Sugarloaf climbing and Chili Bar kayaking

I managed to convince my friend, David, to go climbing at Sugarloaf late Friday night and we left Sac at about 10:45 Saturday morning. So up the hill we went to the town of Kyburz off Hwy. 50 about 3/4 of the way to South Lake Tahoe from Sacramento.

Sugarloaf is an impressive rock formation surrounded by what apparently are boulders that have broken off the main formation over the millennia. No matter what your climbing fancy, Sugarloaf has it. Bouldering, bolted single pitch, bolted multi pitch, traditional single and multi pitch. The thing Sugarloaf does not have, however, is an abundance of easy climbs. There is a very detailed guide book out there (Falcon guides I think?) but we just browsed www.mountainproject.com for our beta. I think I'll pick up the published guide book in the near future because I plan to return to Sugarloaf many more times.

The climb of choice for us is called "Sheister", a 5.7 crack which starts with a short chimney

Hidden Falls Loop Auburn, CA

Just west of Auburn, off Hwy 49, is hidden a very nice recreation area. Hidden Falls Regional Park is a multi-use preserve catering to hikers, horseback riders, mountain bikers, and dog owners (and their dogs of course). This fact will most definitely scare away the more dedicated outdoor enthusiasts looking for a pure wilderness experience, and understandably. But, enthusiasts and casual visitors alike can appreciate the beautiful foliage and vistas that this 5 mile loop trail has to offer.



Hidden Falls
 

Back in the 'yak

I knew I needed to get back in my kayak as soon as possible after my last trip in the kayak (see older posts if you don't know what I'm talking about). Last week I R2'd the Chili Bar stretch of the South Fork American River with a good friend and we had a blast, especially surfing the hole in 3rd Threat. Fun stuff. But this week I had plans for a gallant and triumphant return to kayaking on...the Gorge (South Fork American) at 1350 cfs. Yes, the Gorge, a classic. I feel pretty comfortable on this run considering I've rafted it a couple hundred times and it was the first class 3 run I ever attempted in a kayak. Despite my proficiency with this river my nerves were on high, but I was ready to give it a go.

We had an interesting crew and I wish I had my camera with me to get photographic evidence of the R1 (in a paddle cat), oar rig with different sized oars, and two of us kayakers. It was a great day, good weather and good company. I felt good leading up to the Gorge and very nervous as I dropped into Fowler's Rock which, at our flow, is not a very challenging rapid. But I managed to ride an eddy line and get myself flipped. 3 bad roll attempts later I was upright and I was cold! The next major obstacle was Satan's which I eddied out top left and tried to ride the top of the wave into the lower river right eddy. I did not make this move successfully and was pushed left into the big hole. I, of course, got flipped but managed to roll properly and was up after 1 try. I lost my confidence though, and was a bit wobbly the rest of the way. Successful runs of Bouncing Rock and Hospital Bar (always a favorite of mine) helped ease the nerves and I considered the day to be an overall success. I'll be spending more time on some easier rivers before getting out into the big stuff again but I'm OK with that. Below is a picture of me raft guiding Satan's Cespool a couple years ago.

Blue Ridge Loop Day Hike

Last weekend I was looking for a hike near Sacramento to take my girlfriend for a fun day in the sun. I took a friend's recommendation and looked up the Blue Ridge Loop trail along Putah Creek and Lake Berryessa just outside Winters, CA. I found some info on the Sierra Club trails site and it looked great.
So we went. It is a 5 mile loop and fairly difficult. There is a good amount of elevation gain and three different peaks to hike up. I loved the mixed terrain throughout the hike. The views are gorgeous, Lake Berryessa to one side and a deep canyon on the other. We hiked the loop backwards, starting at the more westward trail access. Enjoy the pics. The weekend we went was President's Day weekend, and a 60 degree Saturday afternoon so the trail was absolutely packed, but it didn't deter from our experience. 5 out of 5 stars for this one!

Crazy Coincidence - the follow up to last post

UPDATE:::::::::::::::  Above is the video that is mentioned below. Chilling footage.

