We got together and made the hike up to Gold Bar last Saturday; the combination of summer growth with loss of easy access has really left the area pretty rough. It rained pretty hard the day before, and all the moss on top of the boulders left them soggy in some places.
Josh insisted on the "shortcut," which of course was overgrown with soaking briars and spiderwebs, and frequently required trail finding. Next time I'm taking the road in and just enjoying the long easy hike.
Once we got to the top and stopped sweating, the rock was somehow cool, grippy, and even better than I remembered.
Warm up splitter boulder.
Josh was proud of his southern spot technique, bud light style. As the clouds cleared the valley opened up.
There was even snow on the back side of the facing mountain.
Granite is so tricky to read. We thought this looked like a cool warm-up. Turns out it's powerful with thin fingers and bad feet.
We re-found this great slab that Leah may have gotten the first ascent of? The moss grows out here so fast you never know if something's been done before or if it's brand new. I think it helps keep people humble. I'm excited to come back later in the fall as the blackberries and young trees slow down and give us a chance. Hopefully the WCC can re-negotiate access so we can continue being lazy boulderers and drive up to the top.
And last off, I bought my first cams! Not all in the best shape, but they were cheap. And so am I. It's a start, now I just need to learn how to use them.
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