Another bittersweet parting from our latest climbing comrades. The past few days of climbing and Food Ranching have been full and wonderful. We’ve had days of climbing amid repeated waves of snow flurry armies, a visit to the museum in nearby Castle Dale, and yesterday the most productive yet playful circuit day in ages with the perfect blend of Canadians and Southerners (even though we’re all considered “southerners” to Canadians, eh?).
Drexel and I are so excited to announce that we’ve joined the Giddy Squad!
What is Giddy? “Giddy, aka #GiddyOrganics, is an outdoor lifestyle brand with a strong focus on sustainability and adventure.”
Giddy makes the organic Cedar Mint Balm that we lather our hands up with on rest days. Check it out!
Greg Child: Near the foot of the mountain we visited a yogi who dwelled in a hollow tunneled beneath a boulder. He pondered our notion of climbing Shivling and said: “First travel, then struggle, finally calm.”
Whether you are going on a weekend climbing trip, or perhaps a full-fledged year long road trip, there are certain items that should be packed, and others that would be better off left behind. Everyone has their unique needs, but this is the list we’ve settled on after 3+ months rock climbing and living in a minivan around the country.
Continue reading The Must Haves and the Must Have-Nots (of Packing)
It was blue skies and golden sun when out of nowhere the wind picked up and blew in snow. On such a nice day, the white flurries looked like a team of perfectly choreographed fairies doing synchronized swimming across the desert. This lasted for maybe 5-10 minutes, and then the day returned to normal and we kept climbing.
“I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.” – Jimmy Dean
We got to Joe’s Valley Sunday afternoon and played around on some fun classics like Angler (v2) and slipped off the super polished Big Joe (v7). Unlike most of the other places we’ve climbed on this trip, Joe’s Valley’s boulders are scattered around the sides of two different roads. Similar to 221 in Boone, you have to drive, park, and hike a couple minutes to get to any of the dozens upon dozens of boulders. After you finish your project (or give up) , you get back in the car, drive to another area, park, and repeat. It will take us a while to figure out the lay of the land. The only Joe’s Valley guidebook is poorly written and covers about 1/3 of the total actual boulders.
Continue reading Don’t stop, don’t stop, don’t stop the feet
Here’s the video from our time in Arkansas. This includes climbs from Horseshoe Canyon Ranch, Cowell, and Area 74. Hope you enjoy! Let us know what you think in the comment section below.
Sipping Earl Grey and doing some Joe’s Valley research. I found one Michael Sabatini movie that very handily shows some of the best v7s and v8s. My goal is to climb ten v8s and flash a v7. Drexel says this is ambitious. I figure “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.”
“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.
Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather must recognize that it is he who is asked. In a word, each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible [for actualizing the potential meaning of his life].”
-Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning
It’s such a treat to wake up with the sun slowly nudging my eyes open. Part of me wants to sink back into the bliss of delicious sleepingbag slumber, but another part is alert and curious about what might already be happening in the world.
Cross-Country Crimpers 