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“I don’t know everything…”
“…I know a little bit about everything, but I don’t know everything.” This bit of wisdom came from Larry, who has been installing a heater in our shack for the past three weeks. It’s been a learning process for all of us. Larry’s laissez faire style of home improvement involves working until an insurmountable impediment…
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Movie: Lumumba
This is a fairly saintly portrayal of Patrice Lumumba, a key player in the Congo’s independence from Belgium in 1960. Because of that I didn’t fully trust it, but I appreciated the movie anyway. Even if Lumumba would not have been a savior to the Congolese, he certainly lived during the most hopeful period for…
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Wildrose Peak
Better things go wrong this time on our second attempt to hike up this peak in Death Valley National Park. Instead of starting a mile away on steep dirt road, we give the trailhead a try. That improves morale from the start. On the way up, I realize a couple of interesting things. One is…
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Movie: Baran
This is an excellent glimpse into everyday life in Iran. Both city- and country-scapes are integrated into the story seamlessly. Water is almost a character in itself, playing its part as rain, snow, pools, and rivers. The movie does a good job of portraying the social interactions between native Iranians and Afgan refugees. But the…
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Owens Peak
We allow ourselves a mellow morning and a slow start, changing our destination from Wildrose Peak to the closer Owens. It’s a no-nonsense chug, claiming to climb 2,850 feet in 1.5 miles. I think it must be further than that, but definitely gets down (up?) to business. Ann is disappointed to make it up “only”…
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Wagon Wheel
It’s been long enough since I’ve bouldered that it feels kind foreign and strange. Ted, Randy, Greg, and Curtis are working on something right of Walter’s crack when we arrive. I do a number of familiar and long-neglected problems in the area. Some that used to seem hard are now not so bad. Others I…
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Movie: Roger Dodger
I rented this movie after reading the Radical Wacko’s review. It wasn’t hard to watch in the way I was expecting – just when we thought it had lost its momentum and overdrawn it’s characters, it would come through with a little gem of wit or insight that would keep us going. In the end…
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Black Velvet Canyon, Red Rocks
We had planned to do a hike today, but were enticed by Oscar and Jules’ plan to get an early start on Frogland (5.8-), a seven-pitch route in Black Velvet Canyon. The morning goes well, and we have the base of the route to ourselves at 9 am. Jules follows Oscar up the first pitch,…
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Flight Path, Red Rocks
Some of the climbers in our party are up at 5 am to head for long multipitch climbs, but we sleep in til 7 and make breakfast. One pair, Ian and Ingrid, leave for an 11-pitch route around 8. We wish them luck. Those of us remaining head to the Flight Path wall in Pine…
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Red Rock Thanksgiving
We’ve been planning this Thanksgiving trip to Red Rock Canyon outside of Las Vegas for a long time, but it goes anything but smoothly. We thought Las Vegas wouldn’t be a big Thanksgiving Day destination, but I-15 is crammed with crazy traffic. I try to stop at the climbing store to pick up a guidebook,…