Showing posts with label redrock. Show all posts
Showing posts with label redrock. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 8, 2022

Zion National Park, Utah 2022

At the top of the Watchman Trail


My groom and I visited the beautiful Zion National Park on a weekday but it was still crowded. We drove the almost 3-hour drive from Las Vegas, NV, and got to the park entrance at 10am, local Utah time. Unfortunately, all the parking was full and the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive was closed. Since it was a weekday, the shuttle wasn't running. We were told that we could hike the Canyon Overlook trail but space at its trailhead was very limited. We could also hike any of the trails from the Visitor's Center. We stopped at the Visitor's Center so that I could purchase a Zion NP t-shirt and baseball cap, then headed to the Canyon Overlook trailhead. 

The drive up and through the Zion Mt. Carmel Highway and tunnel was spectacular! Unfortunately, there was no parking available at the Canyon Overlook trailhead as well as along the road. Directly across the trailhead is another parking area but it's for "small vehicles".....which we didn't have (GMC Yukon SLT). There were so many people and cars! We drove past the trailhead and turned around and hoped we'd find parking on our way back, but no such luck. We ended up driving back to the Visitor's Center and hiked The Watchman Trail. The trail is very popular and views along the trail as well at the top of the foothill are amazing, photos don't do it justice! The trail doesn't bring you to the top of the Watchman mountain, just to the top of the foothill. But the views from the foothill of Watchman mountain and the southern area of the park are stunning, nonetheless!

We plan to re-visit Zion, stay overnight in either Springdale or Hurricane. Then get an early start in the morning to make sure we can get to those hikes along the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive that I had originally planned for this trip - Riverside Walk and the Emerald Pools Loop. And the Canyon Overlook Trail along the Zion Mt. Carmel Highway.

Enjoy this YouTube video I put together of our visit to Zion National Park.

Monday, July 15, 2019

Redrocks - Rock Climbing




sport lead, redrocks, gloucester, rock climbing, slab climbing
Leading Roll The Bones (5.5)

Don't like the humidity and heat, but love climbing more! This morning, Nuno and I met up at Redrocks in Gloucester, MA. to get in a couple laps of climbing. Started on the Main Crag warming up on High Me (5.7), then getting a short sport lead in on Roll The Bones (5.5). Afterwards, we moved onto the Pink Floyd Wall crag. By noon it was so, so humid and the wall was super slippery. So slippery I couldn't even finish Atom Heart Mother (5.6). And I attempted Meddle (5.6) but my hand jams kept slipping out - even with my Ocun crack gloves on! I really wanted to just try and get into the crack up to the midpoint, but I couldn't keep my hand jammed. I'd love to get back to give the Pink Floyd Wall a try again but when it isn't so humid. Thank you Nuno, for your photos and your help and support for my "Turning 60 and Climbing About It" project!  With today’s climbing, I’m at  27 leads of 71 pitches! Enjoy some photos taken of our day.

Nuno leading Roll The Bones (5.5)
sport lead, redrocks, gloucester, rock climbing, slab climbing

Animals (5.5) on the 
Pink Floyd Wall

Left side of the Pink Floyd Wall
The second bolt of Atom Heart Mother and 
the first bolt of Unnamed Bolted Face are rusty.

Meddle (5.6)
crack climb, pink floyd wall, redrocks, gloucester, MA. rock climbing

Nuno at the anchors of Pink Floyd Wall
Route 128 in the background thru trees
rock climbing, pink floyd wall, redrocks, gloucester, MA.

bouldering, rock climbing, pink floyd wall, redrocks, gloucester, MA


Reuse, Repurpose & Recycle


Tuesday, October 2, 2018

Laughing Gull - Rock Climbing


Redrock, Gloucester
Pano of Main Crag

Super fun, super mellow day of rock climbing at Redrock in Gloucester with Etha! I didn't expect to climb my second 5.11 slab today, but sure glad I did. The start of Laughing Gull was so polished so I started to the left just under the cresent. Found a really good foothold to gain the cresent. Finding holds at the mid-section was definitely challenging. But that left-leaning crack was a sweet finish. 

Etha also didn't expect to climb a 5.12 today, but she did and she killed it! She climbed the Andromeda Direct Start, without even knowing she was doing the Direct - we both hadn't looked at the guidebook or MP beta on this climb. While belaying her I kept telling myself, "this couldn't be a 5.11!" Sure enough, after she finished the climb, we looked it up in the guidebook and got all giddy when we realized that she took the direct start and climbed her first outdoor 5.12 -- Congratulations!

Zipper was a fun layback. I started up the Zipper route climbing it like a crack, but meh, it's more of a flake climb and I quickly had to layback on it. The climb is fun, but way too short. 



Etha also didn't expect to climb a 5.12 today, but she did and she killed it! She climbed 5.12, Andromeda Direct Start, without even knowing she was doing the Direct - we both hadn't looked at the guidebook or MP beta on this climb. While belaying her I kept telling myself, "this couldn't be a 5.11!" Sure enough, after she finished the climb, we looked it up in the guidebook and got all giddy when we realized that she took the direct start and climbed her first outdoor 5.12 -- Congratulations!
Left to right: Andromeda Direct Start (5.12), 
Zipper (5.6), Laughing Gull (5.11)



Toe Jams was an interesting crack. Etha, who lead Toe Jams and is smaller than me, could get her legs including her knee right into the OW section at the start of the climb. She lead it and then I tried to lead it. I found it wasn't going to be as easy as Etha made it out to be. It was too wide for foot jamming, but too narrow to even get my knee into it. As a result, it sketched me out and I backed down. That's the first (and I'm sure not the last) time I ever backed down from a lead climb. I TR'd it afterwards and still found the start sketchy. Near the top is perfect (for me) #2 handjams and smaller. Perhaps having doubles of #3 and #2 to place at the OW beginning may have lessened the sketchy-ness?



Lots of polished surfaces on a lot of these routes, but it was fun to get out to climb before the rain. We had this crag all to ourselves today. Last time I climbed here was 7 years ago. Hoping to get back soon to get on those routes we didn't have a chance to climb.


The top of the Masters Wall from the top of the Main Crag


Along the trail

YouTube Channel - Hawaii Girl Adventures

Check out my YouTube channel at:  Hawaii Girl Adventures I will eventually be phasing out blog posts and be posting videos of my climbing, h...