A mild case of burnout

After our adventures on Leaning Tower and a subsequent trip up Middle Cathedral's East Buttress, I seemed to have contracted a case of burnout. We think that the main cause was spending too much time aid climbing and not doing enough free climbing. A week off seems to have done the trick, as I am excited to get back on the wall.

I have spent some time wandering around Yosemite and have got to enjoy the park from the viewpoint of a standard tourist. Anyway I hope you enjoy the photos.

Vernal Falls- Mist Trail

Half Dome

Upper Yosemite Falls

We Made It!!!

Cam and I have completed our second Grade V wall. The West Face of Leaning Tower consist of about 400 ft of 3rd and 4th class scrambling, 10 pitches of overhanging aid, and a final 4th class pitch to the summit.

This is the most aid intensive climb that both Cam and I ever plan on climbing. It was a very good experience, but we are really psyched on doing some free climbing again. Check out the video of the climb and look forward to some more free climbing footage.

We failed to catch it on film, but I got to take my first aid whipper on this climb. There is a trick section on the first pitch between two of the bolt ladders. Typically this sections has fixed gear (copper heads) that make it fairly straight forward. Unfortunately, they were not in place, so I had to make 2 body weight placement in a row. The second piece I places was somewhat blind and after committing to it, POP-POP...both pieces went!

It was a very clean fall due to the overhanging nature of the rock and the solid bolt below me, but exciting none the less. I estimate with the two pieces popping and the slack in the system, I fell about 20+ ft. Gotta love aid climbing.

Note: At one point in the video, I'm not wearing a helmet. This was because the camera was attached to it. Ironically during this 2 minute window in which I took my helmet off was the only time Cam dropped or knocked something off from above. It made for good footage, but talk about bad timing.

Big Wall #2

West Face of Leaning Tower (stolen from mountainproject.com)

Both Cam and I have been bitten with the big wall bug. Our time on Washington Column has got us psyched. We were planning on doing a long free climb this week, before climbing another big wall, but the way the weather is looking, it looks like the time is now.

Tomorrow morning, we are going to lug the haul bag up to the base of the Leaning Tower and attempt to climb the West Face Route (5.7 C2F). Something that makes the West Face super exciting is that nearly the entire route is overhanging. This makes the climbing a little more strenuous. But, this also will make the hauling a little easier, due to the fact that the haul bag will be free hanging in space and not dragging up the wall.

Our current plan is to climb 6 pitches our first day and then rappel back down to a very large belay ledge at the top of pitch 4, for a good nights rest. Then we will wake up the next morning and finished the remaining 5 pitches before descending off of the back side of the wall.

Yosemite Valley

While many mountaineering traditions began in the Alps, American rock climbing traces its roots to Yosemite Valley. Initially hesitant that this cradle of our sport would be either too difficult or overly hyped, Matt and I soon found that the Valley is peerless as a destination.

We got our feet wet by spending a week dodging the weather and enjoying the rock. Some of our favorite climbs so far are Reed's Direct and the Serenity Crack to Sons of Yesterday linkup. After enjoying ourselves for a week we headed back to Texas to visit our respected families.

Now back in the Valley, we have set our sights on bigger and better goals. The first big task on our to-do list is Washington Column's South Face, a quality entry level big wall climb. Incorporating hauling a bag, sleeping on the wall, aid climbing, and free climbing, the South Face proved an amazing all-around experience.

Now we have retreated to a local town to refuel and fix a broken brakelight.

A couple of the video clips feature large amounts of wind, so you might have to periodically crank up your speakers to hear what is going on.

Exodus Ending

Our time wandering in the desert is coming to an end. Since Jan. 6, Cam and I have been chasing the sun in hopes of warmer weather. Our next destination marks a few changes. One, we are headed to cooler weather for the first time. Two, we are in search of longer climbs. With the exception of Cochise Stronghold, Cam and I have been focusing on harder, single pitch climbs (or boulder problems). It is now time to take all those gains in strength and technique and apply them to the big stone. Yosemite National Park, the birthplace of big wall climbing and the single most influential climbing area on the climbing culture of North America, if not the world. Needless to say, my psyche is at an all-time high. In many ways, the entire trip leading up to now has really only been training for what is to come.

