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Monarch Pass was my good-bye to the
Colorado Rockies |
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This was from the road I didn't take to Utah, maybe it would've been nice |
When I woke up on Wednesday beside the Arkansas River in Colorado the weather was much better and I was ready to continue my journey west to Utah. On my way across route 50, I had to pass the Rocky Mountains over an 11,300 foot pass called Monarch Pass. It was really snowy and I was glad I had stopped where I did the night before. Once I crossed the pass the terrain leveled out a bit and before I knew it I was in Montrose, where route 50 ended. I had planned to stay off the interstate on my way to Utah and to instead take route 90, which seemed more direct. I visited the library briefly to do some writing, make some calls and to wash my filthy feet in the restroom sink. I didn't hit the road again until around 4 and made a few turns to get onto route 90. Shortly after however, I saw a sign that changed my plans; "Paved road ends, no facilities". I was still about 170 miles from Indian Creek, Utah and didn't feel like driving dirt roads in the dark that teemed with wildlife for the rest of my night so I succumbed to the I70 and took the easy/safe way out. I finally arrived at the only paved parking lot in Indian Creek, the Super Crack parking lot, around 10:30 and tucked in for a cold desert night in the car.
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Super Crack (5.10), the climb that
started it all at Indian Creek |
It was freezing when I woke up in the Super Crack parking lot as the Super Crack buttress kept the early morning sun from us. There were a couple of other people who had also had the same idea I had and slept in their cars and as I was making breakfast I met some of them. Moments later a Honda Civic rolled up and three guys got out and said hello. I think a lot of people are attracted to or at least intrigued by the Pathfinder and the volumes of fun packed inside. After they found out I was alone, they invited me to climb with them and I happily accepted, telling to them I'd meet them up at the crag.
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BC aka "The rope gun"
leading Incredible Hand'
Crack (5.10+) |
When I got up to the crag at the top of an adjacent mesa, I found that they had already set up a top rope on the most classic climb at Indian Creek, Super Crack. First climbed in 1976, this splitter hand crack is almost perfectly parallel the whole way up the smooth face. Lacking experience in the art of crack climbing, I knew I wasn't a strong crack climber and this relatively easy climb humbled me in a way that only Indian Creek could. With my feet slipping and sliding all over and my hands timidly searching for what felt like insecure jams, I shimmied my way up the "perfect" splitter (a term describing a crack that splits a rock face). It felt like some of the most physical climbing I'd ever done and when I was finished, my shoes were nearly torn apart and my hand bore a nice wound.
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| Me, BC, Andrew and Will in 'mug shots' |
The next climb we did, Anasazi (5.11), was much more my style and felt way more secure. It was a finger crack in a corner so it involved lie-backing the whole way up. It was super strenuous and sustained, but at least it didn't rip my shoes apart and felt secure. After that we finished up with another classic called the Incredible Hand Crack (5.10+) or should I say, they finished up with that climb. I didn't and it was the only climb in Indian Creek that I didn't finish. The over hung wide hands were too much for me and I gave up (this will certainly be the first climb I lead next time I'm at the Creek). We went back to the cars and I followed Chris (BC), Will and Andrew back to their campsite at the Bridger Jacks where we had a fire and dinner.
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From the campsite, Bridger Jacks
looks like a city skyline |
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| My first Indian Creek lead |
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BC leading Flower Power
(5.10) on the right side |
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A pumpy lead on Power
Play (5.11) |
Andrew left early the next morning so we were back down to 3, which is a good number to climb with since one person can rest while the other two belay and climb. BC was a natural leader, but not in a commanding way and so when he suggested we go to the Power Wall, I was all in. To be honest, after that first day I really didn't know how long I'd be staying at Indian Creek, but I thought I should give it one more day of effort and see if it got any better. It did. For starters, I really wanted to lead some climbs so when we found a good unnamed 5.8 to warm up on, I got my first lead at the Creek. After taking turns leading the warm up climb we moved over to a fun hand crack called Batteries Not Included (5.9+) and each lead that. Next, Will and I let the rope gun put up one of my favorite climbs of the trip, the 130' Flower Power (5.10). It was a great mix of climbing and involved everything, from fingers to wide hands, stemming and a small roof. With my confidence on the rise, I decided to finish the day leading Power Play, a 5.11 finger crack which involved lie backing a flake but also had a semi parallel crack that provided easy protection. It was the first 5.11 I've lead (not cleanly) on trad and was a great way to get really tried before calling it a day. We packed up our gear and headed back to camp for dinner and an early night.
