apAdventures

…as do the diapers, wipes, bottles, toys, changing pad, baby Patagucci fleece hoodie, burp cloth, extra outfit in case of a diaper blow-out, plastic garbage bag to hold diaper blow-out, books, binky, sunhat (~5lbs), baby backpack and baby (22lbs).

Add to that the standard sport climbing gear: 70m rope (11.24lbs), 21 quickdraws (5lbs), harnesses, chalkbags, shoes, food (~2lbs), water (~2lbs),

Add to that 1 extra gal. of water for the dog because we didn’t think to bring her doggie backpack (~8.35lbs).

Grand total = 90.09lbs

Split that between April and I = 45.05lbs/person

Then carry that for about a 1 hour hike (from the lowest Maple Canyon campsite because all the others were booked), uphill to the Pipe Dream Cave in 80 degree 100% humidity heat at 7AM to beat the crowds.

Then try to send.

Throughout my 14 years of climbing I’ve often been faced with undesirable circumstances when wanting to climb. I’ve sat 4 hrs in a car with a dog drooling on my back (without the recommended raincoat) on the way to the NRG, walked around all day in dress shoes and shorts at Hueco in the winter because I forgot my approach shoes and pants, sat for 24 hrs continuously in seats that didn’t recline on a flight to South Africa, climbed with chills and a fever in France because there were only 4 days left in the climbing trip (cuz if it ain’t rainin’ in Font you better be climbin’), shared a shot of whiskey with a good old West Virginia local sporting a fishing rod and a pistol just to make sure I was on his good side in order to feel at home at the crag…just to name a few.

So as my cotton underwear sagged from sweat and the thin straps of the playpen bag started to rub my shoulders raw, I noticed a slight smile creep onto my face, the smile of insanity. And then I looked back at April to check her upward progress. When our eyes met we couldn’t hold in the chuckle of a madman. “What the hell are we doing?” No sooner did we notice our extreme situation when two people hiked up and asked us if we were backpacking. “Nope, climbing” we both replied without hesitation, in unison. And that sums it up. We’re simply climbing. Climbing in crappy circumstances is better than not climbing at all, as April would say. As soon as my feet leave the ground it no longer matters how far I drove, how long I hiked, or how much weight I carried to get here. We love it, all three of us!

Rest stop on the 15 hr drive to Maple Canyon, Utah

Silas stretching his chubby legs

Two days in campsite #9 before we got booted to the bottom of the canyon

The 34.5lb playpen

Silas doesn’t seem to mind its weight

Chillin’ at the Zen Garden

Chillin’ at the Pipe Dream Cave

The Pipe Dream

Morgan without doggie backpack. Lucky dog

Resting after a day of insanity

Pancakes for fuel after day of insanity

Maple Canyon

Silas loving the Pipe Dream

The campsite at the bottom of the canyon

April’s sister Holly in the Schoolroom. She and Joe joined us for two days from SLC

Me onsighting Sweet Peas, 5.12a

April on Sweet Peas, 5.12a

Aunt Holly and baby Silas checking out the cobbles

Joe on Sweet Peas

Me onsighting the soft 50, 5.13a

Joe leading a 5.9 at the Oxygen Wall

Silas is #1

An interesting stop on the way home

The Colorado River below the Navajo Bridge

Posted by pjv

Silas’ grandparents (my parents) were here in town last week, just in time for the start of our desert monsoon season. The rain and humidity along with my parent’s presence were all nice reminders of the eastern states that I miss from time to time living here in the starkly contrasting desert. Without trying to pack too much into a short one week visit, we showed off all of Silas’ new tricks (at least 30 times over), went for nice walks, ate delicious home-cooked foods, swam in the pool and even checked out some local wineries in Sonoita (another blast from the east having grown up near the wine-rich Finger Lakes area in NY). It was quite a relaxing week with an abundance of that good ‘ol “quality time”. And the best part was that Silas sprung his first little tooth on the last day my mom was here in town. Can’t top that.

And so in between the family visiting and the heat and the rain, Paul and I have also managed to train a little bit of endurance, both running and climbing…gearing up for our summer climbing vacation (that has been re-written and revised about 10 times now, at least). We’ve finally made up our minds and decided that since we’re kinda enjoying this route climbing thang, well heck, we’ll just keep doing it! And so, our next post will most likely contain photos of flexing pumped-out forearms attached to a boulderer pretending to be a route climber (for the photo, anyway) high, high above the ground on huge walls of conglomerate cobblestones in…..drum roll, please…..Maple Canyon, Utah!!! See ya’s there, peeps. 🙂

Goofin’ off with Grandpa

Quite time with Grandma (this boy LOVES books, btw)

Sorry Silas, no wine for you

The vines at Rancho Rossa Vineyards

Silas and and his Grandpa

My mom and I up on Mt. Lemmon

My mom and Paul

Me and my baby

Grandma’s turn

Monsoon blowing in over Tucson

Cuteness

More cuteness

Cuteness cubed

Cuteness to infinity

Silas and his Grandma

posted by arr

My little bambino is growing like a weed right before my eyes. Lately it seems each day Silas is showing off a new move. The Steamroller, The Bouncy Sit, The Bouncy Stand, The Bouncy Superman, The Table Slap, The Table Lick, The Crib Lick….I could on all day. One thing is for certain, this boy wants to move, move, move and go, go go. I think he’s going to be mobile very soon. !!!!!

