I headed out to JTree with Brian, Dawn and Rod on Saturday. It was a perfect day in the high desert. After getting Rod dialed in with directions to the P&R, we were on our way.
It was Rod's first day leading trad, so we headed to the Crows Nest at the Geology Tour Road area. It was deserted and had plenty of easy routes for him to climb without too much difficulty. We did a couple .6s and a .7 twice(including Trench Connection and Crows Feet), taking turns leading and getting Rod up to speed and getting his rack broken in. Soon enough the day was winding down, so we decided to head back to Hidden Valley to get in a lap on Toe Jam. Brian and I led that one, with Dawn and Rod following. It was a great way to finish off the day. After the climbing, we stopped in town to get pizza at the Indian restaurant... it hit the spot. Unfortunately nobody brought a camera, so no pics. The JTree season is starting... I'm stoked!
10.11.2010
10.07.2010
Malibu Creek -- Limping to Site 44 October 2, 2010
I headed to Malibu Creek State Park with Cesar on Saturday the 2nd of October. We planned on heading up after work on Friday and camping in one of the sixty-something campsites at thew park. As we pulled up at about 9:30pm we couldn't help but notice the sign with a bad attitude... ALL CAMPSITES FULL! Well this just sucks we repeated to each other... "damn, we should have made reservations" was another common thread of our conversation. Well we were 2+ hours from home, so driving back wasn't an appealing option. We could have driven back to LA to stay with Cesar's friend, but that would have probably led to excess drinking and a late start. I was also pretty much done with the driving, as the trip through LA, although it wasn't that bad, was pretty stressful with "skinny" lanes and lots of traffic. I suggested we check for a motel in Calabasas and we found our lodging for the night... the fine accommodations of the Good-Night Inn. After setting the alarm and enjoying a couple New Castles, we crashed with visions of on-sighting .12s in our heads. (Ha ha, more like 10s, but I guess you're supposed to dream big!) The morning came quickly and we jumped on the free "breakfast" offered by the inn... coffee and a few kinds of muffins, hardly what we were expecting. I was hoping for a waffle maker at least or some fruit... oh well.
We headed into Malibu Creek and got ready to hike in for some climbing, although I can't call what I did hiking... more like limping with trekking poles. I hurt my knee bouldering in the gym on the previous Wednesday, but decided to still go. I was dying to get into the outdoors (no matter what my condition) and I didn't want to ruin Cesar's day of climbing. I was lagging like a mo-fo... all my gear was in a bin since I was planning on packing up at the campsite the night before. Cesar waited patiently for me to get ready and get my limp on. Soon enough we were headed to the crag. On the way, I wasn't feeling great about my knee, and soon we arrived at the traverse around a small lake. Nothing dangerous or too difficult, but I was stressing a bit in regards to how my knee would deal with that sort of movement. Everything was going fine, although tentative, then we reached the crux of this deal which was a stemming move over water in a cove. There were decent hands at this point, but the thought of stepping across and putting all my weight on the bad leg had me thinking a bit. Cesar went first and offered to come back and get my pack in case I got wet. At least my phone and stuff would be dry if I fell in the water. With the pack off, I went across and everything ended up fine.
