Days 85 to 87: Big Sur and Big Surf



Santa Barbara was a nice beach
town great for seeing on bike.

 I woke up just a few blocks from the beach in Santa Barbara where my car was parked along a side street.  The air was damp and cool, which didn't help my wet suit dry at all the night before, but was good weather for a bike ride around around town.  My first stop, of course, was the beach where volleyball courts and palm trees decorated the golden sand and a classic wooden pier led into the bay.  I rode down the quiet pier which looked to be quite a happening place at different hours of the day given the assortment of shops and restaurants on it. 

Next, I headed into town, keeping my eyes peeled for an affordable looking breakfast shop.  There were lots of high end stores, boutiques and fancy restaurants along the main strip where I finally found a bagel shop that I figured was in my price range.  It turned out to be one of the most expensive bagel sandwiches I've ever had since the prices they listed for 'bagel sandwiches' only included the inside of the sandwich, and not the bagel which had to be purchased in addition.  The owners and other customers were kind people (one women even bought a homeless guy some toast and milk) and seven dollars later, I was on my way with some good info on surf shops in the area. 




Southern Big Sur

 I stopped at a shop on the way back to the car and they had a decent selection of booties, gloves, and hoods.  The guy at the shop was friendly and helpful and the prices looked fair so I picked up some gear.  For about $160 I got a pair of 3mm gloves, a pair of 6/5/4mm booties (different parts of the boots are made with different thicknesses of neoprene), and a base layer vest with an attached neoprene hood, which will hopefully supplement my wetsuit well enough for the 50 degree water in Oregon.  Ready for the cold northern Pacific, I quickly rode back to my car and hit the road northbound.


The central California coastline had
views like this around every turn

 I stayed on Coastal Highway 1 nearly the whole way, checking the surf every few miles.  Pismo Beach, Morro Bay, Cayucos and some other places were small, blown out not worth paddling out for.  Well into the afternoon, I was starting to get a bit discouraged about my chances of getting some waves that day when I passed a small jetty and river mouth just north of the quiet town of Cambria.  The waves looked fun and a few guys were already out, which was reassuring.  In a futile attempt to keep my new gear dry, I decided to skip the booties, gloves and hood.  Big mistake.  The water felt significantly colder than in southern California and within a half hour my feet were frozen.  I paddled around a lot so I could keep my feet in the slightly warmer air and just tried to catch as many waves as I could since the feeling of surfing always brings me a sense of warming euphoria.  I talked to a couple of guys in the water and they told me about a spot called Willows to check on my way north.  After about an hour in the water, the tide came in and the waves got a bit mushy so I ended the fun evening session and headed into town for some beer and wifi.

Willows cove in southern Big Sur

I slept somewhere on the side of the highway 1 and woke up to incredible views in the southern part of Big Sur.  Strangely, the waves below were pretty flat as I drove along the edge of steep forested cliffs.  Finally the twisty road made a magical turn and presented before my eyes 8 foot a-frames breaking in to a cove of crystal blue water.  I stopped at an overlook to get a better look and spotted some surfers doing the same from a parking lot below.  I headed down and introduced myself and found the guys to be really cool and friendly.  They were working each other up to paddle out into the big surf and I'd like to think I helped persuade them.  I certainly knew that I didn't want to go out there alone.  They invited me to surf with them which made me take back my stereotype that surfers are selfish and not friendly, then again, they were climbers too. 



James paddles into one of the first
waves at our Willows session



Big Sur coast

 One of the guys, James, paddled out first to a big peak in the middle of the cove.  We watched as he got worked getting outside and then tried to paddle into the big waves.  He caught a couple but came in after getting caught inside on a big set. By that time we were suited up and followed James to a northern part of the cove which was more protected.  A rip took us right out onto a left breaking peak where heads of kelp bobbed up and down in the water like one of those hit the gopher games you'd find at a carnival.  I missed a few waves before I finally caught one and sped across its smooth face for about 80 meters.  I was stoked and for about an hour we traded waves.  Later they invited me back to their 'steal this' campsite and shared some lunch with me.  It was low tide and a bit dicey going back to Willows so I followed them to some other places to check further north.  We didn't find any places working to well so we departed and I continued north through Big Sur. 



Some sets rolling in at
The Tick, but in Spanish

 I didn't find much more accessible surf along the way until I reached a headland just north of the town of Carmel where a big right hand point break was going off.  I went to have a better look and when I returned two guys had just arrived to get in.  They had come from north and told me that Carmel beach was good, but that this spot, called 'The Tick" in Spanish, was a lot bigger.  They too invited me to join them and I told them maybe I would after checking Carmel.

A few miles north took me to the affluent town of Carmel which is home to a beautiful, well protected (from wind), white sand beach.  The beach breaks looked fast and a bit smaller.  It didn't inspire me at the time, so I drove back to The Tick and suited up. 



