on the whole

Astute and avid readers may have noticed that while I had promised to post during my two week stay in Hueco Tanks State Park, I in fact did no such thing. Although, astute and avid readers probably know by now that such empty promises are a staple of the blog.

This preface is not so much an apology as it is a statement of acceptance. While I had both the resources and the time to post about daily happenings, lessons learned, and general thoughts regarding my stay in West Texas, I chose to neglect the blog simply because Hueco was off the fucking chain.

Rather than farming my brain for an insightful and potentially useful summary, I've decided instead to break up my experience in a series of shorter posts which (if my schedule allows me to do so) will be posted over the course of the next week (or two). Hopefully by that time my friend Vishal and potentially myself will have edited the compiled footage from the trip. Look out!

With that said, I arrived back in Saint Louis two nights ago. I spent my first day back in the city getting my life in order. Being in the desert for two weeks was disorienting to say the least. After working a short but enjoyable shift at the store, enduring an evening of running errands, and generally hating the time suck that follows such activities, I jumped in the car and headed to Southern Illinois.

I lucked out and managed to come back to the Midwest just in time to enjoy a sunny 60 degree day at Jackson Falls. It being a Thursday I was unable to secure a partner for the day, but despite such a small detail I set out anyway. I spent the first half of my day rope soloing all of the routes in The Gallery- all varying in difficulty from 5.10a to 5.10c. The second half of the the day I was able to climb with my friends Chris and Lauren who were also eager to take advantage of the agreeable weather. 

Wrecking Ball, 5.12c (Fall 2010)

 After finishing up at The Gallery we made our way over to Lovely Tower where I enjoyed three world class routes: Fine Nine (5.9/10a), Lovely Arete (5.11a), and Hidden Treasure (5.12a). It was good for morale to have my first sport climbing session go so well. When all was said and done I had climbed 14 pitches, and I had successfully managed to fight the pump! It was nice spending the day solo in my favorite sport climbing area, recalibrating my brain, and getting back in my zone.

The month of March has me working quite a bit, but my hope is to have more days running vertical mileage in Illinois. Having not sport climbed since November, I want to bring my fitness level up to a respectable level before I hit Vegas in April. While I have no particular goals, I certainly don't want to spend a week in the desert punting because I can't hold on.

Chances are good that I'll be able to supplement my visits to So Ill with a short stay at The Red. The only way to get fit is to get out. Period.

It's not too late to get psyched, get fit, and get going on that Spring 2011 to-do list!

Boom!