Day 334 - Hamilton Pool

Keira, Christian and I trekked out to Hamilton Pool for some more touristy exploration. Unfortunately, due to an e coli outbreak, we were unable to swim in the water. Regardless, the pool is an incredible place to go and a good last day activity before they head back to Mass. I'm incredibly happy I was able to meet up with them and hope to see them again soon (think Red River Gorge...). Bon voyage mi amigos!

Day 333 - Whaddup Austin

Austin Rock Gym. Surprisingly unsafe.

360 Bridge. It's how you get over the river.

Despite being what I would consider really good friends, we loath taking photos together.

First ever full game of Monopoly. Didn't know it was possible to finish a game before flipping over the board in a fit of rage.

Family trip to the local rock gym to introduce Keira's niece to rock climbing. Gym was smaller than expected but we had a good time. Then explored some more of Austin with Christian, checking out the Greenbelt as well as the 360 bridge. Ended the night with some family boardgames. 

Day 332 - Barton Springs Pool

My car cooking skills are evolving. This morning's breakfast burritos were worthy of converting the Saturn into a food truck 

The first car repair of the trip!

The view of Austin while swimming in Barton Springs Pool

With cold temps and cloudy skies, today was a good day for chores and productivity. After a fantastic breakfast, first item was to fix an engine mis-fire issue that started up yesterday. Easily diagnosed by the smoking and lightning-like flashing of a spark plug wire, I headed to Advance to swap out all of the wires. Runs good as new! Then headed to a laundromat to wash all my filthy clothes. The wait gave me an opportunity to explore East Austin, which had a very cool Portland-like feel to it (barring the awful side-effects of recent gentrification). Next task was to find a shower. Turns out Austin has a public pool which is fed by a natural spring, thus keeping the water warm even in the 40 degree temps of late November. Although still relatively cold, it was incredibly refreshing. Better yet, they had free warm showers which felt beyond heavenly. Tonight I shall explore the downtown bar scene.

Day 331 - Austin

Voodoo Donuts

Keira, Christian and I did some exploring around Austin. Tasted pure heaven at Voodoo Donuts. Walked around the Texas Capital Building. Then tasted a whole bunch of amazing beers and ciders at Jester King Brewery. We ended up befriending a girl from California who was also in the area visiting family. She knew a ton about brewing beer and was fun to hang out with. The brewery itself, which is located on a ranch alongside a pizza shop, was really fascinating. Would love to visit again.

Day 330 - Turkey Day

Made it to Austin so that I could spend Thanksgiving with Christian, Keira and some of Keira's family. I was very thankful that her sister opened her doors and not only let me join them for dinner but also stay the night. It's days like this where I realize I will be sorely missing my family and friends back home so it very nice to be able to see Keira and Christian again. Hope everyone had a wonderful and filling Thanksgiving with those they love.

Day 329 - Farewell Hueco

Jason figuring out the moves on Jigsaw [V5]. Very aesthetic climb

Farewell Hueco Tanks, you beautiful beast

Last day at Hueco (for now). Went on another guided tour with the Pittsburgh crew, this time at East Spur. Being my 4th day on, I wasn't very productive, but enjoyed everything nonetheless. Thank you guys for taking me under your wing for the last week and letting me follow you around the mountains! On to Austin now to chow down with some long lost friends from the East.

Day 328 - More Hueco Projects

Craig working Baby Face [V7]

Natalie's ingenuity to brush those greasy upper holds. Note the California King sized pile of pads we had for this problem.

Today I tagged along with new friends Craig and Natalie around the North Mountain. Ended up climbing with some other friends of theirs. We put some work into See Spot Run [V6] and Baby Face [V7]. Both are definitely climbs I'd like to get back on next time I'm here. Finished the day on Girls of Juarez [V4] which was awesomely fun (thanks for the tip Justin).

Day 327 - Hueco East Mountain

Jason on Warmup Roof Left [V5]. Awesome climb and I fell at the easy part...

To my non-climbing viewers, I apologize for all of the climbing photos. However, it's the only thing I'll be doing until at least Thursday. Today I joined the crew and one of their guide friends for a trip around East Mountain. Some more world-class climbing. Energy was a bit low today, but had a great time on everything we tried. Time to try and heal the fingertips!

Day 326 - Hueco North Mountain

The waiting game begins. Apparently 6:30 is the sweet spot to show up. 7:30 was way too late.

Free Willy [V10] 

Gloria [V7]

Mexican Chicken [V6]

Met up with my new friends for another day on North Mountain. Got on some more classics. Gave Mexican Chicken some more burns with a huge crew of kids from the ABC team out of Boulder CO. Finally put down Lobster Claws to break into the V5s. Then back at the campground (Hueco Tanks Climbing Shop), I was finally blessed with some company. There were a few other vehicles, all of which had beds in them. Really nice people and fun to chat with while waiting for it to get late enough to sleep. Overall great day.

