Apr 06

So here's the schedule as it's been related to us. We leave Thursday for the Gila National Forest in New Mexico. We hike for something like 19 days. Then we go straight to climbing in Cochise in Arizona, stopping to shower along the way. I be able to give any updates or post pictures until mid-May after the course is finished. Maybe a phone call or two will be possible from a payphone along the way. Other than that it's snail mail. And even though I love you all very much, I don't think I'm gonna take much letter writing materials out - every ounce counts ya know. By the way we just bagged 755 pounds of food for our course. Whew.

leave me lots of good emails/voicemails/letters to come back to!

ok time to get to sleep.

til next time...

We finished up our womens climbing seminar and the real course starts tomorrow. This was a great low-stress way to get myself back into the NOLS state of mind. Though this was the comfy version of NOLS - fresh fruits and veggies, two-burner stove, and cold beers to come back to after climbing. There were four of us - one instructor, three participants. We were climbing in Cochise, the West Stronghold. The weather was perfect for us, but getting hotter every day so it's gonna be brutal when we go back in a few weeks. The climbing was fun - granite, lots of slab and some cracks. We built a bunch of anchors, did some top-roping and mock-leading, sport and trad. I'll get to the real leading during the longer section in May. Three full days is not nearly enough time to spend in that place. The landscape is gorgeous, with sunsets and night skies worth dropping everything for.


De-issue and cleaning after returning to base is always fun. It actually went really quickly since there were only 4 of us. One of the most exciting parts is cleaning the groover (our portable toilet). Oh yeah. You get decked out in full protective gear - rain gear, goggles, masks, rubber gloves. It's great fun. I've heard lots of horrific groover stories, but as of yet I have no personal tales of groover tragidies. Sorry to disappoint those waiting for it, but probability says I'll have a groover story one of these days. The only unfortunate thing that happened to me yesterday was locking my keys in my car. Thankfully the drivers door wasn't fully closed and I was able to borrow a coathanger and eventually get in without damaging anything. Whew. Maybe that was my car trouble for this trip. Fingers crossed.

Feels like it's been awhile since I left St. Louis. On my way out I stopped in to take a guided tour of Meremac Caverns. Oh boy! The tour guide was a young guy with a southern missouri accent. He delivered his script word for word as it was taught to him, jokes and all. Most of it was pretty cheesy, with a huge dancefloor at the opening of the cave (for 2 concerts a year, apparently). The rest was juiced up by neon lighting. Interesting formations, some huge ones in there. It had been sunny and warm when I went underground. When I came out it was pouring down rain and there was hail and tree branches covering the ground. The rain stopped a few minutes later and I just had too move a few branches on my drive out. Sounds like the rest of the midwest got it worse though.

I made it though to somewhere, Oklahoma on Sunday night. I stopped driving around 1am and slept until about 7am. All through Oklahoma there are signs telling you not to drive into smoke. Good tip.
Today I continued through Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle. I could see lots of places that had burned in Texas earlier this year. Then the scenery got a bit more interesting as I drove into New Mexico. That's where I am now - Truth or Consequences, NM. It's a wonderful place so far. A nice combination of hippy and small-town southwest feel. Maybe the hippy part is cuz I'm staying at a hostel. Anyway the hostel has hot tubs fed with natural hot springs and they are situated right along the side of the Rio Grande. There's a tiny tv, but I might need to find another location suitable for watching the championship game tonight.
Tomorrow it's off to Tucson and getting ready to be schooled by NOLS.

Here goes. I'm heading out towards Tucson. Just talked to Dad on the phone, now it's time to say bye to Mom and get on the road.
Think good thoughts about my car...please!