My Heart is Happier :)

I find my heart is just plain happier when I’m in the mountains of North Carolina.  There’s a legend that something special is buried deep below the mountains, causing visitors a feeling that can’t really be described, but can most definitely be felt.  I think it’s a feeling of a content heart.  That combined with the framily is bound to make one of the best Easters ever.  A slideshow to come shortly, but in the meantime a random assortment of ratings from the long weekend in Blowing Rock, NC.

THE PUPS: 8

I must say, I LOVE taking Dakota to the mountains.  He’s so good, that when I don’t have to worry about other dogs around I pretty much leave him off leash the entire time.  And he LOVES it.  Sticks right by me, but clearly loves the comparative freedom.  Plus, he’s up for anything, despite being a bit older.

Murph has also turned out to be quite the mountain dog.  While I still have to keep him on leash almost all the time (his nose is known to lead him far away at quick rates), his endurance is INSANE.  We took him on a six hour hike on Sunday to the highest peak on Grandfather mountain, and he was still pulling on the leash at the bottom.  Pretty impressive

All in all the three pups got along fabulously, minus a little humping, a little whining and some minor growling… overall a huge improvement

SATAN’S BALLS: 9

In the downtime between climbs/hikes, we hung out at our super chill cabin and enjoyed some delicious food.  My favorite had to be Laura’s homemade Satans Balls.  Made out of cake mix and icing, dipped in melted chocolate and then add sprinkles, they were HEAVEN.  Except for the fact that they were small and there were a lot.  Pretty sure I made myself sick off them on Saturday night.  Although that didn’t stop me from eating more for breakfast on Sunday morning…

CALLOWAY PEAK: 9.5

On Sunday Scott, Laura, Mazzi, Paul and I headed out to tackle Grandfather Mountain. After a couple side stops along the way, we finally found the entrance we wanted.  We hiked as a group for awhile, and about 2.5 miles in Laura, Paul and Mazzi headed back while Scott and I went on a search for the summit.

While it ultimately took about 3 1/2 hours to get to the peak, it was TOTALLY worth it.  The highest point on Grandfather Mountain, it provided a 360 view like none I’ve seen in a LONG time.  It was incredible.

-.5 for the snow/ice we encountered at the last steep pitch.  It resulted in several almost-falls, soaking wet/freezing feet (I was wearing my five-fingers) and a soaked/freezing butt (after deciding this was the safest way to descend).  However, we made it safely!

SUNRISE OVER PRICE LAKE: 10

This morning we decided to get up super early and hike to a lake about 2 miles away to check out the sunrise.  While we got a bit lost on the way there, luckily some nice folks on the Blue Ridge Parkway picked us up and brought us there.

Totally worth the early rise, both for the company and for the view.  Don’t get to see this very often…

THE COMPANY’S CLIMBING: 10!

We left Holloway Mountain with a lot to be proud of… Ben’s first time leading trad, Laura and Katie’s first outdoor ascent’s, Scott’s first climb outdoors with us, Liz’s first lead climb in the morning, and Jay, Paul, Mazzi and I looking better than ever.  Not much to complain about here

All in all another fabulous framily vacation.  Stay tuned for the movie- hopefully with audio this time!!!

Awesome Climbing Quotes

Thanks to Claud, I’ve been pretty distracted the past day reading through a website full of awesome quotes about climbing.  Lucky for you, I’ve weeded out the best

“What an odd sport we inhabit, where bits of obscure rock in remote locations are recognizeable.”    — Richard Pawlowicz.

“Getting out of this required a 5.11 Beached Whale move combined with a Bloody Scream, something they never teach in the gym.”    — Lord Slime.

“That was amazing ! Five lead changes to climb 40 feet of rock ! How can they say this route doesn’t look good ? This was MORE than a route — this was an EXPERIENCE !”    — Larry D.

“The best climber in the world is the one who’s having the most fun.”    — Alex Lowe.

“I’ve climbed with some of the best climbers in the world, more importantly, to me, they are some of the best people in the world. That’s another reason why I climb.”    — Jim Wickwire.

“Some of the world’s greatest feats were accomplished by people not smart enough to know they were impossible.”    — Doug Lawson.

“Yoga is a system, scientifically proven to boost your climbing ability significantly. Why do you think you always see that Guru figure sitting on the top of the mountain? You think he/she got there by enlightenment ?”    — Lg.

“How do you distinguish between being off-route and putting up a first ascent ?”    — Bruce Bindner.

“I climb as hard as anyone on earth. I just do it on easier routes.”    — Mad Dog.