Our final hoo-rahh in the desert was an amazing ascent of the North Face of Castleton. The North Face has to be the best climb I have ever done. The aesthetics, exposure, sustained difficulty, and location are beyond description. To top it off, we ran into an awesome couple on the summit. Mike, a fellow Mines alum, and his wife Jen completed the mega-classic and incredibly sand-bagged Kor-Ingles route on the south side of Castleton. Our two groups paired up for the raps in order to speed things up and decrease the cluster. Noob-0saur me, dropped his belay device on the final rappel of the descent. Mike and Jen graciously gifted me a belay device to use for the final rap as well as the remainder of our trip. Not only that, but they shared "victory beers" with us back in the parking lot. I am super thankful for their generosity and look forward to putting my new belay device to good use in the Valley.

Well, enough with all the text, you guys want and video. So here you have it. And Yosemite here we come.

Feeling Creeky

We've been here in the Creek for almost 2 weeks now and rigors of crack climbing is starting to takes it toll on our bodies. Fortunately and unfortunately, it looks like we are about to have 2-3 days of rain and snow, forcing us to take a few days off from climbing. I just keep telling myself that once the rain passes, I will be climbing even stronger after the rest.

For those who live for the spray (read Mike and Sean) here is a recap of the climbing we have done here thus far. And for those who live for the photos, just skip past the text and enjoy.

Day 1: Original Meat Wall

The Sickle (OS)

Ladies First (OS)

Wee Doggie (OS)

Day 2: Way Rambo

Way Nutter (OS)

Blue Sun (OS)

Unnamed 5.10+ (1 Hang)

Rochambeau (OS)

Day 4: Supercrack Buttress

Incredible Hand Crack (RP)

3 AM Crack (OS)

Supercrack of the Desert (RP)

Keyhole Flakes (1 Hang)

Day 5: Scarface

Wavy Gravy (OS)

Scarface (3 hang)

Black Uhuru (OS)

Day 6: Blue Gramma

Petrelli Motors (OS)

Blue Gramma (HD)

Mexican Unicorn (RP)

Unnamed left of Mexican Unicorn (RP)

Day 8: Way Rambo

Desire (1 Hang)

Serrator Crack (3 hang)

The Monk (1 hang)

Slice and Dice (TR w/ hangs)

Day 9: Donnely/Battle of the Bulge

Generic Crack (RP)

Ruins Crack (2 hang)

Day 10: Second Meat Wall

Evening Ecstasy (OS)

Two Timer (OS)

Two Timer II (TR w/ hangs)

Tube Steaks Tomorrow (1 hang)

Day 12: Battle of the Bulge

3 Strikes Your Out (2 hang)

Swedin Ringle (TR w/ hangs)

Cave Route (TR clean)

Digital Readout (TR w/ hangs)

Our Piece of Real Estate (TR 2 hang)

Day 13: Scarface Wall

Big Guy (HD)

Unnamed or Pop Quiz (TR 2 hang)

Big Guy (TR w/ hangs)

The Sicillian (TR w/ hangs)

Day 14: Supercrack Buttress

Supercrack of the Desert (1 hang at start)

Fingers in a Lightsocket (TR clean?)

Coyne Crack (TR w/ hangs)

Something I have learned here in the Creek is that it is hard to increase your onsite level, by climbing at your onsite level. This is mainly due to the fact that many of the climbs in the creek are 1 sized. And to jump from a 5.10+ onsite to a 5.11- onsite, requires learning a whole new size of crack. This revelation has cause me to set aside my pride and start top-roping climbs instead of leading everything. Sure I can monkey my way up a 5.12, but I'm really not learning how to ring-lock by doing 2 ring-locks in a row and then hanging on a piece.

In this respect, it has been really cool to climb with people who are stronger climbers than myself, and have the possibility to climb some harder stuff (hence the many TR toward the end of the last 2 weeks). I am super thankful for the community of the Creek which is always very helpful and willing to share a top-rope...but I can let myself become a Top Rope Tough Guy!

Serrator eating me alive

Hanging out at the crag

Cam back on the sharp end

Buddy onsiting Scarface (he really likes thin hands)

Sarah working Slice and Dice (such a rad line)

What would it be like to pee off that...oh wait Cam did

Welcome to the Creek!

