…with a side of cold oatmeal
I can’t believe it has been over a year since I last posted to this Blog. Surely I have been on an Adventure since last year…
Well if I haven’t, this little quicky trip with Jesse sure help me make up for lost time. The alarm erupted at 3:00 AM Friday morning – hit the snooze one time then it was up and out the door to meet Jesse for our 4-hour drive south to Sam’s Throne, Arkansas – but not before stopping at QT for a large coffee and glazed donut. Halfway there we were finally greeted by a warm sunrise, leaving behind what would be a cold rainy day in KC.
We arrived just as some other local KC climbers were about to leave camp and head off for a day of climbing. Jesse and I quickly grabbed our gear and headed off. The plan for today was to hit some of the classic moderates and enjoy the day to it’s fullest. Jesse announced that my goal for the day was 10-routes – a lofty goal I thought since I hadn’t climbed since May of this year. In the end I think I did something like 8 routes, but not without alot of grunting and groaning.
To my surprise, there was still alot of color in the trees and the early morning light was igniting the color even more. This was too good to pass up so I pulled out the camera and spent the next hour shooting the gang.
After that the rest of the crew headed over to HCR to finish out their weekend. Jesse and I now had Sam’s Throne to ourselves and he proceded to take me to six climbs I had never done before. We ended the day with the forever classic “Poison Ivy”, then headed back to set-up camp just as the sun was leaving the sky.
We succeeded in making the most of the day!
Hungry and tired we quickly pulled out our food and my stove. (It is important to note that prior to thre trip we agreed I would be the one to bring the stove to share.) I was going to dine on Ramen Noodles and tuna and Jesse would be consuming some sort of Indian dish. I was just 3 short minutes from boiling water and a hot meal. However it was at this point I realized that while I had matches I didn’t have anything to strike them on. HMMM…we proceeded to “Macgyver” our way through possible solutions which included stones and various metal objects, a battery and some foil – just anything that would give us enough spark to ignite the stove. In the end I surrendered and opted to soak the ramen in cold water for a while and call it good. Funny thing when you are hungry and outside camping, just about anything taste good.
It was just after 7:oo and we each retreated to our tents. Just as I zipped the sleeping bag I heard the pitter patter of rain drops on the tent – PERFECT timing!
I woke up Saturday morning around 7:00 having gotten a good 11-hours of sleep. I peered out the tent – the rain had stopped, however it was cold and the clouds still hung low in the sky. Not to worry as I will soon be eating COLD oatmeal for breakfast and will have to forego my much needed coffee in the morning.
We quickly broke camp and headed down the road to a climbing area that Jesse had been telling me about for awhile called Stack Rock. We arrived at the bluffs by 9:30 and had 4-hours to knock out what we could before heading back to KC. Stack Rock did not disappoint and Jesse once agian did a stellar job of showing me some of the classic climbs. We were on the road by 2:30 and by 8:30 I was at a friends house enjoying a steak, a glass of wine and the company of good friends.
Can’t wait to do it again – now I’m off to put a LIGHTER with my cook stove.