THE END!!!!!!!! B.C, ALBERTA, JOURNEY HOME : July 4- August 1st

THE LAST BLOG- AND ITS MUCH SHORTER

Every trip needs to come to an end. During our 10 week journey across north America we experienced many highs and lows, epics and challenges and came across many great people. Through our dirt-bagging adventures we have come to a new appreciation for good meals, clean clothes, deodorant, and long hot showers. Currently we are on the long three day drive home from the west coast to the east just trying to pass the time. It occurred to me that I have not updated the blog for the last month due to time constraints and shear laziness thus I am going to share some major highlights.

Squamish (B.C.) Highlights

We stayed in Squamish for an unplanned 3 weeks because it was just that good. Steph Boakes let us crash at her place for the duration of our stay which was amazing. She put up with our dirty croc feet, our complete take over of her house, and our many dirty dishes that wouldn't stop piling up no matter how many times we cleaned them.

Climbing:

The cracks were amazing!!! I led 2 trad routes myself.. We soon discovered that everything in Squamish which is bolted happens to be slabs- Elan now hates slabs. One day we got up pretty early to do an 18 pitch climb but unfortunately 3 pitches into it we had to stop because of a major runnout. Not to mention we were pretty stressed over the first 2 pitches which involved the sketchiest traversing known to rock climbing and where following was actually more dangerous and scarier then leading (I was the follower).

Bouldering:

We discovered around our last week that the bouldering was incredible so we put down our rack and grabbed a pad instead. Steph introduced us to her friend Jeff who showed us around and took us on many late night bouldering sesh's. I learned the beauty of top outs, and Elan basically raped every route he got on. We checked off as many classics as we could.

Other Interesting activities:

• We went to a pure climber/hippy rave where we learned that apparently the modern hippy loves trance music and heavy hoops (a twist on the hula hoop- just add more weight and glow sticks).
• Elan bought a fishing licence that he used all of 3 times.
• 4 bying for Steph's B-day
• Hanging out in whistler for the day
• Hiking the chief on our last day

Alberta

The Canadian Rockies, Jasper and Banff impressed Elan and I perhaps more then any other landscape. Unfortunately it rained a couple times but regardless we managed to get in some hiking and climbing. In order to find the crag we had to do a 2 kilometer hike around lake Louise which was completely worth it. The climbing here is amazing, perhaps the best face climbing we've seen yet. It was a great way to conclude our trip. Our last day we were going to simul climb like Hans and Yugi on El Capitan but we got rained out :( ...maybe next time.

Drive Home

While crossing the border back into the states we were stopped, separated, and interrogated for about an hour. Finally after thousands of questions to make sure our stories matched they let us go free.

OUR TIRE FINALLY BLEW OUT. We've been expecting a blow out ever since a man in Utah inspected our tires and exclaimed that a blow out was inevitable. We were further warned by the mechanic fixing our breaks 2 weeks later and Steph's boyfriend Craig who is a mechanic. This set us back about 4 hours and a lot of money. And that’s pretty much all that happened between the fast food stops and aimless discussions…Hope to see you all in a couple days. Thanks for bearing my long detailed accounts of this trip…hope you enjoyed.

