Viridian
meditations of the fit homeless Joined: April 8th 2008
Logged in: September 7th 2011
Logged in: September 7th 2011
All that is gold does not glitter
Not all who wander are lost....
Travel Blog Posts
Hello to all friends... We are indeed heading out tomorrow for another sojourn. How long it will last is up in the air but we are thinking a few months minimum. We would like to be able to regale you with tales of our adventures but we will be changing our blog server. http://camsforthemiddleclass.blogspot.com/ copy and paste, and thats our blog! email us if you like stephen.richert@gmail.com stefanie.suriel@gmail.com or find us on Facebook Stephen Richert Stefanie Richert We look forward to staying in touch! SnS... read more
Well, here it is- I submitted it as you see it here, slightly revised from the original. Delusions of Failure It has been three and a half months on the road since I set out from New York with my fiancee, Stefanie, to enjoy climbing delicacies across north America. From the composite granite of the Needles in South Dakota’s Black Hills to the chossy shale of Seward inlet in Alaska-- each venue has left me searching for validation. Part of me still feels as though I have no right to call myself a real climber, having missed the days of Lycra and bolt wars. Stefanie tries to reason with my self doubt but I know she shares the same uncertainty. Having worked our way down the west coast and set up an impromptu camp near ... read more
As some of you might know, after leaving Christies in San Diego we made a rather abbreviated tour of the southwestern US. It was a lot harder leaving San Diego than we had anticipated and getting back on the road was slow going. From the comfort of a couch, with hot food and running water, we made grandiose plans on how the remainder of the trip would unfold. Initially, we had planned to go as far as possible til the money ran out or it stopped being fun. It didnt really stop being fun per se, it just became a routine. The extraordinary became ordinary. All told, thats a nice problem to have from time to time, and I know that we will enjoy a similar affliction many times over again in the future. We headed ... read more
buttermilk country
With our gear selection limited, as well as our patience with the crowds, we decide to pack it in and head back down to Bishop where we had already stopped briefly before heading into Yosemite. We got back into town early enough in the day to stop at the local outfitters, East Side Sports, and unlike every other shop we visited, there was a combination of great service, great selection and reasonable prices. I highly recommend it if you ever find yourself in the area. Stef replaced the bouldering pad since Bishop is home to some of the best bouldering in the world, and was one of the places that I really had wanted to see after reading about it and seeing some pictures. The town of Bishop does not disappoint. It is small-ish but very ... read more
Yosemite Map
Yosemite National Park is a huge area- I have included a map in the photos to help the reader orient themselves so this narrative doesn't become overly cryptic. Before I get to the more relevant details, a brief word on how we are dealing with the lack of clothing etc after getting rocked in Tahoe. The Crash-Pad has not yet become a problem since we haven't done any bouldering. We carted that thing all over North America and when we are one stop away from the first place we would use it, it walks off...Oh well. Losing the packs sucks but we can do without them. Getting some of the clothes back is the top priority. We drive south on 395 before turning west into Yosemite; In Mammoth and Bishop, we plan to hit up some ... read more
Welcome to California
My birthday passed in Smith Rock. A good day- and a good time overall. From Smith, we head south to California. It is obvious before we even get there that this one trip will be more reconnaissance than anything else; California is a huge state with vast opportunities for climbing to say nothing of all the other forms of outdoor recreation. Anticipation runs high as we drive through the night towards Lake Tahoe- our first and most anticipated stop. Let me explain this briefly. Lake Tahoe is home to one of the few cliffs in the US where there are long moderate climbs that are well protected. This translates into long-ish routes with great exposure and consistent difficulty. More than that, Lake Tahoe was once home to the late, great Dan Osman- a climbing icon of ... read more
In california. Got a bunch of stuff stolen in tahoe. Otherwise we are great. Details to follow in a week. Love and miss some of you. Most of you i guess. :-D SnS... read more
Oregon
Smith Rock, Oregon. A small, nondescript state park whose name doesn’t conjure up images of wild landscapes or scenic crags. In truth, quite the opposite is true. Smith Rock is the home of sport (bolted) climbing in the US. When it was ethically prohibited to place bolts in the rock unless absolutely necessary which often translated to very sparse protection and very scary and potentially dangerous routes. Smith Rock was one of the first parts of the US to embrace the then radical concept of placing bolts where convenient rather than placing them at utmost need. Today, many areas have accepted a more moderate stance and both styles have found various areas to thrive in. All ethical considerations aside, Smith was a wonderful place to climb and a wonderful place to be. One of the ... read more
Highway 37
Our return trip back through the Yukon Territories and British Columbia was relatively uneventful. Crossing the border from Alaska into Canada was somewhat anticlimactic. Preparing for the worst, we expected the cavity searches and incessant interrogation that highlighted our first encounters with border crossing personnel when we were northbound. Rather, we were dismissed to venture through the wilds with little more than a look at our passports. We drove hard with few stops and little sightseeing other than to boil water for coffee and Ramen. Just before Watson Lake we turned off onto highway 37 (if I remember correctly) which led into the more populated areas around Prince George. From there we hastened down towards the Vancouver area, hoping to get in some quality climbing as we passed on through. Our first night we camped at ... read more
Alaskan Pipeline
Back on the road after fun times in Denali. What to expect from Fairbanks! We were steeped in anticipation! It had been just a few months over a decade since my last visit to Fairbanks and my recollections of it were that it was somewhat anti-climactic. We arrived in the mid morning, and boy was I right. Basically Fairbanks is like Middletown in Alaska. The car was in need of an oil change, being a solid 4000 miles overdue, and there were a few food items we needed so we began our search for the local Wal-Mart. Every other town we have been to that has a Wally-World (including Anchorage) does not make it difficult to find. With no prior knowledge of a town, you can often drive through it and simply look for Wal-Mart and ... read more
