Camping, Climbing, and Living in CO thus far

So we've been on this climbing trip and living out of the van for about a month and a half and it's been quite the adventure spending most of our time outside climbing, running, cooking, and making a few small furry friends.  While in Vedauwoo we had the pleasure of making a small squirrels acquaintance when he thought the side door open on the van during a particular hot and windy day was an invitation to help himself to our dry food storage tote.  While camped up near The Monastery crag outside of Estes Park we met a few determined chipmunks who refused to take my hint of yelling and barking at them and Brent's pine cone throwing skills (see small chipmunk trying to dive into the lime pancake mix bowl above).  And also thought we were being attacked by an ambitious raccoon trying to open our bungee strapped grill in the middle of the night .. turns out it was just the wind and trees. 

Thus far the climbing in Colorado has been our favorite, we've spent the last week getting back into sport climbing on some great granite rock.  The photo is of Brent getting ready to rappel on a route in High Wire crag in Clear Creek Canyon.  However, as the climbing here seems fantastic to us, so does the idea to everyone else which has resulted in the first waits for routes at each crag we've been to in CCC.  It's been fun though getting to meet some local climbers and becoming familiar with the climbing areas we hope to call our home turf.  More CO climbing photos to come once our camera arrives tomorrow!

Photo of Hwy 6 that runs through CCC where there are 600+ routes off of the pull outs along this 8 mile stretch.

Betty Update

Betty received a clean bill of health today!! Apparently the heinous smokescreen we created in the RMNP was more-or-less a natural breaking-in process as the oil preservative used to treat the brake pads burnt itself off.....it seemed a little extreme to me, but according to certified mechanics in Golden, CO we're fully road-ready again!

We'll be spending the next week in the Denver area as Sarah's parents are coming down to visit. 

Betty

Searching for the perennial summer day, here is a little background information on our chosen vessel for this particualar voyage. (Betty) is a 1990 Ford Econoline van with a little over 100k on the chassis. Despite her age, she offers an extremely plush mode of transportation that is more suitable for the open road at 55 vs 75 mph. We generally average 17 mpg, but as the larger gal that she is, we've fluctuated as low as 9 mpg on a particularly windy day.

Reaching the 3,000 mark since our departure, everything seems to be functioning properly, all fluid reservoirs are at their optimum levels and have required no additional refills....excluding our brakes, everything has been working swimminingly.

Having spent $500 in Wyoming on new pads, rotors, and blinker-fluid, I thought we were in the clear as Sarah and I started our descent from 12,000' on a highway in the RMNP. We were 3,000' from the base when the we noticed the toxic smoke billowing from the wheel wells. Forced to stop, we parked on a turnout and the smoky-plumes attracted the attention of fellow visitors and a construction worker who offered his fire extinguisher, luckily it wasn't needed. It looks like we'll be heading back to auto shop before hitting the open road again. 

*My Dad is pictured, who helped with the wiring or our 73lb deep-cycle auxiliary battery.

Letting the van rest/cool-down, Sarah spent the time gazing into the distance at the scenic outlook.

Views from 12,000 ft.

Official National Park Pass owners :)

 

Beautiful view of the mountains as we drove up the highest paved continuous highway in America, which is located in the Rocky Mountain National Park.  

 

Brent enjoying the fun task of driving Betty from a base level of 7,500 elevation in Estes Park to 12,000 feet at the top of the Nat'l Park.

Crazy conditions on the drive to the summit in the park.

Freezing while trying to capture us and the view of the mountains at the highest point of the highway, 12,183 feet.

One of the many scenic views on our way back down through the park. 

On the Road Again

Despite using an indoor shower only three times since embarking on this little journey, spirits are still high and we're looking forward to hitting the road tomorrow and making our way down to Estes Park.

Our experience here has been an adventure that has taken us on many new and exciting routes and despite all the fresh cuts and bruises, we've enjoyed our introduction to offwidth-crack climbing. All-in-all, Wyoming has been a pleasure, but now we're excited for the climbing that awaits us in Colorado.

