Remembering Memorial Day

... thanks to our military men and women...

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... past and present...

Return to the Vertical

... our bud MG Sarah has been discussing venturing out as part of a group mountaineering trip (involving some vertical rock work as well) to the North Cascades of Washington State - maybe, maybe not - so we been giving her a hand refreshing some basic rock skills (she'll get the snow and glacier work there) - always a good thing regardless - until just recently, been a while around here since anyone's gripped even a ten foot boulder...

... rock was a bit wet last Sunday - good day to spring clean some ascending gear...

...and brush up on the knot work, rigging and rappelling...

... sure is a pleasure working with people when you demonstrate once and they run with it...

... didn't take long until they're running time trials - hey - is that some "scary Old Dad* climbing gear" that ZMan is totin'?!!...

... give 'em another day or two of refresher work and we'll throw 'em on anything...

... mid-week on the boulders...

... headed up to run some laps on the 'Rat' (aka: 'Workout Boulder')...

... one circuit will get ya' about 80 feet of climbing (although 100 is possible) - usually (used to) try to do at least a 240 foot minimum session...

... all crimpers and thin edging on the steep main face...

... a bit of variety, though - a pretty cool fingertip layback with sketchy feet (with a face variation below and over the small roof)...

... and a cool south face...

... with some bit stiff overhanging routes and variations thereof - that's the 'Mouse' yonder thru the trees...

... even had an 'Old Dad Bachar Ladder' that hung in the woods (left it hanging for posterity) - noticed it's gone now - thievin' pr*cks even shimmied the tree and snatched the rigging - should never had said anything....

*Ref: The Climbing Dictionary, Samet, 2011 - brilliant

Ancient Times

... had some seldom seen late afternoon free time this past week, was able to get out with 'MG' Sarah for a few hour jungle gym workout...

... 'Fern' boulder located in the 'Hidden Grotto' - stuff here needs lots of brushing - obviously, no one's visited here for many years (although, you can walk right by it and never know it's there)... wasn't equipped for a major brushing project, so did what needed little work and moved on...

... some interesting old stuff on this short steep face - finger pockets and crimp side pulls with thin edging - even found a new project line we never noticed before...

... stopped off at 'Mr. Foley' rock on the way out - some good thin edging and smearing - a bit harder than it looks (and is remembered - at least for us)...

... we haven't really kept up with the local climbing activity for probably ten years (maybe less) - apparently, a lot has been happening as we've learned on line -  it seems SWPA has become a bit of a bouldering "destination"... in our 'Instagram' travels (none of that 'Facebook' stuff for us - that's for "old people" 30+ years) we've noticed images of local boulder problems sandwiched in between shots of Yosemite, Utah, Colorado and such rock (not to mention rock down south), posted by folks from such places... that's pretty cool... we've also noticed an image or two of past worked boulder problems (from "new" and "undiscovered" locations) with a pretty decent difficulty rating attached (we still gotta go and consult our official 'Climbing and Bouldering Grade Conversion Chart', tacked to our bulletin board, when referencing the 'V-Grade' system')... certainly a bit stiffer than what we'd have given it at that time... hey - we'll take it...

... here's a pretty cool 'Lepidodendron' from the same day:

... nothing to note for scale (wasn't thinking), but is a pretty large fossil...

... also a 'Sigillaria' found nearby - lots of this stuff to be found along the ridge if ya' look...

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... when this stuff existed: map of the United States - around 300 million years ago during the 'Carboniferous Period' of the 'Middle Pennsylvanian' age... you can see that the entire Mid Atlantic was mostly a gigantic swamp...

... here's a link to an earlier post: 'Lepidodendron and Sigillaria' ...

... the gigantic swamp has since receded to exist only in the immediate Washington, DC area in these modern times...

As Above, So Below

... a chilly day in the forest - return to the 'One Thing'...

... warming up some cold digits - 'Hermes' boulder...

... and a bit of fun working some light weight eliminates...

... over to the 'Emerald Tablet' boulder - 'Unus Mundas'...

...  and alternate 'Intervention of Grace'...

... bit of a reachy dyno...

... a bit later over at 'Thoth' boulder - 'Deeper Order' here... right side route 'Tall Man' is an old classic - had seen only one ascent out of many tries from a few very good climbers back in the "dark days" and then a second during "medieval times" - no idea how it's fared in these recent "modern ages" - probably a trade route now - maybe not... caution: will comment that by divine voice of the 'Antigone' all attempts are to be made ground up - the extra 3 to 5 inches afforded a crash pad is considered a violation of this divine law... it's said that any successful attempt in violation of this rule will result in the instant eradication of the violator by a single lightning bolt hurled from the heavens by the mighty Zeus himself!!...*

... got a lot accomplished on a few boulders - but didn't take much to cook a few sausages once thawed...

... opted for the scenic route on the way out...

... a short and very pleasant, albeit rugged, hike through a beautiful small gorge with tumbling brook set in a riparian forest of thick rhododendron and hemlock...

... with flanking slopes of large sandstone boulders (that's 'Floyd Little' boulder in the far)...

 ... and massive sandstone blocks...

*... bit of an "in-joke" there - having some fun with the individual who threw a total sh*t fit when he could no longer (and only) slap the small horizontal hold without launching from a pad - he knows who he is...

Update 06/24/18: ... found this image while searching the archives...

... 'Strongman Matt' spotting a "Good-Man" on 'Floyd Little' boulder (see second image up), pre crash pad days...