Day 325 - El Paso

After a month of car living, I've decided this is my favorite breakfast to make when cooking in the Saturn. Banana w/ peanut butter, oatmeal w/ strawberry jelly and a very dark, very black coffee. 

El Paso Street, adjacent to the Mexico border. Lots of questionable shops selling cheap goods, appliances, jeans and high heels. Had a fantastic time meandering.

I had already planned on taking a rest day today (the rock here is SHARP),  but my decision was reaffirmed when I woke up to the Saturn rocking back and forth under 45 MPH winds. To make the day productive, I headed to the El Paso Mall to get my phone fixed (you're welcome friends and family that didn't like the fact that I was phone-less). Then headed to the best Mexican restaurant in El Paso (according to the internet): L & J cafe. The food was quite good, but I think I still prefer Bueno y Sano or Mission Cantina. El Paso was interesting, but looking forward to Austin more. On the way back to the campground, I stopped at the Beer Barn. Victor, who was working at the time, was incredibly knowledgable with craft beers. We got to chatting and eventually decided that I would trade my last Tree House beer for a local favorite, which he dubbed the Heady Topper of the south,  The Saint Arnold Pumpkinator. I've just finished it and it was quite delicious. I hope the Tree House was still fresh...

Day 324 - Hueco!

Jay warming up on a really fun, really tall problem [V1?]

One of the many pictographs scattered about the park. Dated back to around 6000 BC (I think?)

Awesome climb! Nobody Gets Out of Here Alive [V2]

Camping at Pete's just outside of the park. $2 per night and $5 showers. Can't beat it!

Woke up in a Walmart parking lot in El Paso and gunned it for Hueco Tanks. It was a gamble because they only allow 70 people into the park at once and all of the reservations were taken. Luckily they allow 10 walk-ins per day and I was able to grab one of those before it got busy. With no phone or guidebook, I was planning on just wandering aimlessly chasing the chalky climbs. Very fortunately I quickly ran into a huge group of awesome climbers and they let me tag along for the day. Got on some amazing classics like Mexican Chicken [V6], See Spot Run [V6] and Lobster Claws [V5]. Taking a rest day tomorrow (still feeling beat up from that 16 mile hike yesterday) and hoping to meet up with today's group on Sunday. They're here through next week, so hopefully I'll have some super fun people to climb with until I head to Austin next week.

Day 323 - La Luz Trail, Sandia Mountain

The Summit! Albuquerque can be seen in the distance.

Whatchu know about dem lens flares?

I've decided that I'm going to try and visit the top brewery in every state that I visit. Ergo, last night I checked out La Cumbre Brewery in ABQ. Yes, it was indeed delicious.

For some reason unbeknownst to my common sense, today I decided to hike the La Luz trail up to Sandia Crest. 8 miles of hiking and 1 mile in elevation gain later, I made it to the crest at 10,678 feet. Some gaiters would have been handy for the last 5 miles of the hike but hey, I'm from New England and I don't grasp how high desert ecosystems work. A really interesting aspect of this trail is that it climbs through 4 different biomes before reaching the top. Took 4 hours to hike up and another 2 hours to hike/run back down before sunset. Now that I'm really really fed up with snow,  I've driven to El Paso Texas where I will hopefully get into Hueco Tanks for some world-class bouldering tomorrow.

My legs hurt.

Exhausted selfie!

Day 322 - White Rock, New Mexico

Built my own firepit and seat!

Awesome view of the Rio Grande from the climbing crag

Top-roping some arete. I think it was 5.10

Tried driving to a free campsite in a nearby state forest. The road was so rough I didn't make it all the way so I just setup camp on the side of the road. The next morning I headed to the crag at White Rock which, being South facing, received plenty of sun. Lots of really fun bolted lines. Climbed a whole combination of trad, sport and top-rope from 5.8 to 5.11c. Also worked on my roped solo techniques and discovered that feeding the rope out of a backpack while climbing was much more friendly on the gri-gri. On to Albuquerque! 

Day 321 - Viva New Mexico

Not a bad sight to wake up to, but I thought I was doing this trip to avoid winter...

Lots of wind and snow last night while hanging out in Chateau Saturn. Thanks again Christian for building such a great car bed. Drove into Santa Fe to explore the city and figure out my next few days. After parking downtown, I immediately ran into an R.E.I. and got some great info from one of the employees. I think the plan is to spend a couple days at White Rock and maybe check out the hot springs in Jemez. 

