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.