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Gunkie
Trad climber
East Coast US
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May 16, 2013 - 03:58pm PT
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Looking forward to the next chapter. Well done.
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crusher
climber
Santa Monica, CA
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May 16, 2013 - 04:35pm PT
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Edge this is getting exciting! Thanks for posting the corgis again - I miss having one (or two). They'll get into the spirit of adventure, I'm sure. Keep us all up to date - lots of pictures!
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climber bob
Social climber
maine
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May 17, 2013 - 07:15am PT
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best of luck with your future adventures! p.s. ive been to rines a couple of times and love it...looking to check out devils den and longstaff..
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Magic Ed
Trad climber
Nuevo Leon, Mexico
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May 17, 2013 - 11:00am PT
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Anyone has Corgis is OK with me.
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Edge
Trad climber
New Durham, NH
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Topic Author's Reply - May 27, 2013 - 08:41am PT
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Edge's Whirled Tour - Day 1
With our storage POD leaving days ago and the contents of our rental home diminishing, the endless stream of last minute details had reared its ugly head. My son Max had similarly cleared out of his college rental in Massachusetts, and dropped in to visit us, sort out a new post college direction in life, and say goodbye. During these brief few days he was offered a position at a small start up which specializes in arranging travel accommodations to the sports industry, and accepted. Since he can work from a home that he didn't have at the moment, he began looking for an apartment, moving his own belongings into storage, and helping us (kinda...)
Our intended departure was delayed by a day, and we scrambled to get ready to leave Sunday morning. It had been raining for days, complicating things, so when I went outside to fill the 45 gallon RV water storage tank an hour before leaving and it fell to the ground, I was less than impressed.
So I spent an hour under the RV laying on my back like a five dollar hooker, fiddling with hoses and a fat white plastic dead weight which bobbed unsatisfyingly up and down until it finally climaxed into place.
At last, we said our tearful goodbyes to Max (sorry kid, yer on yer own, we don't have an address or a plan either.)
I had never towed an RV before, let alone something as heavy as this, but that wasn't going to stop me. We opted for our initial run to be a trial by fire, driving up and over the mountains of Vermont's Rte 9 in the rain and wind, arriving somewhat un-eventfully some five hours later at an RV park just outside of Schenectady, NY (between Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Whogivesadam) where my wife's sister, sister-in-law, and niece dropped in for a visit and tour of the mobile casa.
After a dinner and figuring out the various camper hook-ups, I walked the dogs by the shore of the Hudson River in a now cloudless and star filled sky, using no headlamp and aimlessly wandering in the dark wherever the Spirits guided me.
I type this on my iPhone from bed this morning, the first day of hopefully many more without pressure to complete some self-inflicted task in some self-inflicted world. Yeah, I'm on vacation. Cheers.
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perswig
climber
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May 27, 2013 - 08:54am PT
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Nothing like a late-season Nor'easter send-off.
Dale
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hobo_dan
Social climber
Minnesota
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May 27, 2013 - 08:59am PT
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Look up "on the road with Steve Angelini" for climbing road trip suggestions.
You're going to have a great time
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Studly
Trad climber
WA
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May 27, 2013 - 10:19am PT
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Life is oh so bitching man~!
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couchmaster
climber
pdx
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May 27, 2013 - 10:33am PT
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Respect. Quite the transition Edge, wishing you all fair winds and smooth sailing.
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wilbeer
Mountain climber
honeoye falls,ny.greeneck alleghenys
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May 27, 2013 - 12:46pm PT
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I know you are probably blowing right by me today on the 90,but have a great trip Edge,et al. Have fun in Colorado,and as a friend told me ,keep looking upward!
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Brandon-
climber
The Granite State.
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May 27, 2013 - 12:57pm PT
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So rad that you're beginning a new chapter in life. Kudos!
And post pictures!
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Edge
Trad climber
New Durham, NH
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Topic Author's Reply - May 28, 2013 - 10:50am PT
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"...and I live in a van down by the river." Chris Farley
One more day in upstate NY where my wife is from, visiting her family and friends. Tomorrow morning we will be striking south through PA and probably find a quick spot to overnight before visiting my Internet friend Jay Young in Fayetteville, WV for a whitewater rafting trip. Depending on his and our schedules, I may even be able to sneak off to the New River Gorge for a climb or two or three. Never been there.
I thought our 25' trailer looked decadently huge parked in our old driveway, but here at our first RV park we look like the poor bastard stepchild dwarfed by ginormous metal behemoths, most of which are parked here for the entire Summer. I tried to permanently fix the water tank that had fallen off, and what should have been a 20 minute job turned into an hour and a half. The neighbors see fresh blood, and everyone wants to chat, "Where you from? Where you going? What do you do?" No sooner do I go through the whole story with one neighbor, then the next one pops up. Maybe I can just schedule a single informational meeting at dusk?
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wilbeer
Mountain climber
honeoye falls,ny.greeneck alleghenys
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May 31, 2013 - 09:15pm PT
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Enjoy West Virginia,secret of the east.
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MisterE
Social climber
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Missed this the first time around, Edge. Great process - thanks for the story, and may it continue to be a wonderful adventure!
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Edge
Trad climber
New Durham, NH
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 1, 2013 - 11:04am PT
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Going With the Flow
Wednesday morning we left NY and my wife's family, heading for the New. It felt strange driving by the exit to the Gunks, but I've been there, done that, and we had other plans and adventures to look forward to.
We clipped the northern end of the Delaware Water Gap, then south through Pennsylvania past an inordinate number of road kill deer carcasses (18+). Just south of the MD panhandle we stayed in an unspectacular RV park for the night, refueled the propane tanks and then struck out south through VA before turning west through WV. The relentless hills wreaked havoc with the truck overheating and then cooling on the downhills, so in true I'm-not-a-mechanic-so-I'll-just-turn-up-the-music-and-drive fashion, we pulled into Fayettesville and parked in the yard of an Internet acquaintance. West "by God" Virginny.
