Dates: 2024-03-23 -> 2024-03-28 # Day 1: 2024-03-23 I arrived at the _very last_ minute at the airport due to a 2 foot plus snowstorm that hit NH. The 5 am bus was quite slow and got to the airport at 6:40, my flight started boarding at 6:45 so pre-check was **super** helpful. I arrived at the gate to see April welcoming me with an unexpected and somewhat disorienting “Hi, Lon” since I didn’t know they were on the same flight. I looked up and saw Torch’s hair leading the way like a beacon in the dawn and knew I was in the right crowd. ![[Pasted image 20240330130143.jpg]] We landed after a roller-coaster ride into the airport at Las Vegas, collected our bags, and looked for our car for a _long_ time in the poorly named parking lot Level 1-M Aisle C, not level 1 Aisle M. ![[Pasted image 20240330130425.jpg]] _This was not our car_ We grabbed a quick bite at Shake Shack then hit the crag. ![[Pasted image 20240330130638.jpg]] We hiked into Civilization Crag and Cactus Massacre for our Saturday afternoon fun. I did my first sandstone climb, and led my first outdoor climbs in 2024. - The Three Kingdoms 5.7 - End of the Cactus 5.5 - Silk Road 5.6 - Never Kiss a Cactus 5.8 (follow) ![[Pasted image 20240330130930.jpg]] ![[Pasted image 20240330131047.jpg]] ![[Pasted image 20240330131532.jpg]] I felt surprisingly confident and comfortable. I’m not sure if it’s just having been leading more often over the last year, my recent success leading harder climbs, or the rock itself being more grippy. I didn’t have the leg pumps and over gripping. I felt the desire to make climbing moves instead of just survive. The day was exhilarating. The environment is spectacular. The mountains explode from the Mojave canyon floor, thrusting up with spires of red white and striated sandstone. We ended the day with a delicious meal at Lime and Lemongrass - Thai Food in Sunderland # Day 2: 2024-03-24 The next morning we were up early and got some Denny’s then hit Albertson’s for toilets and last minute groceries for lunch. We meandered into Meetup Wall and started climbing by 9:30 am or so, grabbing multiple onsite leads including: - Message Board 5.7 - Safety First 5.6 - Let’s Meetup 5.7 _Let’s Meetup is a 90 foot slab which has 5 bolts of protection, the first few close to the ground. While not R-rated it’s quite a long runout between the upper bolts and feels very exposed. I learned a lot about focus and paying attention during risk. The snow rolled in, heavily, and we headed out as a sheen developed on the whetting sandstone. Each drop deciding between rain, sleet, and a soft and light round pellet of frozen moisture somewhere between snow and hail. We hiked a bunch, choosing a different way down that didn’t run through the Black Corridor, and linked a long-way around hike to the parking lot to get some extra time outdoors. We then drove out in the snow, the road becoming covered as we ground through the majestic loop road. There was some debate about if it was snow or sleet or hail. I’m going with “snail.” ![[Pasted image 20240330150202.jpg]] ![[Pasted image 20240330131841.jpg]] ![[Pasted image 20240330150124.jpg]] Day 2 - evening: pool and drinks ![[Pasted image 20240330132100.jpg]] # Day 3 - 2024-03-25 Due to the heavy snail on the day before we didn’t feel we should climb on sandstone so headed to the Gun Club. ![[Pasted image 20240330132508.jpg]] - QuickDraw 5.8 - Gundog 5.8+ (Onsite Lead) - Sure Fire 5.9 - Bushmaster 5.8 - Misfire 5.9 - McGraw 5.8 ![[Pasted image 20240330132740.jpg]] The Gun Club is a limestone horseshoe-shaped wall with the North Wall in the sun and the South Wall in the shade. The North Wall is pretty chill. Although the crag was packed, our group managed to wedge ourselves into a nice spot in the middle with accessible grades. We lightly socialized with the climbers around us while racking up the climbs. Barrel cacti dot the cliff and lizards sniffed the air with their tongues, seeming to check our hygiene, then when satisfied with us, flicking their tail and free-soloing up the jagged faces, unfairly displaying their natural rock navigating advantages. # Day 4: 2024-03-26 _Johnny Vegas_ 5.7 4 pitches follow __*Epic*__ Torch, Kim, Basil went up Solar Slab Gully and we went