The Gunks and other Outdoor Playtime

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My cousin Jon picked me up at Albany airport and took me directly to The Gunks (short for the Shawnagunks), a ridge of mountains in south-eastern New York that is famed for their natural beauty and fantastic rock-climbing and bouldering.

Jon's been climbing and bouldering for five years now and I got the feeling that picking me up was an excuse to get down to one of his favorite climbing areas. By the time the day was over, I was trying to figure out how to squeeze another trip in. He enchanted me with his Bodhi-like musings about the spiritual side of bouldering, his idol Chris Sharma, and how much he enjoyed his first year of college at SUNY Oneonta.

He showed me around, being supportive of my pre-beginner skillz, and we ended up at Tiger Style, a jagged boulder that reminds one of the head of an anvil. He spent some time contemplating his options and began to hack away at the problem while I started climbing around the massive chunks of fallen rock. By the time the day was done, he'd managed to complete the improbable route up the steepest edge and we celebrated at a divey pizzeria in nearby New Paltz. We snarfed our mushroom pizza amongst townies and a strange/leering/grinny man in cutoff shorts, white tank top and hiking boots. I'm still not sure what he was so happy about, because the pizza was just OK.

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Photos

Jon
A visionary, Jon intends to travel to Spain, Morrocco and Libya next year.

Tiger Style
"When I finished, RZA didn't show up or anything."

Golf Fiasco
As I understand it, golf is like a math exam. The object is to get 100 or better. If you can do it on 9 holes, you should be allowed to skip a grade, or at least the back 9.

Queensbury, NY
Is lovely.