Holy Nor-Cal Snowpack, Batman!

What did you do with your weekend?

Frank and Travis both raced cross-country at the Spring Thaw on Saturday. They placed well, and had a blast!

I should also note up-front that our lovely Sarah Spector - despite being swamped with school, never having any free time to climb, kayak, or do anything fun, and having to work almost every weekend - has at this point only two and a half weeks left at SOU! So, the next time that you happen to be in the store on a Tuesday, a Thursday, the odd-Saturday, or a Sunday, you should congratulate her on her almost-completed Environmental Studies degree! She may still be our morale booster and Hardgoods Buyer-in-training (don't know how she does it all), but she's a damn good student as well. Go Sarah! Now you can come adventure with us on weekends too!


Alright, alright.
Well, this weekend was interesting to say the least.

Because of a general lack of climbing partners, I decided to take a very early season backpacking trip to the Marble Mountain Wilderness, located south and west of Fort Jones, CA. The weather, which was dubiously labeled as partly cloudy, with a chance of thunderstorms and rain, ended up cooperating wonderfully! However, we should have brought our tele gear alongside our backpacking boots. Hiking through knee and waist deep snow - full on saturated springtime snowpack - can rarely be considered a lot of fun. All things considered, an early-season trip like that is always a rare and unique experience. You've gotta be flexible with your plans and expectations. This time, however, every single bit of it was fun. Even the sweaty, wet, and cold parts. In retrospect, I might have chosen less food and no bivy sack just to make room for ski boots.

I took off from work around 5:30 pm on Friday, and was packed, supplied with food, and on the road with my buddy Elliot by seven. By nine p.m. we were at the trailhead - Lover's Camp, several miles off the Scott River Highway. My original motivation was to hike in that same evening, and set up camp in the dark. By the time we'd arrived at the trailhead, a long work day had definitely caught up with me. We made some delicious food, and got a great night's sleep. In the morning, we skipped breakfast and were on the trail by eight. Before noon we had made it to what was essentially the only dry campsite in the entire valley above 5,000 feet. The last several miles were grueling, as the snowpack made progress very tedious. Later that day I did spy some crafty little rock nooks where one could have snagged a bivy further above the valley, but I was satisfied that we'd opted for a lower campsite near the caver's cabin. More access to streams for water. More comfy. We enjoyed a lazy day with a short excursion up to 6,400 feet, got plenty of sun, and were happy to watch the thunderstorms and rain roll right on by to the north.

Definitely a funky sort of trip - half backpacking, half waging war against wet snow. The whole time I was wishing i'd had the determination to pack in tele gear, but the original mission this weekend was to check out what the season had in store for us down in northern California. I didn't feel like packing 30+ lb. in for an overnight. I have to admit that the skiing definitely would have been worth it, however. The Marbles have a much higher than average snowpack right now - every single creek and river I saw was busting at the seams. This definitely means we're going to have a lovely and long backpacking season - with the best trips being taken later in the summer. Elliot and I also saw a 150-200 foot overhanging wall, with tons of pumpy climbing, and some tiny cracks - all in beautiful rock! The face was located about three miles up from Lover's Camp, off the trail. Very inspiring. Backpacking trips this summer might have to be modified to include a combination of climbing, caving, and trekking! Anyone who wishes to join is more than welcome.









And alas, now it is Tuesday. Friday seems so, so far away.

Don't let it get you down though. The ability to keep yourself stoked on the little stuff is invaluable. And don't forget your chocolate. I find that it's almost impossible to face a day head-on without a little chocolate.

I know the weather this week isn't going to be ideal, but get out for that trail-run! Meet up with AOS climbers at the Rogue Rock Gym or our local crags after work! I'm always stoked on outdoor climbing (Frank too) basically at any time of the day - including after dark.

Also, I should note that if anyone can come up with a successful way to get Bryant Helgeland climbing outside on a given afternoon/evening, I'll definitely buy that successful motivator the next round at the Creek, or wherever he or she holds their evening forays into the mysterious and relaxing. Seriously, I ask him every day. *Sigh*

Before I go, I have to add that if you've got an adventure idea that you think the AOS crew would like to know about (this includes just about everything), then stop on by and propose your weekend expedition, or share your story with us! We get stoked on other people's ideas, and we love hearing about your adventures as well.

We'll see you out there, enjoy the crazy southern Oregon weather this week!