Interesting Stats over 10 week period

• Number of Showers: Sam- 14, Ryan and Elan- Unknown
  
• Number of times we did Laundry: Ryan- 1, Sam- 4, Elan- 3
  
• Number of times we paid for camping: 9
  
• Number of times it rained: 4
  

Sam and Elan

CALIFORNIA June 25-July 1

June 26

Brian again made us breakfast and then we tearfully departed from the generous man for the last time. Okay maybe there weren't any tears but seriously Brian was amazing and considering that we are 3 people on the road, living out of our tents ,running into a guy like that who is unselfishly willing to help us out is spectacular. So after the goodbyes we got an early start towards Yosemite and reached Camp 4 (the renowned rockclimbers campground) early enough to beat the line up and register at a site. For the record, this was the second time on our entire trip that we had to pay for camping- it was $5 a day per person (we only registered 2 people). Upon getting to the site I leanrt that the animals in the park were highly domesticated and it was forbidden to feed them, so naturally I fed the squirrels who took the food right out of my hand- this fascinated me for about an hour. While we were trying to figure out the plan for the next few days, bear in mind that we were completely intimidated by Yosemite's huge big walls and famous professional climbers...we ran into a climber from Ottawa, "Ottawa Doug." He informed us that there was some easy climbing just around the corner from Camp 4 and took us over there to show us around. Then he wanted to take us to another area, so we hopped in our vehicles and drove somewhere else. Then he wanted to show us a climb on El Cap that was doable- the 1st pitch of the nose is only a 5"7 so again we drove to another area. For all those non climbers out there reading this blog, El Capitan is an infamous wall at Yosemite, most climbs range from between 20 and 30 pitches of hard trad or aid routes. Basically one does not attempt this wall unless they are a pro, and many legendary climbers have been on it. It is the one wall that many young climbers dream about one day doing. On that note, Ottawa Doug informed us that he just finished a route on El Capitan which he solo aid climbed for 9 days. He took us over to El Cap and pointed out all the different routes, the famous pitches, and then other climbers on the wall whom he knew by name and could tell you their status down to the exact pitch they were on. Needless to say it pretty much felt like an honor to be in his presence, not to mention the fact that the day after he finished El Cap he took his time to show a couple of newbies around. After he showed us around he took us out to dinner at a buffet which was awesome, and even lent us his paper bag when we were done so we could stuff it full of dinner rolls and fries (breakfast the next day). He regaled us with many stories about his own adventures and told us about how a fellow climber once helped him out too and he never forgot it, so this was his way of giving back to the climbing community and inspiring a couple of young climbers. Basically the climbing community rocks!!!!

June 27-28

Following Doug's advice we headed over to Swan Slab where Elan led a trad 5'6 crack and then we toproped 3 other climbs. I discovered that Cracks are my new passion in life and I onsighted an awesome 5'9 that even Elan slipped up on (shhh). Afterwards we all took a much needed shower in a freezing cold river. The next day we ran into another amazing climber- Shawn from Korea- who spent the last 8 years putting up his own route on El Cap. Then we hiked a trail to the falls to check that out.

June 29

Elan and I woke up at 6:42am and made it to El Capitan meadow by 6:50 where Yugi and Hans were attempting to break the speed climbing record for the nose which was previously held by the Hubbar brothers. Basically this duo set their own record of climbing El Cap in 2 hours and 47 minutes. The Hubbar brothers beat their record with a time of 2 hours and 45 minutes, so now they are back to break it again. Another note to all those non climbers out there....It takes an average amazing climber maybe 2-3 days to climb El Capitan the Nose, it takes an Elite climber maybe around 11-13 hours. We got to see Hans and Yugi scale this wall in 2 hours and 47 minutes. It was incredible!! These guys flew up this wall, placing maybe one piece of protection per 40/50 feet, didn't slip up once, got the famous swing in only one try...a place where you actually have to do a pendulum swing from one section of the route to another....it was nothing less then fascinating to watch. unfortunately they didn't beat the record by 2 and a half minutes, however a few days later apparently they beat it soo Kudos to them.

Since the whole show was over by 9am we headed over to swan slab again and were joined by Dan who had no partners and wanted to climb. Elan trad climbed 3 routes that day and I trad climbed my first trad lead EVER woohoooo. I was pretty uncomfortable top roping the climb I later led because it was a weird crack. But nonetheless I did it!!! I ended up running the thing out by like 20 feet and I probably scared Elan but I was comfortable and thats what matters most I guess. I also realized I don't know very much about placing gear so I undertook learning everything I could learn about it immediately after.

June 30

We went over to swan slab one last time and Elan led his first multi pitch trad climb which was awesome. It was about 3 pitches but we did it in 4 because we clearly can't read directions right and got the belay stations mixed up. On the last pitch Elan couldn't find the end and had to run it out 20 feet on a slab climb which he couldn't down climb hoping that he was going the right way- thank god he was. On the descent we started following a trail which didn't look to much like a trail, but have no fear we learnt our lesson and turned around right away and go back on track. Later that night we all discovered how much fun gin rummy was and were entertained for hours before bed. As well we accidentally left our food out and apparently a bear came right up to our site and started going through our food but somehow Elan and I missed the whole thing so in our mind it never happened.

