Gold Bar

This past weekend I went up to Gold Bar with a big posse. Cortney and I drove to the top of the hill on Friday and met up with Kyle, and eventually Johnny and Joel. We warmed up in the Sanctuary, then spent a lot of time on the Funpuppet boulder. The rest of the guys tried Wheel of Dharma while I wrapped up Dookie's Pinchfest. This is a strenuous climb I had tried whimsically for many days, but had never been able to put together. So I was pleased...

After that we headed over to the Doja boulder, where Johnny climbed Doja Direct quickly for the first ascent. We played on the other climbs on the boulder, then headed to Volition so Johnny could try as the last light faded.

Here's a weird one of me on Dookie's Pinchfest

Kyle attempting the Doja Direct

That night, Dimitry and Elena came up the hill with Cole. The next morning was a gorgeous day, made slightly worse by the 30-odd 4X4 yahoos who were driving through our campsite to access the new clearcut trail. Most were really friendly, but it didn't make up for the fact that we were woken up by a symphony of gas-guzzling monster trucks or that one of them smashed into Johnny's car, removing the bumper. When the sun got warm and we tired of watching this circus, we headed into the solace of the woods.

We climbed on the Bricklayer and Gates of Fire, where Joel and Johnny climbed the low start to the latter. After that we headed down for a seista and a session at the Funpuppet boulder. Cortney and I were whooped and hungry, and I was under the false impression that I had to work on Sunday, so we headed down the hill and got cheeseburgers (well, one cheeseburger and one garden burger) and drove back to the city. I had fun practicing the art of do-nothing on Sunday and recollecting the feel of the amazing GB granite. Keep an eye out for video of Doja Direct and the Bricklayer...

Elena on the Bricklayer