Flailing in the Woo

Here we are on top of Poland Hill after successfully completing our first traditional climb together. It was a success in the sense that we made it up and back down safely, but unfortunately we lost our camera in the process. Working feverishly to remove a stuck stopper, Sarah didn't realize that she was crushing our $200 camera to save a $5 nut.

We're only 30 days into this trip and we've already broken our camera, an external hard drive, the brakes on the van....and I also dented the rear fender of Betty while backing into a camping spot....at this rate, we could be ending the trip a lot sooner than expected.

Using a few stoppers, a cam, and cordelette, I was able to rig a belay station in a finger-crack to allow Sarah to safely follow me up the route.

Inspecting the the stopper that replaced our camera, it looks like we'll be short on pictures until our replacement arrives. (this picture was captured using Sarah's iphone)  

Learning in the "Woo"

Brent playing with the new tripod for the video camera.  We're excited to get some new climbing videos put together and posted.  Stay tuned!

New shoes, new type of climbing.  It's been quite the experience going from mainly face climbing on bolted sport routes to having to place your own protection as you climb in the crack climbing mecca of Vedauwoo.

Summitting a climb in the Lower Blair area of Vedauwoo, shortly before a thunderstorm rolled in and rained out what was otherwise a fantastic day of climbing, hiking, and exploring another part of the "Woo".

Brent preparing to set an anchor for a route called "A Dream of Fat Antelope" in Blair.  He's done an amazing job of working through the more adventurous side of climbing from making anchors to wrapping tape gloves to taking lead on our trad climbs, I'm very proud to have such a great climbing partner :)

Vagabonding in Vedauwoo

Our favorite free campsite in Vedauwoo.  We've spent five days in the area and have been able to camp close to some great climbing, biking, and hiking.  We usually spend the mornings here slowly waking up with some coffee and oatmeal while discussing plans for the day.  The weather here has been mild and southern Wyoming is definitely the epitome of a windy day.

A typical morning of rummaging through our gear tote to load up the pack for the day's endeavors.

Brent figuring out how to light the lantern.  We have been using a neat battery powered Black Diamond lantern, our headlamps, and the handy flashlight on my phone for light at night in the van.

Inside the park about to attempt the Turtle Rock trail.  My first experience on a single track shortly ensues and enables us to bike a 4-5 mile loop around the main area.  At our current site in Vedauwoo we've really enjoyed having our bikes not just for the trails, but for commuting around the large climbing area, there's rock to climb everywhere here!

A photo from our belay ledge.  We spent the morning scrambling up to an area where we could set an anchor to practice placing cams and nuts while crack climbing on toprope.

Vedauwoo is definitely home to some interesting rock formations.  Aside from the great climbing, we've seen some really neat plants and rocks during our hikes scouting out the area.

Here's a photo of Sarah preparing for the daunting bike and hike that is to come in order to get out to the Poland Hill climbing area.

Brent walking around the top of Poland Hill.  He's standing in front of the area called Rat Brain.  We spent the afternoon scrambling and picking out climbs we would like to tackle over the next week we're in Wyoming. 

Brent's usually more daring when it comes to scrambling .. plus it's always interesting trying to scramble in your bike shoes. 

Gorgeous views from the top of Poland Hill.  We were able to get out and go for a hike after some rain and thunderstorms earlier in the day.

An attempt at capturing a photo of us.  Out for a sunset walk on Vedauwoo road.

Brent trying to photograph the sunset.   We have really enjoyed the cool evenings in Wyoming that make for great walking weather followed up by making dinner in the van and snuggling up to a movie.

Sunset in Vedauwoo.  We've been very blessed to be able to spend the past week in such a beautiful area!

