Last weekend was a been-talking-about-this-trip-for-years kind of weekend.  So fun to finally get it done.  It being:

Bear Creek Spire!!

It was 4am to 10pm, 12 miles, and 1,500 climbing ft of pure high Sierra bliss.  And I fondly remembered it every time I had to use the handicapped rail to sit down on the toilet seat at work for the next week.  And I couldn’t wear a few pairs of my shoes.  Or my ring.  Or stand up without looking like an 85 year old.

Other perks of the trip included sliding down huge snowfields on my butt and then my pack frame sheet (after my behind froze).  The most incredible mosquitoes I’ve EVER seen (and I grew up in Virginia).  And beautiful, sweet smelling, flowers the whole way up.  Many of which I may or may not have talked to for most of the descent.  I confided in them that they were the only reason I did this*.

*this being a long, loose 45 degree sand and talus slope at 13,500ft.  Sometimes I like to refer to it as talus surfing, thinking maybe a fun name will make it more enjoyable at the time.

This weekend, we thought we were going to be tired (which I was until about Thursday) so we stayed home.  And we were B-O-R-E-D.  Saturday at 3pm found me with a clean refrigerator, organized pantry, and a month’s work of garden work done.  Doh.  Note to self: make plans even if we don’t “go” anywhere.

I did get the urge to bake and whipped up a half batch of Emily’s Vegan Bean Burgers.  Let’s just say I wished I had made a whole batch.  I’ve never had a black bean burger so had no idea what to expect but these blew every regular burger I’ve ever had out of the water!  They’re basically what I’ve always wanted meatloaf to taste like.  Only, it’s always got that who-knows-whats-in-there ground beef aspect.  I’ve been loving these burgers cold, covered in ketchup, on a bed of fresh baby spinach. I see lots more of these in my future!

The only change I made was adding real onion because I don’t have onion powder.  In the future I think I’ll stick with the real thing!

I also made a full batch of Angela’s Healthy Carrot Cake Power Scuffins.  And proceeded to inhale a handful.  I shaped them with my medium cookie scoop and enjoyed their small, perfectly round, size.  I always like eating a few small things instead of one big one!

Hope you’re having a great start to your week!

I would rather be here:

…with all my flower friends.

View of Royal Arches (left), North Dome (center), and Washington Column (right).

We’ve been eying it for more than a year and have been debating when would be the best time to climb it.  My argument for a little water over a lot of crowds finally won out and off we were.

After the grueling 300 foot approach from the Ahwahnee parking lot, we made it to the base of the climb at sunrise.  We decided to go with the original chimney start for the full Royal Arches experience.

Andrew looking up at the original chimney start to Royal Arches.

Somewhere in discussing which start to do and who would climb what, it got decided that I would lead the starting chimney pitch.  Really not sure when or how that happened because I don’t climb chimneys.  Andrew climbs the chimneys.  That’s how our partnership is supposed to work.  I am not the chimney leader.

So I find myself standing in the bottom of the chimney looking up.  Knee bar, knee bar, squirm, ouch, knee bar, squirm…..10 minutes later I find the chock stone so close but still 3 inches too far away.  Finally, gun for it, belly flop onto it and pull some beached-whale dance moves until I’m standing on top of it.  Success!  I hear a roaring beating noise fill the chimney and look up to see a hummingbird picking at the moss right above my head.  A few more full value chimney moves and I’m on 3rd class terrain.  A nice few hundred feet of 3rd class to shake out after all the thrashing.

So, the main question of the day: how wet IS Royal Arches this time of year anyway?  Answer:

Water on second or third pitch.

Wet, but avoidable.  Around the rushing water we went, up the 5.7 hand crack.

Avoiding the water, 5.7 variation.

Up the wandering dirt trails through the blooming manzanita.  I was impressed with how clean the climb was (hopefully it stays like that for the whole season).

On to the 5.0 OW that Andrew threw himself into with gusto, knee jamming and all.  I found a much more relaxing experience by stemming up the outside edge of it.  We reached the pendulum (first for us) and each made it across in two tries and on to the excitement for the day: the waterfall traverse.  We both kept our shoes on and found the granite to be amazingly sticky, even through the rushing water.  The rope got a good bath and is now probably cleaner than when we started.  A few pitches after the traverse I spotted the only other party we saw all day making their way up to the pendulum.

Approaching the pendulum and wet traverse.

Andrew starting into the waterfall traverse.

Andrew enjoying the view after the traverse.

We made it to the top of the rappel route as the sun was setting (ya we enjoyed ourselves along the route!)

Late afternoon sun at the top of the last pitch.

Setting sun behind the jungle.

Down, down, down, from one beautifully bolted rap anchor to the next.  On one of the 3rd class sections, I managed to butt-slide through a 5-inch wide super highway of red ants.  Got a pungent whiff of that sweet, acidic ant odor everyone always talks about.  Then a few minutes later, took a drink from my camelbak and experienced the pungent ant odor again.  Only this time, in my mouth?!?!  Wait, am I tasting it?!  Yuck.  An ant was hiding in the nozzle.

Second to last rappel, an almost full moon rises over Half Dome turning all the water falls into silver threads.  Watch the moon shadows around the rock corners and the silver water droplets spray into blackness.  Look down on all the little people bustling around the valley in their cars.  Looks like a little Santa’s village model.

Top of the last pitch, a ring-tailed cat stares at me, bright green eyes glowing.  Wished I had a brighter headlamp so I could have caught his crazy tail.  Make it to the ground, the ropes pull clean, and straight into the river at the base of the cliff.  Some more turbo washing for them as they’re tossed around.

Amazing day!

Back at the car, unloading wet gear.

We are both so glad we got on the route when it wasn’t busy.  It would have been a totally different experience.  On Sunday we spotted at least 4 parties on the route, all backed up against each other.  I think we just had a lucky day!