Joe's Valley

I'm having a writers block of some sort. Had a full rest day on Monday; spent it at the library trying to come up with the words to describe all of my travel up to Joe's, and then the little amount of time that I've spent here but nothing would come of it. We'll give it another shot here now...

Day 1 of freedom was spent hanging out with Kevin Martin down in Denver. There was the intent to climb in the Flatirons in the morning to try and finish off a project there, but intent just wasn't enough to get me there that day.

Days 2 and 3 were spent commuting to Durango, CO and climbing there. A good friend from Sanborn lives there now, so I was able to find shelter on his floor and get the good tour of the bouldering areas at the same time. Definitely was psyched on the amazing sandstone boulders there, and I managed to finish off a few of the local classics! Everything there was great quality, and I am definitely trying to figure out when I'll be able to go back and check it out for a little longer period of time.

Mesa Verde NP

Day 4 I made the drive to Moab and stopped in at Mesa Verde NP on the way. Stunning vistas! Made it into Moab around 6, and went to check the local gear shop out from some info on free camping. Ended up one of the dudes had a free spot in his driveway. Score. He also had a sick 8x12 climbing wall in his house that we bouldered around on all night. It doesn't get much better than that!

Day 5 was split between Arches NP and Canyonlands NP. The beauty of these two places left me speechless to say the least. I've never been to a place that has literally left my awe struck. Everywhere I went, every view left me with the strange unsatisfied feeling; like I was turning my back on something or missing some big part of understanding the true nature of where I was. Road side tourism doesn't do these places justice, and I know that there is something there more for me to see, to understand and I can't wait to get back to those places and discover something great.

Delicate Arch, Arches NP

Canyonlands NP

I made the rest of my commute to Joe's Valley that evening and met up with my buddy from Durango, and a few more folks from Estes.

Day 6 through now have all been spent in Joe's Valley and the boulders that make up the area. The climbing is amazing, and I finally feel like I'm getting adjusted to the area; having been able to start ticking climbs that are right in my range of do-ability.

I keep meaning to take more pictures but when you get super excited about boulder problems it is kind of hard to remember! Better updates are to come, and I'm glad that I finally have this lengthy update out of the way!