July 1

Today we went to an area called Manure Pile Buttress and Elan led a 5.7 climb called after 6 (the first pitch). While I was belaying Elan a massive brown bear and her little cub came within 60 feet of me. For some reason I did not feel any fear whatsoever but instead I was completely awed (although I did have an escape route planned just in case something went wrong which involved Simul-climbing like Hans and Yugi on El Cap). Anyways back to after 6.....So Elan led this climb that even I had an extremely difficult time top roping. It was totally polished, and you could even see Cam marks within in the crack from places that people took falls. Elan climbed up and down-climbed the crux 6 to 8 times and nearly fell. When we were finished with this climb we decided to call it a day. We both experienced enough at Yosemite National Park (for now) and decided that we were fulfilled enough to leave.

We toured the park afterwards, took the shuttle around the entire place, caught a documentary movie about the park, and headed over to mirror lake. We took the off road trail instead of the paved road and although it was only supposed to be a mile until we reached mirror lake we walked for over an hour. Once the trail started getting sketchy and we reached an area full of hundreds of bumblebees, we turned around and headed back. When we went over to the paved section apparently what we were looking for was not a lake after all, but a little pool, so we went totally out of the way again. The path we followed however was actually beautiful and less traveled so it was the one time we were content with the fact that we were lost. Mirror Lake/ Pool was actually pretty cool because the reflection of half dome could clearly be seen in it. We concluded our last day at Yosemite Park completely satisfied with all that we have seen and done.

CALIFORNIA June 20- June 25

Friday June 20th
We arrived in L.A around 8pm and headed off to North Hollywood to reunite with Ryan who we couldn't get a hold of because he was partying at Venice beach. So we roamed around an all Mexican area while waiting for him that was littered with shopping carts where people stared at us because they were wondering what 2 white people were doing there. After cooking our meal on the street we met up with Ryan and drove around a bit checking out Rodeo drive, Beverly Hills, and the intersection where Britney Spears got booked drunk driving. Then went back to his friends place, had a little jam session and passed out.

June 21
We went over to one of Peter Frampton's house's- the one in L.A- to hang out with his son (you know the song...OO Baby I love your way..)- everyone has to do the celebrity thing while in L.A obviously. Then we found out we had to leave Ryan's friends house because he had to deal with some girlfriend issues soo we went to Venice beach thinking perhaps we can find some place on the beach to crash but apparently they fine you $100 if you get caught so yet again we slept in the car that night. Before that however we got to test out the ocean waters, play around for a bit, and splurge on a meal at one of the restaurants.

June 22
The plan was to get some surfing in at the beach so while Elan and Ryan went off to figure out the surfboard situation I fell asleep on the beach and ended up with a first degree burn. They came back without any surfboards but equipped with 2 bodyboards which they got to play with while I sat sulking in the shade reading War and Peace. That night I had a terribly uncomfortable sleep in the car because of my burn and was pretty unhappy/ grumpy.

June 23
I woke up in a lot of pain and yet again sat sulking in the shade reading War and Peace while Elan and Ryan got to surf (they rented boards). Apparently they had a lot of fun and even got up a few times but I didn't get to see any of that because my nose was in a book. On a positive note I am almost done reading it because I had so much free time on my hands and it was by far the best book I ever read and I highly recommend it to anyone. In the mean time Elan and Ryan worked the current which kept taking them further north and the lifeguard yelled at them to go south. Thinking they didn't understand her because they weren't moving she accused them angrily of being from the west coast and not understanding which way south was. In reality they knew, but they just had a difficult time fighting the current. Refusing to sleep in the car again we packed up and headed for Yosemite. We didn't make it however and ended up pulling over somewhere and camping that night in the bushes while our car was hidden behind a mound of dirt.

