How bad can it get?

If you've found yourself wondering, "what if" amidst all the hype and nonsense related to the upcoming election, here's one point of view...

I'm Voting Republican

Climbing at Beacon Rock

Anna Climbing, photo by Hanmi.

Last weekend we took our neighbor climbing at our favorite local crag. She's been climbing indoors for a while at school, but has only climbed outside once or twice. You'd never know it based on how she attacked every route we put her on, though. She's definitely a natural, and I'm sure we'll be seeing her out on the rock a lot more in years to come. Nice work Anna!

Another weekend at Smith Rock

Smith Rock is a wonderful place to adventure around. We've been there many times over the years. As we climb both new and old routes, with new and old friends, it keeps the air of magic about it. There's always a climb yet to discover, so we jump at the chance to walk along the walls and try something new. This past weekend was no exception.

Friday, we drove down with Gabriel and set up camp and relaxed with a beer. Saturday we climbed in the morning - some easer routes that everyone could have fun on - until the heat sent us down to visit the river. In the afternoon we met up with Claudine and Anwen, catching up along the way with a few other friends also spotted throughout the park. Then we romped over at the Phoenix area, climbing anything open. Everyone had a nice workout and we headed back before the angry skies opened. One remembers why climbing, anywhere, is such a great sport and past-time.

Hanging 'round the campfire. most of us with pants on...

Saturday evening consisted of a fire, a game of capture the flag (where is that thing?) and some delicious food. We took a short walk to Skull Rock, listened to the coyotes, and told many funny stories. I had to sew and small tear in my jeans from a clumsy fence hop (ever the nimble climber). Parties were all-around; someone (hey Chad!) brought a keg. Scout headed off the bed, the youngest climber in our group at 8 months old.

Zack explains how to climb with a newborn.

Tamar tells a story - Scout beams with pride. Jim sews pants.

Sunset over Skull Hollow Campground

Sunday was more climbing, getting everyone "good value" on a tough and exhilarating route - Smith is like that, being almost an outdoor gymnasium. Hanmi and Tamar had fun on Cinnamon Slab and Cry Baby, while we played on Lion's Jaw, Moonshine and Heinous, Ginger Snap, Easy Reader, Five Gallons and Light on the Path.

Tamar, Hanmi, Scout, Jim, & Gabriel mug for the camera

Alisha and Gabriel both seemed to get crash courses in cleaning and belaying. I'm happy to report that they didn't let anyone down. Great job! Gaby is visiting from Argentina for just two weeks and was especially adventurous in joining us, as well as helpful in helping to carry gear. Thanks for holding me up on that hard route, buddy!

Cinnamon Slab area at Smith Rock

We ate on Sunday night at Terrebonne Station, we were offered the "20-inch brown" - which I declined, not asking exactly what that meant. Hanmi was asked about a drink, the exchange went like this:

"I'll have a ginger ale."
"You say, a ginger ale?"
"Yes, please."
"Ok, you'd like a ginger ale?"
"Yes."
"Ok" [pause while he writes something on his pad]
.."we don't have ginger ale. Would you like something else?"

We all did a silent double-take.

But waiting tables is tough work, so I won't pick on our waiter too much. I am curious about what he wrote in that split second. Maybe something like "ginge..OOPS"

Climb like a girl!

In other news, climbing season is officially in full swing. We haven't been to the rock gym since April, and Jim and I are both proudly sporting the battle scars of climbing on real rock. I look a bit like a kid who's just started to run - my knees and shins are all bruised and scabbed from my recent ascents/attempts of several climbs featuring burly roof problems.

Historically, roof climbs were the source of much angst for me. Jim loves them, and being that when he has a reach of close to 8 feet, rarely finds himself unable to reach a hold. I, on the other hand, can reach about 6 1/2 feet, which often leaves me "short" [pun intended]. As such, I have to figure out another way to get through the crux, often making several more energy burning moves along the way. On hard climbs [5.10+ and up for me] I find that I pretty much get one shot to pull the move and if I hesitate or get the sequence wrong, I'm done - subsequent attempts, even after hang dogging and resting my arms are completely futile.