After spending three nights and two quality days in Indian Creek, we find ourselves evicted by some snow and the increasingly evident need for showers. While still recovering from messing up my wrist, I have been on full blown belay duty for the past couple of days.

Matt is quickly flying through the easier routes here (keep in mind that no climb at the Creek is easy). Spending a day at the Original Meat Wall and the Way Rambo Wall has produced six onsights and one effort that ended four feet short of another. Basically, the climbing is going very well.

Although I would like to sit around eating all day, the prospect of climbing in Yosemite has spurred a strong training stint. Our goal is to be in peak shape before we head back to California -so we can climbing some of the coolest routes in the world.

Below are some pictures of Indian Creek.

The Creek will wear you out

The very important Bridger Jack toilet

p.s. Thanks for reading everyone!

Bryce Canyon, Capital Reef, and Canyonlands National Parks

Hopefully a few photos will suffice for a few days cause I'm lazy. But here are a some photos from our trek through a few national parks. Today is a double post, so after checking these photos out, be sure to scroll down and enjoy the latest post about Zion. Peace.

Limestone hoodoos and towers of Bryce Canyon

So I get a bit bored while hiking...

Slot canyons of Capital Reef National Park

Gettin' horizontal in the Crack House

Awe inspiring overlook in Canyonlands NP

Balance Rock, Potash Road

More views of Canyonlands in unfortunately flat light

Farewell Zion

Our brief stay in Zion came to a bittersweet end.

First the bitter. As most of you all know, Cameron has been fighting off a tweaky wrist, so climbing in Zion was fairly limited. Surprisingly enough to me, Cam has been handling it pretty well, and has even managed to stay active during this time.

Now the sweet. Although most would consider bailing on Spaceshot a disappointment, just the experience of being on the wall was an accomplishment for me. Going into the climb, both Drew and I knew we were idiots for wanting to haul on Spaceshot (due to the traversing and slabby nature of the first 3 pitches). But I could pass up the opportunity to practice hauling. And there is no way I would pass up the opportunity to sleep on a portaledge, hanging 400 ft off the deck. I learned so much on the first 4 pitches of Spaceshot, the experience was well worth the suffering.

Finally durring our last days in Zion, a few friends from Golden were passing through from California. This made for a good time hanging out with familiar faces, and a good reminder of real life.

Our next major stop after Zion is the place that holds both mine and Cameron's hearts....Indian Creek. I have been dreaming about going back to this place pretty much since we drove away 2 springs ago. The reunion has finally come, and i couldn't be more psyched. But first we have a few short stops, Bryce Canyon, Capital Reef, and Canyonlands.

First Days in Zion

This is going to be a poor introduction to one of the more beautiful areas I have ever seen. The sandstone wall go on forever. The Virgin river divides the tower cliffs and provides water for the lush flora and fauna that call Zion home. A real oasis in the middle of a barren land. It is no wonder why people have been calling this place home for thousands of years.

As far as the rock climbing is concerned...it is super RAD!!! Since Cameron is out of commission for a few weeks with some tweaked tendons, we spend the first few days in the park just hiking around. Luckily due to the interwebs, I was able to hook up with Drew, a fellow Texan, and do some climbing. The first day climbing, Drew, Chris (a friend of Drew), and I got to climb The Headache. This thing was awesome. Three pitches of great crack climbing. A good intro to Zion rock.

The next day, Drew and I decided that we are going to hop on Spaceshot. So in preparation for my first bigwall, I climbed the first pitch of Cherry Crack and practiced hauling (read lugging 100+lbs of rocks in bag up the wall). Long story short, it was quite difficult and a giant cluster, but I learned a lot. I think things should go smoother tomorrow when we get on the wall.

The plan is for me to free climb the first 3 pitches and haul, and then we will switch leads and Drew will lead the next two aid pitch. From here we will set up the portaledge and hunker in for the night. The next day we are going to blast to the summit and hopefully be down for victory beers well before dark.

It is going to be epic, but I am super stoked to sleep on the wall. I bringing up the gopro with me as well, so look forward to some videos to come.

Bye Bye Pebble Pinching...Hello Splitter Big Walls

Our time in Bishop has come and passed. I have to say, Bishop proved to be the most surprising stop of the trip thus far. Surprising on account of the awesome times and killer climbing! Originally we planned on mostly sport climbing in the Owens River Gorge, but ended up spending the majority of our time bouldering in the Happies and the Buttermilks.

