climbergirl blog

The weather last weekend was a bummer, so Daryl & I set out on Saturday with unfinished business. Granite Knob was our destination. Conquering the rest of the moderate routes was our destiny.

Early in the morning, it was brisk. By the time we roped up, it was a comfortable temperature, with not a cloud in the sky. A falcon soaring over the top of the knob was a sure sign of success to come 8^)

We did the following routes: Vain and Abell (5.8), Nervous Tension (5.8), Right Hand of God (5.8), Scorpion’s Tail (5.8) 2x, and Don’t Leave Home Without It (5.8). Daryl led everything, and I led Scorpion’s Tail with the gear fixed in place. He was teasing me about it a little, but I deserve it…Next time I’ll do it from scratch.

After the 6 pitches, we headed back to the truck for some Gin & Tonics. We toasted to a pristine day of climbing.

On Labor Day, Daryl and I went climbing up at Granite Knob. It’s about 70 miles from Ridgecrest, much of it down windy mountain roads. We left at 7am and got back early due to afternoon rainshowers. Just as we were getting warmed up, after a measley two routes (Left to Die and Right Hand of God), we had to leave. I took some pictures of the area because there aren’t that many available online.

Sunday night, I rolled into Tuolumne Meadows around dinner time. After setting up my truck at the site, eating my scrumptious fish tacos from the Lee Vining gas station, I took an early morning stroll through the meadows. Tonight would be the Perseid Meteor shower, and I was looking forward to staying up late to watch natures entertainment.

As I was reading over the multitude of Yosemite pamphlets they give you for your park fee, a dubious looking vehicle pulls ever so slowly into the vacant adjacent space. I watch unobtrusively as my new neighbor cautiously starts unpacking his stuff. The back of his car is full of stuff, and I notice there is not much free real estate left on the backside for stickers. Some of them make me smile, “I Love Mountains” for instance. (more…)