communication with Nico, and so when on the way down the cables I noticed a light shining up at us from where the campground was, I paid attention.  It blinked a couple times, I blinked mine a couple times. Nico knows we made it…

Late night meal

Finally at about 11pm we sat down with a huge amount of food and just ravenously dug in… and then promptly passed out.

Day 4 – hike out

We started down the trail, and fortunately found Nico hiking up the trail coming to get us with extra food and water. First she punched me, then she hugged me, just happy that we were safe.  We were so exhausted at this point, so we took out time hiking the 8 miles back to the car, via some really nice waterfalls and some crazy large crowds down towards the bottom.

Waterfalls on the walk out.

33 hours of climbing, with 2 hours of sleep…

Needless to say, I was exhausted and useless for a couple days afterwards to recover.

Overall this was most definitely type 2 fun. It was a really tough experience, but I am really glad for the chance to push my limits, which is something that I extremely rarely get a chance to do.  To be scared, then have to man up and lead the next pitch in the dark, and not have the option to back off and just leave, was actually really awesome in a demented sort of way.

I also really appreciated how Andrew, James and I worked as a group. In such a trying experience we were all laid back, yet still able to make decisions and move on. We were amazingly courteous and respectful to each other from the start, and continued that the whole time, which definitely made this a much more enjoyable experience.  I am so happy to have climbed half dome, and I would say I would wait at least a year before doing something like this again J.

We made it!!!

But since we were in Yosemite, we got up early the following morning to get a spot at the famous camp 4, and then even climbed a few pitches (with naps and river baths).

From Yosemite, we braved more crowds for a quick stop in San Francisco to meet up with my cousin, then a brief trip to the Redwoods National Park, and then on to Oregon!

Here are the rest of my pictures in Picasa.

Giant Sequoia and Kings Canyon Backpacking

Last Tuesday we got to the first of the National Parks on the trip. Kings Canyon and Sequoia are actually right next to each other. We spent Tuesday doing the tourist thing in the Eastern side of the parks where the giant sequoia trees are.

At the Boole tree

These trees are by volume, the largest in the world.  The Boole tree (above) has a circumference of 113 feet.  It was so difficult to capture the size of these trees, but they are just so massive!  It is also amazing that the oldest of these trees still alive are about 3500 years old. They have survived through a whole lot.

Link for more photos.

Then on Wednesday we packed up, got our permit and headed off into the wilderness.  We walked up Bubbs creek. We were surrounded by large rocky mountains, weaving in and out of the forest.

Looking back down the valley.

The picture above was taken within 2 hours of leaving the car. It was so exciting to finally be headed off into the wilderness, which is what we really wanted to get out of this trip.  It was a long time building, since at this point it was a week and a half since we left Ithaca.

Viewpoint right near our campsite.

To then get to our campsite and be surrounded by that (above) was really what we need to finally relax a bit.  There is something that is so satisfying to the soul to be in a place like this and I think it has been too long.

The next day we actually had a lazy morning and did not get out of camp until about 10am. (We have been on the sun schedule of going to sleep at 9 and getting up at 6:30)  We continued to hike up to join the PCT for a little bit, and then head towards Kearsarge Pass.  I had no idea that some of the highest mountains of the Sierra were around here. We had some options of places to go and randomly chose this way.  And we were rewarded!

At Kearsarge Lake

Panorama from the top of the pass

The other side of the pass

The views all the way up were stunning! It was also quite interesting to get up to the top and see where we came from which was windy, chilly, and had a lot of green. And then to take one step over the pass, it got 10 degrees hotter, no wind, and you look off into the desert.

Apparently this is also a very popular spot for people thru hiking the PCT to head out and resupply. We were there at just the right time as well to pass by many of them and have a little chat. Then from here, we took a slightly different route back down to camp, and had another relaxed evening.

Going back down to camp

This trip was exactly what we were looking for, psych meter got up to 110%.

After getting out of the woods, we head on our way to Yosemite, and stayed in an RV campground. Interesting place after coming out of the backcountry, but at least they have showers and internet.  After I send this, we will head to Yosemite were I will meet up with a couple friends from Ithaca to climb half dome, and Nico will do a solo backpacking trip.

These pictures are the best yet.

Catching up with photos

So we are exactly two weeks into our trip and this is the first time that we have had internet with enough time to actually do some writing and upload photos. So here we are leaving our 1350 sq. ft. home and getting into our 40 sq. ft. home.

