Assateague Island :: Adieu

It was with some degree of sadness that I bid farewell to Assateague on Saturday morning (October 24th). It had been so peaceful and quiet the previous four days but when Friday evening arrived so did more people. The campground loop where I was staying, which had been nearly vacant, was now filled with weekend visitors. The spell was broken, it was time to go. Besides, rain was in the forecast for the next few days!

The golden glow of the sunset over the marsh. My last night at Assateague.

Not as colorful as the morning's sunrise had been, but quite lovely. Indeed.

Phend-Fisher Family Reunion Ledger - 1914

The Phend-Fisher families gathered for a reunion in Elkhart County, Indiana almost annually from 1909 until 1943. Usually held at Nappanee, the events of the day were recorded in an old ledger book. Spelling has been retained as it was in the original though some punctuation and paragraph breaks have been added. To view all articles in this series click on the "Phend-Fisher Reunion Ledger" label at the bottom of this post.

June 25, 1914
the sixth reunion.

The Fisher reunion was held at McNaughton park in Elkhart. in which their were about 40 present. dinner was served on tables under the trees, near the river. their being no program.

Officers were elected as follows
C. D. Phend. Nappanee Pres[ident]
J. J. Phend Bremen Vice [President]
Mr and Mrs Frank Wehrly Nap[panee] Secrethry

No Births.

Katherine Phend and Rueben Pletcher
Surelda Phend and Barton Thornton
Evelyn Fuller and Walter Shaw.
married.

Samuel Fisher died.
Mrs John Ringenberger died

Gingerbread House by Austin

Here is Austin's finished product:







Happy Holidays!

Single-Pitch Cragging in the Nears: Tulip Mussel Garden (5.10d), Easter Time Too (5.8) & More

(Photo: Climber on Birdland (5.8). Taken from base of Grease Gun Groove (5.6).)



I'm back, baby.



The elbow seems okay. I've been to the Gunks twice in April and, knock on wood, I've had no problems.



My first time climbing outside since November was with a new partner, David. We had not met in person but we were familiar with one another from Gunks.com. We were both looking to shake off the rust of the off-season, so our day was filled with moderate classics in the Trapps, many of which I have written about before. It was so great to be outside climbing, I felt like a puppy in the park. I put up Son of Easy O (5.8) in one pitch for my first climb of the year. Climbing in the Gunks doesn't get much better than that, and I felt good, handling the cruxy bits somewhat deliberately but with ease. I also knocked off the two-move wonder Maria Direct without too much trouble, so that was my first 5.9 of the year. We then hit the second and third pitches of Maria (5.6+), Classic (5.7 and with a new pin!), Drunkard's Delight (5.8-), and I ended the day by leading the first pitch of Bloody Mary into the second pitch of Morning After (both 5.7). This was a really great rope-stretcher pitch. Good variety and I think the link-up makes for one of the best 5.7's in the Gunks.



What a great day. I was tentative at first but as our day went on I felt more comfortable with the rock and the gear. By the end I was climbing reasonably well, moving faster and with less gear-fiddling. It was great to meet and swap leads with David. I hope to do some more climbing with him this year. He was talking up Millbrook and I have my fingers crossed that maybe he'll show me around out there.



This past Sunday I got out to the Gunks again, this time with Gail. We decided to head over to the Nears.



It was a spring weekend so of course it was crowded. The cliff already had parties on several of the classics closest to the parking lot; we found climbers on Disneyland, Te Dum, and Birdland. But we kept walking and found Grease Gun Groove (5.6) open so I suggested we get on it.









(Photo: Gail heading up Grease Gun Groove (5.6).)




Gail decided that she wanted to lead it and she did a nice job with it. Of course the climb is well within her abilities. This is a good 5.6 lead. There is plenty of gear and a lot of good climbing. It is fairly continuous. The hardest move is the first one, right off the deck, so if you are at all worried about leading it, just get on it and see if you can get started. If you can get on the wall, you should be fine for the rest of it!