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This was the easy and fun part of the
road to Bridger Jacks campground |
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| Morning at Bridger Jacks camp |
Driving to the Bridger Jacks campground, which is operated, free of charge, by the BLM is a bit of an adventure in itself. First, you pass by a pit toilet. Coming from the East, I didn't know that it was necessary to crap in either a pit toilet or "restop" bag (a bag within a bag for emergencies), but if you don't that shit will stay on the ground for years due to its inability to decompose without water. The road was smooth gravel for about a mile and then it forked with the left leading into endless canyons and the right going roughly to the campsites. I was and still am amazed that small cars (such as Civics) routinely drive the next mile across bumpy, rocky and sometimes muddy road, but they can and do. The camp sites are set along slickrock (rolling semi smooth sandstone) and have a few nice soft sandy spots for pitching tents. There are no amenities, but the people there are so friendly and generous that you'd be more likely to go hungry or thirsty in a city center than there. At night you can hear nearby coyotes heckling and howling in the desert and you always know a gust of wind is coming long before it hits you. The wind also carries that fine sand that is such a pleasure to sleep on, but not in. Each night, I'd shake out my sleeping bag as it was filled with the red sand despite my tent always being closed. I guess my friend in the Red River Gorge commenting on desert camping was right when he said "sand will get everywhere".
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Will leading an unnamed
5.9+ |
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Near the crux on Unnamed II (5.10)
wishing I was on top rope |
It was Saturday morning and the weather had been getting a bit colder each day. BC suggested another wall after consulting his guide book and of course I had no objections. It was an easy approach from the car in case bad weather rolled in, it was in the sun, and had a cool name: Blue Gramma (named after a desert grass). We started with an unnamed 5.9+ wide hands crack in a corner. We each lead it and I could really feel my crack climbing beginning to improve. After that climb we moved over to the left a few routes and did Unnamed II, a 5.10 climb that starts with a hand crack which widens into an off width (bigger than a fist jam) for the last 7 feet before the anchors. I lead it after seeing BC struggle near the top and really got worked. The sandy off width crack near the top was a real challenge and the jams felt really insecure. I was really happy to reach the anchors fully intact.
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A physical lie back on Blue Gramma
(5.11) |
We had had the crag to ourselves for most of the morning when a car parked near mine and two people came up the mesa. I went over to the couple to say hi and after a bit of small talk I had the feeling I'd met the girl before. I asked her if we'd met before and if she'd climbed in Taiwan before. In fact, she had! She was a friend of my friend Matt Robertson, the author of Taiwan's Long Dong climbing guide book. We'd climbed together one day last year when she was visiting Matt on an Asian climbing trip and we'd hung out together again this during Chinese New Year when we were all in Thailand to climb. Her name was Adriane and surprisingly she remembered my name too. What a small world, at least for us climbers! We talked about climbing and I mentioned how I thought that the grades given to routes at Indian Creek were all over the place and somewhat arbitrary. She pointed out that its all about what fits your hands and style. Then it all started making a bit more sense. A 5.11 lie back finger crack climb felt more secure and natural to me because it suited my style more, while a 5.10 wide hand crack scared the heck out of me because my hands aren't very big which makes the jams feel less secure. That's why some girls can float up climbs that have guys seriously struggling, their hands can fit into cracks in which men's fingers can only fit (and vice versa). It was great to see her again and they were kind enough to trail a rope up the 5.11 finger crack Blue Gramma for us to do on top rope.
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Some of many petroglyphs at Indian
Creek |
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BC pulling the small roof
to the anchors on Petrelli
Motors (5.10) |
Just to the right of Blue Gramma were some cool petroglyphs. A while back a climb went right beside the glyphs but the anchors have since been removed to prevent climbers from accidentally damaging the centuries old Native American artwork. To the left of the glyphs was a route that we finished the day on; Petrelli Motors (5.10). This finger corner crack had a bit of a cruxy start followed by a slabby finger section and a small roof to pull over to reach the anchors. It was the first 5.10 trad route that I've lead cleanly and onsighted (I saw BC and Will lead it first so maybe that's not a true onsight). Again, it was a great way to finish the day and when we returned to camp we had another early night following dinner.
