(5160x472 at 464 kb)

Casey had quit her job, and started her road trip odyssey a couple of weeks earlier, with Indian Creek as the first destination. She had met up with Scott and Shannon, and been joined a week later by Chris. It would have been unconscionable to leave her alone in such disreputable company, so we were forced to fly out and make sure she was ok. Originally, the rescue party consisted of Matt, Susan, Lynsey, Lisa and myself, but attrition decreased our numbers to but two: Lynsey and me. We had a daunting task before us, but Lynsey and I shouldered our unwelcome burden, and with heavy hearts set out for Indian Creek. Wednesday: Oakland, Salt Lake City, Supercrack Buttress! Jack was going to Las Vegas for work on Wednesday morning, and was kind enough to offer us a lift to the airport. After seeing his state when he picked us up, I wasn't sure if it was wise to get in the car with him at the wheel, as he hadn't had his morning litre of coffee yet, but one does not look a gift horse in the mouth. We kept him company at the airport until his flight left, taunting him with images in the guide book, but we did it for his own good - we didn't want him to fall asleep at the terminal and miss his flight. We picked up the rental car in SLC, and drove to Moab where we stocked up on food and water. Unfortunately we weren't able to stock up on beer, as we didn't find the liquor store. Bloody mormons. At least I had thought to bring a flask of scotch - for medicinal purposes of course. It was still fairly early when we reached the creek, so Lynsey and I loaded for bear, and hiked up to Supercrack Buttress, which was entirely empty when we arrived. We pulled out all our #2s and headed up Incredible Hand Crack, in beautiful sunshine and balmy temps. Ummm, sorry Jack - I mean in pounding hail, and freezing rain. It was horrible. I decided to do a pure ascent and didn't tape up, but I'm in horrible crack shape as I hadn't stuck my paws in one since thanksgiving, and came down with some nice abrasions on the backs of my hands. I decided to tape up after that. Lynsey and I ran a few laps on in, until the sun began to set, illuminating the rocks with a rosy glow.

(1944x2592 at 2186 kb)	(2304x1728 at 1849.5 kb)
Lynsey on IHC, and the both of us at the Buttress

We were a bit hesitant at the river crossings on the way to the campsite, but the rental made it through ok. At the Cottonwoods, we met up with Casey, Chris, Scott, Jeff, and Shannon, who had set up an awesome camp. Chris and Casey made us dinner, no doubt to thank us for coming out to succour them. Thursday: Pistol Whipped, Supercrack Buttress The next morning we got up early. That is around 8. The sky was blue and cloudless, with balmy temps in the shade. It was too hot to climb in the full sun, so Lynsey and I hiked up to the Pistol Whipped area, where we were shortly joined by Chris and Casey. Lynsey started us off on Dusty Trails to Nowhere (5.10), a fun hand crack, then she stepped it up a notch with Hijinx in the Desert (5.11-), which had a really tricky roof to thin hands section. Casey and Chris moved on to Spaghetti Western (5.11) where I joined them after we were done on Hijinx. I had a go at it - lots of fun overhanging hands, right up until the top when it ceased to be fun with a few feet of off width. At that point I really regretted wearing shorts instead of pants. My disquiet was only heightened by the line that Casey had fixed on it (it's 120' and she only had a 60m rope) which was dangling well within reach, and was oh so tempting.... I eventually finished it off, at the expense of a few holes in my knees, but it was well worth it - an awesome climb.

(1944x2592 at 2150 kb)	(1944x2592 at 1837.5 kb)
Casey on Dusty Trails, and Lynsey on Desert Hijinx

(1944x2592 at 1865.5 kb)	(1944x2592 at 1961.5 kb)
Chris and Charles

(1728x2304 at 1849.5 kb)
Charles on Spaghetti Western

By then it was around 4, and time for lunch. We headed back to camp, where we lounged around for a while, before Lynsey and I motivated again to head to Supercrack Buttress, where we did Supercrack(5.10) itself. I placed gear rather conservatively - a yellow alien, 2 #2s, and 3 #3s. So much fun.... Chris and Casey were due to leave the next morning, at an insanely early hour. Chris had to return to Berkeley, and Casey was off to Chicago for the weekend. Poor girl. Jeff also had to return to San Diego, as his break had come to an end. To make the depression more bearable, I broke out the medicinal scotch, which was consumed all to quickly. Next time I'll have to bring a bottle instead of just a flask. Friday: Optimator Jeff and Shannon had reported great things at Optimator wall, so Lynsey and I headed up there at the early hour of noon. It was still partly in the sun, so Lynsey started us off on Charlie's Pillar (5.8) a really fun climb that goes through a fallen pillar, with lots of fun chimneying. When following, I got stuck at one point, and had to backtrack. I need to loose some weight. We had also considered doing Neat (5.10) as another warmup, which is described in the guide as being a "splitter hand" crack. We couldn't find anything that resembled that - the likeliest suspect was a hand crack in a dihedral, but to me there's a big difference between a splitter crack and a dihedral, so we just moved onto Anunnaki (5.12-). This is an amazing line on the underside of a fallen pillar, an overhanging splitter that zigs and zags through hands to fingers. I was definitely feeling lethargic, but I had a go at it anyway, and hung a couple of times 'cause I was too chicken to make the moves to the next good rest. 'Course I didn't know that there was a good rest coming, but I could have tried anyway - the falls couldn't have been cleaner.... Lynsey ran a lap as well, then we paused for lunch while the climb got its daily hour of sun. After we had digested, and the climb was in the shade again, we each had another go at it, with much better success. The last move is definitely the crux, and the likeliest place to blow it is while clipping the anchors....

