April 30, 2008
Back to the Big G.C.
The family fun started off with some local activities: a day trip to Bisbee, a hike on Mt. Lemmon, good food and lots of tequila. Part II of the family fun took Paul, myself, brown dog Morgan, and my parents to the Grand Canyon for a few days. My mom had never seen the canyon before, my father just got a quick glimpse of it back in '03, and the last visit for Paul and I was the big "Grand Canyon Adventure" in Oct of '06. So needless to say, all of us were all pretty anxious to do a little more than just the standard peer over the South Rim, tourist style.
The original Plan A was for the four of us to all hike down to Plateau Point together; a nice little family day hike. 'Nice and little', however, is hardly an accurate description. After Paul and I refreshed our poor memories with the fact that this was a 12.2 mile hike roundtrip, with over 3,000 feet elevation gain (ahem,"loss"), we all quickly realized that this wasn't quite what we had in mind for a fun family hike. Thankfully, we realized the magnitude of this hike up on the Rim versus down in the heated depths of the Canyon, (contrary to all the misfortunate hikers in "Over the Edge: Death in Grand Canyon;" a *fascinating* book of gruesome cooked-to-a-crisp mishaps in the big G.C. that we picked up in the gift shop and just CAN'T PUT DOWN!) :-)
On to Plan B. Now, let me just mention one thing here - had Paul and I devised Plan B in the car on the way to the G.C., it most likely would have gone something along the lines of a moderate out-and-back, minimal elevation, perhaps hiking the Rim Trail from start to finish, etc. But no. The answer to Plan B was immediately dictated upon our first glance into the Canyon and down at Plateau Point: Paul and I were going. And that's all there was to it. We *had* to go. The gravitation of the Canyon was practically yanking us off the South Rim. Come on in! It's a party down here! Perhaps this is the natural tendency of the massive Canyon....does everyone feel this way or is it just us? Or perhaps the big "Grand Canyon Adventure" pried open another passion that is quietly, patiently waiting for us to get this rock climbing obsession out of our blood so that we can move on to bigger mileage mentality (not likely, haha). Whatever the case may be, Paul and I decided right then and there that we were goin', and goin' in deep.
So Plan B turned out to be this: Paul, myself, Mom and Dad would all leave the South Rim together and start heading down Bright Angel Trail. Paul and I would run, and Mom and Dad would hike. After 2 hours of downward progress, the plan was for both parties to turn around and start heading back up to the South Rim. At 2 hours, Paul and I estimated we'd be at Plateau Point (6.1 miles) and my parents somewhere around the 3 mile rest-house. Paul and I would then book it up to meet up with Mom and Dad and we'd all enjoy the Rim top-out together. That was the plan, man.
Well, our estimate couldn't have been anymore dead on. Paul and I made it to the amazing Plateau Point, and my parents to a sweet vista just below the 3 mile rest house. Both parties enjoyed a tasty lunch with a view to die for. Paul and I met back up with my parents about 1.5 miles from the Rim and we all cruised to the top. A perfect hike in the world's most perfect Canyon.
Posted by Paul at 07:32 PM
April 25, 2008
Family Fun
The fun continues. We're off to the Grand Canyon this weekend with April's parents...
Posted by Paul at 09:13 AM
April 19, 2008
End of Season
What do you do when it's your last Hueco weekend, your car breaks down, and your manager calls and says you have to work?...
Personally, I didn't care at all. I've pulled off some sends over the last several months that I've been really proud of. April on the other hand, was extremely close to ticking her first V8 this season, until the ultra-classic Mushroom Roof was closed. She worked all the moves and made excellent links on Left Martini V10, worked out and started sending gos of Bloody Flapper Traverse V9, fell on the last move several times, on King Cobra (a burly V6) and there were countless other problems where I noticed her make a tremendous amount of progress. For a good bit of the season I was jealous because I could see her progression and wondered if mine was as obvious. Or if I was progressing. But perhaps that jealously fueled my motivation to achieve new levels. Overall we certainly can't complain. The last several months at Hueco contained weekends spent with great friends, good food, fun times and plans to climb yet again in places far.
Posted by Paul at 10:27 AM
April 01, 2008
Birthday Bouldering
A good gift is something that you would like to receive yourself. When I asked April what she really wanted for her birthday she said, "I want to go bouldering!" I quickly replied, "Simple, you got it (as I thought to myself...this is going to be a nice treat for myself too).
Yesterday, April and I left work early, threw the crashpads in the car and drove 5 minutes down the road to a boulder we've never even touched (how dare us, I know). We had a nice evening session trying out the classic "Hairpin Roof," v6 and other variations on the boulder. As an added birthday treat April managed to quickly send the classic v6 version. Check it out...
Posted by Paul at 09:21 PM