When posting about my road trip, i was mostly concerned with preserving my memory of the events that transpired. As such it often became a roll call of... climbed this .... saw this beautiful thing... blah blah blah. Great as a log of what I have done... not so great for trying to explore what is going on in my head.
This time I want to strike a better balance. Sure ill give the rundown of what I did, but it will not be the focus.
I am a hypocrite.
I am so scared of dying, and yet I climb 1000 foot rocks as my hobby. I love helping people, but i am one of the most selfish people i know. I have always known this and have always struggled to reconcile my contradicting views.
This is a story exploring just a little of that.
Occasionally after many weeks of not getting out, my plans start to escalate. Im planning a nice hike in the woods. Ends up no one can go so it turns into a solo trip. I decide to climb instead. All of a sudden, what was a hiking trip with some friends is now a solo 2 day wall climb 500 miles from our house.
Usually when this happens my pictures start looking like these...
Burnt to a crisp in Peshashtin
and of course the 1000 yard stare
While certainly not easy or relaxing these adventures are some of my favorite memories, and certainly a cathartic experience wiping the day to day drudgery away.
So the plan had formed in my mind. Eliza was not going to be back till friday afternoon, so I could take the three day weekend and drive to NC. There i would attempt Glass Menagerie a 900 foot route up the steepest granite wall on the East Coast. Though now a free climb (at 5.13a!) Glass Menagerie is a classic wall climb at 5.8 A2+, with tons of exposure and some exciting hook moves.
This promised to be a real adventure... Basically a very full schedule of driving and climbing and hauling, exciting climbing, and exciting head space. Living on the hairy edge. My head felt good and I was ready to go.
Then things changed. Eliza changed her flight and was going to be home early enough for us to do a full weekend. Then we were going to bring Phil our Boston Terrier, then I had a commitment to see my sister briefly, then we had to get to annapolis to drop off a phone.
All of a sudden my plans had changed significantly. And as i sat in traffic taking 30 minutes to drive a block in downtown Annapolis on a holiday weekend, i will admit that I was quite angry.
My goal lately is to recognize these points and take a step back. To think about the decision rather than just blindly follow my impulse. The question of course is one of priorities... what is more important, a weekend by myself, or a weekend with Eliza. But this isnt a question of better. Both are great options for a weekend in the woods, so it is more a question of timing.
Really the hardest part was to adjust my expectations. I think my head is like a rocket, slow to get started but hard to adjust once on a course, and it feels like it takes herculean efforts at times to re-adjust.
In any case we had a lovely weekend, and really pushed Phil to his limits.
Certainly packed alot into a weekend... First practicing self rescue at Elizabeth Furnace in VA, then a hike in WV on Spruce Knob, then back to MD for hiking near Thurmont and crabs!
Phil still looking perky as we drive to West Virginia
Eliza just starting on our 14 mile hike of the High Meadows trail on the back side of Spruce Knob. Note camping gear.
Halfway through at the High Meadows. Despite lugging out camping gear we would easily finish this in one day. Go check out the incredibly detailed site about his hike at Hiking Upward Also a great source for other hikes in the area.
Not finished yet, we go do some hiking and bouldering at the place that started it all for me. Wolf Rock at Catoctin Mountain Park. A bouldering traverse of the rock is a wonderfully long piece of climbing for MD.
Nearly 20 miles of hiking and Phil is toast.
Week 1 done! Only 51 more to go.
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