The beautiful white sand beach of
Carmel, California

 I didn't have any beta on how to get outside (of where the waves are breaking) so I just tried paddling out from the beach.  I got shut down on three attempts before one of the guys came in and told me to go further into the cove on the right.  I didn't go far enough and just when I thought I was outside, a big set came in and pushed me back to shore.  The other because he thought his friend was warning him of a shark when really, he was just overly stoked and telling him about a good left-hander that was breaking into the cove.  It was a funny exchange of words between the two regarding the miscommunication, but some good came out of it.  The guy that had just come in wanted to catch a few more and offered to show me the way to get out, which was many time easier than paddling in from the beach.  Once outside I realized the size of the sets coming in.  I missed one and pledged to get the next big set wave coming.  He caught one and I got the next in the set, which was a biggie I had to paddle even further out to catch.  Still, I dropped in late, flew down the steep face and was suddenly thrown into the air by a bump in the wave.  It was heavy surf and I really didn't want another battle to get back outside so I went in and had different thoughts about the smaller surf at Carmel. 

I kept my wetsuit on and raced back to Carmel beach for a sunset session.  The waves at glassy waves at Carmel were steep and fast but I managed to pick off a few good ones that kept my stoke going.  I was the last one to leave the water and when I finally did, the moon was shining bright in the sky opposite a fading pink sunset. 

Maresa Beach looking a lot smaller
from the cliff than in the water.

Unable to find a shower, I washed out my wetsuit in a sink and drove toward Santa Cruz to a less patrolled area of the coast.  I found a spot in the closed down California State Park of Maresa Beach and parked as far away from the "No Overnight Parking" sign as I could. 

Thankfully, no one bothered me and I woke to find myself on at the top of a cliff that offered commanding views of a wide beach and the northern point of Monterey Bay at Santa Cruz.  The waves below were thundering and I watched one guy paddle out and fail to catch any waves.  I decided to check out Santa Cruz to see if I could get lucky at one of their many famous point breaks.



Pleasure Point, Santa Cruz



Unknown point break in Santa Cruz

 I'd heard some good things about a wave at Pleasure Point so I stopped there first.  Most of the Santa Cruz coast is southern facing and its many jagged headlands create some of the best point breaks in the country.  Needless to say, Santa Cruz is home to quite a surfing population and like the rest of California, lots of people just hanging around the beaches.  By the time I got to Pleasure Point, there were already more than 20 guys in the water so I decided to ride along the coast and try to find a less crowded spot.  It was a great day for a bike ride and along the way I found a couple of other spots but nothing that made me want to paddle out.  Many of the waves were better suited to long boards and the further north I went, to the less exposed coastline, conditions deteriorated.  I checked out some surf shops in the area and had some lunch at a great burger joint before heading back to Maresa beach to see if it had calmed down at all. 

Hanging out to dry after a great
session at Maresa Beach

Maresa was looking a bit more manageable so I suited up and paddled out to the best spot I saw breaking.  I had the whole place to myself and I caught more than a few good waves.  I was feeling great when I got out and stuck around the park to enjoy a sunset from the cliff and let my wetsuit dry off.  Later, I headed up to San Francisco to pick up a friend of a friend at the airport and then go to Adam's, an old friend from Taiwan, place in the city.

Days 80 to 84: Sooooo Cal!!

Jeremy and Sara with their kids Noah
and

It was great to arrive at Sara and Jeremy's place and although it had been well over a decade since I'd last seen Sara, she made me feel very welcome.  They have a really nice family and home in Murrieta which is about an hour from San Diego and LA.  It had been a long time since I'd enjoyed a warm shower and a bed to sleep in, so I really felt like I was getting five star treatment there.  I talked with Jeremy for a couple of hours and got to know more about him and the area before hitting the hay in my luxurious room. 

On Thursday a bit of swell was hitting the coast so I headed out to Trestles, one of California's most famous waves in San Clemente.  I had been curious about surfing in California, in regard to both the waves and the surfers.  How powerful would the waves feel and how competitive would the line up be? 

Trestles in San Clemente, CA 

After spending more than an hour crawling along the freeway in a classic So Cal traffic jam, I finally arrived in San Clemente and located Trestles.  I checked it our from a top a cliff and could see many breaks peeling along the beach.  It looked a bit smaller than I was hoping, but cleaner as well.  I met a New Jersey transplant who explained some of the wave characteristics of the various breaks as he headed down to the beach.  I was actually one exit from the parking spots, so I got back in the car to find a spot I wouldn't get towed from. 

After a quick burrito from a really good Mexican restaurant I was parked in front of, I made my way down the 20 minute trail to the beach.  I was excited to get in the water and since none of the breaks looked really inspiring, I chose a less crowded one so I could catch a few more waves without having to line up.  The water was cold, the coldest water I'd been in, but the my 4/3mm wetsuit kept my core warm.  My hands and especially feet, were frozen numb within an hour.  I caught a few good waves in the couple of hours I was in the water.  The waves were about shoulder high and not too steep which makes me think I was on a break more suited to longboards.  After my first California session ended, I drove back to Sara and Jeremy's place to find another delicious burrito waiting for me. 