“In fact, I think you should add your body fat to the rating of the climb, to get a true measure of your inner climber. So climbing a 5.7 with 22% body fat is way harder than climbing a 5.14 with 3% body fat.”    — Mike Yukish.

“In fact, I think you should add your body fat to the rating of the climb, to get a true measure of your inner climber. So climbing a 5.7 with 22% body fat is way harder than climbing a 5.14 with 3% body fat.”    — Mike Yukish.

Check ‘em out for yourself here.

Fall Flash Fest, Asheville Climbing Comp

So those who know me, and hopefully those who read this blog, know, I am most definitely an optimist.  I don’t like to rate things low, but I also have to be realistic.  So please keep that in mind as I review this past weekend’s climbing competition at ClimbMax Climbing Gym in Asheville, NC.

MORNING REGISTRATION: 2

So according to the directions if we had registered early (online) we should arrive at 10, and if not at 9.  I registered early while Paul and Ben hadn’t, so we figured 9:30 was a safe compromise.  When we showed up, there were only about 3 people in line, so we figured we were right on.  I got in line, only needing to pick up my t-shirt and scorecard, and waited literally for about 35-45 minutes.  It was so ridiculous you could only laugh at the absurdity.

There was only one girl working the table and she was incredibly slow.  When I finally got to pick up my things, Ben offered to help her out because the line was now about 15-20 people deep (one can only imagine how long this would take).  She looked confused, and gave him a ‘why would I need help look?’ and turned down his offer.  Oh well.  We did what we could.  Not a great start to they day considering I was already feeling sick and it was cold outside at that point.

We were then told to meet at 10:45 for an information meeting, so we headed to a coffee place down the street (a very cute Asheville street I might add) and got some caffeine in our systems before heading back.  Once there, we waited about another 30 minutes or so for them to actually get started.

When they did, it involved a man with a handlebar mustache (the owner), who Scott affectionately referred to as ‘Funsucker’, talking to us for about 45 minutes about all the rules.  I completely understand there are rules in a climbing comp, but at every other comp I’ve been to they’ve managed to go through them in about 10 minutes.  I’m not entirely sure why it took 45 here.

From there he finally allowed us in the gym (yes, all this was outside) to get our stuff settled, put our shoes on, etc. before beginning speech number two.  I skipped out on this one as the gym was incredibly crowded, and that combined with my headache and approaching fever was not good.

FINALLY we were allowed to begin climbing.

GYM/CROWDS: 4.

The first hour of the comp was craziness.  The gym is tiny, at some spots with about 8-10 feet between two walls that people are climbing on, and the number of climbers plus spectators made it virtually impossible to move from route to route to check them out, and incredibly difficult to spot.  Imagine this picture below with about 5 times as many people.  That was the first hour of the comp.

BAREFOOT WALK AROUND DOWNTOWN ASHEVILLE: 10!

I got so frustrated with the crowds and my climbing that eventually Ben suggested we talk a walk around downtown to escape, and I rate this decision a 10.  I was feeling pretty crappy at this point (everything above my collarbone was in pretty intense amounts of pain), climbing only easy routes, and the barefoot walk around on a beautiful day was exactly what I needed.

Luckily the spectators got bored and died off, and when we returned we had a lot more room and got in some solid climbing.

ROUTES: 4.

That’s the number of good routes I found.  At the end of the day I didn’t feel pumped or tired at all, and it wasn’t because I didn’t climb hard.  I got every route that I think I could have gotten, they just weren’t that long or super challenging at all.  Plus, the walls are plywood as opposed to the nice textured ones at TRC, and compared to the awesome routes we found there a couple weeks ago I was super disappointed.  Plus, there were spinning holds EVERYWHERE.  In the first 15 minutes of the comp I saw them fixing at least three, and I encountered my own shortly after (see below).

INJURIES: 8

Overall we did great on the injuries front, and we all made it out ready to climb again.  However, at the top of one of the hardest routes I got, I had grabbed the top and was preparing to downclimb when all of a sudden the foot hold with all my weight on it spun.  I was pretty high up so immediately clung to the top for dear life, and the texturing on the top scraped up the inside of my right arm, my left forearm and my left shin.  I also bruised my knee and hip in the process.  I totally survived, and am thankful I didn’t fall and hurt something worse, but still frustrating when it comes from something that could have been avoided if their holds were tighter.

