The past week has been filled with humidity, climbing, and great food. Kentucky isn’t all bad, but just about. The reason I went to Kentucky was for a climbing trip to the Red River Gorge with my friend from NCOBS, Danielle. We camped at Miguel’s Pizza, a climber-only campground behind the restaurant. Had it not been a pandemic, it would have been quite social. Regardless, it offered cheap camping and amenities, good food, and a good central location. We both enjoyed ourselves at Miguel’s, I certainly hope to be back in non-pandemic circumstances someday. So, yes, it was pretty hot for our climbing trip in The Red. Heat of the day would be almost 90 degrees and quite a hot sun. I did some reflecting and realized that I have only ever climbed in the summer heat, so there was no reason for me to shy away from it. Plus, for the grades I’m currently sending, conditions aren’t that big of a deal yet. Danielle and I spent Friday and Saturday in Muir Valley. I was so impressed with the facilities- loaner stick clips, a handwashing station, shaded picnic pavilion. I guess The Red is as primo as it gets around here (around anywhere?). On Sunday we headed to Pendergrass Murray, we found some awesome climbing as well as amazing geology. I was proud of my climbing efforts on this trip. Both in pushing my grade and in taking care of a nagging elbow sensitivity. I proudly lead climbed my first two 5.9’s, only to follow that up with my first two 5.10a’s. I am looking forward to more progression this fall. After climbing at The Red, Danielle and I headed to Lexington for the day on Monday. We dropped my car at our AirBnb then did some driving around bourbon country and a town called Millville. Danielle was investigating her family heritage for a project, and I was more than happy to come along for the ride. I’ve got nowhere else to be, so why not see a place I never imagined I’d spend time? No pics, but just imagine what you think Kentucky looks like and that's what it was like. Food highlightsMiguel's Pizza Red River Rockhouse - No pic, but after our last day of climbing we grabbed Rockhouse cheeseburgers and let me just say this burger is tied for #1 I ever had, the other #1 being my last night in Portugal with my friend Jess in 2017... and you can bet your bottom dollar that I blogged about that burger too (peep July '17). Mr. Krabs & Beans BBQ I spent the last day or so in western NC, in preparation for my Wilderness First Responder recertification course (WFA) coming up in Bryson City, NC. Following the WFA I’ll be headed out to Colorado. My Polarsteps app says I have been out 28 days, has it been that long already!? One month down, a quarter of the way through my long haul. This first month was definitely in my comfort zone. I can’t wait to finally get out west and into some big mountains! Since my last post I've done three things in Virginia. Partly alone, partly with friends. Partly chill, partly high impact. As it should be! Here's what I've been up to... Shenandoah National Park I spent a few nights in Shenandoah to see Skyline Drive and do some solo camping. Skyline drive was lovely, but it was basically a less impressive Blue Ridge Parkway so I wasn't blown away or anything. I camped at Loft Campground, which is at the south end of the scenic drive. The campground was super tame and pleasant! It was mostly families and yolked out RV/ truck & trailer set ups. I enjoyed some hiking while camped at Loft. The first day I hiked to a waterfall, 6mi with 1,450ft vert in 1h 37min. The second day I hiked 9.4mi on the Appalachian Trail with 1,700ft vert in 2h 55min. Hidden Valley climbing I met up with three friends from NCOBS to rock climb for a few days at Hidden Valley. I went to Hidden Valley last fall for the NCOBS Women's Climbing Camp so I was excited to return on my own. Hidden Valley is mostly sport climbing, which is what we were there for. For all of us, it was our first outdoor trip this year so we shook the rust off and got comfortable leading moderate climbs. I led a few 5.8 climbs on this trip, which I am thrilled about. This coming weekend I climb with NCOBS friends again at the Red River Gorge in Kentucky, so this Hidden Valley trip was the perfect warm up. Many of the following photos were taken by my dear friend Rachel Veale. She takes rad photos, check more out at her instagram @rachelcveale. Before I close up the climbing portion of this post, I must share two amazing and relevant articles that feature my good friend and climbing buddy all summer long, Danielle....
