Journeys: SEND IT - July 12th - Vedauwoo, WY

We left Chicago at 8:00 a.m., which was later than expected. It took us a full hour to get out of the city traffic and start making good time on the interstate. Northern Illinois, although flat, provided an entertaining view of farming and the bread basket of America. Endless flat fields of green were much different than the hilly farms of West Virginia. I think the flatness made the driving that much easier too since it took very little effort to keep the truck pointed in the right direction. The only direction was straight ahead. No turns, no hills, and not much stopping. Chicago to Vedauwoo was over 1,000 miles and was slated to take over 16 hours of driving. I was hopeful in the beginning, but as we drove through Iowa it seemed that the hours on the clock were flying by, but we were covering no distance. At one point I thought I had calculated that we had gone only 150 miles in three hours. I could only hope that I had spaced out and done the math wrong. As we rolled into Lincoln, Nebraska I had my first feelings that we might not make it all the way to Vedauwoo. It was already 6:00 p.m. in Lincoln and we had eight and a half hours of driving left to get us to Vedauwoo. That would put us in Vedauwoo at 1:30 a.m., which was really 3:30 a.m. to my body operating on Eastern Standard Time. Standing in Lincoln pumping gas into the truck, the only consolation was that the speed limit in Nebraska was 75 mph. So, we drove. And drove. And drove. The sun went down and my mind started to slip into looney tune mode. At a stop in possible North Platte, Nebraska I made a video journal entry that was totally incoherent. Yet we drove on. In western Nebraska the rain started. Pounding thunderstorms slowed us down as visibility dropped. What visibility? It was already dark. Exactly. Just the ingredients needed to possibly pull the plug and stop short of Wyoming at a rest stop somewhere in Nebraska. Then suddenly, we were there. Buford, Wyoming. Population one, elevation 8,000 feet. 8,000 feet? No wonder I was incoherent, dizzy, and having an out of body experience. Now we were only eight miles from Vedauwoo and I knew it was in the bag. We pulled in as the rain continued. No tent tonight. Not in the middle of a Wyoming thunderstorm. We rearranged the boxes, rolled out our pads and sleeping bags, and fell soundly asleep in the bed of the truck. Was that a bear pushing against the truck trying to get food? No, just a dream...I think.

Vedauwoo the next morning.
Photograph by Chuck Bolte.

Journeys: SEND IT - July 11th - Chicago, IL

If an official title needed to be given, today would be the official start to the western United States climbing trip. Today we would leave WV and start moving west. We changed our route slightly to swing through Chicago to continue our visit with brother Joey and his girlfriend. According to the internet the detour will only add one hour to the drive to City of Rocks. Joey left Charleston, WV at 10:00 a.m. and Beth Ann and I left Spencer, WV at 12:00 p.m. after another stop at Steve G's house. Somehow we caught up with Joey at a Steak And Shake in LaFayette, IN and finished the drive to his apartment in Chicago in a two car convoy. After a refreshing dip in the pool and some delicious Chicago style pizza, the first day of driving was surprisingly quickly complete. Tomorrow we dance with the impossible thought of pushing through to Laramie, WY.

The moon over Chicago.
Photograph by Chuck Bolte.

Journeys: SEND IT - July 10th - Spencer, WV

Today was a light day. Our goals were to drop Kristin off at the airport in Charleston then head to Spencer, meet up with Steve to pick up some climbing gear, then head to the Bolte Ranch for the night. As much as Kristin wanted to quit her job and join on us on the trip she reluctantly decided to board her plane and fly home. Then it was on to Spencer. We rounded out our climbing kit with a few more spring loaded cams from Steve then we were treated to a Yosemite and City of Rocks slide show. Somehow weary from doing mostly nothing for most of the day, we arrived at the Bolte Ranch ready for bed and quickly fell asleep.

Journeys: SEND IT - July 9th, 2011 - New River Gorge, WV

I woke early to check the conditions after a hard rain the day before. It was cloudy and the gorge below the Hawk's Nest lodge was banked in with fog. I was worried that we might be rained out of further climbing at the New. The roads were mostly dry, so we went for it anyway. Joey, Kaimy, Beth Ann, Kristin, and I all drove out to the trailhead to Tattoo Wall and started a wet hike in. Fortunately for us even though the vegetation leading up to and surrounding the crag were all soaked, the rock was dry. We started on Butterfly Flake for our warm up then moved to the classic Geisha Girl. Surprisingly enough, as we were climbing Geisha Girl another group from Earth Treks Timonium showed up. It is a small world after all. We only had time for everyone to get through Geisha Girl before we had to leave for reunion part deux in Charleston. Down in Charleston we enjoyed the company of even more family, some that we barely knew or had rarely seen. Exhausted from climbing, frisbee, horseshoes, and badmitton we crashed at Mom's house. Tomorrow we would travel to Spencer a final pack out and visit at the farm and with Steve.

