Successes!

 Our second day of camping at City of Rocks started off at Elephant Rock, where we planned to climb a route rated 5.9.  This number probably means nothing to most of you, so I'll quickly explain.  Rock climbing ranges in difficulty from 5.0 (basically hiking up a steep trail) to 5.14 (CRAZY hard, like climbing up a sheet of metal that has been rubbed with cooking oil - okay, maybe not THAT hard!).  If we are top-roping (see Climbing 101 post for more info), I can do a 5.9 pretty well, but it's about as challenging as I would like.  I could do a 5.10, but probably not without some hanging on the rope.  Until this day, I had never lead-climbed a 5.9.  That has always been Spencer's job.

But today was a strange day, and Spencer was not feeling up to it.  So after attempts at leading the climb by Spencer and Ski, they had only managed to clip into 2 bolts before coming back down.  We were ready to throw in the towel and call it quits, when I said, "I think I'll give it a try."  Spencer was shocked, but I harnessed up, put on my shoes, chalked up my hands, and I was off.

I made it up to the first couple of bolts, where the rope was already clipped in.  That was the easy part.  Then I started making my way further up the cliff face.  I had to keep telling myself I was safe, and if I fell, the rope would eventually tighten on the previously bolted spot and catch me.  Soon I had made it to the next bolt and clipped in.

I kept climbing up until I found myself in a spot where I couldn't quite find the right hold and I slipped.  4-5 feet to the previous bolt, and another 4-5 feet after that, and the rope stopped me.  It was not nearly as scary as I thought it would be!  I regained my composure and climbed upward, eventually reaching the 4th bolt.

 
I was pretty close to the top of the climb by this point, but I was also pretty worn out.  I decided that was as far as I needed to go, and I didn't feel bad about not finishing the climb.  It was a successful failure!  Even though I didn't make it all the way to the top, I did clip into two bolts all on my own, and I had my first fall on a lead-climb!

By this point, the sun was beating down on the cliff where we were climbing, and our little spot of shade was shrinking fast.

So we decided to head up to another spot to do some bouldering.

Now another lesson for you - bouldering!  Bouldering is like climbing, but without a rope.  Usually bouldering is done on really low cliffs, with a pad at the bottom so if/when you fall, you don't fall too far and you have a pad to land on.  Some people consider bouldering a climb with an easy enough difficulty that you don't need a rope, no matter how high you go.  Kristi and Ski, our climbing buddies, believed in the second definition of bouldering.

A quick drive up the road took us to Bath Rock.  Following the persuasions of our climbing friends, we "bouldered" up Bath Rock.

I am no expert, but I would have rated the difficulty around a 5.6, maybe even 5.7.  During and after that experience, I decided that I would rather climb a 5.10 with ropes any day over a 5.6 unprotected climb.  I like to be challenged, but I don't like to be risky.

It was, however, a great view from the top!

Wow, this post is getting long, so I am going to skip a few of the day's events and go right to Spencer's big accomplishment.

Evening was closing in, and I for one was getting a little worn out.  But Spencer wanted to redeem himself from the first climb of the day, so we hiked down into a valley to do one last climb.  It was on a west-facing cliff, with the heat of the late afternoon sun beating heavily upon the rock.  But more importantly, it was a tall cliff.  Really tall.  I think it was rated a 5.8.  Spencer loaded all of our quickdraws (what is used to hook the rope onto bolts in the rock as you lead climb) and all our friends' quickdraws onto his climbing harness.  14 in all.  We figured it would be enough to get to the top.  Little did we know...

Spencer climbed and climbed up this rock, clipping into bolts as he went.  The bolts were placed really closely together, so he even skipped a couple of unnecessary bolts.

I belayed him from the bottom of the cliff.  I felt like I was melting in the sun, and all I was doing was standing there feeding the rope up to Spencer and being ready to pull tight if he fell.  I can't imagine how hot Spencer was as he climbed!

 I wish the picture did a better job of showing how tall this cliff was.  Kristi and Ski took the pictures for us, and they couldn't even back up far enough to fit it all in the frame!

