Our next climbing day brought us to the Spires. They are two beautiful hunks of rock sticking out of the side of the mountain. Shasta and I climbed one side while John and Tracy climbed the other with hopes of getting some pictures.
Shasta tops out on the second pitch of the route on our tower.
Its all good times and great laughs on this climbing trip. Tracy summits the smaller tower.
Once we finished with our towers we switched so we could get up the smaller tower as well. This tower included a great move which brought you out over into exposurland.!
John belays Tracy on the other tower and looks quite serene on his pedestal.
Shasta nearing the summit. She did incredibly well!
Even the rappel off the towers as great!
I spent the day making stitches as well! Most of them required some effort to put together and a few anomlies exist that I will probably work out later.
This is from the summit of the first climb called Crack Test Dummies, 5.9
Tracy climbing up to John on the summit of the smaller tower with El Toro and the Outrage Wall in the background.
Never really thought of Mexico as a climbing destination... And good work on spotting the snake. Those skills will pay off when you visit Oz someday (although there's not much to climb here)!
Never really thought of Mexico as a climbing destination... And good work on spotting the snake. Those skills will pay off when you visit Oz someday (although there's not much to climb here)!
Oz is certainly on my list for the future! There may be more climbing there than you think, I know I've seen some incredible pictures out of the Grampians...
So it was time to head back to Texas...however Shasta and I were not going without one last good route! For that we chose a route called Dope Ninja, a 6 pitch 5.10b. We woke early racked up and headed to the climb. It was on the opposite side of the canyon of the Spires so I got a nice shot of them.
This route had a little bit of everything including a long traverse pitch. Here Shasta follows.
Now I don't know if I am the only one who knows where this is from but as I was climbing I couldn't help but repeat this over and over again... " GO Ninja Go Ninja Go...go..go ninja go ninja go. Have you ever seen a turtle get down??"
There were also climbers on the other side of the valley going up some classics.
No falls on this climb for Shasta.
And she even lead the last pitch which pushed her pretty far but she did really well.
Then we rappelled the route ran down to the bungalow got all our stuff and headed to the bus. Hours later we were in America once again and continuing our trip in the Kia.
After Texas we were driving around and were not being impressed. Honestly I can't figure just what is bigger in Texas?! So we drove to New Mexico for Carlsbad instead.
I didn't quite know what to think about it but it was pretty amazing. The size of the cave is hard to imagine unless standing there and I am pretty sure my pictures of rocks in a dark room just wont convey. However, I hope they are enjoyed!
As with most caves the entrance begins with a large dark hole, paved, and bricked for pleasure.
Once in the cave you quickly come to the bat cave. A large dark cave section where the bat guano reaches 40ft. thick!
I told John, "I am going to flip this upside down and its going to look like the Disney Cathedral!"
They had light all over this cave which did not make it seem easy to photograph. It really gives different perspectives throughout the shooting however.
This was called the Whales Mouth. I didn't see any krill running for their lives but it was a beautiful sight.
The cave was made of gorgeous crystals.
Some stalagmites seem to defy gravity. Tracy gives a sense of scale to this beast.
Thousands of years ago a 200,000 ton rock fell from the ceiling and is now called Iceberg rock.
No area of the room goes without a feature. Everything has something hanging from it or something growing up to it.
Some of the formations on the walls were beautifully created by nature in a way that only rock candy could replicate.
Rooms spit off in all directions at the Big Room which is the size of 6 football fields.
I saw an Ansel Adams photo of these rocks in the visitor center and was propelled to attempt the recreation.
I'll take a side of Stabby Mcstab Stab...and some onion rings.
The beauty of the room is hard to fathom when one can look at all directions and see things which appear to be not of this earth. It is with a difficult realization that I find myself standing beneath things of another world under the earth.
Mirror Lake
Delicate layers of limestone create blankets in the sky.
I did a large stitch of the big room and although difficult I liked how it came out.
We walked out of the cave and back into the heat, it was hard to imagine that we were back above the surface. I highly recommend the caves to anyone who has the time.
Sometimes it seems like we get to a lot of places in a short amount of time. This last week seems like a constant flood of images which take a long time and a lot of effort to edit. We just keep looking at our photo's and taking more and more and more and well it seems we just can't help it! SO heres some more!
First I managed a 360 degree stitch of El Potrero Chico. Why did it take me so long? Well it is a stitch of 75 images. The largest I have ever done!
After Carlsbad we drove to Roswell and I don't think I got any images. Oh well I knew we would get some soon as we drove to White Sands National Monument. It was my first trip to sand dunes and they were quite amazing.
We walked onto the dunes and found ourselves blinded by the pure white sand. The dunes are the largest formation of Gypsum sand dunes in the world.
And they are vast!
Some of the areas you could tell is where the water would be if there was any. If you dug up the sand an inch you would find it wet in all these areas.
It behaved as snow in more then one way. Here mini avalanches occur as the dune pushes to a steep edge.
Getting to the top of the dunes was no easy task at times.
Getting down was usually a lot faster. John leaps for the moon.
Tracy enjoys herself on one of the dunes.
These odd formations were bushes or tree's as they may be called which had hardened the gypsum into large piles which were crumbling.
There were a great many things which had John leaping for Joy.
The dunes sometimes felt as though they would go forever. We did the Alkali Flats Walk which is 4.6 miles.
Leaving my mark
Mini sand dunes in formation.
The desert can be a harsh place.
Beautiful as well, sometimes it seems as though nothing can make smooth formulaic shapes as the wind.
We only saw one Yucca on our way (at least I believe it is Yucca).
So I took two pictures of it.
I wanted to take one photo which I saw in my mind as black and white but I couldn't find one. I had to settle for a picture of the moon instead.
Now were headed off to climb in New Mexico before going on to Arizona!
So I feel I have been going lighter and lighter on the amount of writing I do into my posts. That is probably because of the amount of pictures which we have been taking! I will however try and be better and write a bit more into the posts.
One of the missions on this trip is to climb in every state we can. Sometimes we all get into the mood not climbing because of things which can wear you down while traveling as we have been. One of those instances where you can get worn down is trying to find a campsite. Believe it or not most of Texas is a farm. Okay, so its just what we saw but we traveled all over and could not for the life of us find a camping spot! Eventually I found one (at 6am) which was located above the road under some powerlines. Shasta and I had to remove several animal skulls and other bones from the flat area before we put our tent down. Normally this would bother some but we were asleep before we closed our tent as was evidence by the open door in the morning. Driving is the most exhausting stationary thing I have found. We woke up and dropped of Shasta and I tried all that I could to find a 3lb burger. I heard everything was bigger in Texas and I wanted to find out. No luck. Finally as we were driving in the night again looking for a campsite it was a cumulative "Lets blow this cowboy stand and go to New Mexico." We turned the car around right then and headed for Carlsbad Caverns. Those pictures and White Sands I have already posted. Which brings us to the decision of climbing in New Mexico. After spending roughtly 7 hours at a 24 hour Jack in the Box we drove to the Rough and Ready Hills to tick off another climbing area. When you find something in a climbing guide that says "Follow the Rough Road" take that as "Bring a lift kit." After a night of sleep in the car we walked up a short hike to a beautiful crag in the mountains. One of the main attractions to this crag is that it was quiet. Nobody was going to end up at that road on accident.
John was the first to climb and after a few routes I pulled out my camera. I wonder sometimes if I really need to take pictures or if I am just recording my life in another way because I'm afraid I'll forget it? Either way I have taken 5300 photo's just on this trip and I am still reaching for the camera bag.
The desert is a much different entity then Alaska. Sometimes I find myself staring out and thinking about the beauty of the landscape but having no idea what I am looking at. Climbing here is different because I have never put my hand in a climbing hold at home where when I extracted my hand it had cactus thorns in it. Luckily John avoided them on this climb.
Not all photograhers shoot the same. Some use special tools to advance their photography. Filters are one good example where you can change the color, polarity, or other fancy options. One of the lesser known tricks is Snaketry. It is one of the more advanced tools of photography and in the Snaketry class that John and I will be having we will show everyone this special trick. $1000, pay in advance only please.
And here is step two of the same ol' trick.