TEAM PERFORMANCE: 9

Overall I think we all climbed hard, and worked through some hard routes which is always exciting.  Results haven’t been posted yet so we don’t know team success, but I did place 4th in the Intermediate division, which was a bump up from Rec. in the last two.  I’ll have to take at least one point off because fourth came with no prizes   Only one spot away…

I hate to rate something this low, but honestly there was a ton of room for improvement in this comp.  Makes me even more appreciative for the quality of the comps our local gym, Triangle Rock Club, puts on (see previous ratings).  Their gym is nice, their routes awesome, and the folks who run it are friendly, organized and efficient.  They come HIGHLY recommended, and I now appreciate them even more

Hound Ear’s Sweet 16

ROAD TRIP UP: While most folks headed up earlier on Friday, Claud, Lauren and I all had to work so we took off around 6.  Hit up Subway on the way, won a free cookie, and on the road we were.  While driving at night isn’t my favorite, I was lucky to have three entertaining ladies to keep me awake.  -1 for the lack of a mountain view (it was dark after all), and -1 for the crappy coffee experience at a small town gas station.  Note to self: if there’s no Splenda and only packets of dairy creamer, pass it up.  All in all we made great time, and survived several encounters with crazy drivers.  I take no blame.

FABULOUS NEW TENT: 8.  While several years ago I purchased a tent at Wal-Mart on one of our late night shopping sprees, it is what it is for $30.  However, last year my former Program Director (my second year of teaching) was kind enough to pass down to me her own personal tent that she’s used for years.  Super pumped, this was the first time I’ve ever actually taken it out!  Smaller than my old one it was much easier to travel with, and super easy to put up (especially when you recruit others to help and end up standing around and watching).  Minus one broken pole, and a missing footprint (which I shouldn’t even take off for because I lost the one to my old tent too) it was PERFECT.  Great size for one person, and kept me super dry and warm all night (although I’m pretty sure my awesome sleeping bag had more to do with the warm part…).  Thanks Amanda!

Mine's the one in the back, to the right of the orange tent.

THE GOODS: 6.5  We arrived too late to register on Friday, but first thing Saturday morning we checked in down at the main area of the campground.  Along with our registration forms, we also got our Hound Ears t-shirt (soft, American Apparel shirts that are pretty sweet), free magazines and TONS of fun stickers to decorate with.  While not quite $50 worth of stuff, the fact that we got all that PLUS a days worth of climbing made me pretty pumped.

Planning the routes for the day

THE WEATHER: 9.  Since we were up in the mountains it was obviously cold at night, but nothing wool socks and five layers of clothing can’t take care of.  On the actual day of climbing there wasn’t a hint of rain, and it got continually warmer and sunnier as the day went on.  Started off with four layers on top, and ended the day in just a tank top.  Partially due to the nice weather, and partially due to our hard core climbing   All in all we couldn’t have asked for better.  -1 for the rain the night before… some of the rocks were a bit slippery (every climber needs a good excuse).

THE ROCKS: 7.5

Some of the highlights:

• The variety!  While originally in my head I pictured Hound Ears as one really giant boulder in the center of a neighborhood, it turns out it’s a giant forest of rocks.  In fact, you need a map to navigate from one to another!  We started at boulder 33, moved to 25, 23, 16 and eventually 10 (who knows if those are actually right, but it gives you the idea).  Each was filled with problems, and we tended to focus on those rocks with a variety of V0-V3 so there was a bit of something for everyone.  Some were tall high balls (I watched on those… even spotting scared me), others low overhangs.  Even some right on the side of a cliff, meaning they had top ropes since there was no room for a crash pad below, only a belayer.
• The labels!  While bouldering outdoors usually means seaching, and guessing a bit, to find the perfect routes, here they were all neatly labeled at the start.  Included entertaining names, grade, and even directions as to where exactly to go, it was the perfect way to boulder.  Plus, we were given a map to help us find all the boulders.
• The location.  The rating must go up simply due to the fact that you only have once chance each year to climb these rocks, which made it that much more exciting.  However, I’m tempted to take a point off because of the fact that all these incredible problems are wasted 364 days out of the year…

Some of the downsides…

• Rain the night before left some a bit slippery.  Nothing a little sun couldn’t dry off later in the afternoon, but I blame the lack of morning climbs on that. (-.5)
• Apparently one of the best crack climbs in all of the high country (according to Bill) is here at Hound Ears.  We tried it, and when we asked how it was he responded “Great if you like crimping on razor blades”.  While not exactly true for all of them, they certainly did tear my fingers up. (-1)
• Danger.  I suppose you could say I’m a bit afraid of heights when it comes to bouldering with no rope.  And there were some seriously intimidating routes here.  Some were probably 15-20 feet off the ground, with nothing but a crash pad to break the fall.  Needless to say I avoided these routes… Thankful I witnessed no serious injuries.  (-1)

My favorite route of the day… THE TUNNEL!  Traversing, then topping out.  If only I could have made the giant reach… that’s what next year is for   I have exactly one year to grow longer arms…

What an awesome top out!