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Some big bulls beside the road in open
range areas |
In the middle of the night, four of Will and BC's friends had arrive all the way from Nashville Tennessee. They were Vanderbilt University students and alumni with the common thread of being members of the student run group called Wil Skills (wilderness skills) and that's how they knew BC and Will. I'd checked the weather before I got to the Creek and had recalled seeing a cold front moving in around Sunday with a chance of precipitation so I'd planned to take a rest day on Sunday and head into Moab (50 miles NE) for a much needed shower (it'd been 8 days of climbing) and some hiking around Arches National Park. It was a nice drive through open ranges into Moab where I got a $3 shower at a hostel and a great burger at the Moab Brewery. Then it was on to Arches National Park.
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Balanced Rock in
Arches NP |
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Arches is a relatively small national park for Western standards. However, it does offer some nice short hiking trails with beautiful scenery that can be enjoyed from the road or by foot. I stopped at most of the scenic points along the way; Balanced Rock, Garden of Eden, the North and South Windows, and a few other spots. Some of the arches were huge, spanning well over 40 meters, and the trails leading to them were well maintained.
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| North Window at Arhces NP |
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| Under North Window |
The weather had been a bit shifty all day, with high winds and quickly drifting patches of darkening clouds. As I began hiking the North and South Windows trail it really looked like rain was eminent. Sure enough, after I passed the South window and was heading toward Turrent Arch, a light rain started. By the time I got to the car, it had worsened so I abandoned a plan to also see Double Arch. With the high winds, the rain passed quickly and the sun emerged to create a great rainbow that lasted over 15 minutes. I wished I had been near an arch at the time because it would have made a great picture.
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Rainbow over a petrified
sand dune in Arches |
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Delicate Arch through
another window |
By the time I got to Delicate Arch and Wolfe Ranch, the weather had cleared up and the desert showed little sign of the recent down pour. The trail was about 4 miles return and passed by a historic home that was built in the late 1800s by a lone rancher by the name of Wolfe. It also passed by some Anasazi petroglyphs that were similar to the ones at Indian Creek. It was the first time I got to have a good walk on the slick rock and through all the interesting formations and mini canyons. Delicate Arch is the arch you may have seen on a Utah license plate or any other touristy thing about the state since it's their state arch. It somehow stands on the edge of a circular bowl textured with sedimentary lines of geological history. Of course, as soon as I got there, the bad weather rolled in again. Exposed an unprepared (I was wearing cotton canvas pants), I jogged, rock hopped, and speed walked my way back along the windy trail. My pants and jacket were soaked, in the front anyway, but that was ok since I had a few extra changes of both.
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| Delicate Arch just before the rain |
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Going between these intriguing fins
in Arches NP was a trip |
I continued north through the park and with dusk approaching quickly the rain ceased again. I passed some fins that looked really cool and so I stopped to explore for a minute. The fins are hundreds of feet high and sometimes the space between them is just a few feet. After I exited the fin maze, I decided to milk every last twilight moment and continue on to see a couple more arches that were further along the trail. I saw Sand Dune Arch and Broken Arch before it got dark and I realized I was, for the second time in the day, unprepared without my headlamp. Luckily the trail was pretty easy to follow and the silhouette of the fins helped guide my way.
When I got back into Moab, I went back to the brewery for some dinner and a few beers. I talked with a guy who builds sustainably designed homes and buildings. His design involved using radiant heating in central walls that would efficiently retain and distribute the heat. It was interesting and I left shortly after he did to drive through snow and ice back to my tent in Indian Creek.
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It's another world out there in the
Canyonlands NP |
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| We stopped here for lunch |
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The Green River (left) meeting the
Colorado River on the right |
In the morning I was told I hadn't missed much climbing as the cold scattered showers plagued Indian Creek as well. From what I could gather from the weather reports, it was going to be another cold and cloudy day so I suggested a trip to the Canyonlands National Park. I ended up having four takers and so I had to rearrange the Pathfinder to accommodate. Will, Noah, Poe, Matt and I all managed to fit in so I could use my National Parks annual pass to cover the charge for everyone. Looking for a moderate hike, we decided to try an 11 mile walk to the confluence of the Green and Colorado Rivers. It was a great hike and was a lot more fun with a few other people. Lots of conversations, jokes, and stories kept the walk fun and entertaining. We stopped for lunch about 2 hours in and reached the confluence less than an hour later. It was beautiful. A huge canyon where two major rivers became one.