Day 320 - Blizzard Warning

Hello New Mexico

Working on my photographing while driving skills

Said my goodbyes to Jacquie and Ariel and hit the road for New Mexico! By 3:00, I could barely read the "Blizzard Warning" signs on the highway due to being engulfed in a blizzard. The plan was to check out the Great Sand Dunes, but that wasn't happening. Instead I made my way to Diablo Canyon. By 8:30, the snow was so bad I had to pull over and sleep on the side of the highway. Climbing tomorrow is unlikely.

Day 319 - The Bastille Crack

5th and final pitch of the Bastille Crack [5.8]. Psych is high.

Led my first multi-pitch climb today! Jacquie and I got on the Bastille Crack in Eldorado Canyon (Allegedly one of the best climbs in the country). For some reason, Jacquie trusted me to lead this 5 pitch, 350 foot adventure despite it being my second multi-pitch experience ever. Well, we're alive and well and it was a great climb. Heading to New Mexico tomorrow!

Day 318 - Eldorado Canyon

There are at least 2 climbers in this photo. Can you spot them?

Climbed at Eldorado Canyon.  Jacquie led trad for the first time.  She is such a beast.  I don't know how I can possibly keep up with her.  She is intimidatingly good at climbing and is also insanely good looking.  I just feel so intimidated when I am with her because she is so awesome.  I would talk more about how amazing she is but I would run out of words.

(I didn't write the above paragraph)

Day 317 - Flagstaff Boulders

The Capstan [West Face] [5.10a]

Today I sent my tallest boulder problem to date! (Sorry for the heart attack Dad. Again, I'm posting this after getting back down). This thing looked to be around 30 feet. Mountain Project says 5.10a. Felt like V2/V3. I setup a toprope and climbed it 5 times before getting comfortable enough to boulder it. Then bouldered it twice. Really exciting stuff! Then ran into a couple other climbers and tried some other boulders in the area. Excited for Eldorado Canyon this weekend!

Day 316 - Swing Dancing

Photo credit: Ariana

Today I joined Jacquie for her Thursday night swing night. Despite making it clear that I wouldn't participate in dancing, I was somehow forced to dance anyway. I didn't do swing justice, but it was worth a shot.

Day 315 - Whipper Wednesday Has Returned!

Movement Climbing and Fitness, Boulder CO

Boulder got 7 inches of snow last night. Today was my first time climbing in a gym in about 2 months. While it was strange readjusting to plastic holds, it was also nice to be able to train and work on my endurance. Jacquie and I worked a really fun 5.12b for a little while.

Day 314 - Boulder Canyon: Trad Tuesday

Yes, we top-roped this route on trad Tuesday

Joined Jacquie and her friend Jake for their weekly Trad Tuesday session at Boulder Canyon. It was a short and sweet session. Just enough trad climbing to scratch that itch to place gear. Afterwards, we headed to Mountain Sun Brew Pub for food, drinks and to bother Ariel while she was working. Finished the night at Post Brewery to bother Jacquie's roommate while she was working too. I think I've been to just as many breweries as climbing crags.

Day 313 - The Flatirons

The backside of the 1st flatiron. The tip of the 2nd is visible and the 3rd is in the background to the right

Today I did my first ever multi-pitch free solo! I started climbing a 5.6 on the 1st flatiron and decided to bail after 20 feet. Given that I was alone, didn't have a phone and didn't know the downclimb beta, I figured it wasn't the best idea. I opted for climbing Freeway [5.0] on the 2nd flatiron instead. It was really fun! At 7500 feet I definitely felt the altitude the entire way up. Then I got to see Ariel and get a tour around downtown Boulder.

Day 312 - Number 1 Super Guy

Jacquie working through the pumpy lip traverse on Number 1 Super Guy [5.11 a/b]

Day 2 at Shelf Road. Our crew of 11 rolled through and took over a section at the Piggy Bank Wall. Got on some more really fun climbs. Number 1 Super Guy was definitely the highlight. Was able to on-sight the direct variation through the roof which I was told goes at 5.12a, which I was very psyched about. Jacquie sent the 11 variation on her 3rd try which was awesome (She was missing a very helpful jug at the top). Then I got on a 5.12 b/c and got totally wrecked. All in all, a great weekend at Shelf. Would definitely like to come back here again and get my hands on some more climbs.

Day 311 - Shelf Road

Jacquie and I made the 2.5 hour drive to her favorite crag for the weekend, Shelf Road. We met up with some friends that she recently made and had a really great day of climbing. Got on a bunch of really fun 10s and 11s. The rock is very different from back home and the view is spectacular. Then we all setup camp down the road from the crag and proceeded to end the night with s'mores and acoustic singalongs (we learned that we're all terrible with lyrics).