JR

 Work is really crazy. I don't feel too well but right now I feel a little better. I think I can wire you some money for gas though.

work, work, work,  that's the story of my day. how exciting that is!

i hope everyone have fun climbing though.

does anyone know if Lynn Hill still has a blog, believe it or not, i actually got an email from her when i wrote something after her blog, crazy

bye for now

We should open a blog here to moan about gas prices. 4.59 is typical around Chicago this week too. So sad when now we look at 4.09 and say " wow, what a bargain"! How soon we change our rationalization of what we must spend. I know I won't be doing 3 road trips this summer, that's for sure. One maybe, much later.

I’m sad to see people canceling road trips. To me, the Road Trip is one of the greatest components of our cultural heritage and psyche. It represents freedom and exploration, self discovery and soul searching, the unknown and adventure.  It dates back at least to Lewis and Clark and you can see it permeate our culture in all types of media.

Books: On the Road, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Ghost Rider, Huckleberry Finn (variation on the theme), American Gods.

Movies: Thelma and Louise, Natural Born Killers, even Dumb and Dumber (although

there wasn’t a lot of character development in this one). The Griswolds even had an epic adventure to Wally World.

The Chili Peppers wrote a sweet song about it. Free Bird hints at it. In one of his more obscure songs, Ezy Rider, Hendrix sang about it. I know there’s a million more, I just can’t think of them at the moment.

There’s nothing better than hitting the open road and venturing into the unknown, window down, radio blasting.

Gas prices are to road trips what Katrina was to New Orleans. Times, they are a changin’. Find a way to preserve this national heritage!!

I guess I should'nt complain, as I've owned a minimum 44mpg avg. automobile all my life, until now anyway. Except for the hybrids, they just don't use the efficient engines that Honda, Suzuki, Datsun(Nissan) and Toyota always seemed to come up with. I had to part with my last great car because the damn emissions tests/failures have become too costly to pay for. C'mon, I mean it was a 3 cylinder car getting fantastic mileage at 140,000 miles. Now why would they want me off the road cuz' of some stupid oxygen sensor foul up? So now it's a brand new 2008 vehicle, one that won't even get to 40mpg, my minimum expectation. Yeah, it's not bad compared to many other climber vans, trucks, 4WD-SUV's etc., but combine the gas cost doubling in the last few years, and a 25% loss in mileage with this vehicle and it mounts up. (besides, I usually drive the road trip alone to areas, so no cost sharing). Agree, road trips are a rite of passage, and must live on.

AKC: I like the formula: More people = cheaper trip. It also =s more fun. That's a great idea. Let me know if you need another person for your trip to the Creek. If I can swing it, I'll definitely go. I'll definitely pitch in for gas.   WC: That's a drag you had to buy a new car. I don't know why us Americans need to drive vehicles the size of houses. Culturally, I think we took a wrong turn with that one.

I'm trying to convince my wife that I need to sell my car and get a motorcycle...cuz, man o' man, it's even expensive craggin' up and down the Front Range and I live just outside of Boulder. I might even have to start rationing my Lumpy trips, and that's currently my most traveled to destination.

$4.69??? That is crazy. It is $3.89 here in Jersey.

I find the death of the roadie sad. I spent much of my formative years traveling up and down the east coast going to Grateful Dead shows. That was back when tix were around 20 bucks so we could afford to go to many shows and still have money for recreationals. I had been looking forward to taking my kids on roadies for climbing but it is very expensive. My son and daughter are learning to sport climb so now I have to look at getting ropes and draws and all that fun stuff. Maybe we should just stick to 20 minute roadies to Morrison and keep working on Brashear's Crack.

Then my 20 roadie will only get me to another climbing gym....dam..

Hey ped, if you get a bike. make sure to get one with locking hard bags. On my Honda Ace Tourer, I could fit my rope , (70 meter), in one, and the rest of my gear in the other side to balance the load. This kept my stuff safe and dry. If you happen to see a climber unloading a Yahama Road Star at Eldo, or Boulder Canyon, holler at him cause it will probably be me. Can't beat 45-55 MPG! Just haven't figured out how to carry my crashpad. :^)
Cheers!