June 24
We drove to the region just outside Yosemite to look for free camping because once inside the park that was non existent. Obviously we couldn't find what we were looking for but in the process we met Brian who told us to come by his A.A meeting when it was over and he would give us a place to stay. So we headed over to the A.A meeting, chatted it up with a bunch of hippies who reminisced about the good old days, and then headed over to Brians house which he had built himself over the period of 9 years. His house was absolutely incredible and he let us sleep in the master bedroom. Brian is one of those rare human beings who truly believes in doing good things for other people. Although he didn't have too much himself his philosophy in life was to give whatever he could to anyone else in need.

June 25
Brian woke us up with coffee and prepared us breakfast which was awesome and we headed down to Yosemite national Park. Before we really got into the Park however we were distracted by a grove that was home to the legendary Sequoia trees. We spent the rest of the day hiking the well manicured trails that guided us through a forest of these massive 3000 year old red trees. After living in the desert for a month I can't even describe to you how refreshing it was to smell a forest of rich aged trees. We decided to leave Yosemite for the next day and instead took the remaining hours of light to enjoy the forest, frolic, swim, and have a little picnic time. Thus we went back to Brian's for another night.

ARIZONA June 13- June 20

June 13
With Ryan gone the little Honda Civic had room to spare which meant less bottom outs and less packing time because we no longer had to tetris piece the gear into the car using a shabby diagram for consultation. Thus, with a lighter car, and more feet space, we left Las Vegas and continued our adventure to Arizona.

Before making it to Phoenix we stopped at the Hoover Dam- totally not worth it even though transformers hyped it up---Megatron is no longer in the building. Then we went four hours out of the way to check out the Grand Canyon which was incredible and totally worth it. Unfortunately we rushed through the Grand Canyon because it was already getting dark - after Hoover Damn Elan and I pulled over at a convenient store and napped for a few hours (keep in mind the 6:00am wake up call that the parking lot attendants gave us that morning). Finally we pulled into my dad's place in Phoenix around 11ish that night and saw something we hadn't seen for a long long time....a bed.

June 14-15
Because we chose the least practical time to go to Arizona to climb- the summer- it meant no climbing for us in Phoenix. By mid day the heat was sweltering, it was hard to breath, the elderly were advised to stay at home, and we thanked god that Elan's parents fixed the air conditioning (thank you!!!) because the temperature rose to about 115 (around 40 something celsius for all you Canadians out there that don't understand Fahrenheit). So we took another vacation and played in the pool all day, hung out with my dad, ate some good meals, and ran some errands...oh yah and we got to shower a few times which as great to.

June 16
We left Phoenix and headed even further south down to Tuscon where our destination was Mount Lemmon which had surprisingly beautiful weather because of its higher elevation. At the bottom of the mountain was a cactus dessert but by the time you got to the top there was a ski resort- it is said that the geological distance between the top and the bottom is comparable to driving from Mexico to Canada. Tonight we camped out at a well groomed campground that required fees which obviously we never paid.

June 17
Today we got lost trying to find free parking (what else is new) and parked instead at a parking lot where we refused to pay again. We went to a popular crag called Munchkin Land and worked a few routes. The climbing here is granite but it's very crimpy so it took some getting used to. Later we went back to our car which had a ticket on it that gave us the "opportunity" to pay but didn't require it..soo we chose not to take the opportunity. Later we saw two movies for the price of 1 (The Happening and The Incredible Hulk). And we ended our night at the same campground which we refused to pay for again. Pretty much a typical day in the life of a dirtbag.

June 18-20
Went to a crag called Ridgeline and did 4 amazing routes- 1 with a beautiful top out. Almost got lost getting to this one to even though their were cairns pointing the way and a detailed approach description in the guidebook. Next day was a rest day and we saw 3 movies for the price of 1 (Sex and the City, Narnia, Don't mess with the Zohan). Next day after that we woke up with the intention of going to fortress wall (an awesome looking crag with tonz of multi pitch sport routes) but when we realized the approach was 45 minutes we backed out considering how much room there is for getting lost again. Once we cut out Fortress Wall we decided that we had enough of Mount Lemmon and that it was time to move on to California. So just like that we packed up and headed for L.A.

