Rock n Road trip...

He says:

What next? Showered, tanned, and rested, we head south from Hood River and into the desert. Our destination is a state park called Smith Rock. This park is a river gorge carved out of a welded tuff, or volcanic ash and debris flow that solidified into a massive, very resistant, rock formation. The cliff faces are pocked by small pebbles and cobbles, as well as potholes and finger pockets which makes for excellent rock climbing!


In fact, Smith Rock is one of the premier rock climbing areas in the country, and is often cited as the birthplace of sport climbing (bolt protected climbing, as opposed to traditional gear protected climbing). Anyway, Smith is our destination, rock climbing is our goal!

Elizabeth is new to rock climbing, and my goal is to gradually introduce new techniques and difficulties. I haven’t climbed in over three years, so a gradual approach is for me too!! I need to gently re-calibrate my fear reflexes... something that is required when your 100’ off the deck, clinging to tiny edges, and your last pro is 15’ below you...

So, we settle into a new rhythm. Camping in the desert, the sun rises above the Ochocco Mountains, and warms your face. Coffee, a good book and yoga. Drive 7 miles to the park, packs already loaded with climbing gear (which I packed and brought with us in June... it stayed in the car while we were in AK), and we hike into the gorge.

The sun is heating the walls, Red Wall and Morning Glory Wall are glowing, Zion Wall and the Dihedrals are bright too. The air is still cool, so we head for a sunny wall. We pick a climb, drop our packs, and start to gear up. Moby scratches the earth and picks a spot to nap. I lead, Elizabeth follows. We chat about the new and different techniques required for the climb. Moby moves into the sun. We climb the route again, this time paying particular attention to form. We are lost in our little world. Mo is in the sun now. We pull the rope and move to a new climb, with different features, and we repeat the drill. New challenges, more physical this time, lactic acid builds in our forearms and fatigue is setting in. Mo is in the shade.



At the end of the day, we hike up and out of the gorge, tired but not wiped out. We sit in the grass on the rim of the gorge, the sun is setting behind the tallest spires, and the wind has picked up. We talk about the day’s effort, and what we’d like to try tomorrow. Water jug is full, our faces washed. Flip flops on, lawn chairs deployed, stove heating dinner, a good book in our laps...