Damascus - virginia creeper trail As previously mentioned, my next stop is in Kentucky for more climbing. I had a few days to spend by myself in between the two climbing trips. I camped at a Forest Service Campground called Backbone Rock, which was 3.3 miles from the VA Creeper Trail. The Creeper Trail is a 34ish mile long rails-to-trails through the forest. It’s multi-use, but mostly used for biking. The Creeper Trail section that I rode is entirely uphill one way, so 98% of people pay for a shuttle to drop them off at the high end. Personally, I did an out and back- half "creeping" uphill, half flying downhill. I only saw three other bikers going uphill the whole time and they were all ripped! Seeing this confirmed that uphill on the Creeper Trail is only if you want cardio... good thing that's why I was there! On my first day near the Creeper Trail I biked 30mi with 1,150ft vert in 3h 16min. The second day (this morning), I did 15.6mi with 540ft vert in 1h 43min. Onward...Next up is more climbing as I venture to the Red River Gorge for my first time!
To follow me (take your pick of platform!):
Last week I made the bold, if not stupid, decision to venture out during the Great Pandemic Summer 2020. This decision did not come easily... at least it came much easier when I initially cooked up the idea in May. Since then, the US has deteriorated on the Pandemic front, and I needed to decide- could I still adventure and live out of my car until ski season? Safely? Ethically? Legally? These were my main questions upon which I based my decision. These questions will elicit different answers from everyone you ask. I noticed that people in my parents' generation did not think I should go, while people in my generation thought it was fine.
Ultimately, I decided to journey forth, because I feel that I can conduct outdoor recreation while living from my car, in much of the country, in a safe way. To me, safe means planning attainable and small backcountry objectives, limiting exposure to few other people, wearing a mask, general risk mitigation in all activities to avoid injury. Campgrounds, national parks, climbing areas etc. are open as of now, so I am going to take my summer off from Outward Bound as a great opportunity to see the country and do cool things in amazing landscapes. So here is my blanket statement for all future blogs while on this road trip... I know it's not a good time to be out! Although, it seems like life is still going on here in the US. I very well may look back on this trip in a year, or heck maybe even two weeks, and say "what was I thinking." But I have been thinking very clearly on the subject for well over a month and I am staying out with MAJOR CONTINGENCIES regarding the state of the country. If I need to abort, I will cross that bridge when I get there. I'm going to be safe and flexible. For now, I plan to be chugging along slowly all over the country until I wind up in Big Sky in November.
A quick recap, what's going on here...
I am adventuring around the U.S. in my 2010 Toyota RAV-4 from the beginning of July until the beginning of November. I am fully outfitted for hiking/ trail running, backpacking, climbing (sport, trad), mountain biking, and swimming (no really, like swim cap and everything). I will be camping most nights. The whole 4 month trip itself is really just a bunch of mini trips with friends around the country linked together. For more details read my previous post.
Ok so digest everything you just read and get ready for this next part. Now hear me out on this... The first 3 stops (1 week) in my journey were definitely more social than the trip was intended to be. It started with the 4th of July weekend, for which I went to my family friends' lake house on Lake Waukewan in New Hampshire.
The following weekend, my crew friends from college planned a lake weekend on Lake Wallenpaupack in Pennsylvania.
So I linked the two weekends together with a visit to another college friend in NYC midweek. I know what you're thinking... *gasp*. It actually felt very safe in the city. Masks everywhere, zero tourists, friends I trusted. Friends who are nurses and definitely made me feel safer about the situation. All was good, and I got a COVID test on the way out just for peace of mind, and it came back negative *sigh of relief*.
This week was honestly pretty hard to justify based on everything I mentioned in the first few paragraphs. I objectively took a pretty big risk by doing these three social visits, and I'm super thankful that it all worked out safe and fun. Guilt aside, in comparison to the past few most boring and lonely months, this week was a highlight of my year. From here on out though, I'm into the woods!
Alright there's the update. I have like 4 confirmed regular readers that I know of. If you're one of those people, or maybe a secret fan, and want to see more on the trip here is where I'll be posting...
- This blog, probably shooting for once a week or every two weeks. - Instagram, @adwitz for mostly stories with the occasional post. - Polarsteps, a sweet app my dad showed me that will track my stops and show them on an interactive map with photos. I have embedded it below as a half decent preview so you get the idea. For a link to it, click here. This will be updated every few days, pretty much real time. If you read this far, thanks for following along! That's all for now. Next up I head to Shenandoah National Park and Skyline Drive for some lovely solo car camping, followed by a climbing trip with NCOBS ladies at Hidden Valley, VA. Stay tuned for those updates in the coming weeks! |
Archives
February 2024
Categories |