May 19- May 23 (Kentucky/ Colorado)

Greetings from Utah!!!

We have failed to update this blog for over 10 days mainly because of lack of Internet time due to the remote places we are camping out in...therefore this is going to be a long one...

May 19
Today was both a sad day as well as an epic day. It was sad because this was the last day our friends would be hanging out with us in Kentucky :(, which also meant Elan, Ryan, and I would pretty much have to learn how to endure only each other from now on. But more importantly it was an epic day because Elan, Aric, and Steve all completed the infamous route called Twinkie- a daunting 5'12a overhanging route. So congratulations Elan, Steve, and Aric.

May 20
In the event that Elan managed to get a basketball injury on a rock climbing trip, today was all about Samantha day. We made our way over to a crag called left flank where I led four routes including the classic- To defy laws of tradition. Although i have to admit too bailing on one of the routes- a 5'8 with a huge 15 foot runout. But it was a crack and I am sticking with the fact that cracks are unfamiliar to me which is why I bailed, you can take that excuse or send it right back totally up to you. Unknown to us at the time, this would be our last night in Kentucky...

May 21
Wednesday morning we woke up expecting to do Elan's first multi pitch trad line but unfortunately Elan's foot injury, which still hadn't healed, decided our fate...off to Colorado. We left Kentucky around noon. Elan drove for a long time while I slept for most of it. And finally Elan and Ryan woke me up claiming to have stopped at a theme park but really we were at a gas station which had a boat simulator. After driving the boat (i caught 4 virtual fish) we headed back onto the road and continued driving all night until like 5am when we finally pulled over at a rest area and passed out.Philosophical

Car Discussions:- Why are sewers round?- Why do men have nipples?- How did the trucker fashion end up being a flannel shirt and a trucker hat??- Given the fact that cleavage is a recent fashion statement for women, will there ever be ball cleavage for men??

May 22
We continued the drive and finally got to Denver around noonish. After checking out the scene we left for our Boulder which is perhaps the most gorgeous town I have ever seen. Nestled between miles of mountains ranging from small cliffs to peaks still covered in snow, Colorado seemed like the perfect place to be if your into climbing, trekking, biking, or pretty much any activity that has to do with the outdoors. After a quick stop at R.E.I (the equivalent of MEC in the USA but 10 times shittier) we attempted to find a free place to set up our tents. After seriously getting lost we pulled into an actual campsite, reluctantly paid $22, and learned of free camping 20 minutes away. At this point however, the altitude sickness already crept up on us, we were all tired, delirious, and had headaches so we sucked it up, paid for the site, and vowed to locate free camping the next day...

May 23
Today we ventured into boulder canyon, to an area called sport park, to a crag called surprising crag. In order to get to the crag we have to cross a freezing river with rapids by hanging onto a rope. On the way back to the car however we discovered an even dangerous route across 2 fallen trees, and obviously I had to fall- I always knew I would never make it as a slackliner. We did about 4 routes, then Elan hopped on an incredibly overhung 5'12b and pulled out the craziest moves I have ever seen (as soon as I fix my virus infected laptop hopefully I can put up pictures).

Weather Report: Due to high elevation (10 000 feet) weather is unpredictable. In one day, while climbing, it was so warm you could climb in a T-shirt, then it rained, then it got warm, then it snowed, then it got warm, then it was freezing. Camping at high elevation this night was below zero (me and elan had to share a mummy bag...not fun)...

The library is closing in 5 minutes so check back for more updates soon....

Kentucky- The Red River Gorge!!!

This blog has been created to document our 10 week rock climbing road trip around the USA and Canada.

Hope you enjoy!!!

After various set backs and car troubles, Ryan, Elan, and I finally hit the road around 10:30am Saturday morning (after a quickly stop at MEC of course). We would have left Thursday, but Elan had the car blues which began when the air conditioning on his new car was broken, worsened when the mechanic, after fixing the A/C forgot to screw in the bolts for the tires so the tires fell off and the whole car basically dropped after he tried rolling it out of the garage. Then Elan was convinced he had a flat tire and made us stop every so often to check it, but really it wasn't flat. Anyways, as I was saying, we finally began our road trip Saturday morning. First stop was Kentucky, 10 hours away, where we would meet up with our other rock climbing buddies for May 24. Nothing too interesting to report about the car ride, it was pretty generic. Elan and Ryan may tell you I had gas issues, but they don't really know what they are talking about. Worth noting however is the fact that 3 people managed to fit clothes, camping gear and climbing gear for about 3 months, plus a cooler and 2 guitars...pictures of Elans driveway full of gear will soon be added.

We rolled into climbers haven (Miguels) at around 11ish. Miguels is an awsome campground for climbers only equipped with a restaurant that creates the most amazing pizza you will ever taste. We met up with our friends, quickly downed some cold alphaghetties, grabbed the brandy we picked up at duty free, then got back into the car to drove to a party that was supposed to be 5 minutes away but ended up being 30. Party was kinda wild. It was made up of climbers who were all pretty much convinced they were going to get up at 8 the next day to start climbing but we all know that never happens. Also worth noting is the fact that I am going to permanently switch my drinking preference to Brandy because it is amazing, and the fact that it is almost impossible to find weed in the states.

Sunday morning we woke up at 7:00, then went back to sleep until 10 (I blame it on the brandy). The crew headed over to Muir valley where we went to the crags Tectonic plates and Johnny's way. Climbing was fantastic. We stayed until after dark and had to do a long uphill hike back to the cars in the pitch black (Elan and Steve held hands the entire time). We were convinced someone siphoned out gas but really it just took the car a while to warm up (elan is clearly paro when it comes to his car). Made it back to Miguels around 10 and made a mouth watering feast of steak and potatoes mmmmmmmm.

Bitches and Roses
Elan: B= parking the cars; R= crankig over the roof on the trad climb; R= being able to start his standard car on a hill; R= watching Ryan clean his first outdoor climb.
Sam: B= chickening out on the 5'9 lead climb; R= the 5"8 slab climb
Ryan: B= Ryan has no bitch; R= the smiley cup

To be continued.............