Quick Notice everyone! Nice article by Katie in new issue of Climbing, #268. It'all about her lovely dog Cody. Caution: It might make you think twice about taking that long climbing road trip with your pooch'. Enjoy.

Yeah gas is crazy and I do not even live near a big city or out west. I am paying the same gas prices out on the lake (DWS) as I am at the pumps. But the little things we can save on gas really helps. I drive a old tercel or a motorcycle, but to move the boat tothe water I drive a 86' ford gas hogging full size bronco ( luckily I only have to pull the boat 1.5 miles) So ILL is great at evertime of year, and school does not let me get much free time. So road trips are really not in my budget.... That all good I got everything I need right now tucked away in scenic SO ILL. More DWS routes than I know what to do with.... and no crowds..... come visit you will be very suprised..... Livin The LIfe

JR  "what's the gas price now?"

Hey Katie, I read your article in this months issue of CLIMBING, about your dog and your woos at the crag, very sorry to hear things were so rough for you and pup. I love to have my dog along with me whenever possible and I think its important to air some of the good, the bad and the ugly in regards to pets and the outdoors. Can't wait to take my pup on a long road trip and out side for some climbing.

Happy climbing.

RO

JR
" i have spend my fortune paying at the pump and now, i am broke, left without a penny and i miss kate's voice here"

I still say she'd do well, her quick little Katie-self slippin' on by the off balance contestants. Oh by the way, gas has finally dropped under 4 bucks here in Chicago area, but not much.

Well last we heard she was concerned about the gas thing. I say she went out to the desert to climb, ran out of gas and is still there doing awesome routes, blinded and sun baked, maybe going mad, surviving on agave juices, mushrooms and mescalito. Tattered from the desert brush and cacti, a few scars bleeding slightly, dressed only in rags by now, she is focused like never before on some unknown overhanging splitter. Camped below it, in the glow of a nights fire, she chews on half a dozen peyote buttons, eyes dilated the size of saucers, listening to the coyotes howl, and staring at the big desert wall pondering the crux of the route that has had her stymied for weeks now. How's that for a possibility?

Yeah, I kinda like to write creative stories full of fantasy based on real characters. Why not Katie, eh? Imagine seeing her ragged self walking out of the desert one day, tattered rope in hand and almost empty water bottle, mumbling something about an epic 5.13b monster crack climb just completed. ...

Exactly. After running out of gas, she ran into some local native Americans, joined them in a nearby 'sweat lodge',( but not naked, cuz' she's so very shy), chewed some peyote while she sat for hours in the steamy dark hut, and reached her VisionQuest frame of mind and set out for the meanest dam route she could find. I'm guessing it was a solo conquest.

Chapter 3. Our girl, suffering the effects of extreme thirst ad with hunger pains, pulls out her trusty Rambo knife that was hidden in her high top shoes. Cuts open a thick cacti and digs a hole in the sand. She uses her survival skills to set up a solar water 'still for water. Then, being quick of hand, Katie grabs some small lizards scampering by for her nutritional needs. The message of the great spirit is still fresh in her mind, and she decides to take a rest day due to her weakening condition. Finding an old Anasazi rock dwelling, she crawls in and peers out at the lonely desert.

…The Anasazi cave is cool & shady, and young Katie, exhausted from her Vision Quest and on-sight soloing binge, curls up on a smooth ledge, and soon drifts off to sleep. Her dreams are filled with visions, no doubt fueled by the lingering effects of the peyote. She dreams of a perfect splitter…700 feet or so...gently overhanging, with good edges for the feet. Locker hand jams, good shakeouts, interspersed with some nice thin stuff to keep it interesting. She also dreams of friends & family...fresh coffee & bagels…a soft bed…Could this be a message? Is her current Vision Quest nearing and end? Hours, or perhaps days later, Katie awakes to a cool breeze passing through cave. She rubs her eyes and stretches, and once again, peers out at the lonely desert. That's when she sees it...

..." appearing out of the dim morning light, she sees what looks like a dark crack-like scar on the Entrada sandstone walls across the canyon from her bivy site. Could it be the ultimate dream route that her visions led her to seek out? Is this to be her day to fulfill the quest? Energized from a restful night, possibly Anasazi spirit influenced, she springs into action and gathers up her gear."