The way to find out if you have the proper snake for this tecnique is to lift the snake and look deep into its eyes. There you can tell if it has photography on the mind.
If you are lucky then your snake will also enjoy climbing. This opens and unlimited potential of vertical extremes. Caution: Snake is not load bearing.
After another special class with the snakes we headed back to the rock. Can't sit around talking with the animals forever. However if you go walking in the woods and scaling the rocks your bound to run into all types of unsavory characters. Take the common bee for example. One sting is enough to cause annoyance. The place you don't want to be is near a nest when that pheromone goes out that says "Everyone sting this persons rear end." Thats always an unlucky bum. So when approaching the house of a bee, say during a climb or something of the like, then it is always best to do so quietly.
Give a simple hello and realize that nobody wants to talk with you. Everyone does want to give you a buzz though so its always kind just to sit back and let it give you a full scan. There is no shortage of body gaurds for this house so we figured perhaps it was some one famous like King B.B. or Queen Latifah.
I looked in all corners of the place and marvelled at the worksmenship. They did a wonderful job of making the honeycomb I felt it was best to be on my way. I slowly put my camera away downclimbed back to the ground.
After a few more climbs I was thourougly beat and we decided to make our way to Arizona to see our grandparents. It is hard sometimes to leave climbing areas but much easier once you have found that you don't really hold on anymore no matter how much you yell at your fingertips. At the car we had a chat with a nice person. Never losing their cool even when losing their head.
And then it was into the car and off to Arizona. There's nothing pretty there through so I figure I probably wont even bring the camera out...after all, its only Sedona.
Robinivich - Thats awesome that you read it all at once! We are really glad that everyone has been enjoying it.
We are currently in Sedona, Arizona. Up to this point we have not really spent any time visiting relatives of mine and at this point we have now seen the granparents of all 5 members that started this trip. We figure thats not bad!
I don't get to see them very often so it has been really nice to stop in and spend some time with them.
Also, and what apparently the forest service here does not know, there is lots of climbing in the area. So how could we hang out and not do some?
One thing which Sedona is known for is its vortexs. A place where you feel more spirtial then you do in other places. I don't really believe in them but thats because I think that the world is the spiritual place. Anytime I close my eyes and spend time slowing down my world to see the things around me I realize that I am at greater connection then I normally see. The world slows with me and everything for those simple moments, are clear.
Those moments I cannot show in pictures, they can only be felt and in a way that I can never explain. Its not something only I can experience and not something which can only be felt at the summit of peak. A park, the lake, or anything outdoors where you can hear nothing but the sound of the voice that we rarely listen to. It takes these moments in the outdoors for me to really pull myself away and realize that these things I have been taught to chase my whole life, money, career, posessions, are really like a dog chasing a car. I wouldn't want to catch it even if I could.
I have no intention of being poor, I just refuse to give up the things I love to be wealthy.
I suppose I should post a picture now after all my rambling. We visited the church in the rocks which is placed high on hill. It is a very simple church with an incredible view. Some were staring at christ, some were staring at a different god. All were happy.
Including this person, I would assume, since they had an observatory on the top of this massive house.
Originally when visiting the desert I walked away with words in my mind that didn't give me a great view of the serenity of the place. For instance I remember very vividly John saying "Why is everything in the desert trying to kill us?!" and that seemed about right. The more time I spend however the more I begin to see things in a different light. Its not trying to kill me, its just trying to live in a very harsh place. It reminds me of working in a corporate world, grow thorns or be eaten.
We decided to go climbing the next day and talked with a friend of ours who suggested the climb Mars Attacks. It looked like a great climb of 4 pitches at 5.8 on the Yosemite Decimal System for all those curious. We walked through a wash and found our way to the base of the climb even with missing our offshoot.
I led the first pitch and John followed shortly there after. The first pitch was not to bad with some slab climbing to a very comfy seat.
Slabs can be really tricky and often you just have to trust the fact that your feet will hold since its often hard to be absolutely sure.
For some reason while climbing this route I began to get a strange sense of nervousness. I hadn't had this kind of nervous feeling in a while so I was wondering where it was coming from. I knew going into the next portion of the climb that it was going to be a little bit hairy. I began to climb and started to feel like the ground was falling away from me. It is hard to express the difference in feeling that the ground is rushing toward me and when it rushing away from me. One feels exhilarating, the other terrifying. This did not feel exhilarating. Several times I wanted to turn back and take a fall, why I did not is beyond me.
Traversing out over an overhang can be a shaky experience.
It took a while to get Tracy over to the belay station after I finished. It also took a while for my nerves to settle to the point where I was ready to lead the next pitch since it was my turn. I racked up and headed into it and soon was hooting about the enjoyment of the section. My mind was telling me about how this was one of the most enjoyable climbs of the trip. Perhaps it was because it was probably when I have had the most fear in the trip, maybe its because the climbing was solid and enjoyable. It could also be because I woke up with the feeling in my stomach. Either way it turned out great. John followed me after my lead.
He agreed that it was one of his favorites as well and prepared to belay Tracy.
Tracy, still a bit shaken, followed up after John.
But didnt have much trouble jamming her hands into the crack.
The route is located in this photo. It goes up a slab and traverses across a layer of limestone. Then goes right up the broken crack system on that right bulge. Tracy and John are in the lower left corner on the hike out.
That was it for the day. The climb was incredible but my words became short. I no longer felt the urge to talk and walked in mostly silence on the way back to the car. In a walk of silence a lot of thoughts can flow through the mind at once. Sometimes its easier to think of what to do next, what does the day hold tomorrow? Others their thoughts of the future as mine were tonight. What does the future hold? Thoughts do not necessarily bring answers.
Sometimes you walk into a place and it's hard not to feel something spiritual. Whatever your belief.
I had a similar feeling lying in my tent watching the sunrise in the Sierra this summer. There's a few minutes before the sun starts to rise when the milkyway is so brilliant and the horizon is just starting to glow.
Moderator Journeys/Sports/Big Picture :: Need some help with dgrin?
After climbing Mars Attacks John and Tracy went into Flagstaff for church and I had the day to myself. It was the 23rd of Nov. a day I usually connect with being the date of my birth. I didn't feel much like lounging around so I borrowed my grandparents car and drove around Arizona for a little while. I went to Flagstaff and got my wallet I left in the Kia and drove back to Sedona. I spent quite a lot of time looking around on the internet and having a chat before it was starting to get near sunset. I drove by Bell Rock and decided to stop for a run. It took a lot of convincing of myself but I knew that it was something I needed to do. I ran up the side of the rock and to the summit where I signed the register and began to do some excercises. The surrounding area is captivating and I was able to thoroughly exhaust myself before running back to the car and heading to my grandparents house for carrot cake. The next day was another beautiful day and we decided to connect with our good friend Mike for some climbing. He knows Sedona well and promised to bring us to a real good area.
We drove to Midgley Bridge and hiked about 40 minutes into the area to an incredible place called Supercrack Tower. We walked to a route called The Windows Route which goes at about 5.10+ for 3 pitches. I led the first pitch and Mike followed.
The second pitch was astounding! You had to do this stem like you would in the hallways as a kid and pull out over a roof through a hand jammed into the crack! Mike led and I watched with giddy anticipation at my opportunity to do this climb unlike any I had ever done.
I climbed into the stem and my leg began to cramp. Pushing in those directions are not something that I am used to! I quickly climbed making funny chuckling noises through the climb and out into the crack. I loved every minute of this section!
I looked down in time to see Tracy following behind John on the first section.
John was the second to follow on the climb. I was anxious to get into the next section but I knew I couldn't miss the pictures here so I lowered myself down for pictures. I felt like such a kid in the stemming section and on this climb. We had heard that the rock was really bad in Sedona and we couldn't believe nobody knew about such great routes!
John has climbed many a hallway in his time and he had no troubles with this section.
I would say this was one of the most unique areas I have ever climbed at. Sedona has so many different types of climbes. Wonderful traverse routes, stems, cracks, face climbs, jumpes from tower to tower. Its all here
Getting out of the stem is the real trick and much easier then it looks like it would be. First you have to jam your body all the way up to the roof. Then you shove your hand through the crack and look for feet.
Then you jam your body through whatever fits and bring yourself around to the front of the face!
and look for a place to set gear immediatly since a fall from here would be really painful.
