A.J. took Thursday and Friday off from work, so after Liz headed to work, we packed up and headed to Governor Dodge State Park to climb, boulder, and camp overnight. After requesting the most secluded campsite (the ranger probably thought we were up to no good.... when in reality we just like to be away from people!) we set-up camp in our walk-in backpacking site, ate some grub, and headed out to climb.
We were not really sure of the grades at the time, but they all looked reasonable, so we roped up and had an enjoyable afternoon on the rock.
Sport Climbing Area:
Warm-Up 1 (5.9) --- Dave(S), Alex (TR), A.J. (TR and S)
Warm-Up 2 (5.10-) --- Dave(S), Alex (TR), A.J. (TR)
Pocket Warm-Up (5.10b) --- Dave(S), Alex (TR), A.J. (TR)
Left Wing (5.10-) --- Dave(S), Alex (TR), A.J. (TR)
After some snacking to refuel, we headed over to the bouldering area. We, unlike A.J., do not call ourselves boulderers, but figured it would be good for our climbing and A.J. enjoys it... so why not! After cranking on some problems.... both successful and not.... and several statements of "I hate bouldering!" we wrapped up another session of fun (we did actually enjoy ourselves though our statements regarding bouldering may sound otherwise) and found some space to cook up some dinner.
Bouldering Area:
Separation Face (V1) --- send by all of us
Smack Crack Right (V0) --- Dave and A.J.
Smack Crack Left (V0+) --- Dave and A.J.
Get the Hell Out of Dodge (V4) --- A.J. send, Alex and Dave played
Hangman (V5) --- we all played
Ashmatica (V2) --- send by all
Two cans of black beans, seasonings, 2 avocados, 3 tomatoes, 1 head of red leaf lettuce, 6 wraps, and some cool beverages later, we had a legit and fulfilling meal. After cleaning up, despite the yet unset sun, we walked our tired muscles back to camp and settled in our tents for the night.
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| Apparently we need a new can opener... |
Around 4am Alex awoke to notice thunder and lightening in the distance... so out of our tents we moved to put the rain flies on, then settled back in for a few more hours of sleep.
Around 7am, the rumble of thunder and heightening breeze roused us again. After some back and forth over what we should do (wait it out or pack-up) we quickly packed up camp, briskly walked the half mile back to the car, just in time to beat the rain. After rechecking the weather, the day looked to be a washout, so we headed back to Madison, picked up some groceries ( Willy Street Co-op and Costco rock!) for and afternoon of cooking, brewing, and trip research.
