Parallel Dreams

Photo by Dustin B, courtesy of mountainproject.com

I didn't know that senioritis was a thing of grad school...but alas it has come. I officially have 19 days until I graduate, but my final reports are due in 3 days. And I have hit a wall. All I want to do is drop all my school crap and jam my hands into the splitter goodness that is Indian Creek.

For the last year and a half, I have missed out on the spring and fall Creek trips of my undergrad days. I wish I could adequately describe to you the joy and pain that is unique to Indian Creek. It is by far my favorite place in the world to climb (I'm guessing that Yosemite is going to steal away that place in my heart very soon). And can't be explained, but must be experienced.

I remember once explaining to a non-climber about a recent trip to the Creek, and the joys of climbing a 140ft splitter handcrack, and all they could say was, "Doesn't it get boring doing the same move over-and-over?" I don't think I even knew how to respond.

The Creek is a place of so many good memories and good times...from fights with lactic acid while sprinting for the chains, to sitting around the whisperlite cooking beans and rice while watching Mike P. have a conversation with a rock. And I don't think I will ever forget belaying Sean to lead Supercrack (for his second trad lead) and then watching him deck before battling it out to the top. That place will always have a soft spot in my heart.

But now, as the grad student I am, I have been banished from those parallel pieces of heaven, to the position of "armchair climber". So I accept my current place in life, and tirelessly scour Mountain Project for the most aesthetic lines, dreaming about the day when I will once again return to the sharp end armed with nothing 8 #2's ...Oh March, why are you so far away?