This put us at the crag we were going to climb at, the Stumbling Blocks area (I think, we didn't have a book). We scrambled up some rocks to where the climbs are and started getting ready to warm up on something easy. As we started unpacking gear, we heard a pretty stout rumble of thunder come bellowing down the creek. I don't think anyone around mentioned the first one or two, but soon it was apparent something was drifting our way. A few more rumbles then the rain started... a few drops at first, then it started coming down pretty hard for about 20 minutes. As we huddled beneath a ledge, we thought there goes our climbing... so much for 10% chance of rain. After the rain stopped, we waited about 30 minutes or so and Cesar checked some of the rock in the area... pretty dry was his summary. We geared up and jumped on a an .8 that was right there to warm up and get a better feel for weather this stuff was going to be climbable or not. I was anxious to see how I would do with my bad leg too. The plan was for Cesar to lead everything and I would follow and clean everything. (Thanks for doing all the work Cesar.) He made short work of the first climb... seemed very easy for the grade and I didn't have any trouble getting up this thing either. After I rapped down, I was ready to get onto something more challenging. Cesar jumped on the next climb (route and grade unknown, but maybe a .9?) and styled that one as well, letting me know it was a significantly harder. I headed up unsure what to expect, and made it up just fine... nice! We headed up the hill a bit and jammed through a short but fun .9 before coming back down and getting on a couple of fun but intimidating looking climbs on a steep arette (grade .7 and .8 I think). By now the sun was back out and the temps were in the low to mid 80's... quite a change from the morning deluge. By now my confidence in my knee was in full effect, and I was ready to get these done. Cesar led the first one and did a great job... full on sun in the face and he had done all the business this day which can be tiring. I followed, and noticed there were some tough moves for me as the feet were wide apart at times, which was tough when I couldn't high step with my right foot at all. I was able to get creative and do most of the work with my left foot and just follow with my right. "Off Belay" I say... transition to repel and back down once again. Now the .8 right next to it... the start was a bouldery crux right off the deck over a roof, with the first bolt up there. Did I mention we were on a small ledge 15 feet over a rocky creek bed? Yep. Well Cesar decided to do the alternate start which leads to the second bold, then lower down to give the start a go. He fired it just fine, although commented that on lead, he might have second thoughts. He climbed on and got about half way up before having to take for a short break. I think the heat and doing all the work started getting to him a bit. It was extra tough, because when looking up the sun was directly in line with the climb which made it tough to see the next holds. He finished up and got lowered. I tied in and decided to give the tough start a go, bad knee and all. Luckily there was no move requiring a high step with the right, so I made the crux without much fan fare before firing the rest of the line. After coming down, we decided to call it a day. It was getting on in the afternoon, the next climbs were a bit if a hike away and we were both feeling tired... mostly from the heat I'd guess.
We headed back down and across the traverse, which was slightly tougher over the stem in this direction, but my confidence after climbing all day made it seem so much easier than the morning crossing. While hiking back we noticed campsite #44 which was about the closest site to the climbing, plus it was close to the mobile outhouses which made it the perfect site. Next time we will be making a reservation and staying at #44 for sure. Soon we were back at the car and enjoying the cold beers I strategically left on ice for us. I nice way to finish a hot day of climbing. The drive home was uneventful and soon I was dropping off Cesar in Newport before heading back to Dana Point. Looking forward to getting back there to camp in a beautiful canyon and lead some of these sweet routes!
P.S. - I missed a couple posts over the last 6 weeks or so. I went out to Holcomb Valley Pinnacles a couple times (two weeks in a row). Once with Brian H. and once with Cesar. I led some 8s, 9s, and 9+s over the course of the two single day trips. I also TRd a tough 10b/c which took me about 3 or 4 tries to get past the crux. I'm looking forward to trying to lead that one next time I'm out there. Word.
We headed into Malibu Creek and got ready to hike in for some climbing, although I can't call what I did hiking... more like limping with trekking poles. I hurt my knee bouldering in the gym on the previous Wednesday, but decided to still go. I was dying to get into the outdoors (no matter what my condition) and I didn't want to ruin Cesar's day of climbing. I was lagging like a mo-fo... all my gear was in a bin since I was planning on packing up at the campsite the night before. Cesar waited patiently for me to get ready and get my limp on. Soon enough we were headed to the crag. On the way, I wasn't feeling great about my knee, and soon we arrived at the traverse around a small lake. Nothing dangerous or too difficult, but I was stressing a bit in regards to how my knee would deal with that sort of movement. Everything was going fine, although tentative, then we reached the crux of this deal which was a stemming move over water in a cove. There were decent hands at this point, but the thought of stepping across and putting all my weight on the bad leg had me thinking a bit. Cesar went first and offered to come back and get my pack in case I got wet. At least my phone and stuff would be dry if I fell in the water. With the pack off, I went across and everything ended up fine.
