Bishop...and Owens River Gorge

he says:

The climbing has been fantastic in so many ways. I’ve always loved to climb, but felt that it was a discipline that required a serious level of effort. This trip has provided the time necessary, in my mind, to develop as a climber. Different kinds of rock, different styles, and ever increasing difficulty and length to stretch my comfort zone and my abilities.

Owens River Gorge is a deep, steep gorge lined with hundreds of established sport and gear routes. Vertical to overhanging welded volcanic tuff provides interesting, pumpy problems to keep us busy. Good hands, good feet, and great anchors make for safe, fun workouts.

We’re currently camped in the high desert, at roughly 6,000’ msl. Sage and pinion pine dot the landscape. The white mountains to the east, and the big granite spires of the high sierra to our west. The sunrise washes the high sierra in a pink glow, and the sun immediately warms my face. Elizabeth is still sleeping as I make a pot of turkish coffee and write, sitting in my lawn chair, bundled in down and fleece. Another beautiful morning.

Today we run. A hundred minutes on winding dirt roads in the national forest. A long, slow run. Afterwards, we’ll hike into the gorge to climb a few routes, depending on how our energy levels hold up. Then into Bishop for a little laundry, and to return the movie we rented last night (Dan in the Real World) to the red box.

This place is very comfortable, especially when compared to Yosemite NP. I am finding the NPs to be very onerous with their need to post rules everywhere, collect fees everywhere, and to generally prevent almost every kind of human activity that comes naturally to you and me. The average stay at the national parks in the early 20th century was 30 days. Today, the average stay at a national park is 3.5 hours. If you ask me, the park service is a massive failure, based solely on that single statistic. People would stay longer if they felt welcome, if they felt ownership, and if they felt comfortable. But most do not.

The park service makes the public feel as though they are trespassing on their own land. Twenty bucks for a primitive campsite in a national park, which is free everywhere else on public land. Ten bucks to walk into the park... no car, just to walk in. No dogs on any trails anywhere in the parks. Why? Actually, it is to prevent very small breeds from training the predators to seek out trail snacks! (seriously, that is what we were told). So, no dogs of any kind. That was easy. Why not just ban kids, the frail, elderly, and waifish fashion models too?

I digress. The sun is up and warming the valley. The gray peaks of the high sierra are illuminated, and the breeze has picked up. Another cup of joe, a bowl of cheerios with powdered milk, and I’ll be ready for the day.