While I was standing there belaying Gail I started looking over at the climb next door, Tulip Mussel Garden (5.10d). I had never had a single thought about this climb in my life but as I sized it up I got intrigued. It begins with an unprotected boulder problem but I thought I'd be fine there. And I could see the horizontal that protects the upper crux. It looked good, and from the ground it appeared that the crux was short. Why not try the route?









(Photo: Just past the opening boulder problem on Tulip Mussel Garden (5.10d).)




I wish I could say I sent it onsight but it didn't work out that way. It is a good little route, though, and a safe 5.10 lead. The opening challenge is just to get off the ground and reach the first shelf. So although there isn't any gear for the move, a fall here is just a foot or two back to the ground. I thought the start was no harder than Maria Direct, so I'd put it about 5.9. (Swain says 5.8+.) After you grab the shelf you still have to make a couple of moves to get gear but these moves are easier.









(Photo: Just past the crux on Tulip Mussel Garden (5.10d).)




After the initial moves the climbing is enjoyable up to the stance below the crux. I was a little disconcerted by a flake/feature up the middle of the route that is surprisingly hollow. The flake really rings when you knock on it, and there's no choice but to climb on it and use it for gear. I tried not to worry about it too much. It probably isn't going anywhere.




And then the crux is just as well-protected as Dick says. There is a bomber slot for a Number 2 Camalot, and a good stance from which to place it. The crux is a short sequence of moves. I felt like I'd diagnosed the start of it perfectly. I had good footwork. All my gym bouldering seemed to be paying off. But then I just couldn't get the final move to the big jug. I went up and down several times, and then fell and hung a few times.




I was about to give up, but Gail suggested I try it one more time. And then I finally figured it out. One little bump with the left hand was all I was missing.




If I weren't a little weak from my month off maybe I would have sent it first go.... In any case Gail on top rope made it look incredibly easy. I'm sure if I bother to go back I can get it next time. I would definitely recommend Tulip Mussel Garden as a great option for anyone looking for a safe 5.10 lead with a short crux.









(Photo: Gail in the opening dihedral of Boston Tree Party (5.8).)




After we were done with Tulip Mussel Garden we decided to head way down the cliff to the Easter Time Too (5.8) area. Neither Gail nor I had ever done any of the climbs in this area, and it appeared from the guidebook that Dick uncovered several nice one-pitch climbs in this general area. We found a party on Easter Time Too when we arrived so we started with the group of climbs just to its left. We ended up doing just about all of the climbs in this little crag-within-a-crag and enjoyed them all quite a bit. It is a very pleasant neighborhood in which to spend an afternoon.




From left to right, we did:




As The Cliff Turns (5.9): This climb doesn't look like much from the ground but it has two pretty neat 5.9 cruxes. Good climbing up an arching corner takes you to the first crux, an unusual high-step move up the face. Then the finishing overhang is another solid challenge. You have to unlock the surprising sequence to get up to the roof and then a few jams help get you to the finishing jugs. I really enjoyed this one, fun climbing and well-protected.




Day Tripper (5.8): The interesting thing here is the chimney above the starting corner. I wasn't sure I was psyched to lead this one but afterwards I was glad we did it. It does require you to get your body into the chimney, but then one move later you get out again. I thought it qualified as fun. Then you move up right to a typical Gunks roof escape and easy climbing up a groove to the anchor. This climb is fine, though I doubt I would give it two stars as Dick does. There is a 5.10 direct finish variation out the roof... It might be worth coming back to try that one but it looks awfully hard to me!




