Hello All!
I am sitting in a tent in southern NM right now
getting ready for bed. This is the 1st blank paper I've had available, obviously I will later transfer it to the computer machine. I'll catch you all up.
The 1st day of driving (March 6) landed us in Oklahoma City. The drive went fast and all was well. The group was uncharacteristically quiet and hard to read. The next day we finished the drive with a stop in Roswell...which sounded cool but sucked. I was very excited but it turned out to be very boring and kinda trashy. After our 30 minute (also 30 minutes too long) stop we continued on and got Brantley Lake State Pa
rk right at sunset. It was beautiful and I was able to fire off a few pictures before setting up camp. See Below.
Afterward we got word that a serious weather advisory was coming for us; 50mph wind and golf sized hale. We then tore down tents and took refuge in the van or under the picnic shelter (Drew and I wanted to watch the lightening.) Winds were strong and a bit of rain came but the storm missed us to the South. That night was loud (The wind did blow 30-40mph) and I had my tent to myself. I slept ok but not as well as I would have liked.
The next day we got up and drove to the Carlsbad Caverns. They are amazing and too big to describe. They are located in the Guadaloupe Mountains. We did a guided cave tour (lit by only candle lanterns) as well as explored by ourselves. It was a cool tour but our guide was annoying and in less than good condition. She described a dangerous part of the cave that had been coined "the death hill" that had me very interested. When we approached the death hill i immediately realized that me stepping up into my car is as physically demanding and dangerous as "the death hill" Needless to say the tour wasn't strenuous although the caves were awesome. We did do a "total blackout," which means since there is no natural light in the caves, when our candles were blown out we were in a literal blackout. They described it as seeing the cave in it's natural state, which I thought was really cool. I was holding my hand directly in front of my face and could not see it at all. It was really creepy and awesome! Your mind really plays tricks on you when you are in total darkness. That night we got word of a worse wind storm and made the last minute decision to stay in a little cabin near our campsite to stay out of the weather. They were small but nice and had a hottub...sold. Nothing like roughing it in a warm cabin with a hottub outside. I showered quickly after the Hottub and dried off with paper towels from the bathroom (no towel) then went to bed.
The next day we drove to White Sands National Monument...about 3 hrs away. We drove through some mountains on the way which I naturally thought were breathtaking. Sierra Blanco was on our right and was just demanding my attention. When we got to White Sands we were all amazed. Itw as way cooler than we could have imagined. It really is just flawless white sand dunes in the middle of the NM desert, surrounded by mountains. We were able to sled down the dunes, which got boring fast so we invented our own game. We would just jump off the side of the sand dunes. Yep it is just as it sounds. See pictures...
Sierra Blanco
When we grew weary of beating our bodies mercilessly we headed to the City of Rocks. I instantly fell in love with it. Just endless possibilities for lines harder and bigger than the one you just tried and fell in love with. Well as we arrived, yep, you guessed it. Weather advisory. Wind. The 1st hour was spent chasing tents and trying to stake them down with giants rocks (still unsuccessful at times). The rain started soon there after. We hurried through dinner (cold and wet...See Picture) and retired to our tents...8pm. Oh also got a good sunset pic.
8:02, realized that my ipod was in the van...F. Nice night filled with howling winds unable to be drowned out with Pearl Jam. Terrible night of sleep. 6am, wake up to watch sunrise Beautiful but frigid with more wind...0 degrees with wind chill? Here's the sunrise
We gave bouldering a go, unsuccessfully. Too cold and ripped the tow on a warm up climb...not pleased. After breakfast god felt bad for us and let us have some sun. The bouldering was amazing once the weather started cooperating. Pockety face climbs with cool huecos, and tons of it. Playland? Yes. We found a huge beautiful boulder in a field by itself in front of Cook's Peak : ) and it had my attention. With little intention of really climbing it I started up a perceived route. Before I knew it I was trying to solve the crux sequence (also happened to be the last few moves). The climb felt great and with the resumed 1st ascent I named it Megatron Falls.25-30ft V3. When my heart slowed back down to a human rate I was in the middle of lunch...approximately 24 minutes later. After dinner I looked at the stars and now here I am. More to come. Jenny, Sharma and Boss, I miss you guys. Love you so much and wish you were in my tent with me...well in theory...it would be a tight squeeze and with the animals fighting I feel we would get very little sleep. Goodnight.
Megatron Falls
March 11
I am back in my tent getting ready to hopefully get some good sleep because last night didn't cut it, again. It dropped to about 20 last night before warming up to be a beautiful morning this morning. After breakfast we bid farewell to the City of Rocks. Our drive to Gila National Forest was short but the final 20 miles were beautiful. Winding roads through the mountains really do it for me...until we found our campsite and it looked like we walked onto the set of the new Texas Chainsaw Massacre film. It was this creepy little farm that's welcome sign looked like it was made by the Cady brothers, aka bad, terrible, whatever descriptive words you want to use. We finally found the site and Hot Springs area and they were surrounded by these weird bone like things hanging and other creepy and strange decorations. Once settled in it didn't seem as creepy anymore, which was nice. I actually ended up really liking it. After we had lunch we split up into a hot springs group and a hiking group. Maxam and myself took the group out for a quick 5 mile out and back. Beautiful weather, I hiked in Chacos. The mountains here are beautiful. When we got back we made Guadaloupe Chili Pie. OH MY We always make it on these trips and this is why. First is a layer of tortillas, then a layer of beef, then a layer of homini, then a layer of green peppers, then a layer of onion, then a layer of beef, then a layer of cheese, then more cheese, then a layer of cornbread. Then it is cooked in a dutch oven (Cast iron pot that you put charcoal on the top and bottom of to cook all the way through.) So good. Afterward I got into the hot springs which were amazing. Really hot and right next to the river. Afterward we hung out by the fire, swapped stories and gawked at the stars. Now here I am. I set up m tent on the sand 5ft from the river. It isn't a bad place to say goodnight. Love you all at home.
The final day was spent relaxing in the hot springs as well as hiking to see the native american's cliffside dwellings. Very cool. We woke up bright and early the next day to drive back home. 32hr drive. Long but worth it. Here are some more random pictures!
Carlsbad Caverns
Megatron Falls...again
Cliffside Dwellings
Gila National Forest
Drew, Maxam, Vossler and I in the Hot Springs
Campsite in Gila
City Of Rocks (Megatron Falls in the background)
Drew looking like he should be in a Black Diamond ad
Sand Couch
Drew and I in front of Sierra Blanco
Sand Couch
Hiking in Gila
Drew and I at City of Rocks after a great climbing day