That night I got some good info on the San Diego city scene and made a plan to check out Ocean Beach.  The following morning, I packed up my car, said good bye and headed west to the Ocean Beach neighborhood of San Diego.  The foggy morning quickly cleared up and I found parking, got my bike down and decided to explore a bit on two wheels. 

Stone Brewery has an excellent tour and
free beer at the end!!!

One of the most striking aspects of Southern California is the number of homeless.  Obviously, the weather must be a huge factor in deciding where to be homeless and it's easy to see why so many people would choose to make the streets of San Diego their turf.  To make a comparison, I saw more homeless people in 3 hours of riding around San Diego than I did in 3 months of driving around the rest of the country.

I passed the Ocean Beach surf break and considered getting in the water but decided to just stick with the bike tour.  I later regretted that decision as riding around San Diego was anticlimactic and at some times dangerous.  I must have ridden at least 15 miles through uneventful neighborhoods before I called it quits and went back to the car.  With nothing to do, I felt the sentiment often expressed by cops trying to get people moving; 'you don't have to go home, but you can't stay here'.  Well, I certainly chose one of the next best places to home, Stone Brewery in Escondido.

I was pleased to discover a free tour of the brewery that began just a few minutes after I arrived.  At first they told me they didn't  have any spaces left on the tour, but when I told them I was traveling solo, they had no problem finding me a spot.  Our tour guide was a funny, charismatic brew master who explained the brewing process, ingredients, and history of one of the most successful micro breweries in America, in great detail.  I was the only home brewer on the tour and it paid off at the end when I got extra tastings due to my ability to simply talk the brewers' lingo.  Although the restaurant there looked really good, I opted for something cheaper, like Mexican.  A Walmart parking lot served as a safe parking location for the night and the next morning I woke to near perfect weather. 

A bit socked in with fog, Laguna beach
was still beautiful.

Continuing north the next morning I stopped by Laguna Beach.  I'd been there once before, many years ago, and remembered beautiful cliffs that hugged the beaches.  I saw those cliffs again and noticed a lot more since I was able to ride my bike along the coast.  A few people were playing volleyball on the beach and I debated asking to join.  Instead,  cooked pancakes in a small park overlooking the Pacific Ocean.  After a late breakfast, I stopped by the Laguna Beach farmers' market and picked up some incredible avocado hummus and artichoke salad with pita bread.  I continued north and passed tons of places I would have liked to stopped at if time wasn't beginning to be and issue.

Crystal Cove State Park, just south
LA

Just north of Laguna Beach the scenic coastal views  pulled me over and I decided to ride a bit more along the coast through Crystal Cove State Park.  I took advantage of the showers at the park which, thanks to California's economic situation, were free.  In fact, most of the parks I visited in California were totally free since no one was employed to collect fees.  I thought it was an interesting way to save money in a budget; fire a fee collector and stop collecting fees.  The ride was a lot of fun and the weather was nearly perfect, but it was time to keep moving north.

I regretted not getting in the water
at Huntington Beach after I saw these
fun waves

Sunset on Huntington Pier

I didn't get far before I reached Huntington Beach, a cool little beach town with a pier featuring surf breaks on each side.  Touring the town by bike, I check out Jack's Surf Shop for a bit and crossed the street to the pier.  The Huntington Pier is classic California.  People fished, others watched the surfers, couples and families strolled across the wooden planks and a diner sold food at the pier's end.  I watched the waves, which were better than I expected, and wished I had gone straight to the beach for a sunset session.  The walk down the pier was fun nonetheless and I took in a beautiful sunset. 



Huntington Pier and Beach

 The coastal drive had been so beautiful that day that I didn't want to travel any further in the evening and miss anything so I found the Huntington Beach Brewery for some beer and wifi blogging time.  I ended out staying for a few hours and watching part of a UFC fight that filled the bar.  As soon as the fight was over, I rode back to the car (which was parked on the street in a seemingly safe neighborhood), and crawled in back for bedtime.



Tons of volleyball courts are open
on most Southern California beaches

 The next morning I woke early and made my way north past numerous LA beaches including, Seal Beach, Long Beach, Rancho Palos Verdes, Redondo Beach and Hermosa Beach.  Finally, I reached Manhattan Beach and needed a break (both a rest break and a surf break).  There were quite a few people surfing the beach breaks that stretched miles down the coast and the waves, while a little small, still looked fun.  I parked and got my bike down to scope out some good breaks along the beach.  I found one near by my car and hurried back up to get my wetsuit and board.  I stayed in the water for a couple of hours and caught a few good waves.  I also got to take a shower on the beach, which was a big bonus about surfing in southern California.