The Bouncy Stand

Gearing up for the Crib Lick

The Bouncy Stand with mama (his favorite – and mine. My biceps have never been bigger!)

Taking a break from the exhausting Bouncy Sit

The Table Slap

Making sure the waitress isn’t watching before sneaking in a quick Table Lick

posted by arr

Lots of exciting new happenings going on down here in this hot neck of the desert. First off, yes, it’s still over 100 degrees outside, which has been driving us to higher ground: Mt. Lemmon. Hiking, running, and now finally….drum roll please…ROUTE CLIMBING! Yes, boulderers, you heard me right. We’ve climbed routes now two weekends in a row, and we’re planning on doing more of the same next weekend….a route record for us over the last 5 or so years I’d say. We’ve decided that it’s just plain too hot to train hard outside on the woody, not to mention the nearby boulders. Also to make matter worse, our beloved cool pines of Flagstaff are dealing with some nasty fires. Ahh, alas the rope it is then. I have to admit, I am just a teensy bit excited to change it up.

Me wimpering up The Adventures of Nad & Huck, 5.9. Hey! It’s been a while people!

More wimpering

My boys with a front row seat for the wimpering

Matt showing off for wee Elaine (his 7 week newborn!) and wife Liz on Ain’t My First Rodeo, 5.11

Linda and her furry baby, Seana

The Seana looking very majestic

Trying to get Silas to take a nap in his “nest” at the crag

Wee Elaine

Silas & Liz

Hey no crashpads. This is kinda nice.

Posted by arr

For Paul’s first Father’s Day, I thought it might be a good idea to round up other fellow climbing fathers to spend the day climbing with, while us mamas looked after the babies. So Tom, Mia and Henry joined us up at The Helmet on Mt. Lemmon for some route climbing today. And we had fun!! …but I think I can speak for the fathers in that these two bouldering-boys need some more endurance! haha. 🙂

The fathers getting serious to climb some routes: Tom & Paul

Mama and her baby: Mia & Henry

My baby: Silas

Posted by arr

Yesterday we escaped the heat and cruised up to the summit of Mt. Lemmon. We got off to a late afternoon start and immediately descended about 1500 feet down, down, down. We went down the Mt. Lemmon Rocks Lookout trail to the Wilderness of Rocks. From Wilderness of Rocks we joined the Aspen trail and cranked back up to the summit. Wow! What a workout. It was about 6 miles in total but quite a bit of elevation loss/gain. For us, it’s only gonna get more challenging as our pack “load” continues to get heavier. Oh well, we’re gonna be in great shape, that’s for sure! It was absolutely perfect. Nice cool temperatures and fun for the whole family.

Lovin’ the hike

Cranking up the final stretch to the summit

Posted by pjv

Over the past month or so Paul and I have been experimenting with soft foods with Silas. Each new food – from veggies to fruits to beans – has followed this trend:

First “Huh? What is this?”
Then “Yuck! (paired with a few cute baby-gag-reflexes)”
Next “Maybe it’ll taste good if I make weird faces.”
And finally “Ahhh!!!” (arms and legs flailing and eyes and mouth wide) “This is the best food EVER!!!” “MORE MORE MORE!” “Give it to me!” “AND I MEAN NOW!”

So far the little guy has delighted in bananas, applesauce, peas, carrots, lentils and today, blueberries! Needless to say this kid loves his new soft food treats. And lunchtime for me has never been more fun.

A blueberries first!

The result of arms and legs flailing, eyes and mouth wide, and literally LUNGING at the spoon. I tried to keep him clean. I really did!

Morgan likes lunchtime too

posted by arr

posted by arr

105 degrees forecasted for Tucson today. Yep. Summertime has set in. And with the summer temps comes the usual for us: a “break” from hard climbing (and re-setting the woody), work around the house/yard, visits from family, retreats up to the high elevations, and plenty of pool time, grilling and margaritas. Last weekend Paul’s parents flew west for their little dose of Silas. I think we managed to squeeze in most of the above.

First swim

Quality grandpap time

A Mount Lemmon hike

posted by arr

posted by arr