After 40 minutes of intense climbing, Spencer made it to the top.  Success!  He had used almost the entire length of our friends' 60 meter rope, and all of the quickdraws!  With most of the rope length used to get to the top, coming back down was going to be a little tricky.  But don't worry, we were prepared!  Our friends brought along their knot-tying book, and they had been practicing the knot used to tie two ropes together.  So we tied our 50 meter rope onto the end of the first one, and after some tricky finagling, Spencer was able to rappel safely back to the ground.  We were all exhausted by this point, so the hike out was not much fun.  I did manage to snap a few pictures of the pretty cactus flowers that were blooming all over, and some of the scenery as well.

Here is something that I learned at the end of this day.  I love rock climbing, and I love camping.  But when the two are combined, and it's a hot day, and there are no showers, and I'm covered with sweat and dust, I would give just about anything for a nice cool shower and a soft bed with clean sheets.

City of Rocks

We took a weekend trip to City of Rocks for some rock climbing last weekend.  City of Rocks is a huge rock climbing mecca in the West, with hundreds of climbing routes all over.  It is located in southern Idaho, near the small town of Almo.

 It's basically in the middle of nowhere. 

The City of Rocks has all these huge granite boulders and cliffs popping out of the valley floor, giving an appearance of a city made of rocks, hence the name.

Spencer and I left Jack with my uncle Rob and drove up early Friday afternoon.  If you have never driven on I-84 north of Tremonton, you are missing out on a whole bunch of NOTHING!  Talk about a boring drive!  

 This view went on for many miles

Anyway, the plan was to meet a former roommate of mine, Kristi (and her husband Ski) at the campsite we reserved at City of Rocks.  After a quick stop at the visitor's center, ...

... we arrived early and set up camp.

 This boulder was right next to our campsite.  The perfect place to scout out the area!  

After setting up the tent trailer, we decided to drive around and look at some potential climbing spots. 

We stopped at a few different cliff areas and walked around.

I love how colorful this rock is, with the red and yellow moss all over!

At one particular place, we got back in the 4Runner, and the engine wouldn't start!  Not even a little rumble!  All that we could get was a tiny little click.  Great.  

Fortunately, this particular parking area was being shared by a group of Vietnam vets and their wives who had come up to the City to "drink beer and camp."  Three or four men came over to look at the car and offer their advice.

Spencer - always prepared - had a spare battery in the back of the 4Runner which we tried to use to jump start the engine.  No luck.  So one of the Vietnam vets brought his truck over and tried jump starting off of his battery.  Still no luck.  We were so worried that it might be the starter, which would be much more expensive and time-consuming to fix than a dead battery.  But those men kept trying different things.  They cleaned off the battery terminals, took the old battery out and tried the spare, then finally used some sandpaper and a metal file to clean off ... well, I don't know the name of it! ... some part of the battery that connects something to something else.  Anyway, that worked!  The engine started right up, and everyone cheered!

After many thank yous and a quick goodbye photo, we headed back to our campsite, where Kristi and Ski were waiting for us.  Steak dinner with dutch oven potatoes and some board games in the tent trailer made for a perfect way to end the day.  No time to climb the first day, but that was what Saturday was for.  And I will tell you all about that later!

Cilantro, anyone?

I planted a tiny little cilantro start in our front flower bed, and the thing will not stop growing!  Not that I'm complaining.  I LOVE cilantro!  But seriously, I will not be able to use it all.  Not even close.  So if you're in the area and want some fresh grown cilantro, let me know.

Today I picked some to put in a black bean corn salsa.  Yummy! 

The chips and salsa went perfectly with the fresh lime Sprite I made for myself. 

Aww, summer.  I love it so much.  Even the boring days.

Oh, and on a side note, did you know that cilantro is another name for coriander?  That little tidbit is brought to you by my dad.  I even verified it on wikipedia!

Climbing 101

We love rock climbing.  We did a LOT of climbing when we lived up in Idaho, but for some reason have found it much more difficult to get around to it here.  Last summer I think we only went once.  Sad.