The Griffith Observatory in LA



LA from the Griffith Observatory

 I felt great after the session and was excited to get to my next destination, Griffith Observatory.  It was a perfect night to go to the observatory, clear and a good view of the moon.  The observatory and park which it is located in was donated by a man name Griffith in the early 20th century.  Set upon a hill near Hollywood, the observatory commands spectacular views of LA and the sky above.  Inside, there were plenty of fascinating exhibits about the cosmos that caught my attention in addition to a planetarium, where I enjoyed a really cool film about our place in the universe.  I love hearing about the size of the universe and how scientists have gone about learning and exploring it.  After the movie and browsing the exhibits I went up stairs and caught my first glimpse of LA from the hills. 



I've always wanted to peer through
a telescope like this



The 12 inch Zeiss
refracting telescope pointed
at the moon and Jupiter

Millions of lights from the enormous city below along with the bright moon above illuminated the sky too much to see many stars.  Obviously that wasn't part of the plan when they put a powerful (at least for back then) telescope on the roof, but the brightening city lights didn't dim the spirits of the astronomers who worked there.  After a 30 minute wait in line, I finally got in to the telescope room where an astronomer told us about what we'd be seeing when we had our turn to look through the big lens.  That night it was aimed at Jupiter, which was close to the moon at that time.  Not only could I see the biggest planet in our solar system, but three of its moons orbiting it as well.  After that, I went back to the front lawn were two other telescopes about a quarter of the size and the same power, were pointed at the moon.  While I was waiting in line I started talking to a group of girls behind me who responded to me in what I envisioned as a stereotypical LA attitude of cold indifference.  It was one of the only interactions of its type of experienced on my trip but that general theme seemed most prevalent in Californian cities for some reason.

I picked up a late dinner at a Mexican joint before heading over to the nearest Walmart for some free overnight parking.  The Walmart was part of a mall in a crappy part of town, so when a security guard asked me to leave, I was more than happy to comply and make my way to the next Walmart in a nearby suburb.



The walk through aquarium in the
LA Science Museum

 After my great experience at the Griffith Observatory I decided to check out a couple of other museums in LA.  I found a convenient parking lot that was near the LA Museum of Natural History and the LA Science Museum.  Since the Science Museum was free, I opted for that one first.  The museum was nearly empty so I could peruse the exhibits at my own leisure.  There were some cool ones too, including an earthquake simulation room, a transportation section, a walk through aquarium with dozens of fish and an area dedicated to physics.  I spent a few hours in the museum and worked up a big appetite. 



Pulse dips, cracked wheat, some kind
of pancake, and other veggies

 The night before I had noticed the neighborhood of Little Ethiopia on the map and remembered that one of my friends from Indian Creek had highly recommended Ethiopian food.  I pedalled my way through the streets of LA, which seemed diverse, yet somewhat segregated until I reached Little Ethiopia.  It really was little and I got to choose from about 6 restaurants that all claimed to have authentic Ethiopian food.  I choose a vegan buffet and got to sample some really nice pulse sauces, veggies, and grains.  The food had a flavor similar to Moroccan food, which is one of my favorite ethnic cuisines.  On the way back, I took a different route to avoid a certain neighborhood where people looked at me like I didn't belong (or maybe that was just my perception stemming from my feeling that I didn't belong), but I still got the pleasure of passing different enclaves and the numerous mom and pap shops that characterize big cities. 

I finally got back on the road and hugged the coast through the ritzy areas of Santa Monica and Malibu where it was easy to understand why living there is so desirable.  I stopped to look at a break in Malibu, but the waves were to small to ride a short board so I continued through Ventura until I arrived in Santa Barbara.  Unfortunately, the girls I met in Indian Creek were out of town that weekend so I found a local brewery and made it just in time for the happy hour specials.  I talked with some locals and got some good beta about where to park, where to surf, and what to expect as I traveled north.  I felt like reaching Santa Barbara marked the end of Southern California and my trip felt closer and closer to finishing.  Thanks again to Sara and Jeremy for their warm hospitality and generosity.

Days 77 to 79: J-Tree's Summer Weather, Surreal Landscape and Rock Chaos



Bagels in the Mohave desert

 I left Red Rock Canyon on Sunday night with no destination in mind, only a plan to head toward Joshua Tree National Park and find a remote place to park for free.  Chances of success are always easy when goals are as simple as I've been keeping them on this trip.  When I got to the Mohave Desert Preserve I kept my eyes peeled for a side road and somewhere in the middle of the preserve, I found one.  It was relatively close to the main road, but far enough away to not be annoyed by the occasional passing car and I slept well in the Pathfinder through the windy, rainy night. 