Pictures to be posted later.

Journeys: SEND IT - July 8th, 2011 - Hawk's Nest, WV

Rain.

It was in the forecast for 1:00 p.m. I decided that we would not make the effort to go climbing at Tattoo Wall in Bubba City, but spend time with the family instead and enjoy attractions like the Mystery Hole and viewing hundreds of old Mason family slides. The new plan would be to climb the following morning (the 9th) then drive to Charleston for reunion part two at Coonskin Park and arrive by 2:00 p.m.

It started raining early than 1:00 p.m. and rained much later into the night than expected, about 8:00 p.m. This had me worried that we would get totally rained out of our opportunity to climb at Tattoo Wall, but we would just have to wait and see what the conditions were like early the next morning.

Journeys: SEND IT - July 7th, 2011 - Summersville Lake, WV

Kristin, Beth Ann, and I woke early after a late night. Kristin and I had arrived at about 1:00 a.m. that morning and went straight to bed while Beth Ann continued to pack. Our plan for the 7th was to drive to Summersville Lake and climb at the Orange Oswald wall then proceed to Hawk's Nest State Park where we were meeting family at 6:00 p.m. for the start of the Mason family reunion. We left Morgantown early and arrived at the trailhead parking lot in Summersville in good time. It was a gorgeous summer day that was hot in the sun, but cool in the shade of the woods, loamy woods bursting with the white blooms of rhododendron. Boaters sped by on the shimmering lake as we made our approach to Orange Oswald at the edge of the lapping waters. We arrived at the crag and found just what we were looking for, routes barren of climbers.

We stacked our rope at the base of That Eight and I took the lead. The climbing, company, and weather were all perfect making this stop a perfect start to the trip. Beth Ann and Kristin both finished That Eight and we readily moved onto Sniff The Drill before taking a break to eat our Sheetz deli sandwiches for lunch. After lunch we moved down the wall to Hippie Dreams and Fabulous Groupies. Everyone finished each route especially enjoying the crux and sloper minefield on Fabulous Groupies.

Beth Ann sniffing for the next hold on Sniff The Drill.
Photograph by KRMG.

We packed our gear and headed back to the truck to complete the drive to Hawk's Nest. Tired, filthy, and smelly we were heartily welcomed by friends and family that had not been seen in far too long. We filled our bellies and caught up on the times as the sun dipped below the steep mountains standing guard over the New River.

Journeys: SEND IT - July 6th, 2011 - Baltimore, MD

The western United States climbing expedition featuring the team of Chuck and Beth Ann Bolte (brother and sister) that was set to begin tomorrow, July 7th, 2011, has started one day early. Kristin and I left home base on Light Street at 9:30 bound for Morgantown, WV to link up with Beth Ann. Fueled by McDonalds chicken McNuggets and thoughts of what the next five weeks of climbing would bring kept me wide awake as we drove late into the night.

The trip itinerary includes:

City of Rocks, ID
Yosemite National Park, CA
Salt Lake City, UT
Grand Teton National Park, WY
Bozeman, MT
Devil's Tower National Monument, WY

Visions of successful ascents of countless trad routes in Idaho, Mount Olympus in Utah, the Grand Teton, and Devil's Tower kept my mind reeeling as we hurtled down a dark and lonely interstate 68. The course for the dream has been plotted and I am anxious to enjoy the challenges and rewards of each destination.

Fueling the fire.
Photograph by KRMG.

Nonsense: More and More Climbing

June 17th

We have been doing so much climbing on the weekends that I have not had to time to blog and now I have to backtrack to catch up on the blog. So let's go back to June 17th and 18th. Kristin and I drove over to Morgantown to pick up Beth Ann for a visit in Baltimore. She also needed gear from REI for the upcoming road trip to the western United States. We picked Beth Ann up on the 17th and went straight to Cooper's Rock where we did most of our favorite routes, like The Arch and Reachy.

Beth Ann warming up at Cooper's Rock.
Photograph by Chuck Bolte.

We drove back to Baltimore like the wind after we finished our day at Cooper's Rock. We had to get to REI with plenty of time left to shop before they closed. We did. And when we left the wallets were much lighter.

June 18th

Our second day with Beth Ann, the 18th, was a trip to Rocks State Park where we got in some top rope climbs and practiced some trad techniques in preparation for the mega road trip. We had a great day and accomplished everything that we needed to to lay the foundation for the mega road trip. Sunday we made the trip all the way back to Morgantown to drop Beth Ann off then all the way back to Baltimore.

Beth Ann nearing the top of Vertical.
Photograph by Chuck Bolte.

Beth Ann and Chuck on the north side of the Strawberry Jam Pillar.
Photograph by KRMG.