Boston Tree Party (5.8): This one is more challenging than Day Tripper, both mentally and physically. Dick says it is a little scary until you get pro in during the initial 5.7 climbing up the open book. I found two micronuts that I liked right off the deck (though the first one later popped out!) but it is a little hairy as you step up right to the end of the roof. There is a critical placement in a vertical seam partway up to the roof and if you were to fall there before getting the piece in, it would be an ugly swing back to the open book and perhaps the ground. Once you turn the corner, the route involves steep 5.8 face climbing with pro that I found adequate but spaced. The wall here could stand to clean up a little more. I pulled on a pebble that came off and hit me in the eye while I was leading, and Gail pulled off at least a couple more. Also if you stay to the right of Day Tripper as the angle eases, the interesting moves continue to the ledge but the face gets dirtier and a bit lichenous. Despite these imperfections I thought this was nevertheless a really fun pitch. I enjoyed the open book and the steep face climbing. Gail thought the whole thing was kind of spicy and hard for 5.8. I'd say in the final analysis that I think 5.8 is a fair grade but I would not send a new 5.8 leader up this one. You'd want to be pretty confident in the grade.









(Photo: In the early bits of Easter Time Too (5.8).)




Easter Time Too (5.8): 80 feet of pure joy. This vertical crack system is obviously the main attraction of the area. Beautiful climbing up a natural line, great holds, great gear anywhere you want it. I didn't want this to end. If this climb were closer to the Uberfall it might be the most popular route in the Gunks. I thought it was a three-star experience. If only it were a little longer.




Good Friday Climb (5.9): Another great pitch. Blissful 5.9 climbing up an unimpeachable face. I was debating whether to lead this or toprope it from the Easter Time chains, but I looked over at Good Friday while I was being lowered from Easter Time and it appeared to me that there would be just barely enough pro, so I went for it. In the end I felt okay about the gear, but be warned that if you lead Good Friday Climb, you want to be proficient with micronuts and tiny cams, and don't pass up any placements. The climbing is really nice, whether on top rope or on lead. I might like to go back and continue up the cliff on this one. Sounds from the guidebook like an exciting (though dirty) 5.9+ roof on the third pitch.




At the end of the day I felt pretty good! The eights and nines all felt casual to me. I was very comfortable on the rock. I never would have predicted that I would try to tackle a 5.10d on my second climbing day of the season. And did I get a little bold all of a sudden? The boulder problem at the base of Tulip Mussel Garden, the scary bit at the bottom of Boston Tree Party, the thin gear on Good Friday Climb-- none of it was much of an issue. I seem to be in about the same place where I was last summer, easily handling the 5.9's and struggling on the 5.10's. I hope for big things this year. Maybe soon I'll start actually sending the 5.10's instead of flailing on them.

We Have a House

Yesterday I had a conversation with someone and in the midst of the conversation the other person said some things that left me in a state of being completely stunned. They shared their view on some aspects of our life and what they believed to be true. Now, this is just a part of life. People spout their views and assumptions all the time. Some more than others.




This was a person who has been around us enough, though, that I didn't realize until that conversation they did have many assumptions about us and our life that were just not true. At all. I started to share the truth as I see it, but then a voice inside of me said: Do.Not.Even.Try so I hit the backspace button and deleted it and just let them know I heard what they shared.




They then went on to share something they did, that I think they were sharing was the same as how we have lived for four years now, and given it was not even in the same ballpark, my brain really went on full tilt. I'll be honest, I'm still reeling from that conversation trying to truly wrap my brain around some parts of it.




As I was pondering it today, Dr. Phil's "you either get it or you don't and you're not getting it" popped into my head. Sometimes we just don't get it in life. All of us. But then I pondered my experiences where I have wanted to get it and am starting to get it and just need a bit more information to understand it. So while Dr. Phil might have some wisdom on that topic, I don't think it represents the whole truth. Sometimes we are simply on our way to getting it and in between those two places.




I remembered how much research I did before we decided to be full timers. I remember how it took us about two years from the time we first considered it, until we really did it. And I needed, desperately needed in fact, to hear how it really worked. I wanted to get it. I just needed others to be willing to share the nitty gritty of it all. I needed to know this was not only possible, but what would our lives look life if we did do it.




