Latest Trip to Yosemite

Chesy and I both had a 3 day weekend for "pie and beer day" so we decided to pack up and head to Yosemite. Here are some pictures we took along the way.

Photos from the Week

Nothing spectacular just a few pictures from the week.

The End

Another Weekend in the Ditch

The weather in Salt Lake has been exceptionally fickle this year, call it global warming/Jetstream abnormalities/or just bad luck. This winter every storm started out pushing 2 ft. and by the time it arrived we saw maybe a few inches of white stuff, this spring however, has been quite the opposite, no matter where we looked (Indian Creek, Zion, Wasatch) every forecast would start out as 20% chance of showers and by weeks end turned into positively monsoon-like conditions.

Flash forward to this weekend, where for whatever reason my head was set on climbing. With the idiosyncrasies of sandstone climbing and rain Moab/Indian Creek seemed like a likely choice of areas to celebrate this Memorial Day, however, by Thursday the forecast was calling for unseasoably wet conditions…so we scrambled. Joshua Tree, City of Rocks, skiing the reliable Wasatch, and Yosemite were all thrown on the table…and as luck would have it, two consecutive (albeit we had to move sites) days worth of camping were found in Yosemite, over one of the busiest days of the park season nonetheless. The forecast was calling for rain beforehand but tapering off by our arrival…how could we go wrong.

Mark and I packed up our gear and bid our goodbyes for a quick hitting weekend of granite debauchery.

The views coming in, after camping outside the park Friday night, were breathtaking as usual…also deceptively irritating as we cursed ourselves for not bringing ski stuff.

Disclaimer: All the photos of Mark are sadly buttshots, as it was just him and I climbing, Chesy couldn’t make it as she was studying hard for her board exams.

 We figured we’d hit the ground running or falling (whichever metaphor you prefer) and started on Short Circuit (5.11d) a short overhanging tight hands to finger lock crack which was my lead…almost got it…something to be desired I guess.

 Mark on TR

 The route

Skinny Indeed

Mark then took the sharp end as we headed over to Outer Limits (5.10b) on the Cookie Cliff.

I followed and then we headed down to Catchy (5.10d) and of course 3 feet into the crux it started to rain...so I was "forced" to aid...maybe I was just tired of getting spit off by the tight finger locks.

 Outer Limits

 Mark about to embark on an IC like splitter

 Mark following Catchy in the rain

Almost to the section of locks

With all the rain the waterfalls were in full force...

Luckily Midnight was mostly dry

The next day we headed over to Super Slide (1 mungy pitch + 4 pitches of great hand and finger cracks 5.9 sorry no pictures). Followed by a quick trip to Reeds.

Reeds Direct (5.9) two steep pitches of fantastic crack climbing, I got the first Mark finished the second easily dispatching the upper OW.

 The Mighty Rostrum...next time

 Ribbon Falls

 Mark working on Deliverance (V8) we both executed about... 2.3 full moves

 Yosemite Falls

 El Cap

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East Coast Living

I left the East Coast six years ago in search of adventure, and it seems like every time I come back I manage to bring the adventure with me. Maybe the adventure was there all along and I just wasn't looking hard enough?

With the help of the internet I was able to find a spectacular run along the West Rim of the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon on Friday, which consisted of 30 miles of lush green single track and according to my watch 4800 ft of vertical... I only got lost twice. I'm not quite sure anyone has "run" "poorly attempted a speed record" on this particular trail before but if you have, let me know. My unofficial, unsupported time was ~5 hr 29 min. which can easily be broken by anyone with 2 legs and a sense of direction. 

Surprisingly nice, albeit different scenery 

I guess no matter where you are on Earth someone's always trying to blow something up 

Met a friend along the way, he needs to lose some weight though.

The rest of my trip consisted of your standard redneck fare: sawing down trees, burning things, babysitting children, drinking excessive amounts of alcohol, oh yeah and of course celebrating my mothers 70th birthday.

In the end I took lots of pictures, some good some not so good, enjoy.

Flowers:

Animals:

More animals, only worse...

Everything is green, maybe that's because every day at about 4:30 the sky would open up and douse just about any living thing in sight. 

Doing hill billy things

And of course I wouldn't be here without the wonderful lady above, on the occasion of her 70th birthday.

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New Camera Shots

I recently purchased a new camera, and given my propensity to take bad photos already I figured a new one would surely make me pro in no time. Especially given the linear relationship between price and talent. Below you'll find some highly doctored, unoriginal photos. Enjoy! If I was a real photographer I'd put all the data about how the photo was shot...ISO...aperture, etc....but I have no idea what any of that means, I just click the button that takes the picture. 

Aside: Some of these have already been Instagram worthy and so you may have seen them already.

Chesy coming down Grandeur 

Mark coming up Mt. Wire in evening light 

Mt. Baldy 

 Chesy running

 Not quite good with motion yet

 Mark hitting up the one non avalanched section of Bonkers

 Back up for round 2 or 3

 And down

Debris, Mark is in the middle left for scale

Tracks 

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