2000 road trip page

The trip:

It's taken me a while to get motivated enough to work on this website. My trip last summer didn't turn out the way I'd planned, due to yet another injury. It seems like I spend every winter trying to rehab myself to recover from last summers injuries as well as try to prevent future ones. My broken left hand had taken a full year to heal, and left me with a weak left arm; I had trouble with both shoulders in turn over the past two years, as well as many small finger- and wrist tweaks. I was physically able to climb all winter, so I tried to do that. Unfortunately, the weather was lousy almost every time I made the two hour drive from Willamette Pass ski area to Smith Rock on weekends. Several times the rock was covered with snow, it was raining, or just plain cold. The drive home Sunday night was usually a blinding tunnel of wind-driven snow all the way.

I had finished the previous fall with a redpoint of full 'Heinous Cling' .12c, and I wanted to equal that grade before leaving on my annual trip. The route I chose was a short, powerful one called 'Chain Reaction', also rated .12c. The weather was looking bad with cold, clouds, and wind. I had tried to redpoint the route six times, and had fallen at the dyno at the roof the last three times in a row. It was getting late on my last day at Smith, the rain was threatening, and I was tired after a full day of climbing as well as a one-hour run that morning. On my final attempt, I decided to try resting longer under the roof like my friend Craig had advised me to do. It worked; I had the extra strength to pull the dyno my last try on my last day at Smith. I drove away an hour later in the rain. It was April 15th.

I was in a huge hurry to leave town after a long winter of so-so skiing and too many hours in ski boots. The snow came all at once, with eleven feet of it in one week, while the rest of the season was wet and nearly snow-free. My Toyota was so buried in the parking lot at the ski area, it was hard to find. As soon as I was on the road south, though, winter made a comeback and chased me all the way to central California. My old reliable '77 bus was running so well after a few test runs to Smith Rock, I decided to skip the annual tune-up to save a few bucks. After I had travelled no more than 50 miles, I noticed a lack of power (less than usual) and a smell like raw gas coming from the heater vents (instead of heat). As a result, my milage was horrible and my windshield froze up.

Climbing the passes south of Reno was a challenge, with snow coming down and my windshield icing up. I arrived in Mammoth Lakes in a blizzard, with six inches of new snow. After a quick visit with a few local climbing buddies, I bombed down the 4000 foot Sherman grade in neutral, hitting 85mph as I passed into warmer, drier Owens Valley. After making an appointment to have my bus fixed, my first stop was the Happy boulders north of Bishop.

1. Bishop, Ca.
2. Las Vegas, Nv.
3. American Fork Canyon, Ut.
4. City Of Rocks, Id.
5. Baker City, Or.
6. Squamish, B.C.
7. Smith Rocks, Or.
8. My winter home, Willamette Pass, Or.