Cousin Doug & Liz join us for our habitual Vedauwoo weekend, and are treated to our closest-yet encounter with a Vedauwoo Moose. We’re having a leisurely morning in camp when a crashing comes from the aspen above us. Liz and I both see the shape of a horse and rider in the trees, and don’t give it any more attention. Doug clues us in just before the creature emerges, “Holy @#$, a moose!” I run around to the camper to find Ann, and just about giver her a coronary spouting, “Moose! Moose! Moose!” She recovers just quickly enough to get a few pictures. The big bull is apparently on his way somewhere and not overly concerned with our frantic scurrying. Doug follows him a ways (we’ll have to keep an eye on his pictures too).

I take no pictures all day, but we return to Beehive Buttress and wear ourselves out in perfect weather, with hint of fall chill, on the buffet of sport climbs there. Ann leads lots of routes, including “Mountain Hipsters 5.9+”, a provocative slab-and-bulge mix. Liz learns to clean and rappel, which she does on every route she climbs. Doug and I start on “Corporal Clog 5.8” and work our way right for 5 routes on .9’s and .10’s, with Doug pulling a good flash of “Water Streak 5.10a”. The interspersions of clouds and cold breezes remind us that the days of careless T-shirt climbing are coming to a close, and the spicy flavors of autumn outings are on the way.