The first episode of MSN’s web series Fearless is all about rock climbing, and I have to say, I think I might be hooked on Fearless after seeing this episode.  I love how open and circumspect some of the participants are in talking about conquering the fears that arise while on the rock.  I have felt the same way and it is really encouraging to see how others recognize that fear and deal with it.

I’ll admit that I have been a bit lazy about climbing in the past few months, but Fearless makes me think I should at least grab my chalk bag and climbing shoes and spend some time at the rock gym, if not on real rocks.  It’s time to face down my fears once again!

It has been SOOOO long since I have been to Joshua Tree. At this time last year, I was making plans to move to J Tree by September 2007. Obviously that didn’t happen. I am not too sad about it, because I really like where I am at right now, but I do miss Joshua Tree and I am always up for a trip to the high desert. So I think we will be heading out this weekend in spite of the gas-induced crunch on our budget. It will be so nice to climb, but I am feeling a little out of shape. I did some yoga and weights this weekend to start unwinding from our road trip, and I am feeling it today. Plus, I know from the last time we went to Stoney Point that my grip strength has really decreased since I stopped doing hang board training. So it may be a humbling climbing trip, but at least it will be fun.

I think most of the wildflowers will be gone by now, but as long as we get the chance to climb, I’ll be happy. I had the chance to test out my new sleeping bag on our recent whirlwind road trip, and I am pretty confident it will be perfect for the weather at Joshua Tree this weekend. I am also really excited to pay another visit to Country Kitchen for breakfast. The restaurant is super tiny and usually very crowded but their delicious homemade food makes the wait worthwhile. Their light, buttery biscuits and gravy are pure heaven; my mouth is watering just thinking about them. And they are the perfect energy boost after climbing.

Ok, I am getting super excited about heading out to J Tree this weekend. I need to focus on work for a while. Will write more soon.

We headed up to Ventura County yesterday to scope out Echo Cliffs. Partner-in-Climb (PIC) wanted to see how Big Old Dog would handle the trail before committing to a full day of climbing, and frankly, I am not quite ready to shove my nail-less toe back into climbing shoes just yet. (Yes, I know, that is not very hard-core outdoor-sy of me, but whatever. Unless I’m in some kind of competition, I don’t engage in personal discomfort unless it is an absolute emergency. :P)

But I was really up for a hike, and we had the perfect day for it. We parked at the Mishe Mokwa trail head parking lot and headed up the connector trail, then down into the canyon. The view from the trail is amazing. There were a couple of climbing parties set up on along the large wall, and another party on Balance Rock. I found this close up of Balance Rock online:

You can see it above Echo Cliffs in the first picture, but this close up gives a better idea of the kind of precarious perch the rock balances on.

PIC has climbed at Echo Cliffs before, but usually turned down a side trail to head straight to the climbing spots. We attempted to take the side trail, but Big Old Dog was struggling to keep his footing, so we returned to the main trail and followed it down to Split Rock. The main trail is incredibly accessible and easy to hike. There were a few trail runners, and we encountered several groups of older hikers who were doing fine with just a little help from trekking poles. After some scrambling on Split Rock and a quick snack, we headed back to the car. Big Old Dog seemed to make it back with no problems and was moving around pretty well today, so I think we’ll be heading back to Echo Cliffs in the very near future.

I also found a couple of cool sites while I was looking for info on Echo Cliffs and the Mishe Mokwa Trail, which I will be adding to my blogroll, but you can check them out here in the meantime:

• Rockgrrl.com
• GetBeta.com
• The (Single) GeekHiker

I have been meaning to post something about Santa Barbara for a few weeks but I kept forgetting to download the pics off the digital camera. So, without futher ado, here are some of the gorgeous views:

We had intended to do some climbing at Gibraltar Rock but got sidetracked by some shopping early in the day. By the time we got to Gibraltar Rock, about 14 other climbers were already set up, so we decided to do some exploring for a less crowded spot. The guide book mentioned a spot further up the hill that was the exact location were bouldering in Santa Barbara got started, so with a little nostalgia in our hearts, we set out to find it.

The good news is that the drive to the location was absolutely gorgeous. As you can see in the photos above, we were WAY above the cloud line that hid the city. Eventually the paved road ended, as the guide book said it would, and we were on the dirt road that was supposed to lead us to the alleged first climbing spot. We followed the instructions to the letter: we drove about a mile down the road (and had our Magellan keeping track of the distance for accuracy) and spent a good while looking for a trail which the guide book described as “a good trail” that was “well marked.” We didn’t check the publication date of the book until much later, or we would have realized that the last time this spot was visited was probably around the time the book was written, in 1999. The decrepit trail marker should have been the first clue that something was amiss, but we were both excited about the adventure and trudged on. The trail was extremely overgrown and seemed to be heading away from the rocky outcropping we spotted from the road, but we optimistically went ahead anyway. Well, I optimistically went ahead. Partner-in-Climb expressed concern about a hundred yards into the journey, but I was convinced we were on the right trail. It was the only one around…it had to be the right one.

We turned a corner and ended up in a small clearing that gave us a clear view of the rocks we were trying to reach–and the acres of trail-less scrub between us and the rocks, so we decided to stop and just enjoy the view. I have to admit, it was awesome to be out there, with no one around for miles. Here’s the rock we were trying to reach, in the distance to the right of Big Old Dog:

In spite of everything, it was a great day, but next time we will have to get on the road earlier to secure a spot at one of the more popular climbing spots in the area. I guess those spots are so popular for a good reason.

