Castle Rocks

Last year we went on family vacation to City of Rocks, ID and spent a few days bouldering at Castle Rocks while we were there. We were inspired by the boulders and decided to go back for part of our road trip this year. It's an awesome place! It was also a very toasty warm place this year! We weren't quite able to wrap things up the way we had hoped because it was just so hot, but at least it's an excuse to make the trip back! We discovered the most delicious diner we've ever experienced in Albian, so there's another great reason we won't be sad to go back! My mouth is watering just thinking about it...

We camped in the City of Rocks campground the first few days of the week then moved to the free BLM camping for a few days. I think next time we'll stick to the campground even though it costs more. Their outhouses were amazingly clean and the road was significantly better!

Not only is the landscape beautiful, the area also has a lot of interesting historical significance. Thousands of pioneers camped and traveled through the area on their way west. The rock pictured above (Camp Rock) is a huge boulder where many pioneers "registered" their names as they passed through using axle grease. The guidebook also says there are wagon ruts in some areas, but we weren't sure where they are so we didn't get to see them.

Casey and Tommy finished off the trip working on The Smell. The conditions were finally windy and a little more cool, but our skin was wrecked from the granite!

Matt and Tommy joined us Friday and Saturday.

Tommy working out the moves on Golden Chandelier.

Our campsite was near the Twin Sisters (pictured below). The website for reserving campsites was very vague so we ended up having a site with a 320' walk-in. The privacy was nice but it was an extra adventure hauling our stuff up and back.

A lot of the undeveloped rock is kind of chossy, but there is definitely room for more development. We found this cool boulder at the City of Rocks just down the path from a bathroom. It doesn't look like it's been cleaned yet, but it looks like it could definitely have some quality climbs!

I'm a big fan of wildflowers.

I got really close on Waxie's Darble. Wish it was closer to home!

Our City of Rocks campsite. Don't ask how many times I hit my head on that overhang above the table. :)

Bouldering at Bunker

Our summer has been incredible!! We have lots of catching up to do. In the meantime, here are some pictures from Bunker Creek, our favorite local bouldering area lately. It's beautiful and there is a lot of potential for development still. During our "week off" of vacation (we have the life!) we spent a few evenings at the Meadows and the Springfield area. Summer bouldering can be tricky anywhere, but we've had fun and managed to snag a few sends despite the hot temps.

I can't ever resist a picture of a wildflower. We live in a beautiful world! 

Casey climbing a cool v5 we found at the Meadows

A v3 on the right side of the same boulder. It has a nice vertical face with quality, pocketed problems! We were happy to find it!

Casey on Steel Cage Death Match v11 at the Springfield area.

Cameron climbing Batman. A great v2 also at Springfield.

Casey's project, a low start to Flaming Mo.

Cameron working Abu. A fun V3 on the boulder facing Flaming Mo.

Johnno making his way up a tall slab.

We've started cleaning some new lines to further develop the area. 

This is Johnno on a cool looking new line!

As sad as it is to see our road trip end, we are excited to get back to finish up some old and begin working on some new lines at Bunker Creek and the surrounding areas.

Maple Canyon

The week after Flagstaff we made the transition from bouldering to sport climbing by taking a trip to Maple Canyon. It's a beautiful place overflowing with an abundance of trees and cobblestone cliffs. This year we were also accompanied by lots of little critters! Yellow monarch butterflies were fluttering everywhere, the squirrels would NOT leave our camp alone, and our bread and bagels were stolen from our cooler by raccoons!  

On our rest day Casey and I decided to hike the loop trail. It was a pretty steep incline but the view from the lookout was pretty incredible.

We were excited on Friday and Saturday to be joined by Tommy, Bridget, Kara, and Casey's parents. It's always fun climbing with friends and family!

I reached my goal of becoming a 5.13a belayer!! As Casey accomplished his goal of redpointing Sluggo. It was an awesome send!

Tommy on Sluggo

Kara leading a great 5.10a! You go girl!

Summer Adventure 2012: Phase 1

We are back from phase one of our summer adventure 2012 and it was AWESOME!! We have been going to the Priest Draw the last week in May for the last three years and we love it. We wish we could go a little earlier in the year, because the hot summer temperatures are not ideal for climbing, but it's nice to wait until I'm through teaching so we can have a nice, long, relaxing, beginning of summer celebration! I would say this year was our best yet, mostly because we had plenty of time so it was easier to pace ourselves and get some great sends. We quickly got into a routine of waking up early to climb, then killing the hot hours of the day playing chess, watching movies, soaking our feet in the lake, and hiking, then climbing again in the evening! It was all very enjoyable.
Here is some of the video footage Casey edited for your enjoyment!


As you can see, Casey tore the place up! He sent several classic problems V5-V10. My best send of the trip was the Coffin V3 which gave me a little more trouble than I expected this year, but it is such a great climb that I didn't mind spending more time on it. So fun! One of the best things about climbing in the Draw is figuring out the unique body movement required to send such steep, slopey, pocketed problems. Toe hooks, drop knees, heel hooks, knee bars, bicycles...you name it! It seems like it takes us a few days to get into the groove before we can really start seeing success. We were tempted to stay another week because of that reason. I got really close to sending a great V5 called the Hermit our last evening there. It's hard to leave something when you come so close! Hopefully we'll be able to make it back soon.
Here is a bucketload of pictures we captured during our week!

 We like to stop at Marble Canyon for lunch on our way down. It's a cool place and this time we even spotted a few California Condors!

We always start our warm up on "the Brain." 

 The Hermit. A V5 on the Puzzle Box roof.

Setting up for the double toe hook on the Coffin.

This roof is so neat. It's perfectly horizontal with no features at all except for a hueco shaped like a baby coffin. You start the problem with a double undercling, make a big throw to a pocket right under the lip, get a double toe hook to bring your left hand out to the lip, then the tricky part for me was bringing my right foot out by my hand without my left foot falling and hitting the pads. 

 The highlight of the trip was definitely Casey's send of Cosmic Tricycle. It is an incredible climb! He was able to figure out the best beta and work his way to the top even in the bad conditions. My husband rocks!

Casey on "Our God is Neither."

Tomorrow we're packing up and hitting the road again on our way to Maple Canyon!  Stay tuned for an update of our next week's adventure.