THE VIEW: 10.  Three of the problems were on top rope, and when you got to the top you got an incredible view of Grandfather Mountain (seen below).  Can’t come up with a thing wrong with this one!

THE PEOPLE: 10!  This rating has several parts to it… First, and foremost, are the lovely folks I came with.  The more the merrier, and I’m so pleased we got such a large group to head out for this one.  Meant lots of carpooling, plenty of spotters, and endless entertainment.

The second part is the extended climbing community.  While at most large competitions you’d hear trash talk, see competitiveness, and feel an air of rivalry, that is completely not the case at bouldering competitions.  Scoring based on the honor system, you record your own points as you go, with witnesses for each.  There were plenty of rocks, but you still end up with lots of people crowded around each.  As a result, anyone who’s there will spot you when you hop on, offer you beta, and shout encouragement as you work it.  Everyone shares crash pads and advice, directions to the next route, and general kind words, which makes it an incredibly friendly and supportive place to climb.

Bill, Claudia and Jen

Lauren, Rachel and Katya

Everyone waiting for the comp to begin!

Heather and Jen 'spotting' Bill

Greg and JD's mammoth crash pad

THE FOOD: 9.  I must say Rachel has proven herself as the best camping chef ever.  And this is coming from someone who missed breakfast (which apparently is her specialty).  She hit up Costco the week before and stocked up like whoah, leaving all of us with fabulous packed lunches, granola bars, trail mix (see below- the mixed dried fruit and nuts were INCREDIBLE) and tons of snacks when we returned (with some help from Claud).  All in all I was completely satisfied.  -1 for missing breakfast

The largest PB&J ever, made from Greg's fresh home made bread.

THE CELEBRATION: 8.  Afterwards we headed back to the campsite for the celebration.  It involved Quizno’s dinner, booths giving away more free stickers, etc., raffles, Blowing Rock Ale and corn hole.  Ended up losing at corn hole three times (-1), but did luck out when they changed the Pale Ale keg to Octoberfest (not a big fan of the ale).  At the end they had a big ‘ceremony’ (I use that term loosely) where they gave prizes to the winners, pulled raffle tickets, and just gave out a ton of free stuff.  I lucked out with a Patagonia climbing top they threw into the audience (okay, to be fair Logan caught it but couldn’t see himself pulling it off so gave it to me) that’s worth about $45.  Plus Jean and Greg won some flip flops which was pretty sweet.  We left a bit before it was over because it was getting pretty cold and my body was sore from the day of hard climbing.  Loved the celebratory vibe, and it was cool getting to meet some more climbers.

MY NEW FAVORITE BAND: 3. I find myself regretting the fact that I don’t own a video camera yet again.  Because I can write as much as I want about this band and I know you won’t believe me.  You’ll think I’m exaggerating and it can’t possibly be true.  But trust me, it is.  At first I wasn’t sure the lead singer would stay standing long enough to get out a song, but alas, he wasn’t as drunk as I originally thought.  Although he did, in fact, have a stocking on his head the entire time.  You could barely hear what he was yelling, but you could make out the song about diarrhea.  I’m hating myself for not remembering the other incredible topics they covered, but anyone who can help out with comments would be much appreciated.  The drummer was rather quiet, and the other dude was wearing a hilarious hat and offered some random, yet interesting, commentary.  All in all I have no idea how these guys got the gig, but it was rather painful.  In case you can’t tell, I was being sarcastic with the title.  Anyone who can play music should really contact them about next year so we never have to sit through that again…

EARLY MORNING DRIVE: 9.  While everyone else headed out for a second day of climbing, school work and videos called my name so I headed back early.  Packed up the car and took off at about 7:30, and was again reminded of how incredible mountain drives are when accompanied by some Enya.  So I set off, Storms of Africa playing as loud as possible, and windows down with the heat on (you gotta make the most of the mountain air while you’ve got it), and a three hour drive ahead of me.  With very little traffic, beautiful scenery and a quality soundtrack it was the most pleasant a drive alone could be.  Only Boone could make that happen.

HOT SHOWER AFTER RETURNING HOME: 8.  I think the dirty, sweaty, smelly feeling is one of my favorite parts of camping.  No need to put on makeup, spend time blowdryign your hair, or worry even a little bit about what you look like.  That being said, there’s something pretty incredible to be said about the feeling of getting clean after all the dirtiness.  -2 for the intense stinging when the hot water hit my torn up hands.  Plus, it meant the weekend was officially over.

