Moab, Ut

Tuesday morning we packed up camp and left Crawdad Canyon early. The canyon technically closes after Labor Day to the public, but can rented out for a fee. We kind of had to leave since there was a group who had rented the canyon out for the week. It was obvious that they wanted to set up camp where we were. They were staring at us all morning as we were breaking down camp. We didn't want to rain on their parade so we packed up quickly and left. We exited the canyon and started heading north toward Salt Lake City. We stopped by the gear shop in St. George again right when they opened to check out a guidebook for the northern part of the state. We ended up selecting a guide for the Uinta Mountains which is just east of Salt Lake City. The guy at the gear store recommended a place called Ruth Lake, and said we should check it out. While we were there, we also checked out another rope, since we had to cut the one we had be using for a while. We ended up purchasing one there that was on sale. We opted for a 60 meter rope since we still had some good life in our 70 meter. We left there with some great knowledge and armed to tackle the Uinta climbing scene. We jumped in the car and drove 5 or so hours till we hit Provo Utah, which is about 40 miles south of Salt Lake City. Once in Provo we first headed over to the local gear shop and got some local beta. The guys there were really helpful and felt really good about heading up to climb the next day. After the gear shop we headed into town and got another oil change on the rental car. With all the driving we had been doing we had to keep up on all the vehicle maintenance that was required. Once Jiffy Lube finished with the car we headed into downtown Salt Lake City to check out the Black Diamond Headquarters. Once there we entered the store and took a look around. The store was pretty cool, and full of great gear. I ended up buying a new pair of climbing shoes, since two of the three pairs I brought on the trip have been wore down pretty bad. We left there and headed back to Provo, where we set up camp at the KOA just outside of town. I spent most of the evening updating the blog, while Jodi did a load of laundry. We went to bed a little earlier that night to get some good rest for the next day.

Wednesday morning we woke up early as usual and headed an hour and a half to Ruth Lake in the Uinta Mountains. We parked the car hiked in about 15 minutes and found the crag to climb. Ruth Lake is at about 10,500 feet above sea level and the high for the day was around 40, where in Salt Lake the high was around 80. We threw on some warm clothes and started climbing. The rock was freezing and quickly realized we couldn't take these conditions all day long. We got in close to 20 laps before we called it quits. Below are some pictures of the climbing crag at Ruth Lake.

We headed back to the car and decided to head over to mirror lake for a quick stroll. Once there we hiked around the entire lake and had a wonderful time. Below is a picture of Mirror Lake.

After the hike we headed back to Provo, but made one more stop to check out the Provo Falls. Below is a picture of us in front of Provo Falls in the Uinta Mountains.


On our way back to Provo, we headed straight for the climbing gym to get a couple of more burns in. We spent close to 3 hours there and got in another 30 laps. By now it was close to 9pm, so we headed back to the KOA to get a good nights sleep.

Thursday morning we said goodbye to Provo Utah and headed east to Moab. We drove for several hours and pulled into Moab around 2pm. We set up camp in town at a really nice campground. We had most of the afternoon to kill so we decided to head up to the Canyonlands National Park. It took us close to an hour to get there because we stopped quite a bit to take pictures. Once there we entered the park and drove to all the viewpoints and took several pictures. We spent all afternoon and most of the evening exploring the park. Around dark we headed back to Moab, grabbed a quick bite to eat at the Moab Brewery, and headed back to camp for a good nights sleep. Below are some pictures of the Canyonlands National Park.

Friday morning we woke up early and headed down the street to the Arches National Park. We entered the park and headed straight for a tower called Owl Rock. I was talking with a guy at the gear store the day before, and he told us Owl Rock was a great climb and should not be missed. There is only one route on the Owl Rock, it goes at 5.8 all trad, climbs a crack with slopey handholds on the face, and is about 90 to 100 feet tall. We found the rock and scouted it out for about 30 minutes. I tried to examine the rock to see what kind of gear was needed and also to talk myself into it. After about an hour or so, I was ready to tackle the climb. I racked up all the gear I might need and went for it. About halfway up I was realizing the gear placements were not that great, and was getting a little sketched. I manged to keep it all together and push on to the top. Once I clipped the anchors, Jodi took up rope and on my way down I looked at some of my gear placements. Of the 14 or so pieces I put in, I would say 5 of them I would have fallen on. Most of the gear was crap and didn't have the time to fool around with it and try and make it work. I was a little disappointed in the gear, but was super excited that I made it to the top of my first "tower". Below is a picture of me at the top of Owl Rock in Arches National Park.



After we cleaned up the climb on Owl Rock, we spent the rest of afternoon and evening exploring all that Arches had to offer. We went on several hikes to see all of the Arches, and ended the day with a sunset hike up to see the Delicate Arch. What an amazing site to see. We couldn't help but to think how we could climb this natural wonder, but it is off limits. Instead we got several pictures and really enjoyed ourselves. Below is a picture of Jodi and I in front of the Delicate Arch in Arches National Park.

Here is another picture of the Arch itself.

We finished touring Arches around dark and headed back to the Moab Brewery for a quick bite and a brew. After dinner we headed back to camp and turned in for the night.

Saturday we woke up, fixed a quick breakfast and hit the road to check out a local climbing area off Potash Road. It wasn't that long before we turned onto Potash Road and found the climbing area. We set up a couple of climbs and it wasn't long before the crowds started rolling in and the weather got hotter and hotter. Most of the climbing was in the sun and offered very little shade. We climbed till 2 pm and couldn't take the heat anymore. It was 104 and it felt like the rubber on our shoes was melting to our feet. We packed it up and headed down the road to an area which had some good bouldering. We pulled into the parking lot and found only one other party there. We found some boulders that were in the shade and climbed for an hour or two before we called it a day. We headed back to camp, cooked a nice dinner and spent most of the evening sitting around the camp fire. Below is a picture of the climbing right off Potash Road.

I know I'm very far behind on all the updates. Internet access has been quite the issue for us. I will try and get everyone caught up as soon as I can. Thanks