Don't tell Mike Johnson, but I really enjoyed bouldering for the last 2 weeks. I guess, when you compare the Hueco Tanks and the Buttermilks with the Black Hole in Morrison, it is easy to see why my passion for bouldering was suffocated until now.

As we were driving out of Bishop, I made Cameron come and spot me just a few more time on Serengeti. I had tried this climb for 3 days prior and kept getting shut down at the very last move. There are two distinct ways of doing Serengeti and supposedly both are the same difficulty.

It is generally thought that the left is the easier way for shorter people to do the climb. Well, I'm short and it just wasn't working for me. So I started trying the right variation and sent it shortly thereafter. Then we loaded up the crashpads, stuffed away the downturned shoes, and pulled out the widgets for the gnarly sandstone splitter cracks of Zion National Park.

Sticking the Crux of Serengeti

I am glad we got to spend some time getting strong in Bishop as well as ticking off some uber classic boulder problems, but the time has come to start jammin'....good-bye welded tuft, hello windgate sandstone!

Beat but not Beaten

Over the last 4 or 5 days in the Pit, we have managed to meet up with some awesome guys psyched on climbing. It has been a blast crushing boulders by day and hanging out around the campfire by night.

The Buttermilks have lived up to their reputation of being sharp and tall...my type of bouldering. The Happy boulders, on the other hand, have proven to be quite powerful and gymnastic...far from mine or Cam's strengths but fun none the less.

Due to technical difficulties (read: forgotten memory card) we have limited documentation of the last few days, but here are a few pics I did manage to snap.

Tommy topping out The Hunk V2

Will mid send of Leary/Bard Arete V5

Buddy working Bleached Bones V4

As you can see from the first photo of Tommy sending, the allure of Bishop is not just its bouldering. This place is flat out beautiful. The east side of the Sierra Nevadas form the backdrop of this small high desert town. With world-class winter bouldering, sunny weather sport climbing, and some of the best scenery in the US, it is no wonder why so many climbers winter in Bishop.

Joshua Tree to Bishop

Matt and I kept ourselves entertained for our last few days at Joshua Tree. By leafing through the guidebook, Matt found a secluded crag three or four miles from the road. One of Joshua Tree's main advantages is its short approaches; many stellar climbs only require a two minute walk from camp. After getting lost two or three times and endless scrambling, we arrived at the Fortress crag. Wanting to build on Matt's onsight of Coarse and Buggy (5.11a/b), I found a four-star 11a called Natural Selection. After getting stuck at the crux for a while, I monkeyed up the climb and claimed my own onsight! With a crack that slowly widened from tips to hands and a couple of small roofs, the climb certainly deserved its stars.

Walking back to the Truck

Fresh out of enthusiasm for the area (as we had now accomplished all of our goals for JTree), we decided to practice aid climbing on Friday. The weather rolled in that afternoon, and the rest of the day was spent huddled in the truck avoiding the rain. While killing time in a coffee shop on Saturday, we found that Bishop CA had five days of sun forecasted! So off we went.

Mt Tom, Bishop

New Campground

In addition its world-class bouldering, Bishop boasts the Owens River Gorge, California's premier sport climbing area. The climbing here has been a world apart from Joshua Tree. While JTree's granite provides unlimited friction, the Gorge's welded tuff is quite slick. However, we are learning the local style and are really enjoying the area. Below is a quick list of our favorite climbs so far:

Sendero Luminoso 10b (Onsight)

Yellow Peril 10c (Onsight)

Love Stinks 11a (Flash)

Kung Pao 11b (Flash)

The Gorge (complete with power plant) from the top of Love Stinks

More J-Tree Action

The last few days here in J-Tree have been awesome. Yesterday Cam and I had a 15 star day. Meaning, we climbed 4 climbs equaling 15 stars in total. It was amazing. We started off the day with a warm-up on the ultra classic Illusion Dweller (5.10a/b). Illusion Dweller is a sustained 5.9 right slanting crack that varies from fingers to hands with a crux coming right at the very end. Cam made easy work of it first thing in the morning with the onsite, with me following up with a flash.