There are times in crack climbing when limbs are bent in ways they don't seem they should be and your weight is put onto a single piece of metal shoved into rock which is not always going to hold.
And then you realize it doesn't always fit and its time to look for something a little more conventional.
When you finally get that piece of gear in and clip it sometimes it feels like you just took a 15lb weight off your back. The muscles seem to relax a bit more and for a few feet the climbing seems a little less dangerous.
We switched belays and I followed Mike up the last pitch which included what we call off-width or in lamens terms, the seventh layer of hell. An off-width can be a humbling expierence if one is not prepared for suffering. This one wasn't to terrible and I found the whole climb to be enjoyable. I scrambled to the summit as Mike belayed John to the top.
Getting to the top took a nice easy little scramble over a few hundred feet of air.
The large Midgley bridge off in the distance.
The summit gave incredible views and opportunites for more routes.
We walked back in the dark after finding some indian ruins and drove off to Flagstaff. Our next stop was going to be Lake Havasu. The question of "Why" seems obvious but we figured we would get sucked in and go see the London Bridge, after all Ive walked across the one still in London...why not both?
While at Lake Havasu I kept trying to find something in this bridge I wanted to take pictures of. I wasn't really finding myself inspired but I did like the contrast of the clean water and the bridge. There were also some large Koi in the river and I can't imagine they are native to the lake.
It looked climbable..
We were not sure if Arizona was part of Dixie, we were pretty sure it was not, but they had the Dixie Bell on the water offering tours.
Overall this bridge cost 7.5 million dollars to purchase, ship, and install at its current place. Considering how much it costs these days to build a bridge from bottom up thats actually not that bad! Ladies and Gentleman, the London Bridge.
After visiting the London Bridge we drove to Joshua Tree National Park for some more climbing. We got there in time to climb a few routes as the sun went down. The beauty of Joshua Tree, for me, is not the trees but it is the rocks. They are beauitfully shaped and all seem like perfect drops scattered throughout the land.
There are several thousand climbing routes located in the park and there seemed to be climbers on most of them. A lone climber tops out.
Tracy managed a climb in as well sporting her Mexican wear.
I took a 360 pano from the summit of one climb and I hope that it shows some of the amazing landscape. Rocks fall away in all directions and any climber would salivate over the possibilities. I think it is better viewed in large so heres a link to it EXPANDED! http://prezwoodz.smugmug.com/photos/425172861_2PMSX-X3.jpg
The next morning we awoke to rain and lots of it. Not to be discouraged we grabbed our camera's and headed into the desert to try "foggy" pictures. Something I have never really tried before. So I hope that some of these pictures came out at least. One thing about the desert is that everything seems to know how to protect itself. At first I began to wonder about why and what they had to offer. Then I began to realize the delicate system of the desert and it became more evident.
Sometimes things seem unnatural. Then I think of how we decorate our homes, how we cut down all the tree's or pave the swamp and put up a patch of nice green grass with a driveway. Who am I to say that this spider is over decorating?
Joshua Tree's are found between 3000 and 5000ft elevations and are quite the unique tree. Initially they look like big bushes but after a while you can see the trunks and they grow very large. No two seem alike.
The odd vegetation formations seem to match the rock here at J-tree.
Standing on the top of a large rock outcropping something began to make itself aware to me that I had missed initially. All the colors of the desert began to come out and show a beautiful painted picture I had always viewed in black and white.
If you yourself cannot grow spikes then the only way to go is to find safety in those things around you.
And when it seems as though all the colors are in the brilliant reds, greens, and purples. The whites show they can be spectacular without being showy.
We decided not to climb since the rain never let up. If it keeps going then so will we. If it stops then we will explore the beauty of the climbing once again.
We spent a day of rain in a Chinese food joint (the Chinese seem to realize that Wifi is cool these days when nobody else does) and finally got a day back on the rock. We headed to a place called House of Horrors and started up a few climbs which are runout and enjoyable. John followed me up Zardoz, 5.8r.
While I was belaying Tracy he decided that he didn't really need a rope for the next climb. It usually starts out when you say "I'll just try the first few moves" then you find yourself above the hard part or in the middle of the climb and then it comes down to "why not?"
Then you find yourself 60ft above the ground and wondering what your doing up that high, the idea of falling teeters on the mind before you push it away. The slightest misstep could easily be the end of life.
Unfortunatly we don't all have the same luck. As I was lowering on the rope by a little accident I hit my ankle and sprained it. Ouchie. So we did one on more climb and called it a day. That climb happened to be a 5.10a that was really hard for me! It was called Excorcist.
We drove (after I hobbled) away and we were soon on our way to see a friend in Idyllwild, CA before heading off to see Marc in Santa Barbara.
Since we started this trip we have met a lot of dgrinners and none we wouldn't want to meet again. So we decided since we had the chance we would meet up with Marc and do some climbing in Santa Barbara! So we met up early in the morning and drove to Gibralter Rock. I was the first to lead and Marc followed. And here he is following me up The Ladder (5.6)
Marc made quick work of this easy climb.
We hooked up a static line and Marc made quick work of shots of John climbing anotehr route called Mid-Face (5.6r)
We were also not he only ones getting high that day. Others were out paragliding off the peaks.
Marc had told us about this climb called the Nose which was an overhanging hand crack. It was hard, John flew through it on his second try...but it was hard.
This was the first try. Giving it a fall over the valley.
John thinking about giving it another go. It was a really beautiful day with the fog filling the lower valley. The other side of the mountain was a sharp contrast because it was destroyed in the recent fire. It looks like a dark moonscape with burned houses.
Marc said that he had not finished this climb so we let him give it another shot. I tried as well and now Marc is not the only one to be defeated by this beast of a crack.
The intimidation factor on this climb is big. You start right off into this crack and let it rip. When you fall its time to start all over again.
Marc moves into the easier portion of the climb. Getting ready for the overhanging section...well its the MORE overhanging section.
This image is not an exageration. Holding yourself in this crack is not an easy thing to do!
Marc and I had about the same amount of trouble on this crack and we had to leave it be for a little while to go and try more climbs. John who was the only one to finish The Nose (5.11b) lead the T-Crack (5.10c).
John enters the T section where the route gathers its name. The section after the crack includes a mantle which has been described as an "angry" mantle.
The features on the rock make for wonderful scenery. This climb overlooks the whole valley and down into Santa Barbara.
Tracy doesn't seem to mind hanging from gear over the valley while John goes for the big climb.
After the climb Marc had to run so I went down and gave The Nose another few goes. This climb really seems to differ in difficult depending on people. I think if you had smaller hands it would be a lot easier. I do not. So it was hard! I gave it lots of skin and blood and I just couldn't get it. My last try was in the dark.
I began to see some of the draw toward living in the area. It was a perfect day and night for climbing and a wonderful way to finish the day.
No Kelsey, Thanks to you and Tracy for belaying me:D
Of all the folks I have climbed with I must say that just after one day of climbing with You, John and Tracy, I would trust no one more with my life! You guys know your equipment and love your sport. I hope your hands feel better soon
No Kelsey, Thanks to you and Tracy for belaying me:D
Of all the folks I have climbed with I must say that just after one day of climbing with You, John and Tracy, I would trust no one more with my life! You guys know your equipment and love your sport. I hope your hands feel better soon
Thanks a ton Marc! It means a lot to use for you to say that and we really appreciate it. We would climb with you anytime!
Coung - I didn't realize at the time what we were looking at. Thats really cool! Somehow I like the shot more now with the realization of what is in it!
Well we made it to San Francisco and decided to take a few tours of the place. First we went to Chinatown which is the original Chinatown and one that I have always wanted to do. Walking into the town makes me feel like I have taken a step back a different country. One with less of a care for what kind of mocha latte they have with their spinach cream cheese wrap. I instantly feel more comfortable. We ate some dim sum and continued along on our Journey. I didn't take the camera out for whatever reason and so enjoyed the day without looking through the lens. Our next day however we went to Alcatraz and I wasn't about to miss the pictures for that! So out the camera came on the boat. The weather was misty and fogged but we were not to be discouraged. John just bought a new 70-300mm lens and I felt that the fog added something to the mystery of the place. We will see. Never one to listen to the basic rules of cameras such as "try and keep it dry" John stands in the wet zone...