Yesterday morning (Wednesday) I get a call at 8am from one of the friends who witnessed my escape from the sieve. He sounds a little shaken up and tells me that I'll never believe what he is watching online at that moment. It turns out that on Tuesday a kayaker made the same mistake as me, in the same spot, on the same rapid, and swam into the same sieve. Yes, I know! Unbelievable. "So, two guys swim into a sieve..." Right?

So I read his account, watch the video and I am in disbelief. The video looked exactly how I remembered the lead in to the sieve. It looked like my memory was playing out right there online. Here's the craziest part of it all. He goes under and in the video you see my kayak. My kayak! It was so strange to see it there. Well, the kayaker happened to go into the sieve headfirst, he became wedged between my kayak and the bottom of the river but pull himself out through the sieve! He swam through it. I couldn't believe my eyes. He survived. Two people in three days in the same death trap make it out alive. Unbelievable.

Well, he manages to climb back on the rocks and retrieves his paddle which is poking out of the water. He tries to kick his boat free and in the process dislodges my boat, but his took mine's place and is currently stuck in the sieve. He decided to leave his behind, because he had no choice, and paddled my boat the rest of the run. Then he states along with his video that he wants to return the boat to its owner, me.

Well, we made a date to meet to exchange stories and return my boat. It just so happened that we chose today, Valentine's Day. We both forgot what day it was (sorry babe). So we met today for a beer, talked about our experiences, which were eerily similar with the minor detail that he crawled out the back and I climbed up the front. Our decision processes were similar, although I think he remained slightly calmer after hearing his telling of the story. He was underwater for roughly 14 seconds before emerging on the other side. Congrats on making it out. By the way, we both still made it in time to our dates for the evening.

I can definitely say it was a pleasure to meet this gentleman and can't show my gratitude fully for him returning my kayak. My paddle is still missing, but I have my boat. Thanks again! Glad you made it, man.

Stuck Between a Kayak and a Hard Place

I am writing this post as a gracious and humbled person/kayaker. I know there will be some harsh criticism of this account and I accept that, but I ask you critics to remember that we've all made mistakes. I just happened to make a careless mistake in one of the worst possible situations.

Red Rock Canyon Climbing

You know you've had the thought, "Where could I go for quality winter climbing?" Head to the desert! Yes it is cold as hell (the frozen over variety of course) at night with a bone chilling wind, but at Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area the wind died down around 9pm and the days were sunny and warm and made for perfect climbing weather. Plan to bundle up immediately after the sun drops below the red and white striped mountains because it will get cooooooold! And aside from the purple Las Vegas perma-glow punctuated by the phallic beam of light pointing skyward from the Luxor casino to the east, the Red Rock Campground- operated and maintained by the friendly people at BLM- is a peaceful and relaxing place at night. There are excellent facilities at the campground including a sandy tent area, cemented picnic table area with heavy-duty sunshade, and individual fire pit and bbq at each campsite. You will also enjoy the frequently spaced pit toilets of which David and I counted 8 scattered throughout the grounds. Bring your own water, and plenty of it. Between the two of us, for 2 nights and 2 days we had about 4 1/2 gallons and we could have easily used twice that amount as our daily rations for climbing were insufficient for the arid desert climate. While you're at home packing your gear and waiting for your water jugs to fill, round up your supplies of lip balm and sunscreen. You'll need them.