I am going to attempt to write more about the stuff that deserves it, so here I will just let you all know that photos are uploaded!

Random road trip photos
Vedauwoo photos
Medicine Bow National Forest photos
Lake Blanche Hike photos
Lake Tahoe photos
Sequoia photos
Kings Canyon photos

Quick Update

Hi Everyone. Just a quick update... as internet and time for internet has been surprisingly difficult to come by. We are alive, Yay!

Left Ithaca last Sunday and drove with stops approximately every 59 minutes to pee, we finally made it to SE Wyoming on Tuesday evening.  Here we spent Wednesday doing some sport climbing at Vedauwoo. This place is known for its awesome crack climbing... but our gear was too small for their big cracks... hence the sport climbing.

Drove through the mountains and then on to Salt Lake City where we spent a couple nights with some friends from Ithaca, Keith and Sarah. On Friday we did a day hike up to Lake Blanche in the Wasatch National Forest. This place was amazing.  Kinda crazy how close it was to Salt Lake as well.

Then on Saturday morning we head out early on our way to Lake Tahoe, with an amazing loaf of bread that Keith made (which we housed in 2 days).  Lake Tahoe is quite a beautiful place, and yesterday we head out for an overnight hike in the Desolation Wilderness on the California side.  This is the most heavily used wilderness area per sq. mile in the country. Fortunately we head in on a Sunday as the hordes were on their way out.  We made our way to Lake Gilmore where we set up camp and then head up Mt. Tallac. This is what I've been looking for so far. It was really amazing up there with awesome things to look at in every direction.

Now I am trying to get some photos uploaded from a Quiznos in Merced, CA where it is 108 degrees. Holy crap its hot here, and we need to get back to the mountains asap. Sequoia and Kings Canyon are next.

Photos and more details coming soon... or next time we find some decent internet.

Testing, testing, 1...2...3....

Wow, its been over 2 years since I've posted on here.  Its about time I take off again.  Only two weeks away from the big NW road trip. This is some unfinished business from our road trip two years ago to the national parks of the Southwest. If you look back to the archives, you can dig up all the old posts of amazing stuff there.

Since then I've gotten a real job in the Solar business with Taitem and got married to Nico!

Well, if anyone sees this, it appears that I am still able to post to this blog and will attempt to do so while traveling this summer.

The Trifecta of Quetzaltrekkers Hikes

I haven't gotten the chance to write in a little while. Partially because I don't want to waste time on the computer, and partially due to the lack of internet. Two weeks ago, Nico and I hooked up with an organization here called Quetzaltrekkers. We saw that they were running a 6 day trip from Nebaj to Todos Santos, and though it sounded really cool. As soon as we got to Xela, we made sure to sign up. Quetzaltrekkers (QT) is an organization that was started to raise money for a couple projects here in Guatemala. At first we were a little turned off that the guides were almost all foreigners. Seemed like it would be better to be guided by a local and have the local earn the money.

Turns out that all the guides are totally volunteers, so that they can raise as much money as possible for their main project, Escuela de la Calle, along with a few others, which get underprivileged kids off the streets and into school. The guides don't get paid at all... meaning they have to pay their own food and accommodations as well. They all speak Spanish and English and really know the areas. Even while on the treks, they do their best to make sure that money spent goes right to the locals as much as possible. On the treks, we sometimes stay with families in small villages. These are places that don't even have a store, let alone a hostel. It was really neat that they let us sleep in the school, and each time a trek comes through, they rotate what family gets to cook for us, and therefore a significant financial boost for a hard days work.

Steve entertaining all the kids

Anyway, back to the Nebaj trek. Day 1 was just a travel day to get there and then check out the town of Nebaj. Steve, a new guide, also plays ultimate and happened to have a disc with him. We start throwing around in their central plaza, and very soon we had a crowd of young boys looking curious. So we start throwing to them and before we knew it, everyone was looking on, and all the young kids were trying to get our attention to throw it to them. This eventually ended when a bunch of boys got into a dogpile all fighting for the disc. So we take it away, but they all follow us to where we sit down. Also turns out that Steve worked for an orphanage in the jungle for 8 months and was great with the kids. He starts doing this clown routine, and messing with them, and they were all mesmerized.