(1944x2592 at 2390 kb)	(1728x2304 at 1961.5 kb)
Lynsey and Charles on Anunnaki

(1944x2592 at 2222 kb)	(2592x1944 at 2322 kb)
Lynsey on Unknown #13

We finished off with Unknown 5.11 #13 (5.11). I think that the climb has been split into two, as there were anchors at the 80' point, where the guide indicates a bolt on a 120' route. The rock above that is pretty crappy, and doesn't look like it's worth continuing. It was a pretty challenging climb, with some awkward stemming between red alien sized double cracks. We each ran a couple of laps on it before calling it a day and returning to camp. The car bottomed out a couple of times on the road back from the Optimator wall, but I was getting more confident about the stream crossings, and took them at higher and higher speeds, no longer looking for the shallowest part. This is why you should never buy a rental. Aaron, Amy and Chad were supposed to have come in the night before, but had left late and only made it to the creek that morning. We had left a note on the board for them, and they rolled into camp as dusk was falling. Saturday: 4x4 On Saturday, the whole gang, minus Shannon who was taking a rest day, went up to 4x4 wall. Lynsey and I warmed up on Unnamed #15 (5.10-), which was a little wider and thuggier than I had expected, but did get the blood flowing, then joined the rest of the gang who had set up some ropes on various other unnamed climbs to the right. Lynsey did a fantastic job leading #18, which was a long series of red alien placements. I ended up whimpering and liebacking it most of the way. #16 was gorgeous - mostly hands with a short but easy section of ow at the top. After lunch, we moved back to 4x4 (5.11-), which was led in quick succession by Scott, Aaron and then myself. Scott and Aaron cruised the bottom, then had some fun at the roof. For me it was the exact opposite - the bottom 60' were that horrible size that's larger than cupped hands, but smaller than fists. The roof on the other hand, was perfect tight fists, enabling me to pretty much campus it. Lynsey and Amy also did a lap on it, having a much easier time that I would have expected considering their hand sizes. I guess that's what good technique gets you! We finished up on a horrible 5.12 offwidth that's not in the guide, right next to a finger crack. Aaron did an amazing job on the ow, and we had lots of fun listening to his constant moaning and squeals of agony. It's always so much fun to watch others suffer in O/Ws. Lynsey and I also had a go at it, with Lynsey doing a much better job of it that I. I just couldn't get established in the bombay chicken wing. I guess I just didn't want to commit to the pain.

(1944x2592 at 2150 kb)	(1944x2592 at 2262 kb)
Aaron and Amy
(1944x2592 at 2806.5 kb)	(1944x2592 at 2842.5 kb)
Scott on 4x4
(1944x2592 at 2922.5 kb)	(1944x2592 at 1657.5 kb)
Aaron and Charles on 4x4

(1944x2592 at 2802.5 kb)	(2592x1944 at 2514 kb)
Aaron works the offwidth while we all laugh at his suffering

Sunday: Canyonlands Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. Unless of course you're on an open ended road trip (damn you Casey!). We broke camp, and Amy, Aaron and Chad went off to get a bit more climbing in before heading back, while Lynsey, Shannon, Elaine and I went for a quick hike in the Canyonlands. It was amazingly beautiful there - next time I go to the creek, I'll spend some rest days exploring it. Beautiful mesas, slot canyons, dried river beds, and wind sculpted rock galore. We were running a bit late, so we didn't stop for lunch in Moab like we had originally planned, but put the pedal to the metal and drove on through to SLC. We had just enough time to get a bit to eat at the airport, where I actually got carded - does not shaving for a few days makes me look like a teenager? - before getting on a completely packed plane for Oakland.

(2592x1944 at 2550.5 kb)
Morning fun at camp

(1944x2592 at 2758.5 kb)	(2592x1944 at 2478 kb)
Shannon, Lynsey and Elaine in the Canyonlands

An awesome trip. Oh, sorry Jack. I meant what a horrible trip that was. I'm never going back - that place just sucks. I feel so sorry for Casey, Shannon and Scott who are forced to stay there a while longer. Those poor bastards. I also learned an interesting trick from Amy: to get rid of tape residue, rub it with lotion or sunscreen. "It rubs itself with the lotion...." Heh heh. It comes off really well.

(2592x1080 at 244 kb)