Next, we were hoping to get on Runaway (5.11), a classic J-Tree bolted face route. Unfortunately there was a party on the climb, so we decided to hope on Fisticuffs (5.10b). Fisticuffs is Indian Creek in the Tree. The climb starts off with perfect hands and finished up with good fist, all while overhanging the slightest bit. This thing is a burl-fest for sure.

The third climb we jumped on was Clean and Jerk (5.10c). This climb served up a nice slice of humble pie for both Cameron and I. Clean and Jerk has a very bouldery start and remains sustained for the length of the climb. It was good to see where our weaknesses are though. We have climbed very few overhanging routes on the trip thus far, so it was good practice.

Our final climb of the day was our hardest yet. One of my goals for J-Tree was to onsite a 5.11 trad route. In lay terms, climb bottom to top on a hard (for me) route, while placing all my own gear, without falling. The route of choice was Coarse and Buggy (5.11a/b). This route is a striking dihedral containing 2 cruxes. The first comes about 20 feet off the ground and involves stemming up the corner with very little in the way of hand holds. The second crux come right at the end and requires laybacking up a nice finger crack ending at a hallelujah jug.

Despite the amazing day of climbing, there was a bit of sadness. First sad bit of news, the weather forecast for the upcoming week does not look too good. But we really haven't had bad weather for the entire trip, so I guess our time has come.

Second, our campsite partners Lyle and Loraine had to leave the lovely J-Tree. It will be a little quieter around the campground for the next few nights, but I'm sure Cam and I will find new campmates before long, although I doubt the new neighbors will be cooking delicious scones on the camp stove.

Half Dome Training

The Regular Northwest Face of Half Dome was the first grade VI climb ever completed in the US. The climb was completed by Royal Robbins, Mike Sherrick, and Jerry Gallwas in 1957.

Pretty much, these guys are my heros. They ventured out onto a 2000 ft face with no idea if the route would even make it to the top. After 5 days of climbing and suffering, the trio stood on the summit of the tallest face climbed in the US. The epitome of badass.

Despite the superhuman free solo ascent of Half Dome in 2010 by Alex Honnold in just a few hours, Half Dome is still considered a very serious route and takes a competent team of climbers 3 days to complete.

Cam and I have decided to give it a try come May. So in preparation for such a challenging climb, we devised a few training days to help prepare us for the long days on the rock.

The climbing on Half Dome is broken down into 3 days of climbing.

Day 1: 3 pitches

Day 2: 13 pitches

Day 3: 6 pitches

In order to simulate Half Dome, we choose 23 pitches to climb over 3 days of equal or harder difficulty as the pitches encountered on Half Dome. Enjoy the short video of a few of these pitches. Peace..

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Joshua Tree Sequences

We have just finished our second stint in Joshua Tree National Park, and have found some incredible climbing. Matt and I have got to experience a wide range of routes including: slabs, overhangs, off-widths, finger cracks, and perfect hand cracks. Moreover we are slowly ramping up the difficulty of our climbs.

For those that both care and are addicted to Mountain Project, here is a little sample of what we have been climbing.

The Talking Fish, 10c/d

Sig Alert, 10b/c

Bird of Fire, 10a

Crack 5, 9

Crack 6, 10a

Waugh Crack, 10c

Friday morning we set up the GoPro to take sequence shots every thirty seconds. The results have been compiled into the video you see below. Hope you enjoy!

(EDIT: Sorry about the super huge video, YouTube's embed feature is acting a tad funny)

J Tree: Part One

The last 4 days, Cam and I have been hanging out in Joshua Tree National Park located in southern California. Joshua Tree (J-Tree) is THE winter destination for rock climbers. When everywhere else in the continental US is covered in snow (even Dallas), J-Tree is known for its warm days and granite cracks.

Joshua Tree photo by Dan Morin

After pulling into the park, Cam and I decided that we would try and share a campsite with another group of people in hopes of keeping the cost down and having someone to socialize with. On our first try, we met 2 guys from Quebec on a similar trip who were super friendly. We spent the next 3 days and nights rock climbing together and enjoying beer and dinner around a cold picnic table.

We were able to get on some ultra classic climbs during our first 3 days of J-Tree climbing, including Double Cross 5.7, Hands Off 5.8 , Damper 5.9.