But I have been successful lately on some pretty spicy routes, and that seems to be feeding a new passion for the once dreaded roof climb. I am especially a fan of routes that require at least as much finesse and technique as they do brawn to get through. Sometimes my small stature proves to be an advantage as I can walk my feet way up so that I'm pretty much crouching under the roof, rest, then lean out or over and stand up to reach the next hold. This is far less strenuous than just trying to grab the next hand hold and pull myself over with just my arms, not to mention the fact that I often cannot reach the "next" hold. The best part is that occasionally it will get me through something that will shut down climbers much taller and stronger than myself. Those moments, combined with the huge confidence boost in my climbing ability combine to form the candy that keeps me coming back for more.

Back to the Front Page

Thanks to some prodding from friends, we're back to blog more regularly. Aw - you guys are great. So there should be a few posts appearing more often than the usual "every blue moon." In this post, I'll catch you up on whats been news lately.

If you've not heard the old news, flip back and read about our trip through Patagonia, which wrapped up in January. Since then, I've switched jobs - haha, yet again. I decided to recognize that tougher times are just around the corner and picked up a full-time position at an old client. They're a good shop and have their eye on the long-term, instead of what seemed like very short-term thinking in some other places I've seen. Plus, the people are wonderful.

On the home front, we're still fuzting around with our bathroom remodel - slowly picking through the final pieces and putting them together now and again. We've definitely fallen into the "long tail" finish of this project. There's around 5 things left, its all going well though. We use everything in the room and it all works great.

We overhauled the "back 40" on our lot and tilled the yard up, spread compost everywhere and planted a mix of grass and wildflowers. It's been a cool, wet Spring so the sprouts are slowly coming along, but there's a peach-fuzz of green across the yard.

The chickens have been moved to the side yard. They don't like this area as much since their view is obscured and their sunlight is more limited. However, it gives the back yard time to revitalize and allows us to set up the garden without worrying about their scratching and pecking at all the sprouts.

I'm learning to bake bread! We don't have a bread mixer or a bread machine, so I'm perfecting the use of the food processor (the "chopper") for some initial mixing. I'm quite impatient so the "rising" portion of the making sometimes gets cut short. I still don't know what a second rise is all about, so I skip it. The first loaf was horrendously bad, as I didn't understand the purpose of gluten. (Imagine an all-gluten loaf of gum) The second loaf was better, but it was a little dense, as my yeast poured right through the chopper's center hole (note to self: turn machine on).

Han has been out in the nicer Spring days on paid shooting gigs. She's also picked up a very fun assistant position as a web designer for a sustainability blog. She's quite busy when those schedules converge, and the post-processing is a big job.

The bikes have been tuned up for Spring. I performed my first "brake job" on the mountain bike the other day - it was tricky but when finished, the lines have no bubbles and I could flip over the handlebars as easily as my first day. I rode to the new job yesterday and it was one of the most magical, wonderful routes I've ever enjoyed on the way to work. It's close to 15 miles each way, with a few steep hills, so the evening was a hot bath in the gigantic tub.

Hanmi set out the sprouts and our first round of garden plants are just about ready to go in the ground. She also prepped the plot and sowed seeds directly last weekend. I'm very excited. After a break last year from tomatoes and similar plants (peppers) - we're back with a full-range of vegetables: Potatoes, Cucumbers, Peppers, Tomatoes, Strawberries, Blueberries, Swiss Chard, Cilantro, Basil, Oregano, Sage, Spinach, Snow Peas, and 2 different kinds of Beans. The lots of Carrots and Brussel Sprouts, Mustard Greens, Kale, Lettuce, Chives, Onions, Garlic and other stuff are all around the house in planters. We also have a fig tree and a persimmon tree we planted last winter that will hopefully bear fruit this year. Should be interesting!

The eggs are arriving steadily, about 3 a day. We have given a lot away lately, which feels good. We received a cute Thank You note from a small child (and family) that walked by to "visit" the chickens, since they are now visible in the front yard. The chickens are quite friendly, almost to to point of being nagging in their quest for food, sunlight and attention. Riding on shoulders is a common sight when we're in the yard. We let them out to clean the front yard of slugs now and then. It's a fun, carefree feeling to relax with chickens napping on your legs on a lounge chair on the porch.

