Spelunking at Pop's Cave

The Outdoor Adventure Club from Logan traveled to Pop's Cave (Bosstown, WI)to do some spelunking. Gabe and I went along also to do some exploring.

In case you are not familiar with the term, "Spelunking" is the touristic visitation of wild caves and "caving" is the exploration of natural caverns in the earth. Our group may have been tourists, but we had a great time exploring the cave.

It was a nice hike up to the cave as we had to park over a mile away. The weather was beautiful even though we spent 2 hours underground without seeing the sunshine. We all had headlamps and helmets. Most of the kids brought a change of cloths as it was wet and muddy.

You don't realize the depth of darkness until you turn off your light in a cave. Your eyes never adjust because no additional light is coming in.

We all enjoyed the experience and Gabe and I will look to come back sometime with a few of his friends. On the right is Gabe and I at the mouth of the cave. On the left, is Gabe in the cave. Everything appears light because the flash illuminates the subject.

Family Climb

We have what is becoming a yearly outing for our family to go climbing at Devils Lake. My sister Lori, Jimmy (future brother-in-law), Paul, Beth and Gabe all attended. We tried to talk our 74 year old mother into climbing, but she insisted on taking care of our dog. There was probably more laughing and conversation than climbing going on, but everyone did at least one climb.

Jimmy (The Rookie Mountaineer) did a very nice job his first time climbing. I set the Grotto which is a nice chimney climb and he almost made it to the top on his first try. Paul, Lori and Beth had all climbed last year and commented that it was easier this year because they had some experience and knew what to expect. Lori had a bad knee which she was trying to save for an upcoming marathon. I think she was disappointed in not being able to climb more as she really enjoys it.

We finished up at around 2:00. Paul and I headed up to the top to take down the sets while Gabe led everyone else down to the parking lot. It started to rain and we ended up helping a family with two small children down the CCC trail as the rocks were getting slippery and the parents had their hands full.

After climbing we went to Hooties to have some food and beverages.

Pictured on the left is Lori and Jimmy. On the right is Gabe.

End of Summer Day at DL

Gabe wanted to bring his friend Tristan rock climbing before the summer ended. Tristan has climbed with us before but had never done a rappel. We hiked up the CCC to the Guillotine and set up a releasable rappel on a short route for Tristan. I wanted to give Tristan a progression of rappels at low heights before trying a taller rappel. We then moved up the CCC to Anemia which has a nice belay ledge to do a top managed climb from and set a higher rappel for Tristan and Gabe to rappel and climb. Both Tristan and Gabe did a great job climbing today. They celebrated by jumping in the lake on the South Shore to cool off after we were done.

Pictured on the left are Gabe and Tristan. On the right is Tristan on rappel.

Kayaking

Gabe, Beth and I decided to try out some canoeing and kayaking at Buckhorn State Park today. Buckhorn is only about 1.5 hours from LaCrosse so the drive went quickly. We took a paddle tour to scout out some of the backpacking sites in the park. I think we found a couple of sites that we will camp at sometime in the near future. The water was calm with a light breeze and we took our time to pull up on beaches and check out sites. We had never been in Buckhorn before, but it is a beautiful park.

Later in the day we drove to Necedah to scout out the climbing areas for a trip later this fall. The bugs were thick as we got into the woods below the climbs so we made it a fast scouting trip.

In the photos you see Gabe at the top, then myself on the left and Gabe helping Beth with he boat on the right.

West Bluff Climb

It was a beautiful day so Gabe, Keachen and myself drove out to Devils Lake to do some climbing. Keachen is a teacher at Logan who enjoys many outdoor activities as well as climbing. I originally wanted to climb on the Lost Face but we ended up at Cleo's as I did not want to take a lot of time trying to find the Lost Face. We rappelled in after we set a climb and later moved ropes to another climb near Kings. The day went quickly and before long it was midday and time to hike out. Everyone had a good time. Pictured on the left is Keach belaying Gabe on Kings. On the right is Keach getting set to rappel.

Rocky Mountain National Park

On July 27-31, Gabe, myself and my brother Paul traveled from Cheyenne, WY to Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. My brother flew into Cheyenne to meet us and continue on our trip.

We arrived at RMNP at around Noon. It was a nice day so we setup camp in the Moraine Park campground. We wanted to acclimatize a couple of days at 8400 ft. before we went backcountry. We did some short dayhikes in the Bear Lake area up to Emerald Lake.

We went backcountry to Fern Lake entering at the Fern Lake trailhead. It was a modest elevation gain of a little over 1000 ft. Fern Lake was beautiful...when it was not raining. Our campsite had a more restricted view that I would have liked. It was surrounded by White Pines and Firs so much so that we could not see the lake or anything except the top of the mountains. I much prefer a site that offers a clear view of a lake or mountains. The plus side was the sites were very spread out and secluded.

We tried out our new steri pen and it seemed to work well for water purification (we will know how well it worked in about a week). We spent quite a bit of time dodging into the tent avoiding the rain, but we had nice weather for our hike out.

All-in-all it was a nice trip but I think after spending 3 summer trips to the Rocky's we are ready for some new territory next summer.

The photo on the left is Gabe and Paul in the tent during a rain storm and the photo on the right is of Fern Lake and surrounding mountains.

Devils Tower

On July 26-27, we spent some time climbing and learning multipitch routes on Devils Tower. It was a great experience as most of the climbing we do is top roped and single pitch. We met Frank Sanders who has made over 50 first ascents on the Tower since the 1970's. Seth Zaharias (our guide) and was very professional, safe and knowledgeable.

The Native Americans believe the Tower has a spiritual quality and we would commonly see prayer flags as we hiked to the start of our climbs.At the end of the day, as we walked out with our climbing gear, the tourists hiking along the base would ask, "What is climbing on the Tower like?" Or... "Did you make it to the top?"