As always when on the ocean in a boat full of tourists the gulls were awaiting their tossed treats.
Then we arrived on the island to the welcome that was much more enjoyable then the prisoners probably got. Notice the Indians Welcome writing? That is from when the Indians held the island... A Change in thought:
Our ancesters prized this island and now it is a prison. We will welcome them back and bring nature to this concrete jungle.
The tree's in this part of the country are much different then at home. One of the draws of the island are the gardens which are being restored. I wish I could have come to this island before all the prisons. Lived her maybe on my own there would be know one to bother me. No one would make me angry.
Always the threats, they will never catch me.
I have no friends here, I need no friends. This is my home because this is where I belong.
I made it outside the yard! I just have to get into the water now. Its cold, so cold but anything is better then a cold cell for an eternity.
At places it seemed as though it was the pipes holding the wall together.
In others it seemed as though it was the wires.
I think I can sqeeze through, I need to be careful. If I am caught I will never be allowed out of Isolation. I can live in this box no longer.
Finally the light comes, it burns my eyes. How long have I been in here? Just let me out, I won't do it again. He wont make me angry anymore. Ive killed him. No...please don't close the door. I can't take the quiet.
Why did you hit the ball so hard! You know it was our only one. The warden wont give us another for a month. Get him!
Leaning against the wall I keep my eyes forward. Tought this in my childhood never to turn your back and never to back down. Perhaps that is why I am where I am.
As a child I crawled around the water towers at home. That was before everything got hard. That was when better times brought better things. Maybe if I hadn't been forced into those situations I wouldn't be here.
The nurses office used to scare me. She always talked nice to me when the big kids would beat me up. Why didn't my mom take such good care of me? Why do these cuffs have to be on my hands, all I wanted was someone to take care of me.
We have The Rock! Get him, the one in the tower!
I love working on this island. I get the best views of San Francisco and I get to have my family nearby. Sometimes I wonder if anything would ever happen to them if a prisoner was to escape but at least from here I can keep a good eye on them. Sometimes I am not sure why I took this job.
The flowers here are beautiful. When I get out of here I am going to take my daughter to the park. Never again will she be alone. I can't take this anymore! The fence..that is my best option. I can make it, then its only a short swim. Yes! Yes I must do this! I am almost free. I can hear them calling me but I don't believe it, I can make it....
I am sinking, it hurts. Why didn't I listen? How could I give it all up? The water will take me home.
Some get to tend the gardens. I was denied. Don't they know how well I can tend the garden? Does robbing a bank make me less of a gardener? I will nurse this to life.
Kelsey, I like your imaginative story to go along with the pics. Nicely done.
Cuong
Thanks! I didn't feel like going with a regular story that day. Perhaps I got out of hand!
After Alcatraz we went back to my brothers house and the next day we decided to take off out of San Fran. First apparently I couldn't leave without visiting another famous place, Castro. My brother said they make the best food so off we were. We ate at Orphan Andy's and had a great burger. We passed a few intersting shops on the way.
Apparently I was the only one to get a kick out of that shop. So my brother brought me to one you couldn't mistake. A place called Hot Cookie. I bought a rice crispy treat. Anything odd about this image? By the way this image is not for kiddies.
We stopped by Chinatown for some great food before taking off and next we figured we would drive down Lombard Street which has been in more then a few movies! The view from the top is also quite nice.
Looking back down the road Alcatraz inmates had a good view, when they had one.
Then finally we took the drive.
It was steep and one way. Then finally we figured we only had one thing left to do to cap our San Fran trip and have everything done that we planned to do. That was to drive over the Golden Gate Bridge. Heres the best I could do while driving.
We stopped for a bit in Mill Valley and visited a new friend then off we were to the Redwoods!
We drove into the Redwoods, it was an amazing place. So amazing that I never wanted to leave. We drove on into the night and found some good places to camp but I wanted to wake up next to one of the large trees. In fact I dreamed about it.
We arrived at night and finally found a good spot. As John was setting up his tent he found a little Salamander!
The next morning I rolled out of my tent to the view of trees hundreds of feet high. These trees were taller then most of the rock climbs that we did this trip.
The hardest thing about the tree's is showing scale. I found one of the larger trees near the campsite and put myself in a fold in the bark.
Many of the tree's have a hallowed out bottom where fire had come through and burnt through the bottom. The top still looks very alive.
A few of these tree's were massive. A tree near this one fell about 14 years ago and at the time it fell weighed around 1,000,000 lbs. It is incredible.
Every inch of ground and area around is important to growth in the rianforest.
Deep in the forest a tree has fallen, in the new found sunlight a growth of ferns appears. The young trees will now grow.
If anyone is curious as to what we look like after all the driving here is a picture of Tracy,
More pictures from the forest floor
This tree had a huge area inside. Large enough to setup a tent and sleep for the night. It also had windows. Everything you could want in your new home.
That was it for the Redwoods. I have some pano's which I will stitch and upload as well. It was a magical place for me. Here is something I wrote to my girlfriend Shasta and I thought I would share it here too.
I awake from my slumber and slowly feel my life return.
Crawling from my tent I lay below the giants.
My eyelids fall gently, all seems to have slowed.
The great rush of my day has disappeared.
The roots of the Redwood cradled away my nightmares.
Footsteps crinkle the leaves and needles as I brush my hand along the bark.
My heart rises and enters the thick skin of the tree.
Through the years I rush quickly where the tree had taken its time.
I can feel it pushing against my chest.
The energy flows through my veins and I can hold it no longer.
I am no match for the soul of this being.
My hand returns to my side.
Thank you for showing me some of what I have forgotten.
From that point we were off to Oregon to check out Gold Beach and then drive to Portland.
And to round out this large posting of images we drove on through the Redwoods and found an eagle on the side of the road. At least I am assuming that it is an eagle of some sorts. It appeared injured and so approaching slowly I was able to get close.
It was really beautiful and I hope that it found a way to make it through this tuff world.
Looking into its eyes I felt I could see its sadness.
Marc showed me how to get some stars from the sun and I decided to give it a shot. This was the best I could do to get one I hadn't seen before.
Earlier we talked about Snaketry and this time we decided that Eagltry would be the proper course. Different places cause for different methods. So we looked into the eye of the bird and found ourselves in its eye. Sweet, we have the right one.
This is why you move slowly and don't make it angry!
And a parting shot of our new friend. I walked up slowly and pet this beautiful animal before leaving promising to tell someone about the injury.
We drove on a ways and I told the person at the counter of the state park office and they said they would contact the appropriate person. I hope it was helped.
We drove on through the coast and visited Gold Beach where Shasta was from. We watched the sunset on the beach.
The beach was beautiful and all the small rocks led to a serene scene.
John and I walked into the ocean, any trip is successful when you are in both the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans in one trip.
John happened to find a route on the local rock called Kissing Rock. It was over soft sand so we soloed it barefoot since it was more effort to get our shoes out. I ended up taking a dive off it and put on my street shoes to save my toes. It goes at 5.11a and apparently is called first kiss.
We watched the sun until we could no longer get the light and drove onto the next place. After a harrowing ride through a dirt road for 30 miles in the night on unknown territory.
Hello Everyone! So this post is long overdue but it was not until today that I got my final pictures up and feel as though I have settled enough to write a final post into this thread. Anything beyond this point would be a reply.
On our final night we made a stop by Laird Hot Springs. It was around -10 degrees Fahrenheit and we decided to make a run for the hot springs. I felt as though my face was freezing, home never felt so far away as when I realized I forgot how cold the snow was. I fell face first into it after stepping off the walkway which was buried in the snow. It entered my coat, it entered my camera bag, it fell deep into my nerves and froze me solid. These kind of temperatures were something I would normally be used to and happily going out for a ski or ice climb. Tonight I was going swimming. I walked slowly into the water feeling my feet burn.
It didn't take long before John was taking photo's by putting his camera full into the snow. It was an interesting process for photos. You would stand up take a bunch of pictures and then fall into the water as fast as possible. To dry your hands you had only to slap you hands together and the water froze into a mist and blew away.