We are harvesting rain! The first 2 rain barrels are in place and full already. I'm slowly adding delivery pieces to the output side of the system. Our barrels are "nonstandard" in their storage, so that I could fit them under the back deck. But after a few tests everything seemed to work out. I'm very happy with it. We'll have the garden on a pH-balanced and filtered water system, run off a battery timer, flowing every morning for an hour or so. It's drip irrigation so there's not a lot of waste. The pressure from the gravity feed, with 110 gallons about 2 feet about ground seems fine.

We've played a lot with the numbers and the space we could devote to this concept. We have room for 6 more barrels for a total of ~400 gallons (about 3200 pounds!). I've been imagining some neat uses for all the water in later phases (toilet, basement sink, bird feeder, etc). For now, I've been advised to finish some older projects first. Wise, those unnamed advisers.

Adventures Everywhere

A few people have asked us "How can you take such huge vacations each year?" Well, unlike the short answers that many people guess ("DINK"-status is guessed most) it actually has more to do with commitment. Let me explain.

There is a phase early in every vacation idea where we kick around a few concepts, read a few books or talk to people. We usually plan trips around a theme, like climbing or photos or exploring a place. (This past one was to visit a new place with our new friends.) The hardest and most committing part comes when picking dates and forking over money. Once those tickets are bought and cars, hotels, etc are reserved, you're as good as gone. We always have to save up, so there's a fund, but its a strange thing how fast any piggy bank fills up when you really want something.

On the longer side of discussions about saving, Portland is a great place to learn how to adopt methods to reuse, recycle or reduce your consumption. For example, using the library instead of a video store, repairing clothes or shopping at GoodWill for clothes instead of name-brand stores, using all the conservation methods for utilities (CF bulbs, low-water usage, composting, etc). Biking to work, or switching jobs until commuting costs go away. Renting out a room in your house. Buying used when possible. This year, we will further reduce our utilities by using rainwater around the house from a bank of barrels hidden under the back deck. On and on.

In most of these choices, one's time will be the cost instead of just "buying out" for a quicker result. So, instead of the "free time" that most people have (statistically spent in traffic and in front of the TV) we skip buying new and spend the time on fussing with DIY stuff. It's actually pretty fun.

Before this sounds too preachy, let me state that all these things are just items in the arsenal that we like to explore. By no means have we been able to use them all, or every time. Our cost-of-living still has tons of room for reduction, but everyone likes to choose the standards they want to enjoy. Some of the concepts are serious endeavors that make huge changes to one's lifestyle.

Second, it all sounds very "hippie" in words but in practice, we've been able to integrate a lot of conservation ideas without turning the house into a full-on mad-scientist lab of tape and bailing wire. That might be Portland's best feature: there are elegant solutions for all kinds of DIY projects constantly being designed and discussed.

In fact, see our newest blog over at GetWithGreen.com for the research and result we've found whenever we change something about the house or appliances. We believe there's a true "movement" taking place that is pushing efficiency to the near-top of the priorities for folks. (yes, we're blogging somewhere else as well, but we love you too - really)

So there's the crux of it: By reducing our daily standard/cost of living, we learn to live with less at home, but in turn get to enjoy more in a vacation. For 2007, we drank our fill (and then some) of adventure and exploration with ~10 weeks on the road.

But as with all endings, its great to be back home. I predict 2008 to be relatively quiet.

Start of the Route

A few years ago, I was on contract in Arizona, writing smart little HPunix shell scripts and C programs. An employee asked me if I'd like to join him at the gym that night. I said sure and off we went...to the "rock gym"

I climbed until I was on fire. My interest was lit up, as I went back without him for many nights to boulder around in a pair of new painful shoes. Later, I bought a harness, then some quickdraws...

Skip ahead a few years. Now, I try to climb several times a week, and although I don't have a schedule on when to climb any particular grade, I've gradually gotten better. I sometime concentrate on strength, sometimes efficiency, sometimes stamina. Whatever. It's still one of the most fun things I've found for me. I own lots of gear, although it never seems to be enough.

