Mark and Kate pull in after dark, and in the morning we haul our gear up Little Horse Mesa for some warm, sunny, blissful late summer climbing. I lead all the routes we climbed on toprope on our last trip here, and a couple more. It all feels easy and good, and it’s great hanging out with our friends. The next day after they leave we’re all out of sorts, only manage one vegetated, fussy route, then Ann falls while walking between climbs and hurts her ankle. Not a great ending, but a very nice trip nonetheless. Slides:

Routes:

Crack Head 5.8

Super tasty hand jams get the day rolling along nicely.

Sangre Verde 5.10a

A good sport climbing interlude. I put a cam in before the first bolt, even though I can clip it from the big edge.

Salt Mother 5.8

Feels like the hardest climb of the day – I’m just not good with the fingerlocks yet. Some hyperventilation gets me to the top.

Great Roof Left 5.9

The roof looks impressive, but I think the slightly overhanging top out is the crux. Fun moves!

Motengator 5.8

Much more continuous than it looks, this diminishing hand crack finishes our first day off nicely.

Sapphire Crack 5.8

Intended to warm up for a second day, but finishes us off. The bottom moves would be great if not for the big Perricome bush in your face. I top out, find no place to build an anchor, so climb back down and build a hanging belay. It’s windy on the ledge, anchors are fussy, and we lose our steam and just rap down.