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Surprise, a sport crag
We head to Beehive Buttress, near Brown’s Landing, looking for an obscure bolted multipitch route and maybe some nice cracks. Once again there are too many trees to get the camper to the end of the road, but the hike is still nice, and mushrooms are popping up everywhere in the moist pine needle duff.…
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Rain and Bliss
The day begins and ends at the pace of bliss, nothing rushed, everything flowing. We live too few days at this pace, I think. Few enough to forget that such days rarely play out according to a conscious plan. We take a meandering hike with heavy packs to Lower Blair to do some climbs, but…
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We Discover Our Own Blair Crag
We’re hiking cross-country to lower Blair when Ann looks over a particularly large boulder and says, “Ooh, that’s a nice looking face.” I look it over and reply, “Look behind the tree – a big fat crack!” We hike over and decide to rig a toprope on it. The tree provides shade, and the crack…
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I don’t know the size of my own backside
We know that the Friday night before the Labor Day weekend is not the ideal time to go looking for a campsite in Vedauwoo, but we figure we know the options well enough by now to pull it off. That turns out to be true, but what I don’t have is a feel for just…
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Vedauwoo – Upper Blair
We’re infatuated with the Blair area these days. The wind is coming back to Vedauwoo, but it’s still cool and seductive, and the crags are often sheltered. Sun shines most of the time, interrupted by brief bouts of rain. Life feels full when all this change is going on around you, but also comfortable and…
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We take the cat camping
We’ve always wondered how our cat T-Rex would handle coming along on our camping trips instead of staying behind in the fifth wheel. Now that we have the camper, it seems like time to find out. As practice, we spend a night in our RV park right next to home, so he’ll get used to…
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Blair is cool
Sean and Rogan join us in our rush to escape to Vedauwoo for a weekend of re-energizing. Last weekend’s discoveries at the Lower Blair area were inspiring, so this time we decide to continue to Upper Blair. A campsite presents itself right by “The Eight Ball”, a giant round boulder perched atop a block with…
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Vedauwoo – Lower Blair I
Happy with our experience in the Lower Blair area yesterday, we return to try some climbs on another formation. Again it’s all very pleasant, so much so that I forget about my camera until I see this frog on our hike out. Three Roofs 5.7 A nice long route involves friction slab and chimney moves,…
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Vedauwoo – Lower Blair III
Our small party ventures to a new area of Vedauwoo today! The Northwest face of Blair III is quite the blissful spot on a hot day. We tackle some cracks in a leisurely way, most on toprope: Sweet Variation 5.7- My only lead of the day, but a fun one. Random Crystals? 5.8 – a…
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CDT Mapping Hike: Cabin Creek to Monarch Lake
Our last day is a hike through rolling woods and meadows. It’s interesting to me how this part of the trail is organized in my memory – a brief sequence of episodes. “Windy trail in trees”, “big meadow”, “trailhead with pit toilets and cabin” – but no details in between episodes. It’s pleasant to return…