Joshua Trees at dusk

When I woke up in the morning, the weather had cleared up and the light revealed my surrounding beauty.  I had a bagel for breakfast and headed toward the town of 29 Palms to log some library hours.  As usual, I spent much more time that I'd anticipated in the library and didn't get into the park until dusk.  I didn't even get to use my NP annual pass since nobody was even stationed at the park entrance to collect fees. 

It was a great time to arrive in J-Tree.  The sun was setting and painting the cool blue sky in warm blotches of yellow, orange and pink.  The horizon was hilly and rocky, interspersed with Joshua Trees posing their spiky heads in ways I'd only seen in Dr. Seuss books. 

Now this is a climbers campsite! 
Boulders and rock included

I easily found the Hidden Valley campground, the climbers' campground, and although a sign read 'lot full', I proceeded and found a couple of vacant sites to choose from.  As soon as I found one, I visited my neighbors to make sure it was a vacant site.  Kyle and Matt, like nearly all climbers I've ever encountered, were totally friendly and they informed me that my site was indeed vacant.  Moments later, Nick, another neighboring dirtbag, popped in and invited us all over for tacos.  I hadn't eaten yet so I was happy to accept.  There were about 7 others hanging around a fire they had going, a couple of Aussie girls, some guys from California and others from Washington.  We drank beer, talked and played games well into the night, which was a good change of evening routines from Red Rocks.  I popped some of uncle Roberts popcorn and threw the rest of my sweet potatoes in the fire and we all enjoyed them as they were passed around.  Sometime close to midnight I put my tent up and laid down in my extremely spacious (relative to the car) quarters and went to sleep.



Belaying Dave on the first
pitch of Dappled Mare (5.8)

 I woke up late, made a lazy breakfast, and enjoyed the warm sunny morning with my new friends.  It was a mostly relaxed crew and 5 of us decided to head over to Lost Horse Rock for some cruisy multi-pitch trad climbing. 

Dave seconding the
second pitch of Dappled
Mare (5.8)

In contrast to Red Rocks and Indian Creek, the approach was a pleasant walk through a sandy stream bed and up on some boulders.  Dave and I teamed up for a route called Dappled Mare (5.8), a 300 foot climb that we did in 2 pitches, barely.  It was a good introduction to Joshua Tree and the coarse quartz monzonite rock stuck like glue to my shoes and felt solid enough to take good gear.  I was surprised to be climbing multi-pitch routes in J-Tree since I'd always envisioned just a ton of huge boulders, but there are a few to be found.  The climb was fun, despite the crowded feel the surrounding parties added, and included some crack climbing, some slabby traversing and some face climbing that instilled trust in the grippy rock.  After we topped out, we scrambled back down via a bouldery side of the outcrop and had lunch.



Psyched at the top of Lost
Horse Rock

 The next climb we set off to do was The Swift (5.7), but somewhere near the beginning of the first pitch, I decided another variation of the climb looked more interesting and exciting.  Dave kept the excitement up with pitch 2 and from what we can gather, we actually climbed some 5.9 route whose name I forgot.  The sun was fading fast when we reached the top and we quickly descended the same way as before and walked back to Dave's car. 

The games had finsished and we traded
pics before we departed the next day

Dave had to make some phone calls in town and so I joined him for a beer and burger at a local Joshua Tree (the town) pub.  We made some calls, got some wood, and headed back to the Hidden Valley campground to find our friends sitting around a pile of coals.  We threw some logs on the fire and started another fun night of games and jokes.  That night we played the game where you have a character written on a piece of paper that's stuck to your head.  You don't know your character and must ask yes or no questions to guess who it is.  After placing last in the previous nights game, I'm proud to note that I won the character game.  I felt a bit sorry for the loser as the punishment was to, for a whole day, wear three hooker advertisement cards that I'd collected in Vegas.

The next morning started as slow and relaxed as the previous.  We decided to climb at a palce called Wonder Rocks.  It's no easy task finding routes in the guidebook or on the actual terrain.  There are literally thousands of routes in J-Tree and they're scattered amongst many thousand more similar looking rock piles.  Moreover, the guidebook writes very vauge descriptions, making it a real challenge to be sure you're on the route you want to be on. 



We started up the left
crack and finshed on the
right



When we set out in the Wonder Rocks area we tried to use the guidebook for the first 10 minutes, before giving up on it and wandering around looking for "something that looked cool".  I was with Dave and another neighbor, Kyle and before long, we spotted a curving hand crack that looked like a fun warm up.  Adventure climbing is really exciting and not using the guidebook adds an unexpected element to it.  Dave led the first pitch and as I was seconding, a chunk of rock broke off in my hand.  Luckily, I had a really solid foot jam so I didn't go anywhere, but whenever a hold breaks, it makes the rest of the climb very suspect.  I was up to lead the second pitch and did so as delicately and focused as I could.  All in all, the climb was probably only in the 5.7 or 5.8 range but not knowing that, being unsure of the rock, and never knowing what it would be like higher up made this climb particularly spicy. 

