Today weāre throwing it back to our time amongst the epic Wingate sandstone in Utah this past April. . Thereās a bit of an epic story behind this photo: we wanted to tick off at least one desert tower in Utah, and we set our sights on Castleton Tower, just outside Moab. . Castleton stands roughly 400 feet tall, perched on a thousand foot-tall talus cone. We planned to climb the North Chimney, the āeasiestā route on the tower: 375ā, 4 pitches ranging from 5.7 to 5.9+ with a section of 5.9 off-width thrown in. . We slept at the trailhead, but didnāt start early enough. When we arrived at the base of the route, two other parties were already ahead of us, and we quickly saw that both were in over their heads. The first couple was awkwardly fighting with each other during the two hours it took them to get up the first pitch. The second party, while not fighting, took a huge whip (āfallā in climber terms) and pulled gear. Long story short, we waited and waited. We considered getting on another route, but didnāt have the right gear for any nearby. After three hours, when they were still on pitch one and two, we decided to bail and avoid becoming involved in their unfolding epic. (Seriously donāt want to imagine how they dealt with the crux pitch or the rappel.) . We made the best of our approach hike, though, and managed to snap this incredible shot of Amanda on the saddle between Castleton tower and The Rectory (behind Amanda in this photo). And thatās the story of our āfirstā desert tower š. . As we wrap up August, weāre making āplansā for the winter, which we think may involve a little less travel. Weāve been moving a lot and our bodies and souls are craving less movement and more stability. Weāre on the lookout for a great parking spot on private property: San Luis Obispo, San Diego, Santa Barbara, the Bay Area (?), Tucson, Moab, or even NM (as long as itās warm.) Flexible on timelines + location but weāre thinking 2-3 months. Perhaps youāve got a perfect unused driveway or know of a spot? Weāre willing to pay for the right place and would love any leads! Leave a comment below or DM us. Thanks van fam much love ā¤ļø. (at Utah) https://www.instagram.com/p/BnHjXTxFB7s/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=17bfi5mqby6t4