Lankin Dome is the formation farthest right.
October 1st
Lankin Dome looks freaking sweet! We got here after grocery shopping, and it really does look magnificent. I can’t wait to summit. We’re back to using groovers, and it sucks just as bad. I was doing some thinking today, and I realized that I’m still really kinda lonely. I haven’t made any real connections with anyone in such a long while. Specifically any lady friends. I keep telling myself that it’s because I’m just super busy, but maybe I’m just lying to myself. Who knows. Who cares. I think I’m starting to….
Day at Wild Iris
September 30th
Climbed again at Wild Iris today. We went to the 5.10 wall with Mitch, who was really cool about letting us lead and lead belay. Wes and I went up and built some anchors to take pictures from, so we got some pretty amazing shots with a unbelievably gorgeous backdrop. The trees here have began to change color, so we were climbing out over a sea of reds, oranges, and yellows. This is the most memorable fall in my existence. I really could not feel more blessed to be experiencing what I am experiencing. Anyways, time to read my EMT book. Goodnight.
September 29th
Today we hit up Wild Iris for some amazing sport climbing. I was feeling extra strong and onsighted an 11a on top-rope, flashed a 10a and 10b on lead, and made it up a 10c and 10d on lead, falling once on each. It was a very successful day, and I feel way stronger than I did even a week ago. Wes, Gabe, Margaret and I are coming back here tomorrow, so I’ve got another great day of climbing ahead of me.
September 28th
Rest day finally came around. Not gonna lie, I needed one. After three days of relatively hard climbing I needed a break. However, my goal for this section is to jog every morning, and today I ran a bit further than I should have on a rest day. Regardless, we learned a ton about rappelling today, and then after a class on cleaning anchors, Jared, Taylor, Temple, Ryan and I went bouldering. It was fun! I prefer sport climbing, but bouldering really does work different muscles in different ways. Tomorrow we go to Wild Iris, and I gotta wake up early to jog.
Me leading something-or-other.
September 27th
Definitely hit the wall today. I climbed eight routes, all of which were graded 5.9-5.10d. I got really pumped out on this cool roof climb called “Stud Alert” and had trouble climbing anything else after that. The I-team is giving us more and more freedom by the day, and I was able to lead a 5.9+ today (which I onsighted, thank you very much). I’m feeling much stronger than I did a month ago, and I love it. Tomorrow’s a rest day, so I’ll be doing some personal fitness to get ready for Lankin Dome.
September 26th
Well I redpointed the 11a today. It felt good, even on top rope. I got all of the moves down, so I’m sure I could lead it. It’s a very straight-forward climb. No runouts or anything sketchy. I one-hung a different 11a as well, which I could have onsighted if I had asked for beta. Feels good to be climbing hard. They let me lead today, even though it was only a 5.8. It’s good to see them begin to trust us. We’re not novices, and I feel like we shouldn’t be treated like we are. This morning I went for a jog and saw some deer on the road who hardly even noticed me until I was almost on top of them. It was pretty cool to get that close to deer without them freaking out. Anyways, time to read my EMT textbook. Later.
September 25th
So let’s be real. Top-roping sucks. We’ve been told that we might get to belay without a backup soon, so I’m pretty much on cloud nine right now. I can’t imagine being allowed to lead any time soon, but whatever. At least I’m climbing. I onsighted (on top-rope) a 10c today, and one-hung an 11a. Hopefully I can redpoint the 11a tomorrow and try for the second crux which is an 11c. It’s a gnarly roof climb, and I doubt I can do all the moves, but we’ll find out tomorrow. I’m optimistic.
September 24th
Today was ration and gear day for the climbing section. This time, instead of letting the Gulch choose our rations for us, we got to do a planned purchase and sort of customize our rations for Sinks Canyon. We also stopped at Mr. D’s to get fresh veggies, eggs, and bread. Right now it looks like were are going to be eating really damn well. We’re currently at basecamp, and the climbing begins tomorrow. I say bring it on!
September 23rd
Had a very uneventful day today. We got to meet our climbing instructors. They seems pretty cool. Gotta get used to a whole new crew though. Kind of tough to transition from I-team to I-team so quickly. But like I mentioned, there is very little to write about today, so I’m going to bed. Hopefully tomorrow will be a little more exciting.
September 22nd
I just got done writing down a bunch of songs for climbing camp. We’re going to have two guitars, possibly two banjos, a mandolin, and a few harmonicas. It’s gunna be a lot of climbing and music. Today was pretty funny. Me, Luke, and Jake were assigned to clean the groovers, and one of them had a broken O-ring. It leaked when we tried to clean it, so we had to just suck it up and live with a really shitty job. Literally. I ran about six miles today to give my legs a workout after sitting in a boat for 14 days straight. We say goodbye to Vernal tomorrow and head back to Lander to prep for climbing. I’m so ready to start sending.
September 21st
We’re back in Vernal. I got to call my parents, but my phone died and now I can’t call any friends until we get back to Lander. It was good to talk to the folks. Even better to take a shower. And we ate pizza. It was like mana from God. I’m ready for bed now, and no longer homesick.