This weather is really getting to me. I feel SOOOOO unmotivated. I half-heartedly agreed to go biking and possibly climbing this weekend, but I have a feeling it’ll be one or the other, and most likely biking. My bike just got a much-needed replacement tire, and I am really anxious to try it out. I think it’ll be really fun to muck around in the mud for a bit.

But today, i feel like doing nothing except crawling up under a blanket and watching TV. Ugh. Wake me up tomorrow.

Ok, I admit the title is a bit alliteratively cheesy, but I am in that kind of mood. I haven’t really had a chance to write about our Thanksgiving trip to Bishop yet, other than a few notes here and there, so here is the first official installment of “Bishop
Boulder Bonanza 2007″.

The trip from Los Angeles was amazing. The full moon was rising as we drove through the desert near Edwards Air Force Base and I caught this pic:

It really set the tone for a fantastic trip. We arrived in Bishop well after dark that night, but the moon was so bright details of the mountains were still visible. I don’t even think I used a headlamp most of the time when we were setting up the tent. The Pleasant Valley Pit campground is set in the middle of a lot of desert scrub and vegetation, and under the light of the moon, it was so easy to navigate all the way around the campground, from the dumpster to the restroom and back. I walked out into the brush very, very late in the night because I couldn’t resist getting to a place where I could feel like I was completely alone out there in the middle of this beautiful moonlit plain surrounded by the Sierras. Walking off marked trails is usually a huge no-no with me because there are a lot of important microbes in the soil crust and I don’t want to screw up the ecosystem, but it was such a rare opportunity I could not help myself. While I was in the brush, I found an almost new Thermarest sleeping pad that must have blown away from someone’s camp site and was therm-a- resting on some bushes, so I picked it up and brought it back to our site with me and went back to bed. The owner of the Thermarest, unfortunately, was nowhere to be found the next day, so I still have it.

The plan was to get to Bishop at night, sleep until the sun woke us up, then spend the day bouldering at the Happy Boulders. We did manage wake up early, and instead of making breakfast at camp, headed to town to Schat’s Bakkery. Now, I have only been through Bishop twice before on my way to and from Mammoth, but I did stop at Schat’s Bakkery both times, in addition to sampling the one in Mammoth (which, by the way, is not affiliated with Schat’s Bakkery in Bishop, but that is another story entirely. Suffice it to say, there seem to be some “eccentricities” among the bakers that will become apparent if you visit.) My partner-in-climb (PIC), who lived out of his van for 2 years to dedicate some quality time to climbing and bouldering and spent several months camping in Bishop, had not been to Schat’s Bakkery even once before. We needed to remedy that right away.

As I suspected, it was total “love at first bite”. I got a ham, egg and cheese croissant and a mocha latte, while PIC had a cherry danish, I believe some sort of breakfast sandwich, and a caramel latte. Neither of us are huge coffee drinkers, but Schat’s has AMAZING coffee and it was the perfect accompaniment to their light, buttery pastries. I don’t know if it’s the fresh mountain water, or the Farmer Brothers coffee with the slightest hint of cinnamon, or some other secret ingredient, but man, that is some fantastic coffee. They have a little outdoor patio where were sat to savor our heavenly treats, and we overheard this teenage straight outta the OC whining that she wanted to go to Starbuck’s. Silly Ugg boot wearing child!

After that breakfast, it was pretty much a sure thing that we would be eating breakfast there every day for as long as we were in Bishop. We got back in the 4Runner and headed out in search of the Happy Boulders. After a few minutes of map time fun and a short detour in the wrong direction, we finally made it to the first boulder spot, the Sad Boulders. We decided to just park and explore the Sads for a while, since there weren’t a lot of people there yet and we could have our pick of problems. The name “The Sad Boulders” is a little misleading; they may be “sad” in comparison to the Happys, but they are really fun in their own right.

OK, gotta work for a bit… To be continued…

It’s been weeks since I have been out in the wild, partially due to a very rainy winter (I know, I should not complain, we desperately need it), an arthritic dog and general laziness on everyone’s part. However, before this long hibernation set in, we took an amazing Thanksgiving trip to Bishop, CA, and passed Vasquez Rocks along the way. I have been really fascinated by these beautiful rocks for a while, but I haven’t yet had the chance to visit them. Perhaps this weekend, if the weather holds like it is supposed to…

Although Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park is reportedly a great place for hiking, climbing, and general outdoor fun, they are best known as the backdrop for TONS of films and TV shows, from Dracula (1931) to Cars (2006); Trekkies will no doubt recognize the rocks from both the original Star Trek series and TNG.

The rocks are formed by the San Andreas fault, so I am really anxious for a chance to scramble around and explore, but I totally need a camera upgrade. I am still carrying around my Canon PowerShot from 2004; I think it’s the PowerShot S60. It does the job but it totally looks like it’s been through a war. It’s partially my fault; I took for granted that it was rugged enough to survive me. For my next camera, I am totally getting a good camera case from day one. It’s worth it.

Santa Clarita Guide to Vasquez Rocks

Vasquez Rocks Official Site

I just found out a local astronomy club has Star Parties there, and I think that sounds like a lot of fun, since it provides an opportunity to be at the rocks after dark (the park usually closes at sunset.)

Directions from Los Angeles: take the I-5 North to the 14 East (Antelope Valley Freeway.) Exit Agua Dulce Canyon Road and turn left, continue to Escondido Canyon Rd. and make a right. The park is on the right.