A light snow fell on our faces and only gave more to the feeling of euphoria that came with swimming in natural waters in such a beautifully cold setting.
The snow temps its fate by hanging over the pool.
Nothing escaped the cold.
Tracy tried very hard to keep her hair dry. It does not appear to have worked although she had a nice protective blanket of frozen ice in case something were to fall on her head.
It took only a few moments before anything not under water would freeze.
Tracy was nice enough to agree with a good shaking of the tree. I didn't want to the only one covering myself with snow. She walked along the ground pebbles rolling under her feet, the water smooth and thick as it glided around her. Moving slowly her knees straightened and she raised a hand toward a million flakes, all different.
And then my camera died from the cold. Next time perhaps.
We drove on through the night to Watson Lake and slept at the gas station. 3 hours later at 6am we were awake and driving again with a full tank of petrol. We drove all day watching the flakes fly past windows, when the flakes were not flying the road was icy and dangerous. Still we reached speeds of 70-80mph as the vehicle became second nature. Four wheel drive is a luxury we did not have. We made it home that night where we picked up Johns car and I dropped him off at his house.
The weeks afterward are often hard for me. There are a great many times when I cannot sit still. It does not matter what I do none of it seems right. I am not moving, I am standing in one place. Is this what I want to do? Where will I go next? For how long? I lay with my girlfriend and I know she thinks these same questions. This was the first time I can remember having someone to return to after a trip. The first time I have wanted so badly to return with the desire to fly forever. It is hard to balance the two. Traveling has become a part of me, now I have to find a way to make sure that it does not disappear but also does not consume me.
Gladly I am with someone who loves to travel. There is always room for two.
Comments
Shasta tops out on the second pitch of the route on our tower.
Its all good times and great laughs on this climbing trip. Tracy summits the smaller tower.
Once we finished with our towers we switched so we could get up the smaller tower as well. This tower included a great move which brought you out over into exposurland.!
John belays Tracy on the other tower and looks quite serene on his pedestal.
Shasta nearing the summit. She did incredibly well!
Even the rappel off the towers as great!
I spent the day making stitches as well! Most of them required some effort to put together and a few anomlies exist that I will probably work out later.
This is from the summit of the first climb called Crack Test Dummies, 5.9
Tracy climbing up to John on the summit of the smaller tower with El Toro and the Outrage Wall in the background.
That was it for that day. An awesome time!
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Never really thought of Mexico as a climbing destination... And good work on spotting the snake. Those skills will pay off when you visit Oz someday (although there's not much to climb here)!
moderator of: The Flea Market [ guidelines ]
Oz is certainly on my list for the future! There may be more climbing there than you think, I know I've seen some incredible pictures out of the Grampians...
www.morffed.com
This route had a little bit of everything including a long traverse pitch. Here Shasta follows.
Now I don't know if I am the only one who knows where this is from but as I was climbing I couldn't help but repeat this over and over again... " GO Ninja Go Ninja Go...go..go ninja go ninja go. Have you ever seen a turtle get down??"
There were also climbers on the other side of the valley going up some classics.
No falls on this climb for Shasta.
And she even lead the last pitch which pushed her pretty far but she did really well.
Then we rappelled the route ran down to the bungalow got all our stuff and headed to the bus. Hours later we were in America once again and continuing our trip in the Kia.
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I didn't quite know what to think about it but it was pretty amazing. The size of the cave is hard to imagine unless standing there and I am pretty sure my pictures of rocks in a dark room just wont convey. However, I hope they are enjoyed!
As with most caves the entrance begins with a large dark hole, paved, and bricked for pleasure.
Once in the cave you quickly come to the bat cave. A large dark cave section where the bat guano reaches 40ft. thick!
I told John, "I am going to flip this upside down and its going to look like the Disney Cathedral!"
They had light all over this cave which did not make it seem easy to photograph. It really gives different perspectives throughout the shooting however.
This was called the Whales Mouth. I didn't see any krill running for their lives but it was a beautiful sight.
The cave was made of gorgeous crystals.
Some stalagmites seem to defy gravity. Tracy gives a sense of scale to this beast.
Thousands of years ago a 200,000 ton rock fell from the ceiling and is now called Iceberg rock.
No area of the room goes without a feature. Everything has something hanging from it or something growing up to it.
Some of the formations on the walls were beautifully created by nature in a way that only rock candy could replicate.
Rooms spit off in all directions at the Big Room which is the size of 6 football fields.
I saw an Ansel Adams photo of these rocks in the visitor center and was propelled to attempt the recreation.
I'll take a side of Stabby Mcstab Stab...and some onion rings.
The beauty of the room is hard to fathom when one can look at all directions and see things which appear to be not of this earth. It is with a difficult realization that I find myself standing beneath things of another world under the earth.
Mirror Lake
Delicate layers of limestone create blankets in the sky.
I did a large stitch of the big room and although difficult I liked how it came out.
We walked out of the cave and back into the heat, it was hard to imagine that we were back above the surface. I highly recommend the caves to anyone who has the time.
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First I managed a 360 degree stitch of El Potrero Chico. Why did it take me so long? Well it is a stitch of 75 images. The largest I have ever done!
After Carlsbad we drove to Roswell and I don't think I got any images. Oh well I knew we would get some soon as we drove to White Sands National Monument. It was my first trip to sand dunes and they were quite amazing.
We walked onto the dunes and found ourselves blinded by the pure white sand. The dunes are the largest formation of Gypsum sand dunes in the world.
And they are vast!
Some of the areas you could tell is where the water would be if there was any. If you dug up the sand an inch you would find it wet in all these areas.
It behaved as snow in more then one way. Here mini avalanches occur as the dune pushes to a steep edge.
Getting to the top of the dunes was no easy task at times.
Getting down was usually a lot faster. John leaps for the moon.
Tracy enjoys herself on one of the dunes.
These odd formations were bushes or tree's as they may be called which had hardened the gypsum into large piles which were crumbling.
There were a great many things which had John leaping for Joy.
The dunes sometimes felt as though they would go forever. We did the Alkali Flats Walk which is 4.6 miles.
Leaving my mark
Mini sand dunes in formation.
The desert can be a harsh place.
Beautiful as well, sometimes it seems as though nothing can make smooth formulaic shapes as the wind.
We only saw one Yucca on our way (at least I believe it is Yucca).
So I took two pictures of it.
I wanted to take one photo which I saw in my mind as black and white but I couldn't find one. I had to settle for a picture of the moon instead.
Now were headed off to climb in New Mexico before going on to Arizona!
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One of the missions on this trip is to climb in every state we can. Sometimes we all get into the mood not climbing because of things which can wear you down while traveling as we have been. One of those instances where you can get worn down is trying to find a campsite. Believe it or not most of Texas is a farm. Okay, so its just what we saw but we traveled all over and could not for the life of us find a camping spot! Eventually I found one (at 6am) which was located above the road under some powerlines. Shasta and I had to remove several animal skulls and other bones from the flat area before we put our tent down. Normally this would bother some but we were asleep before we closed our tent as was evidence by the open door in the morning. Driving is the most exhausting stationary thing I have found. We woke up and dropped of Shasta and I tried all that I could to find a 3lb burger. I heard everything was bigger in Texas and I wanted to find out. No luck. Finally as we were driving in the night again looking for a campsite it was a cumulative "Lets blow this cowboy stand and go to New Mexico." We turned the car around right then and headed for Carlsbad Caverns. Those pictures and White Sands I have already posted. Which brings us to the decision of climbing in New Mexico. After spending roughtly 7 hours at a 24 hour Jack in the Box we drove to the Rough and Ready Hills to tick off another climbing area. When you find something in a climbing guide that says "Follow the Rough Road" take that as "Bring a lift kit." After a night of sleep in the car we walked up a short hike to a beautiful crag in the mountains. One of the main attractions to this crag is that it was quiet. Nobody was going to end up at that road on accident.
John was the first to climb and after a few routes I pulled out my camera. I wonder sometimes if I really need to take pictures or if I am just recording my life in another way because I'm afraid I'll forget it? Either way I have taken 5300 photo's just on this trip and I am still reaching for the camera bag.