June 25th

Kristin, Brian, and I went back to Rocks State Park on June 25th to climb Breakaway, but ran into a copperhead where we needed to place toprope anchors and diverted to the Strawberry Jam Pillar. We climbed all of the routes on the north side of the pillar including Scared Straight which had a deceivingly difficult overhang crux at the top of the route. After climbing the north side we threw the rope over the south side to finally have a go at Strawberry Jam. All in all it was a great day and we left feeling exhausted, but refreshed.

Chuck staring up the steep part.
Photograph by KRMG.

June 26th

Kristin, Brian, and I met up again on June 26th for another trip to Carderock. We got their early, 0700 I think, but only got in four routes before swarms of other climbers came and snatched up all the open routes. Instead of waiting in line we decided to cut the day short and go slumming at REI.

July 1st

Brian had July 1st off so he and I took an exploratory trip to a sport climbing area in PA called Birdboro. We had heard about Birdsboro from a friend at Earth Treks and were eager to see what the place had to offer. Birdsboro did offer an enjoyable pocket of short sport routes from moderate to difficult. It is definitely a great place for a climber to learn and hone sport climbing skills. Rock fall is a major concern though and everyone should keep an eye out while belaying and climbing.

For once this summer we enjoyed a cool dry day and climbed 11 routes before making the two hour journey back to Baltimore. We definitely looked forward to going back and continuing to explore other routes.

Brian following Arocknophobia.
Photograph by Chuck.

July 6th

Finally, on July 6th I went back to Birdsboro with Kristin because she did not get to go the first time due to her work schedule. It was much more humid this time. Disgustingly humid. We started out on the lower wall and enjoyed some solid slab climbs before moving up to the Main Wall. At the Main Wall I made a sad attempt at Jingle Bells falling at the crux three times. But the bad news did not end there. A tiny, but severe thunderstorm rolled in and pounded the Birdsboro quarry for 30 minutes effectively soaking the rock and sending us home early.


Our only consolation was to start the mega road trip early.

Nonsense: Climbing!

Last weekend we kicked off the start of our climbing season with a 7 of 9 days climbing hustle of the local crags and gym. This was my first real activity since the big accident back in February.

We started last weekend at Annapolis Rock. We hiked in the 2.25 miles and set up a top rope on Fin Rock. Kristin got a nice surprise at the top of Part Man, Part Monkey when she almost put her hand on a frighteningly large black snake. Frazzled, she lowered and we moved on to the south end of Annapolis rock where we linked up with a PATC group. We climbed White Arete and then I made a sorry stab at Black Crack peeling off twice about halfway up when the going starts to get tough. Disappointing, but it can slide for the first day of climbing this year.

Looking up to the top of Part Man, Part Monkey on Fin Rock.

Photograph by KRMG.

We stayed the night in Gambrill State Park and woke the next morning to clear skies and sore arms, but made for the crags at Sugarloaf anyway. We set up a top rope on the Boy Scout Ledges and climbed a few routes while the lizards, toads, and snakes came out to frighten Kristin. We made it a short morning as our hands were swollen from the day before and headed off to REI for some relaxing gear shopping.

Maybe we should not put our hands in this crack.

Photograph by Chuck Bolte.

Do not tread on me!

Photograph by Chuck Bolte.

Realizing that we were so out of shape for climbing we got a 30 day pass at the climbing gym and started up lunch time climbing sessions. We got in some awesome workouts on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday then we were back outside on Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday we had a split day; morning climbing at Rocks State Park and family fun with Kristin's family in the afternoon. We got an early start to Rocks and were on our favorite route, Vertical, on the Breakaway wall before the sun was too unbearable. When the sun did become unbearable we scrambled up and over to the north face of the Strawberry Jam Pillar and climbed Peanut Butter to gain the ever-awesome view from the top. Then it was off to the swimming pool.

The classic King and Queen's Seat view.

Photograph by O.V.

O.V. near the top of Vertical.

Photograph by KRMG.

Plugging in gear on Peanut Butter.

Photograph by O.V.

Sunday we were tired and sore. Very tired and sore. We hustled over the Carderock, MD for slabby top roping on Jane's Face at Jungle Cliffs. It was our first time there for the year and it was humid and damp as usual. And mosquitos too!

After capping off a sprint start to our first days climbing this year we welcome a day or two off to relax and heal up.

Nonsense: Ravens vs Bengals

Kristin and I got an awesome surprise invite to join some friends in attendance of the final Ravens' home game against the Bengals. Benefits of going included a free ticket into the nosebleeds and a solid 15 minutes down on the field during pregame.

Both Kristin and I were very excited to go and soaked up every second down on the field before the game started. We even got to rep the Ravens on the big screen and national TV during the 3rd quarter.

Go Ravens!

Chuck on the field.
Photograph by KRMG.

Not a bad view from the highest seat in the end zone section.
Photograph by KRMG.