Until next year, getting stronger and preparing to kick some butt!

Day Trip to Joshua Tree!

I realized how little experience I have with National Parks when I was shocked by what I saw at Joshua Tree.  We headed out there for a day trip this weekend, and what I was expecting was not what I found.  When I think ‘National Park’ I think forests, mountains, trees, dirt, hiking trails, etc.  This clearly indicates again, how little experience I have with them.  It also reminds me why I miss the East Coast.
What I found was rocks (this part was expected considering all I’ve heard about Joshua Tree), Joshua Trees (again, expected, but I suppose I wasn’t clear on how much they resembled cacti and how little they resemble actual trees), sand (not dirt), sun, heat, dangerous animals and plants, more sun, horses, and UFOs.  Okay, so we didn’t actually see any UFOs, but apparently there are more sightings here than anywhere else in the world.  To give you some visuals:

BEAUTY OF THE PARK

Overall I rate the beauty of the park an 8.  I will be honest and say it is not what I consider to be clasically beautiful.  It’s not deciduous trees in the mountains during the fall.  However, I will also be open-minded and recognize there are other types of beauty and this definitely added to my experiences and shocked me with how pretty rocks and sand can be.  Many points for the pure artwork of perfectly rounded rocks, flat land that allows you to see much further than you ever could in a forest, and the oddly intriguing Dr. Seuss-like Joshua Trees.  I do wish there were more colors however, which would earn it an extra point.

COMPANY

10.  We even talked while we were there about finding perfect travel companions, and I definitely lucked out with these two.  Finding folks who match your travel style, and are entertaining, is often a difficult thing to do.  But the three of us somehow managed to not only have a good time, but also agree on what things we wanted to prioritize during our short day there.  They loved Pioneertown as much as I did (more to come on that), put up with my techno music, and Nick even let us sleep on the way home.  I’m tempted to take off .5 point for getting so car sick on the way there, but I think we decided it was because of my hunger and not Nick’s driving that did it, so I’ll leave it be at a 10.

THE DANGERS OF THE DESSERT

I’m not super comfortable with wildlife.  In fact, I sometimes have irrational fears of sharks, bears, moose, and pretty much anything that might decide to attack and take one of my limbs.  So needless to say it wasn’t helpful when the folks at the visitor’s center started talking about the things we should watch out for.  Rattle snakes, tarantulas, scorporines, etc.  When they noticed the worried look on my face, they followed it up with ‘Don’t worry about those.  You actually need to be more scared of the plants.’  They then proceeded to tell me about all the dangerous plants I might accidentally run into, and all the painful, disgusting things that would happen if I did.  Excellent.  So pretty much you need to be scared of everything here in the desert.

Nick said it perfectly when he described it as constantly walking on eggshells, never wondering if you’ll accidentally step on a snake, find yourself looking at a scorpion, or accidentally running into a deadly bush.  I rate this a 1.  It kept me on my toes, that’s for sure.

PIONEER TOWN

Another treasure to be found at Joshua Tree is the brilliant Pioneer Town.  In the 1940′s Roy Rogers, Dick Curtis and Russell Hayden were the original developers, who wanted to create a movie set for Westerns that were being created at the time.  So they built a small town in the desert where from the outside it was perfect for a movie, but on the inside were actual stores, restaurants, etc. so actors could actually live in the town.  It sounded cheesy, but we still decided we had to visit.  What we found was a bit underwhelming until we found the Pioneer Palace Restaurant…

Pappy and Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace was a restaurant built in the spirit of the rest of the town, with cheap beer (especially compared to LA!), cheap food (seriously, Jen’s meal of a large cheese quesedilla, rice and beans was $3.95) and incredible atmosphere.  It was full of people, we saw two live bands, people were up and dancing, tons of cowboy boots, an open back that leads into a beer garden with benches, and pool tables.  I can’t imagine a better place to spend a Saturday night.  I will be coming back to Joshua Tree some day just for Pappy and Harriet.  This place was the most definitive 10 of the day.

STAR GAZING: 7

After enjoying dinner there, we headed back into the desert to lay out a blanket and do some star gazing.  We’d heard it was incredible, and a shuttle was supposed to be crossing the sky at 9:05.  We’d also heard there are tons of UFO spottings here, so we were a little hopeful.

In the end we saw the shuttle, saw four shooting stars and several constellations, no tarantulas or scorpions (which we were warned come out at night) and no UFOs.  This may actually add a point, as I’m not sure what a great ending that would be if we were abducted and taken to space…  Needless to say this was a perfect end to a fabulous day at Joshua Tree.