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Cryptobiotic soil prevents
erosion and takes hundreds
of years to look like this |
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This jump was dramatized
for photographic purposes |
The walk back was just as enjoyable as it was on the way in. The pile of huge tumble weed, the well preserved cryptobiotic soil covering, and amazing rock formations were all first encounters to me. The weather was great the whole day and by the time we got back to the car my legs were happy to sit down. We stopped by the visitors' center but they were closed so we headed to camp...almost.
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The fun muddy puddles before things
got technical |
On the way out I noticed a sign that caught my attention: "Colorado River overlook, 4x4 only". Thanks dad, I couldn't have done this next part without a vehicle as trustworthy as the Pathfinder. I took the road that started out pretty mild as we yapped about how public advice always exaggerates the severity of trails and conditions. This 7 mile road was listed as moderate, in 4x4 standards, with the crux just before the overlook. Just a couple of miles in the road got a lot rougher. Exposed boulders, bumpy slick rock sections and stoney steps began making this adventure a lot more challenging. On many occasions Will and others got out and helped me find the path of least resistance as well as giving me a bit more clearance. Finally we got to the technical rocky steps that were described in the pamphlet and I decided that with the amount of fun we'd had already, it was much better turning back than continuing toward an overlook that we wouldn't be able to enjoy due to lack of light or even worse getting stuck. Overall, I think I hit bottom about 3 times but it never sounded serious and I left the road with a lot more faith in the capabilities of the Pathfinder.
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Will with a huge tumble weed in
Canyonlands NP |
When we got back to camp we made a feast and devoured all that was made. Apparently the weather was also great for climbing that day, but I was happy that we'd done what we'd done. I went to bed pretty early hoping for one more good day of climbing at Indian Creek.
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On the Up and Up (5.10)
was a lot harder for me
than it looked from the
ground |
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My hands after a day of climbing at
Indian Creek, if you don't tape your
like this you won't have much skin
on your hands by days' end |
The weather the next day was decent. We headed to a nearby crag called Technicolor Wall with the full crew. It was a long, steep, loose rock approach to the base of the mesa cliffs and once we were there, we felt the force of strong gusty winds. Fortunately, the wall was in the sun so we set up three routes. Blake lead a 140' 5.10 hand crack, BC put up a 5.9 mixed crack and I went for a 5.10 wide hand crack joyfully called "On the Up and Up", my nemesis. It took me about an hour to finish the uncomfortable, awkward route and I made it look so difficult that only Blake would go up it to clean. The unnamed 5.9 was fun after my first lead, but the climb Blake lead, Whale's Back, went into my top three at the Creek. It was truly a perfect hand crack that went over some bumps in a corner. I cleaned the route and then Blake and I went to go find the others, who had found a tough climb in an even tougher part of the wall to get to. When we finally found them, it was time to make the long and strenuous trek down from the high mesa, into the broad canyon and back to the cars. We cracked 3.2% abv Miller High Lifes as soon as we got there and cruised the dirt roads back to the campsite.
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Walking the last walk after
this session at Indian Creek |
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| Last night camp fire fun!! |
I made some burritos for dinner and we started a fire and continued to with the Miller 3.2%s (strangely, beer can only have an alcohol % of 3.2 in Utah). Three girls from a site nearby came over to join our fire and add some buns to our sausage party. Two of them were from Santa Barbra, California and hopefully I'll meet up with them again when I pass through the area. We had a lot of fun playing games, passing around a bottle of rum, cooking sweet potatoes on the coals, and just chatting around the fire. The girls said that a BLM guy had told them that we were going to get hit with a bunch of snow that night, but as long as we were up the weather crisp and clear.
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That BLM guy the girls
talked to was right, and
my tent sucks in snow |
A huge thanks to BC and Will for adopting me on my first day and all the other Vanderbilt guys and Cali girls that made my first trip to Indian Creek one I'll never forget.
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It was a different kind of beauty with
7 inches of snow covering the Creek |