The desert is a much different entity then Alaska. Sometimes I find myself staring out and thinking about the beauty of the landscape but having no idea what I am looking at. Climbing here is different because I have never put my hand in a climbing hold at home where when I extracted my hand it had cactus thorns in it. Luckily John avoided them on this climb.
Not all photograhers shoot the same. Some use special tools to advance their photography. Filters are one good example where you can change the color, polarity, or other fancy options. One of the lesser known tricks is Snaketry. It is one of the more advanced tools of photography and in the Snaketry class that John and I will be having we will show everyone this special trick. $1000, pay in advance only please.
And here is step two of the same ol' trick.
The way to find out if you have the proper snake for this tecnique is to lift the snake and look deep into its eyes. There you can tell if it has photography on the mind.
If you are lucky then your snake will also enjoy climbing. This opens and unlimited potential of vertical extremes. Caution: Snake is not load bearing.
After another special class with the snakes we headed back to the rock. Can't sit around talking with the animals forever. However if you go walking in the woods and scaling the rocks your bound to run into all types of unsavory characters. Take the common bee for example. One sting is enough to cause annoyance. The place you don't want to be is near a nest when that pheromone goes out that says "Everyone sting this persons rear end." Thats always an unlucky bum. So when approaching the house of a bee, say during a climb or something of the like, then it is always best to do so quietly.
Give a simple hello and realize that nobody wants to talk with you. Everyone does want to give you a buzz though so its always kind just to sit back and let it give you a full scan. There is no shortage of body gaurds for this house so we figured perhaps it was some one famous like King B.B. or Queen Latifah.
I looked in all corners of the place and marvelled at the worksmenship. They did a wonderful job of making the honeycomb I felt it was best to be on my way. I slowly put my camera away downclimbed back to the ground.
After a few more climbs I was thourougly beat and we decided to make our way to Arizona to see our grandparents. It is hard sometimes to leave climbing areas but much easier once you have found that you don't really hold on anymore no matter how much you yell at your fingertips. At the car we had a chat with a nice person. Never losing their cool even when losing their head.
And then it was into the car and off to Arizona. There's nothing pretty there through so I figure I probably wont even bring the camera out...after all, its only Sedona.
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The reflection in the eye of that snake is awesome.
So guess who just read this thread nonstop beginning to end!
Wow, one helluva trip, loved too many shots to mention, and keep it up!
Robinivich - Thats awesome that you read it all at once! We are really glad that everyone has been enjoying it.
We are currently in Sedona, Arizona. Up to this point we have not really spent any time visiting relatives of mine and at this point we have now seen the granparents of all 5 members that started this trip. We figure thats not bad!
I don't get to see them very often so it has been really nice to stop in and spend some time with them.
Also, and what apparently the forest service here does not know, there is lots of climbing in the area. So how could we hang out and not do some?
One thing which Sedona is known for is its vortexs. A place where you feel more spirtial then you do in other places. I don't really believe in them but thats because I think that the world is the spiritual place. Anytime I close my eyes and spend time slowing down my world to see the things around me I realize that I am at greater connection then I normally see. The world slows with me and everything for those simple moments, are clear.
Those moments I cannot show in pictures, they can only be felt and in a way that I can never explain. Its not something only I can experience and not something which can only be felt at the summit of peak. A park, the lake, or anything outdoors where you can hear nothing but the sound of the voice that we rarely listen to. It takes these moments in the outdoors for me to really pull myself away and realize that these things I have been taught to chase my whole life, money, career, posessions, are really like a dog chasing a car. I wouldn't want to catch it even if I could.
I have no intention of being poor, I just refuse to give up the things I love to be wealthy.
I suppose I should post a picture now after all my rambling. We visited the church in the rocks which is placed high on hill. It is a very simple church with an incredible view. Some were staring at christ, some were staring at a different god. All were happy.
Including this person, I would assume, since they had an observatory on the top of this massive house.
Originally when visiting the desert I walked away with words in my mind that didn't give me a great view of the serenity of the place. For instance I remember very vividly John saying "Why is everything in the desert trying to kill us?!" and that seemed about right. The more time I spend however the more I begin to see things in a different light. Its not trying to kill me, its just trying to live in a very harsh place. It reminds me of working in a corporate world, grow thorns or be eaten.
We decided to go climbing the next day and talked with a friend of ours who suggested the climb Mars Attacks. It looked like a great climb of 4 pitches at 5.8 on the Yosemite Decimal System for all those curious. We walked through a wash and found our way to the base of the climb even with missing our offshoot.
I led the first pitch and John followed shortly there after. The first pitch was not to bad with some slab climbing to a very comfy seat.
Slabs can be really tricky and often you just have to trust the fact that your feet will hold since its often hard to be absolutely sure.
For some reason while climbing this route I began to get a strange sense of nervousness. I hadn't had this kind of nervous feeling in a while so I was wondering where it was coming from. I knew going into the next portion of the climb that it was going to be a little bit hairy. I began to climb and started to feel like the ground was falling away from me. It is hard to express the difference in feeling that the ground is rushing toward me and when it rushing away from me. One feels exhilarating, the other terrifying. This did not feel exhilarating. Several times I wanted to turn back and take a fall, why I did not is beyond me.
Traversing out over an overhang can be a shaky experience.
It took a while to get Tracy over to the belay station after I finished. It also took a while for my nerves to settle to the point where I was ready to lead the next pitch since it was my turn. I racked up and headed into it and soon was hooting about the enjoyment of the section. My mind was telling me about how this was one of the most enjoyable climbs of the trip. Perhaps it was because it was probably when I have had the most fear in the trip, maybe its because the climbing was solid and enjoyable. It could also be because I woke up with the feeling in my stomach. Either way it turned out great. John followed me after my lead.
He agreed that it was one of his favorites as well and prepared to belay Tracy.
Tracy, still a bit shaken, followed up after John.
But didnt have much trouble jamming her hands into the crack.
The route is located in this photo. It goes up a slab and traverses across a layer of limestone. Then goes right up the broken crack system on that right bulge. Tracy and John are in the lower left corner on the hike out.
That was it for the day. The climb was incredible but my words became short. I no longer felt the urge to talk and walked in mostly silence on the way back to the car. In a walk of silence a lot of thoughts can flow through the mind at once. Sometimes its easier to think of what to do next, what does the day hold tomorrow? Others their thoughts of the future as mine were tonight. What does the future hold? Thoughts do not necessarily bring answers.
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I had a similar feeling lying in my tent watching the sunrise in the Sierra this summer. There's a few minutes before the sun starts to rise when the milkyway is so brilliant and the horizon is just starting to glow.
Hey Kelsey,
Just wanted you to know I won't be in San Fran Thursday and Friday afternoon, we'll be back friday night.
Nice pictures.
Later, Bro
After climbing Mars Attacks John and Tracy went into Flagstaff for church and I had the day to myself. It was the 23rd of Nov. a day I usually connect with being the date of my birth. I didn't feel much like lounging around so I borrowed my grandparents car and drove around Arizona for a little while. I went to Flagstaff and got my wallet I left in the Kia and drove back to Sedona. I spent quite a lot of time looking around on the internet and having a chat before it was starting to get near sunset. I drove by Bell Rock and decided to stop for a run. It took a lot of convincing of myself but I knew that it was something I needed to do. I ran up the side of the rock and to the summit where I signed the register and began to do some excercises. The surrounding area is captivating and I was able to thoroughly exhaust myself before running back to the car and heading to my grandparents house for carrot cake. The next day was another beautiful day and we decided to connect with our good friend Mike for some climbing. He knows Sedona well and promised to bring us to a real good area.
We drove to Midgley Bridge and hiked about 40 minutes into the area to an incredible place called Supercrack Tower. We walked to a route called The Windows Route which goes at about 5.10+ for 3 pitches. I led the first pitch and Mike followed.
The second pitch was astounding! You had to do this stem like you would in the hallways as a kid and pull out over a roof through a hand jammed into the crack! Mike led and I watched with giddy anticipation at my opportunity to do this climb unlike any I had ever done.
I climbed into the stem and my leg began to cramp. Pushing in those directions are not something that I am used to! I quickly climbed making funny chuckling noises through the climb and out into the crack. I loved every minute of this section!
I looked down in time to see Tracy following behind John on the first section.