Quotes
Elan while climbing: "So then I put my foot on nothing, and it worked...it was amazing"
Elan to Sam while climbing: "Control your breathing...think like the Hulk"

LAS VEGAS!!!! June 10- June 13

We decided we earned a vacation from our vacation and headed down to the city of sin for some new adventures. Obviously ELan and I managed to get lost and ended up downtown Las Vegas instead of on the actual strip but oddly enough I happened to run into Bram Devine who pointed out my error---- small world. That night we realized the free campground we wanted to stay at was closed and ended up sleeping in the car (not our first or last time).

June 11
Upon waking up in the parking lot everyone got dressed and shaved and we decided we wanted to check out the shark reef at Mandalay Bay. After realizing it was $15 to get in we left and headed down to the pool. First great thing that happened to us was when we realized that there were showers in the pub;lic restrooms which meant we not only got to shower but that it was free. Next, Ryan pursuaed the pool attendant to let us in soo we all got to hang out at the Mandalay Bay pool. After swimming and showering we headed over to NYNY where we realized we could again get into the pool area for free (the key here was looking like yuou owned the place). Later on Elan and I treated ourselves to a real dinner as opposed to our usual peanut butter and jam sandwiches or macaroni and cheese entres. Then we went to catch the Cirque de Solei show at Treasure Island. After that we gambled a bit, lost our money, and I went up to the room (aka car) on floor six (aka parking level #6) while the boys went to hooters.

June 12
After waking up, again we all got dressed and changed- which was an interesting site to see if you were in the parking lot. Then we headed down to the pool again and pretty much stayed there for the day. We gambled again, went to hooters, fell asleep, and were woken up when our food arrived. Then we went back to our room on parking level 6 which pretty much felt like our own place by this time. We are still surprised that the hotel management never discovered our scheme.

June 13
This time we took advantage of the hotel wake up call (parking lot attendants) and got woken up at around 7 in the morning. After checking out, we exited the building and realized that when room service cleaned our area they actually stole our cooler which we left out because it was taking up to much space. However, we decided not to lodge any complaints because it was pretty amazing that someone got away with our cooler while 3 people were sleeping inches from it. We dropped Ryan off at the bus later on because the dirtbags were splitting up. Me and Elan headed over to Arizona while Ryan went to California. But don't despair...we will be reunited in about a week. On the way to Arizona we stopped at Hoover Dam (not that impressive unless maybe you do a tour which costs money which we don't spend on trivialities like that), and we also stopped at the grand canyon which was very very impressive. And we even got to see a wild elk which was pretty cool. Somehow up until this point we made it through the most remote areas of the desert and never ran into any wild life- on that note we have confirmed that rattle snakes and mountain lions are legends.

Total money lost:
Gambled: Sam -$22/ Elan -$100/ Ryan +$100
Hotel: $0
Shows: $60
Food: $50
Clothes: Sam- $40

Basically we managed to go to Las Vegas for 3 nights and spend around $200

Trip Tally:
May 17-June 13= $350 per person (not including money spent on personal items which does not exeed $200)

To sum up, we have spent less money in one month then an average person would spend in one week at an all inclusive resort in Mexico. For further dirtbag hints and tips you may request information or order our dirtbag brochure. T-shirts coming soon!!!

Hope Everyone is having an amazing summer XOXOXO

UTAH!!!! May 29-June 10

Howdy....

Moab was our first destination in Utah where we discovered just how hot the desert can really get. Firstly we finally had the first shower in about 10 days- wooohooo. We take the meaning of dirtbagging it literally. After a yoga party, we hiked out to a remote area in the arches passing animal holes about every couple feet in order to get to sunshine wall. Elan and I did 2 amazing slab climbs that were 160 feet. It was at this wall that Elan grew some balls and clipped into pitons and angles as opposed to bolts, and had many runouts including a 30 footer to the anchors. The next day we tried wall street (a popular climbing area) but we didn't get too far because the rock was burning and the sun was blistering and basically we realized that you have to hit up the crag either before 10:00am or after 4pm to avoid the heat (we never seemed to follow this rule and suffered unnecessarily instead). Before leaving Moab we drove around the arches which was amazing and then checked out canyonlands. A couple Czechoslovakians who we hung out with one night recommended us to go there on the basis that it was nicer then the grand canyon (which it isn't, but nonetheless it was amazing). The arches had really cool rock formations due to water eroding the sandstone, and canyonlands was a really cool canyon that had different levels.