Plugging gear on some unknown route
in the Wonder Rocks area of J-Tree

From the top of the climb, we spotted a couple of cracks that looked like they might be good routes.  However, when we investigated the first one, it was much lower angle than we expected and we never even found the other one.  For the next couple of hours we hiked through the rock outcrops and looked for climbs.  We solo/aided some short random cracks and finally found a wall with some good short routes.  We went with the one Dave had his eye on first and so he led it.  A few meters up Dave was really questioning the integrity of the rock and so he decided to bail and used gear to walk down.  We went back to the climb I had spotted nearby and I racked up for a short crack climb.

Nearing the crux that I felt was 5.9

The rock quality on my route felt descent and it followed up a double crack system for the first half before going into one crack.  I felt like it was about 5.9, but they seemed to think it was a hard 5.8 or easy 5.9.  I guess your perspective is always different when you're leading. 

That was the last climb I did a J-Tree and when we got back to the campsite, I cooked some quinoa veggie hog jaw.  The campsites occupied by my neighbor friends were emptying out quick and I was on my way too.  It'd been about 10 days since I last showered and only about an hour and a half away, my cousin Sara's fully equiped home awaited.  I said my good byes to everyone still around and headed towards San Diego.  Thanks to all the friendly neighbors in the Hidden Valley campground.

Days 70 to 76: Big Walls, Bright Lights, and Solitude in the Sky

Oak Creek Canyon (mountains in the
photo are further than they appear)

On Monday night I rolled into the Red Rock Canyon campground.  I drove the loop for a few minutes before finding campsite number 23, where Jon, another solo climber on a trip looking for a partner, was set up.  We cut through the small talk rather quickly and got right to the point, what big walls would we be going for in the next few days.  Thankfully, Jon had already been there for a few days and had some climbs in mind that he wanted to tick.  He also had a guidebook, which I've been without for every spot I've climbed except the Gunks, so a plan was made for the next day to climb a 1500 foot multi pitch route called Black Orpheus. 

It was wise to have posted a thread on the website Mountain Project to find a partner before I arrived at Red Rocks for a few reasons.  First, I could share the cost of a campsite with someone from the first night I got there (camping was $15 per night; a bit steep for what was included imho).  Even more importantly though was that I could specify what kind of climbing I was looking to do and hook up with someone who had similar aspirations.  Many climbers don't like to do long multi pitch walls with strangers, but since I'd mentioned in the thread that was what I really wanted to do at Red Rocks and had been replied by Jon enthusiastically, I never doubted his skill and capacity to climb safely. 


Jon racking up before a multi pitch climb



Jon was a morning person and for the sake of climbing big walls, so was I for my week at Red Rocks.  We were packed up, racked up, and prepared with some sandwiches for the climb by about 7, an hour after first light.  From the campsite it was about a 10 minute drive to a dirt parking lot beside the main road.  We'd chosen this climb with one main factor in mind; it was in the sun.  60s in the sun is very different from 60s in the shade, and apparently the past few days had been quite cold.  From the parking lot,the red banded steep mountains that marked the beginning of Oak Creek Canyon looked like a nice 20 minute hike across the desert.  That estimation turned out to be quite far off.  The deceiving desert landscape had again proved to be much greater than it seemed and it actually took us nearly an hour to reach the mouth of the canyon.  From there, we boulder hopped up a creek gully for another mile or so.  After that, we scrambled up some low angle sandstone slabs for a few hundred feet to the base of the climb, bringing the total approach time to about 1.5 hours. 



Hanging out at a belay station on Black
Orpheus (5.10a)



Finally, we started climbing.  We swapped pitches the whole way up, meaning he would lead one, then I would follow the rope up and clean the gear out and lead the next pitch with him following.  It's an efficient way to climb multi pitch routes since the new leader has most of the gear he just cleaned and the rope is stacked in a way that makes it easy to feed to the new leader.  The most of the pitches on the route were in the easy 5.5 to 5.8 range with just one pitch being a soft 5.10a.  It was a great climb to get to know Jon and we operated as a team.  Overall, we did pretty well and climbed the entire route cleanly. 

When we topped out it was already dusk, we were far from being finished.  We still had an adventurous descent that required a couple of rappels, lots of scrambling, some boulder hopping down the gully, a search for where we stashed our packs and that 3 mile walk across the deceiving desert.  To make things even more interesting, I was without my headlamp, which was sitting on my drivers' seat with fresh batteries I'd changed in that morning.  It wasn't until 8 pm that we returned to the car, tired, worked, and hungry.  Needless to say, we had  pretty early night that began as soon as dinner was finished.  

Birdland started in that
crack I'm pointing to

The next morning, we didn't wake up so early as we were planning to do an easier 600 foot climb that went by the name of Birdland (5.7+).  Aside from just having fun, we were hoping to use this climb to refine some of our procedures and improve our efficiency. 