Lazy Days in Vedauwoo

Welcome to Vedauwoo!! Where everyday is a holiday!!
One of he largest forest insect blights ever seen in North America, this photo illustrates the damaging effects of the mountain pine beetle. Using the pine trees to lay their eggs, the pine beetle introduces a toxic strain of fungus that prevents the trees ability to process water and nutrients. The one-time shady campground has been clear-cut to prevent further infestation.

On a reconnaissance mission for climbable routes, Sarah and I spent the afternoon biking the park. More beetle infected trees can be seen in the background.

We found a biking trail that circumnavigated around the park which had flowing single-track lines that bounded over large rounded mounds of granite rock that mimicked large turtle shells. Unfortunately, the Turtle Rock Trail was a little too technical for Sarah's introduction into the realm of clipless pedals, luckily her body and spirt are not made of glass!

A reflection pool on top of Poland Hill, just one of the countless picturesque views around the Vedauwoo area.

Change of Plans

We're still awaiting verification from the repair shop, but it looks like we've burnt-through our remaining brake pads on Betty during our drives around the Mount Rushmore area.

Fortunately for us, we're parked in Laramie Wyoming, home of the ultra-classic rocky outcrop known as Vedauwoo. Once used as a military testing ground, the area is home to some of the oldest rocks in the state and is world-renowned for its offwidth crack climbing.

Once we're operational again, we'll be camping just outside Vedauwoo in the Medicine Bow National Forest. No timeline has been set, but we'll probably stay for awhile and head south for Colorado sometime next week.

Camping at Wrinkled Rock

At last, we have reached our 14 day limit at Wrinkled Rock, a dispersed camping area near Rushmore that offered a vaulted toilet, information board, and an uneven parking area that required us to find creative ways to level the van. Simplicity and location would best describe our camp site, when parked here, we could find climbing by walking 5 minutes in any direction.

We'll be leaving SD for Estes Park, CO on Sunday.

Can you spot Sarah in the picture?

While camped, we met a similar vagabond couple living out of their vehicle from Austria. Their plans currently have them posed to travel and climb their way from Alaska to Mexico and everywhere in-between. They shared their dark Italian coffee with us in the mornings and we shared our finest blue ribbon award-winning beer from Milwaukee with them in the evenings.

A typical morning in Betty, brewing coffee as Sarah wakes-up.

Nicer weather = more climbing

 At the summit of our first multi-pitch climb, the Waves.

Setting up the first climb of the day down in the South Seas area, a short hike from our camp.  This route like many in Mt. Rushmore started out with the appearance of an easier 5.8 climb ... but resulted in Sarah finding herself in an interesting situation with a 5.11+ crux section toward the top.

*Crux section - The most challenging part of a route which gives the climb its difficulty rating.

*Climbing grades/ratings - Climbs in the U.S. are based on the Yosemite scale that ranges from 5.0-5.15 ... climbs in the 5.7-5.10 range offer moderate and challenging routes, 5.10+ requires even more technique, strength, and mental preparation.

Brent rappelling down in Fallen Rock.  This climbing area near Rapid City was our first venture out of Mt. Rushmore and offered a much different type of rock than we have been climbing on for the past few weeks.  All the climbs in this area could be done by setting up a toprope at the anchors and rapping down off the cliffs.  

Another photo from Fallen Rock.  Sarah getting lowered down after finishing a really neat, pumpy 5.10+ climb. We had a lot of fun climbing here in the sunny afternoon on the overhanging routes with cool features including some pockets, jugs, and hard crack climbing.

Brent cleaning the anchors on a difficult climb in Mt. Rushmore.

Sarah belaying our climbing buddy Chris as he led the tall aforementioned climb, Weird Water, located in the Monster/Marker area in Mt. Rushmore.

 

Sarah following up on Weird Water while Chris top-belayed and Brent photographed.  This was a really great crystal climb despite the wind that caused for some hesitating moments on the very exposed arete.  However, the summit offered amazing views of Mt. Rushmore park and the awaiting waves from the construction crew and on-lookers from the road.