Animal sightings: Jack hair rabbits, lizards

Interesting moments: A tumbleweed roadblock- those old wild wild west movies are not lying, tumbleweeds are everywhere!!!

Quotes: Ryan- "How much do you think snakes camouflage."
Ryan- "Ants in Utah work really hard. That was the 5th ant i've seen carrying something."
Czechoslovakian dude: "USA is going downtown [ 1 minute pause] I mean downhill. I was trying to make expression."
Czechoslovakian dude: " We were in a 10 minute sandstorm and it felt like needles on our legs and you had to cover your faces and the sand got everywhere and it hurt so much........it was beautiful"

St George
St George was the next stop on our list. Using the couch surfing website we actually were able to hook up with a guy in St George named Nephi who let a few good looking strangers crash on his couch for a couple nights. He also made us dinner and let us use his shower which was awesome. (Note: by June 2nd we had a total of 3 showers). We did a couple routes at some local crags, Elan even finished a 5'12b and then we decided to move on to bigger and better things. Before we left we had a little dinner party at Nephi's and followed up with a friendly game of poker (I won). We also stopped at the local public swimming pool for a dip where the average age was about 8 and where Elan failed to learn how to do a back flip even though his instructor was over 10 years younger then him.

Next we headed over to prophecy wall which was more remote and had a great little camping spot by a lake right by the cliff. The next day we took a day off and headed into town where Best Buy gave me the verdict on my laptop which previosuly suffered from the blue screen of death. They told me that my laptop was toast and that my hard drive was destroyed and I lost all my information. Then, it decided to rain on the one day we left our tent cover off because we were convinced that it never rained in the desert. The next day however made up for the day before. We headed over to prophecy wall and did 2 multi pitch sport routes that were about 200 feet. They were amazing routes with nice overhangs, a ton of flakes, and beautiful belay stations and top outs. I grew some balls in this area where I led one of the pitches and did a 15-20 foot run out. Later my laptop mysteriously started to work, and Snake (Ryan) ran into a snake (snake vs. snake).

Quote: Elan- "My stash is really coming in now, today I woke up and there was snot on it....it was a big moment."

Zion
Due to a major windstorm at prophecy wall we decided to pack up a day earlier then planned and we headed over to Zion national park. The time we spent in Zion was epic!!!!!!!!!!! Firstly Elan, Ryan and did an awesome hike past a few pools and waterfalls which was gorgeous. Next Elan and I headed over to a crag to do a multi pitch sport route that was a 10d. This route was 600 feet and 5 pitches. It was perhaps the single most incredible experience of my life. Surrounded by towering sandstone red cliffs as opposed to small crags, we actually felt like those bad ass climbers you read about. It took us about 5 hours to climb it. The whole thing had insane runouts, traverses, and exposures. It also had some nice flakes, slabs and craters...altogether it was an incredible route. But the fun doesn't stop here. On the way down it was pretty sandy so you could actually surf on the sand. Elan set up the camera to get a shot of my sandsurfing skills when a couple boulders came loose and threw me backwards. Luckily, instead of going tumbling down the canyon with boulders coming after me, I was flung onto a large boulder that broke my fall. Elan was heading my way when the boulder (which was larger then me) came loose and headed straight for him and would have completely obliterated him if he hadn't dodged out of the way. This was our first near death experience and we got it all on film.

The next two days we spent canyoneering (Ryan joined us) which was a fun break from rock climbing but equally challenging in its own way. Our first canoneering experience was at keyholes which involved some sketchy downclimbs and a 60 foot swim. Note: when a ranger highly advises you to wear a wetsuit, you might want to listen to him. The water was freezing!!!!!!!!!!! That night we hung out with some other travellers at our awesome campsite by the river. One of them has been hitchhiking around the world for 24 years and has made it to 120 countries and basically had a story for everything- he was Ryan's idol. The other guy has been climbing since he was 12 and works in every outdoor field possible and also had the craziest stories- My idol.