up Johnny Vegas. ![[Pasted image 20240330134712.jpg]] ![[Pasted image 20240330133036.jpg]] ![[Pasted image 20240330133234.jpg]] ![[Pasted image 20240330133327.jpg]] ![[Pasted image 20240330133412.jpg]] Jon started off and kept trad leading for the three key pitches, Sapna and I followed and then scrambled up the final pitch on some form of belay while tied in but dragging up the rope. At points, especially the second pitch, Jon was on the sharp edge. He ran out into the sky above us, pulling moves while yards and yards above his “protection,” which at that point was a small nut in a tiny crack. The climbing wasn’t hard per se, but it was risky and exposed. He was climbing with a full rack of protection, a pack, and the whole thing adds up to careful feet and hands. Sapna and I got **real** close on the tiny belay ledges ![[Pasted image 20240330133722.jpg]] ![[Pasted image 20240330133747.jpg]] ![[Pasted image 20240330134529.jpg]]![[Pasted image 20240330133851.jpg]] ![[Pasted image 20240330133933.jpg]] We summited around 12:30 pm. All was great! We were feeling accomplished, relaxed, and like we had taken advantage of the opportunity put in front of us by Mother Nature. Jon even popped a few smiles. And then, came the rappel. ![[Pasted image 20240330134108.jpg]] We did what could be considered the “right thing” or even the “only thing” for a novice 13-year-old who was way out of her league climbing with her father. He was trying to teach her to rappel, unfortunately that meant that he descended the rope before she was set up on her own. She was in a bit of a panic and her brain was unable to process the steps needed to get herself on the rope, unsurprisingly. She needed a lot of help getting safely onto rappel, we walked her through each step, then we double and triple checked. But, in the end, she did the required work to let her butt go over the edge and disappeared off down into the first pitch rappel. The second pitch was more difficult, with a fully exposed and scary spot to get onto the rope. By then our group had become entwined with a group of 4 coming down behind us. We all worked together to safely get down, but the process became _slow_. We did feel good about helping her out and got stuck behind them on a 3 pitch rappel which took the better part of 4 hours, where the climb up had only taken us about 2. ![[Pasted image 20240330134231.jpg]] This led us to the dark walk-out which would have been fine, even beautiful. However, we missed a turn and ended up meandering into a longer journey, ending in an official Epic. Jon finished ahead and drove the car to the park gates where he picked us up. The day ended at Del Taco around 9 PM, and we almost got our whole order (sorry Basil). ![[Pasted image 20240330134435.jpg]] I took an Uber to Torch and Mark’s AirBNB and Cynthia flew in on-time and arrived at 11 PM. In the end, the day was a full experience in the mountains. As Tony used to say, “We pushed the mountains and they pushed back.” ## What I learned: - I can safely setup and clean an anchor after leading a pitch - This will be key when I take others out - Climbing is a real apprentice activity, I’m grateful for Basil and Jon, Mark and Rachel, and so many others IRL and on YouTube for helping me learn the early skills of climbing lead - I still have a lot to learn, such as escaping belay, dealing with an injured climber on rope, etc. - I can comfortably lead 5.6, 5.7, 5.8 - I am not sure about 5.9 but think I can comfortably lead that as well - I enjoyed being at 5.7-5.9 on lead. I felt like this was a great exposure without getting me into a panic zone. - Trad at 5.7 was fun to follow. I probably need some additional skills such as escaping to be a useful partner. I need to practice cleaning but think I have it down pretty well. _Peering down over my heel and seeing 300 feet of exposure enforced a focus of purpose that I found intoxicating, captivating, attractive. Be careful here, since you can’t tell where the edge of your ability is without going past it, there is a temptation to push into unconscious incompetence. I do want to do more similar climbs, maybe something that climbs in lower grades on Canon like Whitney-Gilman_ https://www.mountainproject.com/route/105872668/whitney-gilman-ridge _In this case, the climbing wasn’t hard but the focus was extreme based on the exposure, I’m a long way from wanted to be in a position of significant fall risk while being on trad. Let’s face it, I was on top rope from a bolted anchor, pretty chill, except it was 300+ feet up and I was on a half-rated 7.3 mm rope. Yet there was something about the moment forcing total attention to feet, movement, balance, and presence._ _Was this [[Flow]], or another transcendant state? Is this why climbing is so addictive? What are the translatable skills? For me, one key is the act of trying to determine, with a [[focus attention]], what is the controllable [[Action Oriented Problem Solving]] in the moment. If I’m here, what do I control? How do I stay out of the brain-space of “Why am I here?”_ _How do I not blame someone for the position I’m in, when I have to accept responsibility, accept risk, accept choices, and in the end [[I haven't failed until I've blamed]]. Don’t blame anyone for the situation, focus on what is in control and what is out of control. Take action towards improving what is in control. With attention on improving what is in control, while distributing [[situational awareness]] to the team, one can do the few things that matter in each moment as well as possible. That’s the best you can do. Accepting the fate of doing your best in the moment is a key to being able to do what is necessary._ # Day 5 - 2024-03-27 _Cynthia and I started out gently, easing into the day while chatting with Christian and Katie. We focused on resting, and drove to our rental in the town of Virgin, UT near Zion. The drive is spectacular, with miles and miles of undeveloped canyons following the Virgin river up into the Zion region. To be honest, while Zion is amazing, the whole area for about 40 miles, especially from the Arizona border, drops your jaw._ ![[Pasted image 20240330142513.jpg]]![[Pasted image 20240330142531.jpg]] We arrived to find a cute 1 BR tow-behind camper that had been turned into a 1 unit rental with a fenced in yard and a rooster overlooking it all. ![[Pasted image 20240330142641.jpg]] We took a short drive to a yummy little Mexican restaurant in our town of Virgin, and caught the amazing big sky sunset driving back from dinner from a pull off on Route 9. ![[Pasted image 20240330142824.jpg]] # Day 6 Zion - 2024-03-28 We got up fairly early to try to beat the crowds and went straight through the park to the less crowded East Side. ![[Pasted image 20240330143007.jpg]] We made our way to a quiet canyon hike that we couldn’t get very far on. It involved quite a bit of scrambling, ups and downs, and a bit sketchy in moments. ![[Pasted image 20240330143126.jpg]] ![[Pasted image 20240330143147.jpg]] ![[Pasted image 20240330143233.jpg]] We scrambled through an unknown wall, making our way off trail up the side of an overlook. The park is great for just picking a line and trying it. Of course, you have to go down everything you go up, and often we turned to sliding on our butt for safety. We kept our invaluable parking spot on a pull off in the middle of the road, and walked on the road to the Zion Canyon Overlook Trail. This trail is a busy and quick 1-mile exposed hike to one of the best overlooks in the park, and probably the world. ![[Pasted image 20240330143400.jpg]] We had a quiet lunch despite the fact that we were mere yards from the overlook where dozens of people came each few minutes for selfies and reflection. ![[Pasted image 20240330143506.jpg]] On the way back down the trail we saw what we thought was a mountain goat. Turned out to be a big horned sheep! We thought it was rare, and it was beautiful. They were reintroduced in the 1970’s after becoming locally extinct earlier in the 20th century. ![[Pasted image 20240330143552.jpg]] Finally, we walked the length of the road section between the two tunnels and hiked the unmarked Cascade Canyon Trail as far as we could go which was about 2 miles in each direction. ![[Pasted image 20240330143822.jpg]] On the way out we ran into a group of about 20 Big Horned Sheep, definitely a highlight to watch them gracefully descend the cliff faces, even the babies. They then grazed the base of the