The easiest route up is 5.7, so there are no easy ways to the top. The climbing is different in the sense we had to learn proper hand jam technique. The rock is very abrasive when compared to the quartzite at Devils Lake that we were used to. Next time we climb, we will wear pants instead of shorts. We worked on our multi pitch technique, hand jams, double rope rappels, anchors and rescue pulley systems.

Pictured on the left is Gabe on the Durrance route. Pictured on the right, Gabe and I on the Leaning Column (I had read about the Leaning Column moving. We can both state factually that it does move slightly when you climb up it.)

The Badlands National Park

On July 25th, Gabe and I drove to The Badlands National Park in South Dakota. We had previously driven past the park before but never stopped. We were very glad we stopped and visited this time.

We arrived early in the AM when it was still cool to hike. The Badlands have a unique beauty that is different from anywhere we have been before. We went on a 4 mile round trip dayhike into the parks backcountry. I was amazed at how fresh the air was. I expected stifling heat and humidity. Perhaps we just picked the right day and time because though hot, it was not humid. We took our camelbaks and a survival kit and made good time on the trip. I worked with Gabe on compass directions and dead reckoning. We watched our hand and foot placement near any shaded cracks or blind corners. We did not want to grab or step on a rattlesnake by accident.

I was amazed at how many parents took their small children on some of the back country trails with only a bottle of water for 4 people. I admit to being someone who carries more than I need to, but this would be the wrong place to get heat exhaustion or heat stroke.

Pictured on the left is Gabe and Gabe and I on the right.

Climbing in Pallesades State Park

On July 24th, Gabe and I drove to Pallesades State Park in South Dakota. We had never been there and heard the climbing was good. Much of the climbing was over the river. We got some beta from some local climbers who were very helpful. We set up next to a family who was climbing that day also. We ended up getting to know one another and shared ropes. This made the day go much better as we did not have to keep re-setting anchors. Pictured is Gabe on one of the climbs.

Golfing at Irish Hill

It was a beautiful day so at Noon I called my co-worker Terry Curtis to see if he wanted to go golfing. Terry was eager as he had an upcoming golf tournament to practice for so and Gabe, Terry and I went golfing at Irish Hills in LaCrosse.

We walked the course, shanked and lost quite few balls and had numerous "mulligans". However, no one was injured (no other golfers were hit by our balls) and we had fun so it was a good outing. It took us about two hours to golf 9 holes.

This was the first time Gabe had golfed (outside of the driving range) and he did a pretty good job. He hit a few irons very well and wants to go again but next time rent a cart.

Gabe is pictured on the left. On the right, both of us are wondering if we could golf better is someone pitched us the ball.

Camping and Climbing At Devils Lake

On Thursday, June 10th Gabe and I took a group climbing at DL. After the day was done, we set up camp at Ice Age Campground and then went to Todd and Amanda's house to have some pizza. We got back to the campground at around 8:00 PM and started a campfire to spend some time reading by it. We were both tired from the day so we pulled out the sleeping bags at around 9:30 PM. The storm(s) started moving through at/around 1:00 AM. The tent held up well but some water got into the floor of the tent, however we were above it thanks to our sleeping pads. Gabe slept right through the storms which ended about 4 hours later.

On Friday we made bacon and eggs and packed up to climb on the West Bluff. We spent some time climbing at Cleo's on Queens Face and Between Queens. We packed up and headed for home at around 2:00 PM. We both felt is was nice to just have a day to ourselves to climb.

In the picture, Gabe is getting ready to climb Between Queens.

Season Kick Off for Rock Climbing

We spent the afternoon climbing at Devils Lake yesterday. The weather was in the mid 60's. We hiked to the Railroad Amphitheater and almost walked past the climbing area. The brush on both sides of the track have been cut back and in most cases, entire trees have been taken out which has changed the traditional landmarks. The shade that climbers benefit from when climbing at Railroad is no more. We set "Cantenary Crack" (5.9+) and "The Pillar"(5.6) and then met Nick, Sarah and their friends who were also climbing. Todd came out later with Harper. Todd set "Jack the Ripper" (5.10c) so Nick, Todd and I gave it a go. We climbed until 4:00 and the rain started to move in so we packed up and headed out. Gabe and I were going to camp but the rain changed our minds. Gabe is climbing The Pillar in the photo above.

Skiing at Granite Peak

Gabe and I went Skiing/Snowboarding at Granite Peak (Rib Mountain) in Wausau this weekend (Gabe is pictured on the left and I am on the right). We were a little apprehensive about the snow conditions as the website noted 12-14 runs closed down. However, when we got to the hill and the temp. was 20 degrees on Saturday AM, we knew we would be having a great day. The runs that they groomed the night before were hard packed but loosened up as the sun hit them. I would rate this as excellent late season skiing. The temps moved up to the 40's on a blue sky day. We hit all the single and double black diamond runs and found them to be short but fun. This will end the ski/snowboard season for us this year. We are getting ready to rock climb next weekend. If you are interested in learning how to climb and want to have a great time contact us at http://apexadventurealliance.com/index.php

Ice Climbing at Gov. Dodge State Park

Gabe and I spend Sunday at Gov. Dodge State Park doing some ice climbing with Todd Stowell. Temperatures were in the mid 30's which was a little warm to ice climb but very nice to belay. The ice was very soft and our ice axes and crampons sunk in deeply. We both had fun and we plan to do much more of it next year. Gabe is in the picture on the left and I am on the right.

Skiing and Snowboarding

The winter has gone quickly. Gabe and I have skied/snowboarded 2-3 times per week mainly at Mt. LaCrosse. As March closes in on us we are looking forward to rock climbing and other outdoor activities but we still have plans to ski/snowboard until late March.