Our last day in Zion we decided to do a more technical canyoneering route even though our first experience wasn't so great. It took us about 5 hours and it had awesome views and a 100 foot free repel. When we finished the route, and after getting lost trying to find the road and finding ourselves in multiple situations that resembled our near death experience, we actually came out in a spot about 2 miles from our car which was on the other side of a tunnel that no pedestrians were allowed to walk through. And that was how I came about my first and hopefully not last hitchhiking experience. Yes that's right, I held my thumb out until someone stopped and picked me and elan up and it was fantastic.

Interesting moments: I beat Ryan and Elan at 2 games of poker (I won a total of two treats)

That about sums up our amazing experiences in Utah...Next stop- =LAS VEGAS

May 24-May 28 (Colorado)

Highlights of this blog: Drifter, Pat and John, Murdering a fish, Mountain Lions and Snakes, Sheep rock, the crossing...

May 24
Today was a big day for Elan. He led his very first mixed (trad/sport) multipitch route. It was technically a 1 pitch route (120 feet) but we figured we should start sharpening our multi pitch skills so as to get ready for the 600 feet routes at Tulumne. Then we went over to Clock Tower in Boulder canyon and did a few slab climbs that were mentally frightening even on top rope. Tonight Elan, Ryan and I all slept together with hot water bottles in our sleeping bag because it was way to cold otherwise. In fact I was about to sleep in the car but after about 10 minutes the blair witch project popped into my mind and I freaked out and crawled into the tent and cuddled both ryan and elan. On a funnier note, on the way to the crag we passed by a guy hitch hiking with a back pack, when we returned to our campsite hours later and miles away that same guy strolled in and started chatting with us. Apparently he is a drifter, named Mike who is possibly homeless but his true status remains unknown. So we naturally took him in, fed him some hot food and helped him set up his hammock. Thats right...his hammock. The poor guy slept in a hammock in weather that was definitely around or below zero. He had what we call a perma shiver, we had to roll his tobacco for him and set up his hammock because he couldn't stop shivering. In the morning we gave him a ride into town...

May 25
Today was supposed to be a rest day. We went into town to find a library so we could research our next destination but got distracted by a memorial day carnival that took place in the heart of Boulder. After that we enjoyed a men with a travelling piano who played led zeplin and every beetle song and ended up having a sing along made up of at least 15 people. Finally we made it to the library and Elan discovered some multi pitch routes in a remote area near Colorado spring so our plan for the next day was set.

Interesting Moment: We made a bunch of sandwiches and left them out in the sun for maybe 2 minutes. When we got back to them, they were toasted! This continued every time we made sandwiches all day.

Camping: As it was getting dark we pulled into a great campsite off the road. It was free, by a lake, and with an amazing view of the mountains in the background. If i haven't mentioned it before, I'll mention it now...everywhere you go in Colorado you catch glimpses of the most beautiful mountains of all shapes and sizes. Some have snow peaks, others are red rocks, and many of them feature hard granite. Anyways back to the campsite, we met some fishers (Pat and John) from Colorado springs. Before I go on I must mention that previously to this trip I may have harbored some bitter feelings against Americans in general. Perhaps my feelings were against the Bush lovers, or towards the southerners who I thought were less open minded and more geared towards racism; however I was pretty much prejudicial and I take back all bad thoughts because many Americans that we have met have been awesome people.

Take Pat and John for example. We got in pretty late and very hungry and without hesitation they threw on a bunch of chicken breasts and cooked us dinner. Then they offered us a seat by their fire and some alcohol. In the morning they helped us pack up our stuff, gave us whatever water they had, toilet paper, fire starters, and finally they gave us all the fish that they had caught so we could have a good dinner that night. AMAZING!!!

Side note: I killed one of the fish that they caught. It was my first time killing and gutting a fish and I have to say it's pretty creepy. It was still alive when I cut off it's head. However I don't feel bad about it because I figured, being an outdoor/wilderness lover. learning how to do this was a necessity.