Seconding the final pitch of Birdland;
way up in the sky

The approach to Birdland, in Pine Creek Canyon, was far easier than the previous day's and only took about an hour.  The six pitches were relaxing, scenic and fun.  We met another party on the climb who were ahead of us and found some time to chat with them when our paths crossed.  Aside from the views and varied moves, the best part about the climb was the fact that we could rappel the whole way down.  It saved a bunch of time and this time when we returned to the car we felt much better.  

A the top of Birdland, what a view!

That night, over dinner we talked about the business; Levitation 29.  Said to be the favorite climb of legendary climber, Lynn Hill, this 9 pitch 5.11c route claimed to be sustained, aesthetic, and five star quality.  Aside from that, it had the very clear benefit of being in the sun as well as one clear drawback, being even further up Oak Creek Canyon than Black Orpheus.  Since most of the hard pitches were all sport bolted, we could take a light rack that consisted mostly of quickdraws with a few cams and a set of nuts.  We got the rack ready that night since we were going to be waking up at 5:30 the next morning. 

Levetation 29 followed
the crackline on the left
side of the wall

It was a serious climb and Jon's attitude reflected that in the morning.  He seemed somewhat stressed by the time constraints put on us with the short days, but only showed it a few times as he waited for me on the approach.  We hiked for about an hour and a half across the desert and even further up the gully but that marked about the 3/4s mark.  We then had an exciting scramble up into a low angle slabby bowl that climbed about 500 feet.  There were some places where we really had to pay attention because as Jon put it, there was a low chance of blowing it that carried a big consequence (death). 

We planned that Jon would lead the first pitch, which, with swapping leads, would set him up to lead the difficult 5.11c pitch.  I still had a few hard pitches for myself including a 5.11a, 5.10d, and another 5.10.  It would turn out to be the longest, most enduring and challenging climb I've ever done, and it started with a spicy 5.10b that both Jon and I sent freely. 

Jon and I on a hanging
belay on pitch 7

The next pitch was my 5.11a and I'd heard it was really fun.  It was bolted and I was glad that I only had to concentrate on the climbing, which involved pulling a small roof and traversing delicately to the anchor, rather than having to place my own protection.  The next pitch was the easiest on the route at 5.8 and then it was back to business with another 5.10.  When I finished pitch 4 I was really feeling pumped and glad to get back into the uncomfortable position of the hanging belay.  At first when you get into a hanging belay it feels pretty cool.  You're hanging from a totally vertical wall just by the ropes and webbing you set up to anchor yourself in, but shortly thereafter, your harness begins grinding into your kidneys and hamstrings.  Don't forget, at that point you have to belay twice; once for your partner to come up and again when he leads the next pitch.

Pitch 5 on Levitation 29
(5.11c)

Pitch 5 was "the business" and Jon lead it cleanly much to quickly for my muscles to recover fully.  In fact, he made it look much easier than it actually was and when it was my time to second, I admittedly had to resort to the technique known as "frenching" (pulling on the quickdraws instead of just the rock).  Feeling totally worked when I reached Jon at the anchors, I was relieved to realized we had just passed the half way point.  The rest of the climb was a slugfest and I used nearly every bit of energy I had to finish.  When we reached the top, we could look down on Las Vegas, smog smothered and beginning to shine, but we couldn't take any time to bask in celebratory relaxation; dusk was nearly upon us. 

We rappelled down quickly, simul-rapping (using one strand of rope for each person and rappelling at the same time) the first few pitches.  Once at the bottom, it was tracing that risky approach through the slabby bowls, this time feeling less secure and exhausted.  Down the gully, across the desert and back to the car at about 8pm is how we wrapped up an excellent 13 hours of climbing.  I slept well that night, and the next day was a well deserved rest day. 

Paris on electrical steroids,
viagra, and drunk, LV

I spent a lot of time in the library on Friday, writing, reading, resting, and writing again.  I had just finished my Flagstaff post when, for some reason, my internet timed out at the library and I lost everything.  This blog usually auto saves, but not this time and I was as frustrated as I've been on this trip knowing I'd have to rewrite everything.  I rushed to finish the second, less fluid draft before the library closed and did it just in time.  As I was walking out the door Jon called and said that he and some friends of his were hitting the Vegas strip that night.  I'd seen the bright lights, heard the stories and even used the residual glow of the city at night when I didn't have a headlamp (yes the lights really are that bright), but I'd yet to do the strip. 

The Bellagio fountain show

John, Meg, Murra, Jon and I packed into a 4x4 1982 Toyota Tercel and headed into the light.  Parking is a breeze in Las Vegas as nearly every casino has ample free parking.  We choose the Bellagio, a casino known for its magnificent fountain show that goes off a few time each hour.  One thing I really like about Vegas is its freedom.  It reminded me of Taiwan in some ways.  You could drink on the street, people smoked just about everywhere, and sex was for sale on each street corner (not like Taiwan).  We embraced the first mentioned freedom and headed down to the reservoir to see the fountain show.  Synchronized to some cheesy disco Christmas song, blasts of water twirled, swayed and rose hundreds of feet in the air in front of the hotel for all to see. 



