My tendinitis has had me a bit depressed. The job if am currently doing is killing my upper body and there is nothing I can do about it. I go climbing to stay fit and to get away from everyday drama with work, the economy, etc. I need to work in order to pay the bills, but at the same time it has interrupted my outlets like climbing. I am at a loss. I have tried to find a new job closer to home, but have had little luck. I am being as open minded as one can be in these trying times. Now that I am a married man, there is a personal goal to keep this family firmly planted and do what is right. I NEED TO WORK. I guess if I were single and this job was killing me physically, I would just say f- it and just quit. Climbing is pretty damn important to me as well. It keeps me mentally sane and physically content. Now that I can’t really climb because of my work related pain, I just want to turn and run. Having responsibilities sort of sucks.
Friends tell me that I should just go hiking or try not climbing as hard. Sunday I did just that. I took my dog Peanut out for a hike to find some boulders that I have heard about called the Dragon’s Den. Peanut and I went up to Big Elk Meadow which is on the way up to Rocky Mountain National Park. It is a canyon that brakes off the main highway and meanders along a lush, overgrown patch of mountain. Once at the pullout, the hike is minimal. The trail fallows along a quite, slow moving creek that has sprouted a thick, green blanket of vegetation from all of the rain we have had this Spring and Summer. There is a mild river crossing that Peanut flies across with the enthusiasm of a bunny rabbit which I laugh at. We start hiking up the karn marked hillside for about 10 minutes until we reach the first set of boulders. The lines looked awesome, but the rock was a bit subpar. The rock is a combination of granite and sharp knobby crystals. Some problems are more skin friendly than others, but all in all, the climbing was fun. I found about a dozen problems that were worthy of loosing some skin. This was perfect because Peanut could run around and be a dog while I played on some moderate boulder problems trying not to piss off my tendinitis. There were fun roofs, jug hauls, arêtes and highballs to test my new Evolv XY custom climbing shoes. I found the area to be beautiful, peaceful, but limited. The rain arrived right on time and we were out. Once Peanut and I made it home, I checked the area guide on Frontrangebouldering.com and found that the problems ranged from V0 to V6/7 which sounded about right. There were some Gill problems which I was not aware of that put a smile on my face. I am always taken back to know that I have been on a piece of rock that John Gill has climbed before.
Peanut and I had a fun couple of hours before the rain came. If it wasn’t for the cloud cover, there would have been no way to climb at these boulders in July because they directly face the afternoon sun. We hiked back out through the overgrown vegetation without running into another soul the whole time we were in the area. I am not sure I would ever come back to the Dragon’s Den for no other reason than to show Danielle some new boulder problems and to let Peanut be the crazy doggy she is.
It's sharp as shit too huh? that was like one of the first places I went when I moved there mostly because of the little mini guide and the amount of moderate shit. but when i revisited it months later i realized it was like razor-blade-ville. Classic sketchy piece of climbing was that 'roll on troll' which was tall and scary and dirty. i think we had like one pad on a sloping hill landing and a spotter that doesnt pay attention... i was scared. haha. Hope you're doing well homie! congrats on the wedding. I just got engaged myself 3 weeks ago.
ReplyDeletepeace,
sweatpants