May 26
Remember that crag I mentioned earlier, the one Elan found that boasted several multi pitch routes...well today was the journey to sheep rock. After travelling to the middle of no where, surrounded by a burnt forest and the odd cowboy riding a horse, we arrived at what we thought was our destination, sheeprock; but we are still unsure. After passing multiple signs warning that this area was prone to flash floods so visitors must get the fuck out of there if it started to rain; we headed down to a freezing river that had to be crossed. Next we followed a horse trail and then headed on a steep upwards hike. We reached massive boulders that we started to climb over and under, sometimes using rope for protection because they were pretty big and steep. After a couple hours we made it, sweating and cursing, to the top only to discover that there was no way to traverse over to the left and we saw no bolted routes. Defeated, we began our hike downwards where we discovered a very easy route that was marked by piled stones which we completely missed while scaling massive boulders. We got to the bottom and traversed right then Elan headed up to check it out, but after realizing that it was much further away then he thought, he gave up and we called it a day, and vowed never to travel to remote places without a guidebook, water, food, or flashlights. Nonetheless it was a beautiful hike through extremely rugged terrain, even though we were petrified of running into mountain lions and snakes and vowed to pick up an anti venom kit and possibly a gun afterwards. We concluded today that mountain lions are a myth, because we didn't see any in the one place one would have expected to see a ton.

On the way out of the canyon Elan never failed to mention how lucky we were that he was paying attention to the road because it was so winding that if he even glanced at his mirror for a second we would pretty much drive off the side of the road and plummet to our death.

Tonight we made our way to Colorado springs, ran into a bunch of hippies that were living out of a van and were directed to another free camping area. It was beautiful, overlooking the city and the red rock canyons, but yet again were were terrified because it was so remote that the possibility of running into a venomous snake (p.s. rattlesnakes are more venomous then ever and the reason is still unknown) or a mountain lion seemed all to real. Of course we cooked fish that night because subconsciously we were trying to attract any and all wild animals. At the same time we were continuously on look out and scanned the area every 2 minutes or so. After that we took an anti bacterial shower, changed clothes, had a fabreeze fight, and jumped into our tents with our shoes in case scorpions crawled into them in the middle of the night. ahhhh the wilderness.

May 27
Today we woke up early and headed over to the library again to get organized for the following days and Utah. This took about 5 hours. Helpful Tip: when preparing to go on a long road trip...actually prepare yourself so you don't have to make multiple trips to the library to figure out your next game plan. It is virtually impossible to have a relaxing off day when your list of errands piles up way to high. After the library we did laundry for the first time thus far then headed over to the Garden of The Gods. Asides from being a climbing area, it was pretty much a tourist trap. We felt like we went to Canada's wonderland and got to climb a man made cliffs. The climbing was beyond the sketchiest thing we have done yet. a 40 foot route may have 1 maybe 2 pitons or angles, so basically Elan free soloed the route and placed a few Pieces of mental protection. Disappointed and sketched out we decided to head back to boulder so we could get in some more climbing so we could leave Colorado satisfied. Tonight we passed out in the car.

May 28
Today is the last day that we would spend in Colorado. When we woke up the cliff was wet with last nights rain so we headed into town and went to the library...again...to plan our Utah trip. With Utah fully planned, we went left, toasted a few more sandwiches in the sun, and declared that it was nice enough to climb. We headed back to boulder canyon to a crag called Avalon. The best part of today was the crossing. In order to get to the crag we had to cross a river marked by huge boulder and fast paced rapids by a single suspended rope. After watching a couple guys hang off the rope and shimmy their way across, we took the safer route and clipped in and pulled our way across. We only did one route that day, it was pretty long, and Elan encountered an angry bee and possibly a snake on it soo we got out of there in a hurry. We decided after this that we experienced enough of Colorado so we hit the road again, this time towards Utah...

Next Weeks Highlights: The Arches, Couch surfing, showering, burning rock, blistering heat, St George, Zion, The blue screen of death, and hopefully picture updates