Today, I wanted to try and describe for non-climbers what the sensation is like to climb. Not your very first climb, but the environment of when you first go up several pitches of a moderate climb outside. Your very first climbing experience is going to be smaller and certainly much more personal. But if you continue with it, you'll soon be in the situation I'm about to describe:

You'll be nervous. Anxiety and it's management are part of almost every climb. Not confusion or panic, but closer to exhilaration. Your partner(s) will be a strong guiding force, double-checking your knots, asking you about your shoes, clothing, food and water, rescue routes. You may or may not be the belayer for the lead, since you'll be on a mild to moderate route.

So you strap on your harness, leave your shoes nearby at the ready. The rope gets flaked out, the leader ties in, and you watch them.

head up
They'll place a bit of gear at the bottom to direct the rope where they want it, they slowly climb further. Nuts, cams, gear go in the rock, with slings and carabiners every which way. They may give you a bit of chat about some
sketchy gear
, but for the most part you'll belay them up onto a wall of rock.

This for me was one of the most exciting stages of climbing. My heart was pounding as I watched my friend head up a lumpy rock, wind in our hair, as I stood clipped into a little ledge we'd hiked to in Washington state's Cascade Range. It was an easy 5.7 on the YDS, but the vista was beautiful, with just the right amount of fog and snow to make us feel like alpine extremists. Little did I know about the world of climbing!

After what will seem like an eternity, with your lead probably out of sight, your neck sore from trying to watch them, and you a little bit chilly from just standing there in climbing clothes, you get the signal: "Off Belay!" will come down from the heavens, or the radio, or through a jerky rope signal. Whatever method you've worked out, you'll let go of the rope, put your shoes on, check your knot one last time, and eventually yell back up "Climbing!"

"Climb on!" your lead will tell you, and you'll be off. Rock is colder and vastly different than a gym. Grit, dirt, strange angles and unexpected smooth surfaces will present themselves to you. Your lead may not take up the rope so much as you've been used to on toprope.
toprope
, giving you a "bouncy" feeling with the rope stretch. You'll be using your arms heavily, burning energy that could be more efficiently used through your legs, but that comes in time. Up you go as the second.second!

Wind! Weather! Hot or cold, there will be lots of new things to deal with. Put your hand in a crack, and a frog might jump out, or a spider may crawl across it. You'll be slowly stepping each foot as carefully as you can, concentrating on not slipping, not "falling" and taking the pro out of the wall. It'll clip to your sling or harness, then dangle and jingle all over. At any crux of the climb, it may seem "impossible" to grip, get friction, reach or balance the way it demands, but somehow, you'll make it.

Soon enough, you'll get a respite on a large ledge and get a view of your vertical progress. All the world will spread away from you in a large vista. A great feeling of you getting yourself here may enter your head. Congratulations…you're climbing!

Eventually you'll reach the belay station, where your leader should pile on ample praise. You may discuss the climb, certain interesting positions, or the gear used. Then, the leader will instruct you on managing the rope, ensure you're safe and as comfortable as possible, and head up again. Repeat.

After a few hours of this, where you may climb 3, 4 or 5 pitches in a single day - which is a lot when just starting out - your concept of height will disappear.


© Hanmi Hubbard Meyer - All Rights Reserved

"High" simply describes where you are, without knowing what measurement applies. The climb may present you with a few more exposed positions, where you have more wind, sun and sky around you than actual rock. During these times, even with a rope tugging you safely up the wall, you may fight the feeling that you're on a precipice.

No matter what though, if you slip and fall or climb through, your belayer has you safe. This trust must be present at all times. If your trust the belayer, their practices and state of mind, safety and skill level , you can fall at any time. Without this, don't climb with them. Poor belayers seldom have repeat partners, and for this climb you're heading to the top with utmost confidence.

The top!

Clip in yet again and relax! The view hasn't changed much over the hours, but the exhaustion of working to get here will mix with the excitement of reaching your goal to be a wonderful sense of relief and accomplishment. Have some food, take your shoes off - clipping them safe - and thank your leader for the great time.