canyon ![[Pasted image 20240330144025.jpg]] We made our way back to the car, and finished the day with another Thai dinner at Thai Sapa in Springdale, the town closest to Zion’s South Entrance. # Day 7 - Zion - 2024-30-29 We got up a little more casually on our final day of adventure, choosing to head up to the North Zion area which is supposed to be much less crowded. We drove up the road into that part of the park just around sunrise and were greeted to a silent and empty road and spectacular panoramas. This part of the park is more forested. ![[Pasted image 20240330144253.jpg]] Here the cliffs were made not only by the erosive consistency of the Virgin Rive, as in Zion Canyon, but by active techtonic forces, pushing up edges of sandstone, as seen on these walls. ![[Pasted image 20240330144429.jpg]] Our first walk was the Timber Creek Overlook trail, another short trail with a spectacular view. ![[Pasted image 20240330144543.jpg]] Next, we hiked about 5 miles of gentle meandering along the basin of the Taylor Canyon. This hike was super-pleasant, relatively quiet, and nice and cool at about 5,000 feet elevation. _Here 0.5 lens shows off Cynthia’s leggies!_ ![[Pasted image 20240330144804.jpg]] The canyon trail ends in a spectacular double arch. ![[Pasted image 20240330144919.jpg]] Since it wasn’t too late, we drove back to the South Entrance, and got on one of the electric buses into the heart of Zion Canyon, aiming to do a last hike up to the Emerald Pools. ![[Pasted image 20240330145147.jpg]] We got dropped off around 4:30 pm at stop 6, the Grotto, and hiked up to the Emerald Pools. We decided to head down to Stop 4 to end our day, and ended up having an hour or so of down-hill and flat walking first down to, then along the river. We were largely alone, at peace, and with the electric buses being the only cars in the canyon besides bicycles, the air was clean and free of loud vehicles. What a way to end the trip! ![[Pasted image 20240330145343.jpg]] Unfortunately, we had to wait for about an hour at the bus stop because all the buses heading out were full. But in the end, the NPS came through and picked us up with the last bus out of the canyon. We headed into town for a well-deserved (we thought) meal at a great restaurant called the Spotted Dog getting there by 8 pm after 3 hikes totaling about 11.5 miles! Thank you Zion for a wonderful trip. ![[Pasted image 20240330145544.jpg]] ## Choices we made - Cynthia and I arrived in the visitors center and felt the urgency of people rushing in the soundscape of brushing nylon, clacking poles and clunking boots as vacationers hustled to beat the crowds. We chose to prioritize moments of solitude over selfie, meaning we might not have had the most popular view at the key time, and didn’t do the Narrows, but we came away from our vacation being refreshed instead of feeling pushed. I think there’s something to be said about that in making future choices on vacation and in life. I’m grateful for Cynthia’s self awareness to recognize the moment, call it out, and make an active choice to go in the other direction. [[don't chase the soccer ball]] is a great motto to have here. - Our rental was about the cost of a hotel/motel but it was outside town and had a kitchen. We do well having a space for me to escape to as well as a door between the bedroom and the kitchen so when I get up early C can sleep. We did see a lot of people dry camping in pull offs on BLM land. Some were in rental vans, this might be something to try in the future. Somewhere between car camping and a camper like we stayed in, this might be a nice form of freedom, especially for a two week trip. - When we were stuck waiting for the bus out of Zion, C reminded us that we have had lots of situations where the travel was uncertain. When we were in Guatemala we often didn’t know for sure when the bus would come. In general, the 99.99% rule is that the world will help you. You don’t deserve it, but you can typically figure out a solution, and sometimes call on strangers to help. Worst case scenario, I had headlamp and we had feet, we could have walked out. No worries. That attitude really kept the mood light and finished the vacation with the right emotional valence.