On the way up to the altiplano - early morning start

the altiplano

The next 4 days was the hiking. It reminded me a lot of the foothills of the Himalaya. Very steep rolling lush hills. It was quite green, even though the rainy season hasn't even started yet. Then on day 2 of hiking we got up to the first altiplano. It was totally unlike anything I've seen before. There were grassy rolling hills with large limestone boulders scattered all over, with pine forest all about. Even crazier is that these boulders were once on the bottom of the ocean! Amazing geologic forces pushed them all the way up to about 12,000ft above sea level.

The next few days brought us up over hills and across river valleys, in what was some very impressive scenery. It's crazy that almost no tourists make it to these areas of such great natural beauty. In some of the villages on the altiplanos, QT are the only foreigners that these people ever see. It is very strange to see people just stare at you, or even run away at the sight of a white person. Although based on their reactions it must be way weirder for them seeing us than it was for us to see them. Our guides were telling us that a few weeks ago on the trek, someone pulled out a camera in one of these villages, and all the kids immediately fell to the ground. They were legitimately afraid that the camera would steal their souls. I've heard about it before, but never thought I'd actually be among those people. And for that reason we are asked to not pull out our cameras around them and to make sure to ask people if it is okay that we take a picture.

Team Purple!

What also made this a great trek was the group. Everyone meshed really well together. It was a small group, 9 total, and so we all hung out together and got to be friends. On our next trek, the Lago trek, our group was 17 people, and so you just could not bond with everyone in 2.5 days.

Nico and I heard that Lago Atitlan was a really nice place, and planned to check it out. It just worked out that QT was running their Xela to Lago trek two days after we got back from Todos Santos. So after one rest day, we were ready to hit the trail again. I can see why this trek is so popular, with see some really great scenery and being only a few days, and it goes to where people want to end up anyway. QT will even drop off a bag for you at the end so that you don't need to carry all your stuff.

It was another great trek, but not quite as good as Nebaj. The scenery was good, but not quite as amazing and remote as the other trek. One sweet highlight though was that on the last day, you get up at 3:45am, and hike to a nice mirador for the sunrise. We got there just as the first hues of light were on the horizon, and you could see the lights of San Pedro below, and also just make out the 3 volcanoes that run along the southern part of the lake. It was quite a beautiful sunrise, until just before the sun poked up when a bunch of clouds rolled in and kept us covered until the sun was well up in the sky.

Sunrise from the mirador

Then we were left in San Padro will all of our stuff and no plan. Typical for us.... San Marcos, across the lake, sounded like an interesting place, so we took the ferry there. What a weird place. I really liked how for the part of the town that was near the water, there were no roads. It was just footpaths winding amongst the trees and shrubs... and also the hostels and meditation centers. It was a very idyllic tropical place, but nothing there felt like Guatemala; it could have been anywhere. The people were the weirdest part. It was a hippy haven, and all of them with the weird clothes and crystals on their foreheads made me feel so damn normal.

Lago Atitlan

It was a nice chill time though, until the next morning when we were feeling like we really needed to figure out what we wanted to do with our last week here. Since there was no internet to be had in the entire town, we packed up again and went back to San Pedro, which was a bit of a bigger town and also party central. It was really odd when the next morning at 7am we were trying to find breakfast, and the only store open was a liquor store... Anyway, it took us all afternoon but finally we came up with a plan. I had wanted to go to the jungle and Tikal, but it was actually really far away, and would have been such a pain to get there. We decided on heading back to Xela to do more hiking! Before that though, we went for a kayak on the lake, and also spent a night in Chichicastenango which has one of the largest markets in Central America.

From our paddle on the lake.  The water has risen quite a bit in the past few years....

Chichi was actually quite a nice little city. Saturday evening as we were walking around, many people were starting to get set up for the big Sunday market. Neither of us are much of the shopping type, but it was still interesting to wander around and see what there was to see there. Then it was an easy few rides on the chicken busses back to Xela. Xela kinda feels like our home here in Guatemala, and it was good to be back in time for the potluck dinner with everyone from QT.

From the market in Chichi

For the third QT hike, we will be doing a full moon hike up Santa Maria. It hasn't actually happened yet, but it will be basically the last thing we do before heading back to Guatemala City and flying back to NY the following day. I am really hopeful that this time we will get good views of Santiaguito which is the very active volcano that we attempted to see a couple weeks ago. Starting the hike a bit before midnight should put us on the summit well before sunrise, when the skies are the clearest. Wish us luck!

And of course to view more awesome pictures that we took (all from Nico's camera though)

https://picasaweb.google.com/nicotedesco