Back on the East Coast

This past week has been amazing in many ways. First, I have been writing a great deal about rock climbing. This will be my last post for a while about climbing in nature since I am starting my last year of college on the east coast and will not be climbing as much. I will go climbing in a gym but that is not the same as being outside. Saying that, I lead climbed a 5.9!! It blew my mind, was a mega adrenaline rush, and scarred me to death.

This is the route I climbed.

Second, my eldest sister and her family made a surprise visit from Kansas. My oldest niece is now twelve years old!!! I remember holding her as a newborn and playing with her when she was three. It blows my mind that she is now twelve and that she has two younger siblings.

            Thirdly, a good friend of mine got married. It was one of if not the best weddings I have ever attended. It was wonderful to see my friend so happy as she turned around after say her wedding vows. Her smile just lit up the entire room.

            I am officially back on the east coast. I flew in last night and will be moving into my dorm on Sunday! I am really excited about this year and apprehensive. Excited because it is my senior year, I’ll be living near some great friends, and I have a great class schedule. I’m apprehensive because some of my closest friends graduated last year and the idea of them not being here this year makes me nervous and sad. However, I will rise to the occasion. Wish me luck!!

Climbing is the BOMB!!!

In my last post, I mentioned that I was planning on going on a massive climbing/camping trip. The destination was supposed to be the Las Conchs. It is a fifteen-mile drive from Los Alamos—a four-hour drive from where I live. However, plans changed... Instead of driving so far away, we—my climbing buddies and I—stayed in the area and went to our local place: Mentmore, New Mexico.

The climbing was great! I tend to climb a 5.7 or 5.8 wall and 5.8 crack. Although crack and wall are rated the same, crack is considerable harder. It is a very different mental challenge and type of climbing. Well, yesterday, I did not climb a crack even though I wanted to however I went for challenging climbs. I climbed a 5.9 and a 5.10a. The 5.9 felt good and there were plenty of good hand and foot holes. The 5.10a had a great start but towards the end, there was barely anything to climb. There was hardly anything to step on and nothing to hold onto, but I made it to the top! HECK YEAH!!!! To end the day, I climbed a 5.8 that I done previously. 

This is a trailer for an amazing climbing documentary. It blew my mind and I love it!!

It is called: The Sharp End

Also, I feel I should briefly mention that Google's celebration of the Olympics has been making me super happy! How is this game not addictive?

The Last Days of Summer...

Last week, I went camping at Mesa Verde. I haven’t been there since I was twelve so I didn’t remember very much of the trip. What I did remember though was the wild fire earlier that year. I remember being in the car and seeing the side of the mesa look like a charcoal forest. This time, there was greenery but I could see where the fire had done its damage.   

In other news, my cat is ridiculous! So, the year I went off to college my mom brought home a *rez-dog. My cat and I did not take well to the new creature. My feelings mostly revolved around being replaced by a dog. The cat was just annoyed that she had to share her space with a dog. As a result, the cat and dog have spats. As a side note, the dog and I are starting to be friends. Back to the topic at hand, tonight hits the top of the list. I looked over to see that my cat had kicked the dog off its bed.

Dog=Arlo, Cat=Chloe

*Note: Rez-dog: a dog that is a mutt but specifically a mutt of the reservation. Traits include: being off odd/unlikely mixes, being afraid to enter houses, and being odd in general-my mom’s dog does a snarl grin.

This weekend I am planning on going on a massive climbing/camping trip. The plan so far, is to go this place called Las Conchs. It is a fifteen-mile drive from Los Alamos—a four-hour drive from where I live. As soon as I have photos, I will post them.