We are getting back into it now though, thanks in part to my friend and former college roommate Kristi, and her husband Ski.

Last time we went, a little visitor came by to check Spencer out.

 Can you see the squirrel by his left foot?

Spencer is the brave one of the bunch, and usually takes on the responsibility of leading out the climbs.  For you non-climbers out there, let me give you a quick lesson.

We do two types of climbing (though there are more) - top-roping and lead climbing.  Top-roping is the safest form of rock climbing.  You place the rope at the top of the climb, get everything hooked up and secure, and then climb from the bottom up to the top.  While one person is climbing, another is "belaying," or holding on to the other end of the rope.  That way, if the climber falls, the belayer holds tight to the rope and the climber can safely dangle next to the cliff.

Sometimes the only way to access the top of a climb is by climbing up the cliff.  If there is no way to walk around safely to place ropes before climbing, bolts may be added to the cliff face for climbers to use for lead climbing, aka sport climbing.

Lead climbing is a little more dangerous, so we have a helmet when we lead climb.  Instead of initially placing the rope at the top of the climb, a climber will place the rope onto pre-drilled bolts as he/she climbs up the cliff.  If the climber falls just short of placing the rope into the bolt, he will fall until the rope catches the previous bolt and the rope takes all the slack.  You MUST pay close attention when belaying a lead climb so if the climber falls you can immediately pull the rope tight and take up as much slack as possible.  That will prevent the climber from falling as far.

Here's a shot of Spencer and me just before his attempt to lead climb a route we had never done before, and which was near the top of his ability level.

 The gloves are a tad big for me!

And here is Spencer climbing the new route, with me intently belaying.  Good thing too, because he fell not too long after the picture was taken!

 Don't worry though, he only fell a few feet before stopping.  It was his first real fall during a lead climb.  Pretty exciting!

Perhaps more exciting was the hike back to the picnic area when Spencer almost walked right into a rattlesnake.

Thank goodness for that warning rattle!  He was able to jump out of the way just in time.

After this particular day of climbing, we planned to stay for a while at a nearby picnic site and eat tin foil dinners with our friends.  When the sun started setting, the temperature dropped considerably, and I did not come prepared.  The only thing I could find to keep me warm was a scarf we had in the trunk of the car.

"I'm cold!"

We are planning a trip to City of Rocks next weekend for some more climbing and camping.  Should be fun!  I just hope I remember to pack a jacket next time...

USA!

I hope everyone had a great Independence Day weekend.  I sure did!  

Friday night I attended my 10 year high school reunion.  It may not look like much of a turnout, but with 107 total in the graduating class, I guess it was not too bad.

 This shot doesn't include any spouses - just alumni.

Spencer had to work, so I rode down to Fillmore with my brother and his wife and went to the reunion by myself.  Spencer drove down Saturday morning in time to watch the end of the parade.

 My dad is in charge of the Fillmore Freedom Mile, a race he started over 20 years ago and continues to do every year in conjunction with the parade.  The First Annual FFM (Fillmore Freedom Mile) had just two participants - my uncle and my oldest brother.  It has grown a lot since then, and I always look forward to helping at the finish line.

After the race and parade, we all headed back to my parents' house to spend the rest of the day eating and playing games.

Doesn't it look so patriotic?

At dusk we headed to the ball park with our paper bags full of homemade popcorn to watch the fireworks.

 Fillmore puts on a great fireworks show.  I love this fun tradition!

Camping Day 3

Our final day.  We woke up Saturday morning to a beautiful blue sky and decided to take one more hike before heading back to reality.  Look at this amazing view! 

This is a view of Mineral Basin.  Did you know American Fork Canyon is the back side of Snowbird Resort? 

If you look closely, your can see a couple of ski lifts at the top of that snowy peak in the distance.

Here are a couple more shots of the scenery.

And here is Jack trying one last time to catch a squirrel.

No luck this time, dog!  I guess we'll have to come back soon and let him try again.

Now I'm off to get ready for my trip to Fillmore.  I have my 10 year high school reunion tonight, and then 4th of July celebrations tomorrow.  I can't wait!