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March 29, 2007
J-Tree/Yosemite Pics
Here are the rest of our pictures from our J-Tree and Yosemite trip. Thank you Dale for taking such rad pics with your sweet digital camera/fisheye lens.
Posted by Paul at 09:55 PM
March 26, 2007
Roadtrippin’
Desert driving, climbing boulders, hiking rock, fireside ghost stories, joshua tree forests, gushing waterfalls, El Cap awe, sore legs, big smiles.....the list goes on and on. This is *the* official trip report for our first Sportsmobile camper van adventure, with special guests, Dale and Tans from New Zealand.
The first destination on our roadtrip tick list is Joshua Tree National Park, California. We leave Sunday late afternoon from Tucson, Arizona and gave Dale and Tans their first taste in desert highway driving - a long thread of cars stretching out before us, as far as the eye can see. The Sportsmobile is purring like a kitten (Paul says 'lion'). We’re riding in style with legroom to spare. This is the life! :-) We pull into Joshua Tree pretty late and are worried about not finding a campsite. The month of March is considered the busy season, but we’re already feelin’ lucky on this trip and miraculously land a sweet site.
The following morning we have ourselves a nice cup of coffee and breakfast and then hit The Ouback for some bouldering. This is Tans’ first outdoor climbing experience and she does awesome - sending the layback crack Trout Chow (v0) and flashing the stellar West Face of Dino’s Egg (.9). Woo! We all finish off the day having fun jumping around on the Flintlock Dyno (v0) on the Chuckawalla Boulder and then back to the campsite to celebrate with yummy food and beer.
Next destination on the tick list is Yosemite National Park, California. We’ve picked a great day for driving because it’s cloudy and lightly raining on almost the whole journey up north. We arrive at Yosemite Valley at dusk, but alas, because of the rain (snow, at the higher elevations), the massive monolith El Capitan is unwilling to show its sheer face. Here in the high country, March is the off-season and we practically have the entire place to ourselves (relatively speaking - if you’ve ever visited the Valley). We celebrate our arrival with homemade pizza.
The waterfalls are absolutely gushing this time of year and we’re eager to check them out. Our first hiking pick is Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls. Because of the snow at the higher elevation and rockfall danger, the Mist Trail is closed (a direct link between Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls along the water’s edge), thus forcing us on a long, roundabout hike to get to the top of the amazing Nevada Falls, with which we are rewarded with stellar views of Liberty Cap, Mount Broderick, and Half Dome along the way. There is no such thing as a bad hike in Yosemite. Nine miles later we’re back at camp, munchin’ on spaghetti and garlic bread and sippin’ on wine, celebrating Tan’s Birthday! (the celebration just never ends on this trip).
Rise and shine campers! Today is the El Cap day! Our goal: To hike to the top of El Cap; about 3000 feet elevation gain; about 18 miles of walking. It’s early, we’ve got our daypacks ready, and we’re rearin’ to go. We start off toward Camp 4, where the Yosemite Falls trailhead awaits. Slow and steady, we burn our way up the never ending switchbacks up to the top of Yosemite Falls, the tallest waterfall in the U.S., the 5th tallest in the world. It’s gushing full force with the springtime melt. Breathtaking. The next photo snapper we see is a BOBCAT!!! No kidding - right on the trail - just chillin' - well, kinda not - he's pretty pissed to see us we think so we keep our distance. He heads downhill and we head up. We're chugging along again, up, up up. Just around the next switchback, just around the next switchback, and finally we reach the top. We all chill for a bit and refuel with some PB&J sandwiches. We’re feeling pretty darn good and looking forward to the next part of the hike: a straightforward 5 mile, rolling walk through a wooded forest, gaining only about 500 more feet of elevation, which will gently place us on the top of the massive El Capitan. Sounds easy, huh? Well, not quite. We start off into the woods and immediately begin walking over patches of hardpacked snow. A little snow - no big deal - we’re well equipped. We tromp on. The little patches start turning into bigger patches, and then bigger patches, until we’re eventually walking through neverending 3-4 foot deep hardpacked snow. Throw in an occasional post hole here and there, leaving us knee (or sometimes thigh) deep in the icy whiteness, and you’ve got a few bummed looks of despair that we may not be able to make it to El Cap. After about 45 minutes of this we get to a signpost almost buried in the snow. El Cap this way...4.1 miles. Uh oh, wait a sec. We’ve been hiking for almost an hour and have only traveled about 1 mile! Oh no, we’ll *never* make El Cap at this pace. The snow is slowing us down way too much. And to top it all off, the old footprints we’d been following through the snow...keeping us on trail...now turn off down another trail at this point. We look into the dark, snow-filled woods at where the path to El Cap should lead, but is invisible due to the snow. Consensus everyone: “No Thanks.” We turn back. El Capitan has shut us down.