Cam and Granite on Hands Off

Dan leading Double Cross

Cam leading Double Cross, me on belay photo by Dan Morin

Video of our Cochise Adventure

While it has taken me some extra time due to my minimal video editing skills and our trip to Queens Creek, I have pieced together the video from the long day Matt described in his last post. Through trial and error (but mostly error) we are starting to learn how to best use the wearable helmet-cam.

Currently hanging out in Phoenix, we are slowly making our way to Joshua Tree National Park in California. Two days of climbing in Queens Creek has left our fingers raw and ready for a break. The plan is to settle down at JTree for several weeks and explore its vast expanse of granite formations.

Long day on the sheephead

1500+ feet of climbing. 10 hours car-to-car. 2 delicious beers enjoyed. That pretty much sums up the day.

Cam and I decided to have a long day on the rock on Monday. We made two trips up and down the Sheepshead here in Cochise stronghold. It was a long, but very good day. This was the first beer that we have had since the first few days of the trip. Needless to say, the beer tasted glorious after climbing all day.

The climbing here in Cochise is not what I would have expected at all. Many of the routes on the bigger domes are bolted. This is mainly because there really aren’t that many continuous crack systems in the rock. This lack of cracks leads to a style of climbing that I have come to enjoy…slab climbing.

Over just the last 4 days, I have learned so much about slab climbing. For those who may not know, slab climbing is climbing on rock that is less than vertical. Because of the shallow angle of the rock, then holds tend to be pretty tiny in order to keep the climb somewhat difficult. Where as with vertical rock faces, the holds are at least large enough to get your fingers around, and at least a quarter inch of so of rubber from your shoes. With slab climbing this is not so much the case.

There was sections of the climbs today where I standing on an edge about the width of a dime, while pulling with my fingertips on a hold even smaller. The key to slab climbing is balance, making sure to never put too much weight onto a certain foot or handhold. This has been a very good learning experience, and has added a much needed technique to my climbing repertoire.

Leaving the Tanks of Hueco

Our week of bouldering in Hueco Tanks has come to an end. To be honest, it was quite a surprising stop. Surprising because I decided that I actually like bouldering. Maybe it is just because Hueco has some of the best bouldering in the US, but if all bouldering areas were as fun as Hueco, I could almost consider myself a boulderer.

For those who actually care to hear (Sean), here is a quick rundown of some of the most notable problems that we did (pardon the spray).

V0 - Melon Patch

V1 - Thunderbird

V2 - Nobody Here Gets Out Alive, Ghetto Simulator

V3 - Name Dropper

V4 - Sign of The Cross (V4 variation)

V5 - Lobsterclaw

V6 - See Spot Run (Didn't finish this one. Project for future returns)

Thunderbird

Melon Patch

Now we move on to the opposite end of the climbing spectrum. Next stop, Cochise Stronghold. This is the premiere multi-pitch traditional climbing destination of Arizona. We plan on spending the next week touring the southern Arizona climbing scene. Our three stops are, Cochise, Lower Devils Canyon (Queen's Creek Canyon), and Homestead. After a week of bouldering, it is time to start placing widgets again.

It might be a while before we have internet availability, so look forward to a longer blog about our Arizona climbing experience in the next week or so. Other news of note, Cam's GoPro came in the mail today. So look forward to really poorly filmed, high quality HD video soon.

Hueco Tanks Update

Matt and I have spent four days in Hueco Tanks, a world famous bouldering location. The rock is bullet hard and the climbing has exceeded its reputation. Things are going well. Instead of a typical deserted camping spot, we are staying at a commercial operation called Hueco Rock Ranch. Key amenities include toilets, a common room complete with a ping pong table, and showers. I feel like it equates to rock climbing Disney World.

So far we have completed two climb/rest day cycles that comprise of two days on and one day off. Our fingertips are a little raw, but life goes on. We have two more days to finish some key climbs before we take off for Arizona.

A different post with some photos might follow later, but I thought I would post a video of Matt climbing a super-classic problem. Hope you enjoy it!