John was the second to follow on the climb. I was anxious to get into the next section but I knew I couldn't miss the pictures here so I lowered myself down for pictures. I felt like such a kid in the stemming section and on this climb. We had heard that the rock was really bad in Sedona and we couldn't believe nobody knew about such great routes!
John has climbed many a hallway in his time and he had no troubles with this section.
I would say this was one of the most unique areas I have ever climbed at. Sedona has so many different types of climbes. Wonderful traverse routes, stems, cracks, face climbs, jumpes from tower to tower. Its all here
Getting out of the stem is the real trick and much easier then it looks like it would be. First you have to jam your body all the way up to the roof. Then you shove your hand through the crack and look for feet.
Then you jam your body through whatever fits and bring yourself around to the front of the face!
and look for a place to set gear immediatly since a fall from here would be really painful.
There are times in crack climbing when limbs are bent in ways they don't seem they should be and your weight is put onto a single piece of metal shoved into rock which is not always going to hold.
And then you realize it doesn't always fit and its time to look for something a little more conventional.
When you finally get that piece of gear in and clip it sometimes it feels like you just took a 15lb weight off your back. The muscles seem to relax a bit more and for a few feet the climbing seems a little less dangerous.
We switched belays and I followed Mike up the last pitch which included what we call off-width or in lamens terms, the seventh layer of hell. An off-width can be a humbling expierence if one is not prepared for suffering. This one wasn't to terrible and I found the whole climb to be enjoyable. I scrambled to the summit as Mike belayed John to the top.
Getting to the top took a nice easy little scramble over a few hundred feet of air.
The large Midgley bridge off in the distance.
The summit gave incredible views and opportunites for more routes.
We walked back in the dark after finding some indian ruins and drove off to Flagstaff. Our next stop was going to be Lake Havasu. The question of "Why" seems obvious but we figured we would get sucked in and go see the London Bridge, after all Ive walked across the one still in London...why not both?
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It looked climbable..
We were not sure if Arizona was part of Dixie, we were pretty sure it was not, but they had the Dixie Bell on the water offering tours.
Overall this bridge cost 7.5 million dollars to purchase, ship, and install at its current place. Considering how much it costs these days to build a bridge from bottom up thats actually not that bad! Ladies and Gentleman, the London Bridge.
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There are several thousand climbing routes located in the park and there seemed to be climbers on most of them. A lone climber tops out.
Tracy managed a climb in as well sporting her Mexican wear.
I took a 360 pano from the summit of one climb and I hope that it shows some of the amazing landscape. Rocks fall away in all directions and any climber would salivate over the possibilities. I think it is better viewed in large so heres a link to it EXPANDED!
http://prezwoodz.smugmug.com/photos/425172861_2PMSX-X3.jpg
The next morning we awoke to rain and lots of it. Not to be discouraged we grabbed our camera's and headed into the desert to try "foggy" pictures. Something I have never really tried before. So I hope that some of these pictures came out at least. One thing about the desert is that everything seems to know how to protect itself. At first I began to wonder about why and what they had to offer. Then I began to realize the delicate system of the desert and it became more evident.
Sometimes things seem unnatural. Then I think of how we decorate our homes, how we cut down all the tree's or pave the swamp and put up a patch of nice green grass with a driveway. Who am I to say that this spider is over decorating?
Joshua Tree's are found between 3000 and 5000ft elevations and are quite the unique tree. Initially they look like big bushes but after a while you can see the trunks and they grow very large. No two seem alike.
The odd vegetation formations seem to match the rock here at J-tree.
Standing on the top of a large rock outcropping something began to make itself aware to me that I had missed initially. All the colors of the desert began to come out and show a beautiful painted picture I had always viewed in black and white.
If you yourself cannot grow spikes then the only way to go is to find safety in those things around you.
And when it seems as though all the colors are in the brilliant reds, greens, and purples. The whites show they can be spectacular without being showy.
We decided not to climb since the rain never let up. If it keeps going then so will we. If it stops then we will explore the beauty of the climbing once again.
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While I was belaying Tracy he decided that he didn't really need a rope for the next climb. It usually starts out when you say "I'll just try the first few moves" then you find yourself above the hard part or in the middle of the climb and then it comes down to "why not?"
Then you find yourself 60ft above the ground and wondering what your doing up that high, the idea of falling teeters on the mind before you push it away. The slightest misstep could easily be the end of life.
Unfortunatly we don't all have the same luck. As I was lowering on the rope by a little accident I hit my ankle and sprained it. Ouchie. So we did one on more climb and called it a day. That climb happened to be a 5.10a that was really hard for me! It was called Excorcist.
We drove (after I hobbled) away and we were soon on our way to see a friend in Idyllwild, CA before heading off to see Marc in Santa Barbara.
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Certain mystery about it.
Marc made quick work of this easy climb.
We hooked up a static line and Marc made quick work of shots of John climbing anotehr route called Mid-Face (5.6r)
We were also not he only ones getting high that day. Others were out paragliding off the peaks.
Marc had told us about this climb called the Nose which was an overhanging hand crack. It was hard, John flew through it on his second try...but it was hard.
This was the first try. Giving it a fall over the valley.
John thinking about giving it another go. It was a really beautiful day with the fog filling the lower valley. The other side of the mountain was a sharp contrast because it was destroyed in the recent fire. It looks like a dark moonscape with burned houses.
Marc said that he had not finished this climb so we let him give it another shot. I tried as well and now Marc is not the only one to be defeated by this beast of a crack.
The intimidation factor on this climb is big. You start right off into this crack and let it rip. When you fall its time to start all over again.
Marc moves into the easier portion of the climb. Getting ready for the overhanging section...well its the MORE overhanging section.
This image is not an exageration. Holding yourself in this crack is not an easy thing to do!
Marc and I had about the same amount of trouble on this crack and we had to leave it be for a little while to go and try more climbs. John who was the only one to finish The Nose (5.11b) lead the T-Crack (5.10c).
John enters the T section where the route gathers its name. The section after the crack includes a mantle which has been described as an "angry" mantle.
The features on the rock make for wonderful scenery. This climb overlooks the whole valley and down into Santa Barbara.
Tracy doesn't seem to mind hanging from gear over the valley while John goes for the big climb.
After the climb Marc had to run so I went down and gave The Nose another few goes. This climb really seems to differ in difficult depending on people. I think if you had smaller hands it would be a lot easier. I do not. So it was hard! I gave it lots of skin and blood and I just couldn't get it. My last try was in the dark.
I began to see some of the draw toward living in the area. It was a perfect day and night for climbing and a wonderful way to finish the day.
THANKS TO YOU MARC!!
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I love just love this thread!
I love this shot of Marc!
Glad that you enjoy it! Thats why we post, is so that everyone else can enjoy it too.
By the way, it was really cool to meet you at the dgrin shootout!
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No Kelsey, Thanks to you and Tracy for belaying me:D
Of all the folks I have climbed with I must say that just after one day of climbing with You, John and Tracy, I would trust no one more with my life! You guys know your equipment and love your sport. I hope your hands feel better soon
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Cuong
Thanks a ton Marc! It means a lot to use for you to say that and we really appreciate it. We would climb with you anytime!
Coung - I didn't realize at the time what we were looking at. Thats really cool! Somehow I like the shot more now with the realization of what is in it!
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As always when on the ocean in a boat full of tourists the gulls were awaiting their tossed treats.
Then we arrived on the island to the welcome that was much more enjoyable then the prisoners probably got. Notice the Indians Welcome writing? That is from when the Indians held the island...
Our ancesters prized this island and now it is a prison. We will welcome them back and bring nature to this concrete jungle.
The tree's in this part of the country are much different then at home. One of the draws of the island are the gardens which are being restored. I wish I could have come to this island before all the prisons. Lived her maybe on my own there would be know one to bother me. No one would make me angry.
Always the threats, they will never catch me.
I have no friends here, I need no friends. This is my home because this is where I belong.
I made it outside the yard! I just have to get into the water now. Its cold, so cold but anything is better then a cold cell for an eternity.
At places it seemed as though it was the pipes holding the wall together.
In others it seemed as though it was the wires.