We quickly turn our despair around with deciding to go check out Yosemite Point. As I said, there is no such thing as a bad hike in Yosemite. We reach the precarious vantage point and are blown away with the breathtaking birds-eye view of the entire Valley floor. I can only sum it up with one word: Wow. All smiles, we cruise back down to the valley floor and fill our bellies with some great food at the Yosemite Lodge.
Our remaining stay in the Valley is quite relaxing. We tool around the valley floor shops, shower!, sip on drinks at the Ahwahnee Hotel, check out some boulder problems, stare in awe at a bivy tent on the El Cap face, and rest and recuperate with good food, good stories, and good company.
It is now time to turn this roadtrip back toward home. We decide to pass through Joshua Tree again on the way back and *totally* luck out with finding a campsite. It is our final night on the road and we celebrate the good times had with a nice fire and a slideshow with all the pics we’ve taken on the trip.
We get up early in the morning and hit the road again, eager to get to Tucson at a reasonable hour so we can have time for some evening chillin’ at the house. This roadtrip might be coming to a close but the fun is not. We’re all still buzzing from the amazing sights we’ve seen over the last week and discussing our favorite parts, dreaming of when we can return and/or what adventure we will embark upon next. The more places one sees, the more one wants to see. A healthy greed, we all agree.
Posted by April at 07:56 PM
March 18, 2007
The Voyage Continues...
...and we have a couple stowaways along for the ride. Our friends Dale & Tans from New Zealand are here in Tucson right now, packing their climbing gear and hiking boots into the Sportsmobile, getting psyched for a week of road trippin' with us.
But before I go there - how about an update as to what we've already managed to pack into these two kiwi's first visit to the southwest. They arrived Friday evening, and in perfect Tucson host style, we greeted them with margheritas, fahitas, and some classic chillin' out back by the pool in pleasant 80 degree temps. Paul's father, Regis, was here too - winding down and relaxing after the long Sportsmobile "Maiden Voyage" with Paul.
Saturday morning, unfotunately, Regis had to return home to Pittsburgh. Dale and Tans started the day off with an icy morning swim (the pool is still quite cold!). And Paul and I fixed up some smoothies and coffee for everyone. After some more relaxing by the pool, next on the agenda was a short little morning hike on the Agua Caliente trail.
That was fun, what next? Let's head to Mexico!! Our friends Jeff and Gina came along too.
And to finish off the night - more margheritas, beer, and chillin' at our adobe.
So now, here we are packing our gear for the roadtrip. Joshua Tree, Yosemite, maybe a couple of other sightseeing stops along the way....!! We'll be cruisin' in style....Sportsmobile-style. :-)
Posted by April at 09:39 AM
March 17, 2007
Sportsmobile Pics
Here are a few pics of our new ride...
Posted by Paul at 01:29 PM
Maiden Voyage
I just looked at our website and realized it’s been a few weeks since we last mentioned what we’ve been up to. Geeze, I guess we’ve been slackin’ Actually, April and I have been busy. Busy getting ready for our insane travel plans over the next month. Currently our plan is in motion. I am traveling back from Austin with my Dad. Austin Texas. Yep, Austin Texas. Why?
We did it! We got a Sportsmobile!!!
Over the last several months we co-ordinated with Sportsmobile and had a Chevy van converted to our specs. Rather than have it shipped to our house in Tucson I decided to travel to Austin (where our van was being built) and pick it up. In a conversation over the phone with my Dad I mentioned what I was planning to do and he said, “Hey, let me come too. Like old times.” I said, “Perfect, we can make the drive together, the maiden voyage.”
So, here we are, out in the desert on our way to Tucson traveling on Interstate 10. This is just the beginning...
Posted by Paul at 09:52 AM