(sorry for the low quality, the higher quality one refused to upload)

Last Chance Canyon and Guadeloupe Peak

Today is a double post so be sure to check out the post below about our time in the Carlsbad Caverns

After Carlsbad, we drove through the boonies of SE New Mexico and found a nice sport climbing area called Last Chance Canyon. Our intent was to spend 2 days there climbing. After the first day of climbing, the weather decided to get a little chilly so we decided to peace out early. The climbing in Last Chance is on pocketed limestone. Being a little practice on the whole rock climbing thing, I think it was good that we only had one day to climb there. After 7 routes a piece, Cam and I were both completely exhausted. Needless to say, we are both out of climbing shape.

Since we were both totally wrecked from a day of sport climbing, we decided a good rest day activity would be to climb the highest peak in Texas, Guadeloupe Peak. Fortunately, Guadeloupe peak just so happens to be located between Carlsbad, NM and Hueco Tank (our next destination).

Guadeloupe Peak is 8751 ft. in elevation, and required an 8.4 mi round trip hike from the trailhead. The hike started off quite cold actually with even some frost on many of the tree along the north faces of the mountain.

Frosty trail

Mandatory chick photo on the summit

Now as we relax in the heated visitor center of Guadeloupe Mts. National Park, we get a chance to catch up on the things of the real world.

Carlsbad Caverns

As luck would have it, Cam and I pulled into the Carlsbad Caverns visitor center right at 5pm as they were closing. Our goal was to get a free backcountry permit to find a free place to sleep for the night. Fortunately enough for us, the park rangers were more than willing to point us in the direction of BLM land near-by with primo camping sites. Within about 30 min, we found ourselves tucked away not far from the park, with a nice little campsite all to our lonesome.

After a good night sleep and some coffee and breakfast the next morning, we made out way back over to the Caverns. One nice thing about national parks is, they tend to have nice bathrooms. So we brought our toothbrushes, face wash, and dirty dishes along with us.Unfortunately, we had our major accident of the trip today. While washing my French-press coffee maker after its maiden brew, I cracked the glass leading to its early retirement. It was a very sad day. Looks like from here on out, it is cowboy coffee for me

After a few hours of playing cavemen, we decided it was about time for some more climbing. So we loaded into the truck and drove out to Last Chance Canyon near Queen, NM. We decided that since this was a climbing trip, it was time to stay somewhere for a few days and do some climbing.

First Few Stops

So Cam and I have finally embarked on our gnarly adventure. After picking up Cam and enjoying a delicious dinner compliments of the Frisbys, we drove toward Austin. Fortunately for us the Spoetzl Brewery was roughly in our path, so a tour was mandatory. After enjoying some of Shiners famous beers and bbp (courtesy of Fred's BBQ) we drove to McKinney Falls State Park for our first bout of climbing of the trip.

What McKinney lacks in quantity, it makes up for in quality. Nice pocketed limestone bouldering provided for a good reintroduction to rock climbing. After just a few hours of climbing led to shredded finger tips, and pumped forearms. We met a few locals who were super nice and provided some info for our adventures in Hueco Tanks.

Cam, enjoying the bouldering?

Its like a more solid Morrison

After McKinney Falls, we drove over to Austin and were hosted by Cam's friends from high school, David. He was super hospitable and gave us a shower and a tour of Austin and the UT campus.

The next morning we woke up and drove to Enchanted Rock to do some granite crack climbing. The rock was very Turkey Rocks-esque. The park was closed until 2pm for a public hunt so we pulled over to the side of the road to have some lunch. A fellow climber from Bishop, Ca pulled over with us and we sat around till the park open. Once in the park, the climb felt like a very foreign experience. I am not use to Texas with rocks. After doing some sweet crack climbs, we packed up and had some dinner.

E-Rock Sunset

Owl Crack

Middle Crack

I'm not sure what the hunters were doing, but they must not have been shooting deer because we basically got trampled by the deer while having dinner.

After dinner we drove into Frederickburg for a good night sleep. We pulled into some random neighborhood with a few cars on the street, jumped into the back of the truck for a good night’s sleep. Now we sit in a coffee shop in Fredricksburg with $1 coffee, enjoying free internet and getting ready to peace out for Carlsburg, New Mexico.

Time to hit the road

It has finally come. In T-minus 10 minutes, I'm driving out of my parents driveway. This afternoon I will drive to Houston and stay with Cameron and his family for the night. Tomorrow, we drive until we see the rocks....

Oh, while your here checking out the newest post, have a look our home on wheels.