sun on the stone

February 12, 2017

Strong winds swept across the desert the next morning, blowing and breaking tents. Bryce, Jak, Alex, and I were early to get in line at the park entrance to climb a second day. Our great friend Jamieson, who would be driving back to Albuquerque later that day, generously brought his stove and made coffee for us in the wind on the side of the road as we waited in the cold.

We explored and found some great climbs that day at North Mountain, which were both challenging and super fun.

All in all, it was a fabulous weekend on the rocks at Hueco Tanks!

HUECO TANKS STATE PARK

East Mountain #5

February 11, 2017

I had been hearing about the Hueco Rock Rodeo for a year or so before Bryce talked me into going. It is one of the best outdoor bouldering competitions in the world and brings together professional and amateur climbers and our friends. The competition and accompanying fun takes place at Hueco Tanks State Park, a desert sanctuary in El Paso, Texas.

February 5, 2017

It was a brief visit to the Santee Boulders but populated with a lot of good climbing buddies. Woody enjoyed another good romp with his buddy Ghost and waited for me, not so patiently, on the downclimb. Even though our home gym moved to a new location, actually 3 new locations, which resulted in everyone spreading out to new places, trying out the other great gyms in town, etc., we still have a bond with those climbers we know from those golden days at Vertical Hold Miramar. The warmup climb at Santee always seems to be Amphitheater slab; it is just a given. It is also  pretty much on the way to any of the other boulders.

MT WOODSON #3

The day started with a text, “Can you be here in half an hour?” Sure! For a last minute trip to Mt. Woodson, one of San Diego’s climbing areas, I will get moving!

A fun day was to be had at Woodson, bouldering with good friends Adam and Kate. I did a couple of new climbs and sent the classic Baby Robbins. I couldn’t remember if it was the first time or not (ha!) but now it is in writing and I will remember I did it!

One of the things I love about climbing is the camaraderie that develops even among strangers at a crag. We shared our pads with  a couple of climbers who had a top rope set up so they could try the boulder problem and they, in turn, offered to let us get on their rope. This happens frequently; I find the climbing community to be a truly supportive and welcoming atmosphere.

Also in January, Bryce and I headed to a new spot to meet friends Jak and Alex for an afternoon of climbing. The wild dog friends Woody and Ghost got to come along and run around. New climbing areas are always exciting, adding an extra element of fun and adventure to an already great outing.

This post is a slight diversion from my series on rock climbing at 55 crags this year and I will get back to that soon. For now though, I feel the need to talk about running.

I went for a really nice trail run this morning after spending the night under the stars at Mount Laguna. As I have said here before, I love waking up outside, under the trees, near the rocks, after sleeping under the stars! I realized as I was running that I had a big smile on my face for no reason except that I was so happy to be running on a trail that meandered between trees in the woods and a big meadow. It was a new trail for me but I could tell that I would love it every time I returned. Whenever I get to experience a run like this, it simply reaffirms my love for running and makes me so appreciative that I am doing it at that moment pain and injury-free.

I am creative while I run; even though admittedly I cannot always remember exact words, the ideas remain. Sometimes I wish I could write while I run. Running also gives me a form of active meditation. I call it meditation in motion.

Spending a clear night under the trees and stars and then going for a good trail run was just the restart I needed today.

JASPER BOULDERS

The first area I visited, back in January when I started, was the Jasper Boulders in the Anza Borrego Desert near San Diego.

It was a quick (less than 24 hour) overnight trip but we managed to get some fun climbing in after a night of stargazing and astrophotography. Mama’s Boulder has climbs on all sides and is close to the camping area so it is a great place to go when you have a limited amount of time.

55 CRAGS

Upon turning 55 this past December, I made the possibly crazy decision to climb at 55 crags in a year. Crazy, impulsive, or just plain fun, I have begun (actually I began in January). Here, I will do my best to chronicle this year’s adventures.

I have been climbing for about 8 years. I started after my kids joined the youth climbing team at Vertical Hold in San Diego. I was driving them there a few times a week and rather than fight traffic and waste time driving back and forth or sitting and reading a book, I was encouraged by their coach to try it out myself. I really liked it and was immediately hooked. Already a runner and having been a triathlete, I was always happy to find another cool upper body workout. Of course, as any climber knows, it turns out when you are doing it right, it is much more than an upper body workout but that is how I perceived it at first in my runner’s mindset. At first, I spent a lot of time on the traverse wall, but quickly moved into bouldering, then top-roping, and then lead-climbing a bit and I have loved it ever since.

The world of climbing has given me many wonderful friendships, some of whom I know will be life-long. That coach who encouraged me to try it out is now a close friend. I will be happy to have many of these friends along for this adventure.