This put us at the crag we were going to climb at, the Stumbling Blocks area (I think, we didn't have a book). We scrambled up some rocks to where the climbs are and started getting ready to warm up on something easy. As we started unpacking gear, we heard a pretty stout rumble of thunder come bellowing down the creek. I don't think anyone around mentioned the first one or two, but soon it was apparent something was drifting our way. A few more rumbles then the rain started... a few drops at first, then it started coming down pretty hard for about 20 minutes. As we huddled beneath a ledge, we thought there goes our climbing... so much for 10% chance of rain. After the rain stopped, we waited about 30 minutes or so and Cesar checked some of the rock in the area... pretty dry was his summary. We geared up and jumped on a an .8 that was right there to warm up and get a better feel for weather this stuff was going to be climbable or not. I was anxious to see how I would do with my bad leg too. The plan was for Cesar to lead everything and I would follow and clean everything. (Thanks for doing all the work Cesar.) He made short work of the first climb... seemed very easy for the grade and I didn't have any trouble getting up this thing either. After I rapped down, I was ready to get onto something more challenging. Cesar jumped on the next climb (route and grade unknown, but maybe a .9?) and styled that one as well, letting me know it was a significantly harder. I headed up unsure what to expect, and made it up just fine... nice! We headed up the hill a bit and jammed through a short but fun .9 before coming back down and getting on a couple of fun but intimidating looking climbs on a steep arette (grade .7 and .8 I think). By now the sun was back out and the temps were in the low to mid 80's... quite a change from the morning deluge. By now my confidence in my knee was in full effect, and I was ready to get these done. Cesar led the first one and did a great job... full on sun in the face and he had done all the business this day which can be tiring. I followed, and noticed there were some tough moves for me as the feet were wide apart at times, which was tough when I couldn't high step with my right foot at all. I was able to get creative and do most of the work with my left foot and just follow with my right. "Off Belay" I say... transition to repel and back down once again. Now the .8 right next to it... the start was a bouldery crux right off the deck over a roof, with the first bolt up there. Did I mention we were on a small ledge 15 feet over a rocky creek bed? Yep. Well Cesar decided to do the alternate start which leads to the second bold, then lower down to give the start a go. He fired it just fine, although commented that on lead, he might have second thoughts. He climbed on and got about half way up before having to take for a short break. I think the heat and doing all the work started getting to him a bit. It was extra tough, because when looking up the sun was directly in line with the climb which made it tough to see the next holds. He finished up and got lowered. I tied in and decided to give the tough start a go, bad knee and all. Luckily there was no move requiring a high step with the right, so I made the crux without much fan fare before firing the rest of the line. After coming down, we decided to call it a day. It was getting on in the afternoon, the next climbs were a bit if a hike away and we were both feeling tired... mostly from the heat I'd guess.
We headed back down and across the traverse, which was slightly tougher over the stem in this direction, but my confidence after climbing all day made it seem so much easier than the morning crossing. While hiking back we noticed campsite #44 which was about the closest site to the climbing, plus it was close to the mobile outhouses which made it the perfect site. Next time we will be making a reservation and staying at #44 for sure. Soon we were back at the car and enjoying the cold beers I strategically left on ice for us. I nice way to finish a hot day of climbing. The drive home was uneventful and soon I was dropping off Cesar in Newport before heading back to Dana Point. Looking forward to getting back there to camp in a beautiful canyon and lead some of these sweet routes!
P.S. - I missed a couple posts over the last 6 weeks or so. I went out to Holcomb Valley Pinnacles a couple times (two weeks in a row). Once with Brian H. and once with Cesar. I led some 8s, 9s, and 9+s over the course of the two single day trips. I also TRd a tough 10b/c which took me about 3 or 4 tries to get past the crux. I'm looking forward to trying to lead that one next time I'm out there. Word.
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