I think I can sqeeze through, I need to be careful. If I am caught I will never be allowed out of Isolation. I can live in this box no longer.
Finally the light comes, it burns my eyes. How long have I been in here? Just let me out, I won't do it again. He wont make me angry anymore. Ive killed him. No...please don't close the door. I can't take the quiet.
Why did you hit the ball so hard! You know it was our only one. The warden wont give us another for a month. Get him!
Leaning against the wall I keep my eyes forward. Tought this in my childhood never to turn your back and never to back down. Perhaps that is why I am where I am.
As a child I crawled around the water towers at home. That was before everything got hard. That was when better times brought better things. Maybe if I hadn't been forced into those situations I wouldn't be here.
The nurses office used to scare me. She always talked nice to me when the big kids would beat me up. Why didn't my mom take such good care of me? Why do these cuffs have to be on my hands, all I wanted was someone to take care of me.
We have The Rock! Get him, the one in the tower!
I love working on this island. I get the best views of San Francisco and I get to have my family nearby. Sometimes I wonder if anything would ever happen to them if a prisoner was to escape but at least from here I can keep a good eye on them. Sometimes I am not sure why I took this job.
The flowers here are beautiful. When I get out of here I am going to take my daughter to the park. Never again will she be alone. I can't take this anymore! The fence..that is my best option. I can make it, then its only a short swim. Yes! Yes I must do this! I am almost free. I can hear them calling me but I don't believe it, I can make it....
I am sinking, it hurts. Why didn't I listen? How could I give it all up? The water will take me home.
Some get to tend the gardens. I was denied. Don't they know how well I can tend the garden? Does robbing a bank make me less of a gardener? I will nurse this to life.
Hello Alcatraz, I hope your ready for me.
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Cuong
Thanks! I didn't feel like going with a regular story that day. Perhaps I got out of hand!
After Alcatraz we went back to my brothers house and the next day we decided to take off out of San Fran. First apparently I couldn't leave without visiting another famous place, Castro. My brother said they make the best food so off we were. We ate at Orphan Andy's and had a great burger. We passed a few intersting shops on the way.
Apparently I was the only one to get a kick out of that shop. So my brother brought me to one you couldn't mistake. A place called Hot Cookie. I bought a rice crispy treat. Anything odd about this image? By the way this image is not for kiddies.
We stopped by Chinatown for some great food before taking off and next we figured we would drive down Lombard Street which has been in more then a few movies! The view from the top is also quite nice.
Looking back down the road Alcatraz inmates had a good view, when they had one.
Then finally we took the drive.
It was steep and one way. Then finally we figured we only had one thing left to do to cap our San Fran trip and have everything done that we planned to do. That was to drive over the Golden Gate Bridge. Heres the best I could do while driving.
We stopped for a bit in Mill Valley and visited a new friend then off we were to the Redwoods!
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We arrived at night and finally found a good spot. As John was setting up his tent he found a little Salamander!
The next morning I rolled out of my tent to the view of trees hundreds of feet high. These trees were taller then most of the rock climbs that we did this trip.
The hardest thing about the tree's is showing scale. I found one of the larger trees near the campsite and put myself in a fold in the bark.
Many of the tree's have a hallowed out bottom where fire had come through and burnt through the bottom. The top still looks very alive.
A few of these tree's were massive. A tree near this one fell about 14 years ago and at the time it fell weighed around 1,000,000 lbs. It is incredible.
Every inch of ground and area around is important to growth in the rianforest.
Deep in the forest a tree has fallen, in the new found sunlight a growth of ferns appears. The young trees will now grow.
If anyone is curious as to what we look like after all the driving here is a picture of Tracy,
More pictures from the forest floor
This tree had a huge area inside. Large enough to setup a tent and sleep for the night. It also had windows. Everything you could want in your new home.
That was it for the Redwoods. I have some pano's which I will stitch and upload as well. It was a magical place for me. Here is something I wrote to my girlfriend Shasta and I thought I would share it here too.
I awake from my slumber and slowly feel my life return.
Crawling from my tent I lay below the giants.
My eyelids fall gently, all seems to have slowed.
The great rush of my day has disappeared.
The roots of the Redwood cradled away my nightmares.
Footsteps crinkle the leaves and needles as I brush my hand along the bark.
My heart rises and enters the thick skin of the tree.
Through the years I rush quickly where the tree had taken its time.
I can feel it pushing against my chest.
The energy flows through my veins and I can hold it no longer.
I am no match for the soul of this being.
My hand returns to my side.
Thank you for showing me some of what I have forgotten.
From that point we were off to Oregon to check out Gold Beach and then drive to Portland.
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It was really beautiful and I hope that it found a way to make it through this tuff world.
Looking into its eyes I felt I could see its sadness.
Marc showed me how to get some stars from the sun and I decided to give it a shot. This was the best I could do to get one I hadn't seen before.
Earlier we talked about Snaketry and this time we decided that Eagltry would be the proper course. Different places cause for different methods. So we looked into the eye of the bird and found ourselves in its eye. Sweet, we have the right one.
This is why you move slowly and don't make it angry!
And a parting shot of our new friend. I walked up slowly and pet this beautiful animal before leaving promising to tell someone about the injury.
We drove on a ways and I told the person at the counter of the state park office and they said they would contact the appropriate person. I hope it was helped.
We drove on through the coast and visited Gold Beach where Shasta was from. We watched the sunset on the beach.
The beach was beautiful and all the small rocks led to a serene scene.
John and I walked into the ocean, any trip is successful when you are in both the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans in one trip.
John happened to find a route on the local rock called Kissing Rock. It was over soft sand so we soloed it barefoot since it was more effort to get our shoes out. I ended up taking a dive off it and put on my street shoes to save my toes. It goes at 5.11a and apparently is called first kiss.
We watched the sun until we could no longer get the light and drove onto the next place. After a harrowing ride through a dirt road for 30 miles in the night on unknown territory.
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On our final night we made a stop by Laird Hot Springs. It was around -10 degrees Fahrenheit and we decided to make a run for the hot springs. I felt as though my face was freezing, home never felt so far away as when I realized I forgot how cold the snow was. I fell face first into it after stepping off the walkway which was buried in the snow. It entered my coat, it entered my camera bag, it fell deep into my nerves and froze me solid. These kind of temperatures were something I would normally be used to and happily going out for a ski or ice climb. Tonight I was going swimming. I walked slowly into the water feeling my feet burn.
It didn't take long before John was taking photo's by putting his camera full into the snow. It was an interesting process for photos. You would stand up take a bunch of pictures and then fall into the water as fast as possible. To dry your hands you had only to slap you hands together and the water froze into a mist and blew away.
A light snow fell on our faces and only gave more to the feeling of euphoria that came with swimming in natural waters in such a beautifully cold setting.
The snow temps its fate by hanging over the pool.
Nothing escaped the cold.
Tracy tried very hard to keep her hair dry. It does not appear to have worked although she had a nice protective blanket of frozen ice in case something were to fall on her head.
It took only a few moments before anything not under water would freeze.
Tracy was nice enough to agree with a good shaking of the tree. I didn't want to the only one covering myself with snow. She walked along the ground pebbles rolling under her feet, the water smooth and thick as it glided around her. Moving slowly her knees straightened and she raised a hand toward a million flakes, all different.
And then my camera died from the cold. Next time perhaps.
We drove on through the night to Watson Lake and slept at the gas station. 3 hours later at 6am we were awake and driving again with a full tank of petrol. We drove all day watching the flakes fly past windows, when the flakes were not flying the road was icy and dangerous. Still we reached speeds of 70-80mph as the vehicle became second nature. Four wheel drive is a luxury we did not have. We made it home that night where we picked up Johns car and I dropped him off at his house.
The weeks afterward are often hard for me. There are a great many times when I cannot sit still. It does not matter what I do none of it seems right. I am not moving, I am standing in one place. Is this what I want to do? Where will I go next? For how long? I lay with my girlfriend and I know she thinks these same questions. This was the first time I can remember having someone to return to after a trip. The first time I have wanted so badly to return with the desire to fly forever. It is hard to balance the two. Traveling has become a part of me, now I have to find a way to make sure that it does not disappear but also does not consume me.
Gladly I am with someone who loves to travel. There is always room for two.
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