"So we climbed, and we climbed. And had a really really really good time." If you wanted to discover what it must feel like to be spiderman, sticking to walls at insane vertical and overhanging angles, go climb the sandstone at Red Rock (be sure not to call it Red Rocks, because that's not correct). My shoes seemed to be made of glue, or some other sticky substance. The rock is not only beautiful to look at and wonderful to climb on, but surprisingly does not heat up much with the sun. Keep in mind that I climbed here in January with high temperatures just under 60 degrees F. I can't say what the rocks would feel like in the summer, although I'm not sure why anyone would want to climb in the desert during the summer. The area where we climbed is called Calico Basin at the second turnout of the scenic drive and ranges in difficulty from beginner level to super expert amazing level (5.7 - 5.13c). There is sport climbing scattered all over this area. We settled in at the Black Corridor the first day where I sent an easy 5.7 warmup and a very fun 5.9+ with a sweet feature to move around halfway up. David managed to send a sweet 5.11a called "Rebel without a Pause." It is very overhanging and looked pretty awesome if you're a 5.11 climber, which I am most certainly not. We left Black Corridor and hiked up to the 5.7 "The Great Red Book" with a fellow climber to do a 3 way acent up this classic Trad route. I, however, with only 1.5 hours of light left and unsure our ability to send 3 of us up and rappel down, decided to hike back to the parking lot. David highly recommends this climb, but make sure to leave extra time for the rappel and hike out. They didn't make it back to the parking lot until well after dark. Day 2 we headed to the Magic Bus wall after a relaxing morning breaking camp. This was the perfect spot for me. 7 routes lined up side by side across a beautiful rock wall. And all but one rated 5.8. The other is a 5.13a "desperate slap" up an arrete. We did not attempt this route. But we did manage to send 5 of the 5.8's and I even led "Technicolor Sunrise". I had not planned to lead any routes, but was forced to after I pulled the rope halfway up the wall through the quickdraws when I was trying to set the toprope. I have only climbed one route on lead in the last 3 years and my heart was pittering and pattering and required me to take 2 rests although, had I been more relaxed, I could have easily sent with no rests. All the routes on this wall were excellent, I very highly recommend this section for a 5.8 climber like myself. This wall is also directly across from the parking lot making us a show for the tourists. After our climb we enjoyed the scenic drive around the park and gawked at the thousands of potential routes scattered throughout the park. If you are into multi pitch, big wall, and/or overnight climbs there is plenty available for you at Red Rock. Get a guide book, or do like us and just take pictures of some else's, drive down and have a blast!
The photo is sunset over Calico Basin.

Chamberlain Falls Rafting

2012 ended with a crash, literally. I hit my head pretty hard while kayaking the South Fork Yuba river (Edwards to Purdon), a class IV stretch of river. It was a step-up run for me as I'm trying to break into class IV kayaking. The Yuba, if you haven't been, is a beautiful river canyon with steep slopes, jagged rocks and gorgeous vistas. The whitewater is just as amazing, especially for an aspiring California kayaker. If you plan to kayak E-P, make sure you have a dependable roll. It would not be a fun swim through many of those rapids.

So, 2013 has begun with several trips to the chiropractor trying to decompress my spine (which suffered moderate-severe compression on the Yuba accident). I will probably miss about 2-3 more weeks of winter kayaking, putting me back in my boat at the beginning of February. I did, however, manage to raft this week with a friend of mine from All Outdoors (the company I guided for on the Middle Fork American this past summer). He owns a two person paddle-cat and we had a blast running the Chamberlain Falls stretch of the North Fork American river at a flow of 700cfs on the Dreamflows gauge. We ran two laps, which happened to be my second and third times down this stretch, and scouted 3 rapids on the first run: Chamberlain Falls, Tongue and Groove, and Bogus Thunder. Chamberlain was interesting. We actually became pinned, I jumped out onto the mid-river rock and unwedged us, then jumped back into the raft. Flows were mild and this turned out to be a good enough line down that we repeated it the second run. Tongue and Groove was just wide enough for us to slide through and Bogus was a mandatory portage. At these flows I felt that Slaughter's Sluice and Staircase provided the biggest thrills. The hydrolics were mild and our paddle-cat punched through them with ease as long as we didn't get sideways. We did get lazy toward the end of the second run and slunk sideways over a pour-over rock which promptly pulled us in for an unexpected surf session. It was pretty cold by this point and we were very pleased that we avoided a swim here.

The North Fork provided me with a much needed first adventure of 2013. The water was crystal clear and absolutely beautiful and the rapids were just right for me in my injured state. If you are thinking of rafting Chamberlain, 700cfs is a little bony. Our paddle-cat measured about 11ft long by 4ft wide and there were some tight squeezes. Also, thanks to Tristan for kayaking lead and snapping some photos. Below is a picture of us running the 2nd drop of Staircase.

First Entry

I decided to start writing this blog as a travel-log of my adventures of all kinds. I am hoping it will help me to reflect on why I do these activities that I spend so much time, effort, and money doing and to get the most out of them. I also hope to give some insight to anyone who may be considering visiting the places I go or participating in the activities I participate in. If you are reading this, enjoy. And if I'm the only one reading this then I might be a little crazy, but life isn't fun if you can't be at least a little crazy.