Elevator photo, from left to right Jon,
Morra, Meg, John and I

 There was an excitement in the air; one that I had a hard time relating to.  It smelled of money, sex,  booze, and dreams, all over-indulged in.  I couldn't fathom how so many high end retail stores could exist in such a small area until I realized that's exactly how people put their winnings back into the casino; a new Ferrari, Gucci bag, or Rolex watch, depending on your prize money.  Since I only had a credit card and a hundred dollar bill for emergencies, I didn't gamble.  I would have liked to try some games and I spent some time watching roulette, blackjack and war (must war be the best odds?).  I did win in another way though.  We stopped in a foodcourt and I got a burrito and beer at Chipolte, a Mexican fast food chain.  I paid with credit, sat down to eat and was soon interrupted by one of the staff notifying me that my card didn't go through.  He was polite and asked me to come back up when I was finished.  I did, and he tried my card again to no avail.  Alas, cashless and full, I had won a free burrito and beer. 

All in all, we strolled through about 4 or 5 casinos and had a few beers before getting back to the car and making the 20 minute drive back to the campground (it's unbelievably close).  Since it was a long night, Jon and I decided that we'd sleep in and have a cruisy climb the next day.

A nut finding its place in a
constricting crack

The weather had been warming up since I arrived at the beginning of the week and Saturday was set to be in the high 60s.  We found a 700 foot, 6 pitch, trad climb with a relatively easy approach, fun varied climbing, and relaxing grades.  It was called Frogland (5.8) and was located near a bunch of classic routes in the shaded Black Velvet Canyon.  The discontinuous and constricting cracks of the Red Rock sandstone was great for taking passive gear (climbing protection that has no moving parts) so we decided it would be a fun challenge to leave the cams at home and only take nuts, tri cams and hexes for the climb.  Placing passive protection forces you to slow down an bit and place the gear more carefully.  It doesn't have to sacrifice safety and in some cases I'd prefer a good nut over a small cam. 

A typical anchor using bolts
and the rope attached to
locking carabiners with
clove hitches

The last bit of the approach was a steep climb that really got me warmed up for the cool shaded climb.  Jon led the odd pitches and I the even.  All of the pitches were over 100 feet and some up to 150 feet which allowed for lots of gear placements and creative climbing rather than spending time setting up anchors and changing leads. 

Placing gear and getting ready to
traverse left to the exposed arete on P4

Pitch 4 and 5 were the 5.8s and they were both really exciting in different ways.  Pitch 4 had me traversing a slabby section out to an exposed arete and then up to a small ledge where I had to build a gear anchor.  The next pitch was tough for me because I had to squeeze through a small opening under a chockstone while stemming awkwardly.  It was a great view when we topped out and it felt good to get to some sort of a summit since many of the climbs end somewhere on a wall below the top.  It was a walk off and we were able to locate some cairns to help find the best way back down.  It was definitely one of the best 5.8 climbs I've ever done and we got back to camp early enough to make some good dinner, shoot the shit, and plan the next day's climb.

On top of Frogland

Inspired by the tolerable temps we'd found in the shade the day before, we had a choice to make on Sunday morning, Prince of Darkness (5.10c) or Dream of Wild Turkeys (5.10a).  Both routes were on the Black Velvet Wall nearby Frogland but the descriptions given for them were quite different.  Prince of Darkness was 6 pitches of face climbing and rang in with 3 stars while Dream of Wild Turkeys was varied 4 star climbing.  Since Jon had done most of the research, had the guide book, and put in more work racking up for our past climbs, I deferred my choice to him.  Before we knew it we were at the base of Prince of Darkness staring up at the imposing black varnished wall overhead. 

Black Velvet Wall from
afar

The first pitch was an easy 5.7 that I led, but it was the only of its kind.  All of the other pitches were 5.10 or 5.9 and very sustained.  The small holds and delicate face climbing seemed to go on forever and by the time I reached each belay my arms were pumped and my finger tips had a few less layers of skin.  In addition, the person seconding had the annoying task of trailing another 60 meter rope so that we could rappel down the climb when we were finished.  After the first, each pitch just seemed the same; crimpers and small feet.  When we reached the top of the fourth pitch we'd both had enough and decided to bail on the climb.  It was a decision I don't regret (too much) and it allowed me to get back to camp earlier and hit the road around dusk. 

After I packed up the car we headed to a supermarket where I made change with my hundred dollar bill and gave Jon some money for camping.  We said our good byes and like that, I was off to somewhere I didn't yet know for a good nights rest.  Thanks again Jon for the great climbing!