Friday morning we drove across "the bridge" to the National River Visitor Center and tuckered the dogs out on a short hike and then the 200 odd stairs to the Gorge overlook, then returned to secure them in the RV for the afternoon. Karol and I were hooked up for a 7 mile rafting trip down the Lower New River with a roller coaster tide through multiple rapids to Class V, and had a blast. Unfortunately my camera is not waterproof, and the commercial photographers only offered 8x10 images at $23/pop which seemed a bit unnecessary. We left with only memories.
Back at the trailer, my gmail delivered a message from the "Daily Om" which seemed particularly appropriate:
Going with the flow means we are open to multiple ways of getting where we want to be.
The expression going with the flow is a metaphor that applies to navigating a river. When we go with the flow, we follow the current of the river rather than push against it. People who go with the flow may be interpreted as lazy or passive, but to truly go with the flow requires awareness, presence, and the ability to blend one’s own energy with the prevailing energy. Going with the flow doesn’t mean we toss our oars into the water and kick back in the boat, hoping for the best. Going with the flow means we let go of our individual agenda and notice the play of energy all around us. We tap into that energy and flow with it, which gets us going where we need to go a whole lot faster than resistance will.
We had a lovely BBQ with our hosts of pork tenderloin, asparagus, Yukon Gold potatoes, and fruit salad and turned in early. My wife had sensed my deep desire, and gave me a blessing to pump some sandstone the next day.
With plans to climb around 11, I took off to the local mechanics to investigate a chirping/grinding noise from the front tire. I was able to get right in, and a worn brake pad and sticky caliper proved to be the source. I'm writing this from the waiting room, and should be on the rock in an hour.
Oops, I just got summoned.
"Mr Smith, they sent the wrong caliper and the right one is a special order."
"Can I take this to Cincinnati tomorrow?"
"Yeah, but they'll have to replace the pads again when they do that."
So be it. I'm just going with the flow, and if I close my eyes I can hear the sandstone whispering, "Loran. Loran..."
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klk
Trad climber
cali
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deer apocalypse.
u making venison sausage?
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Edge
Trad climber
New Durham, NH
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 2, 2013 - 06:09pm PT
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I had long heard of the fabled sandstone of the New River Gorge, but thought, "Why would I travel 14 hours away from the Granite State to climb there?"
Well it's confirmed (again), I am an idiot. The rock was amazing and the climbing intricate, thought provoking, and FUN! Having only a half day, it was suggested that the best intro to the New would be the Bridge Buttress Area. I was able to hook up with an Internet acquaintance from VA, Bryan, to jump on a handful of moderates.
I arrived just as Bryan and a friend were about to pull their rope from a stout 5.9 called "Chockstone" which follows a bit of face leading to a diagonal crack and eventually a right facing corner. I took a TR run to familiarize myself with the new stone and its coefficient of friction.
Next up was "Maranatha" which offered a steep juggy start leading to a .10c crux layback up a rounded edge up high.
I
Next door was a fun corner that was only 5.8, but worthy of a quickie lead.
My favorite climb of the day, by far, was a 90 foot .10a called "Tree Route." It involved lie backs, jamming, wide stems, and a bit of off width which all combined packed quite a punch. Lowering off the anchors deposited you 8' back from the starting holds.
Finally we jumped on "The Layback" which looks 5.7 but climbs 5.9 thanks to some polished sandstone for your feet.
So, that was my taste of WV climbing. I would have loved to spend more time, but we woke up this morning to rain, packed up the RV, and drove the 5 1/2 hours to my brother-in-law's in Cincy. I almost took out his mailbox trying to back into the driveway, the truck overheated as I struggled to get it out of the culprit drainage ditch, and his 45 year old daughter, who is expecting twins as her first children, just had her water break. Tomorrow the truck gets dropped off for some quality healing with the best damned mechanic I can find, and I will do whatever the Ohioans do for fun. Does anyone else know what that is, I sure don't.
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Edge
Trad climber
New Durham, NH
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 3, 2013 - 06:17pm PT
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Site of our three day Cincinnati layover; the lack of rock and abundance of shopping malls and golf courses is a bit disconcerting, to say the least.
At least we were with my bro-in-law this morning to receive the news that his daughter has delivered his first grand kids, Charlotte & Alexander. Mom and babies are doing well, dad went home to sleep. The poor guy, it must have been exhausting for him...
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Edge
Trad climber
New Durham, NH
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 5, 2013 - 10:54am PT
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The truck has been fixed for the road ahead; new brake calipers and the mechanic removed the thermostat to help with the overheating problem. He said the only downside would be we wouldn't have heat, but we won't need heat where we're heading, and he said adding some block sealer should help, suspecting a head gasket leak. We'll see, we'll see.
Our plan is to break up the 22 hour trip to southern CO/ northern NM by overnighting in the Ozarks, then across OK and northern Texas; if I don't see Kansas that will be fine by me. Family and friends are nervous about our chances of getting caught up in a tornado, but I refuse to let "what ifs" dictate our journey.
We saw the new Star Trek flick last night in Newport, KY then walked the banks of the Ohio river. Nice views of the city.
The Reds "Great American Ballpark" are the bright lights on the left just past the bridge. We will be there tonight to catch a Reds/Rockies game, then striking out west in the morning. My brother-in-law keeps suggesting a swing through Nashville, but I have had my fill of cities for a bit; the deserts are calling, and I must go.
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Edge
Trad climber
New Durham, NH
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 11, 2013 - 12:28am PT
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I'll let the pics do the talking.
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