I had this fear that doing this might be this unstable, bizzaro world experience...one that would have me deeply regretting it. I wondered just how much doing "this" would change everything. We are on year four with this now and so today I understand a few things that I didn't know then.




To me, how we live our life is very simple and easy.




We have a house. This is what it looks like:



To us, it is just like our last house that looked like this:



It is a place where we eat, sleep and hang out some. No, the houses are not exactly the same. They both served the same purposes in our lives though. One has wheels that allows it to go with us as we move from place to place. The other doesn't. We sold the one because it didn't have wheels. We bought the other because it did. That's it.




Other aspects of our lives are pretty much the same. We needed love, peace, joy, community and family before. We need those things now. We needed food, shelter and some material goods before and we do now. We needed income of some sort to provide those things then, and we do now.




We had a job that provided income when we lived in our last house. And even though we had an unexpected job and income loss last year, except for three weeks in between "jobs", we have had a job that we worked to provide income since we moved into our current house.




We aren't rich. We aren't retired. And as much as we joked last year about maybe having to get a J.O.B., that was about us being spoiled and both being able to be home all day long with our kids while making money and today one of us leaves the house for some hours of our day to make money. Someday both of us might have to leave our house for a few hours each day to make money. While that is not our preference, we are mature enough to roll with that if it does happen. That might happen no matter what kind of house we choose to live in.




We would and do pick jobs that we think would work well for us. We think that is only fair to ourselves and our employers. We have both been in positions of management so we get how truly awful it is for a place to have employees that aren't happy there. So we have pretty much always done that. Again, no difference there in our view.




For those that are considering this lifestyle and do wonder, how does it work when you are a bit younger than the normal full timer: if you have a job that you can do from home, you most likely have a job that you can do from a home with wheels-even if you do move around with that house. Yes, you might have to figure out what is necessary to do so, but isn't that true of any job? Jobs with insurance are available to both. Jobs that don't have insurance are available to both.




If we want to settle down meaning stay in one place, we will and more importantly, we can. We are doing that now in fact.




If we want to move around, we can.




We don't think that limits our options because we have done the math and when you have a house that will allow for both, we think that means that increases your options. In this economy, we think it is a smart choice to increase your options as much as possible. If we were in a different field of work, this might not apply. We trust most adults to be able to tell the difference between the two. We believe we know the difference between the two. If we didn't, we would not have been able to live for four years on the road.




Even when I thought I'd try this for a year, we did not do this to get a vacation. We did not want or need to escape our "life", even if for a season, so there was no need for a vacation. We had a goal long before doing this to not live a life that we needed a vacation from. We reached that goal long before we ever did this.




We did this to take our life that we already enjoyed and moved it to this space to continue to enjoy it. We hoped we would more fully enjoy it. I have shared time and time again, we just took our life we already had on the road. And for the most part, it really is that simple.




We did want less of some things (stress, material goods and working hard to maintain those material goods) and wanted more of other things (time with our kids and each other) and we wanted to see our country up close and personal and learn tons while doing so.




In many ways, even though we took our life on the road, we do live a very different life today. But it still isn't so much that we strive to not live our old life.




It's that we fully immerse ourselves in our new one. And in doing so, we have in fact experienced a whole new way of living, being and interacting with each other and the world than we did before. Wouldn't it be wise to do that no matter what your circumstances though?




For us, we took the route that worked for us because of who we are. We have seen others leap and do this in ways that would have struck terror in my heart. We have seen others do it in ways that we deeply admire and still it would strike terror in my heart to do the same.




We do what works for us today. We see others doing the same. My guess is both of us are pretty much the same people we were before and both of us have grown and changed in some ways since. Again, I think that is true of people that live in houses too. It really is that simple.

Sunset Smoke Haze

Smoke from the Pagami Creek Fire near Ely, MN makes for a dramatic sunset over Lake Superior in Grand Portage, MN on September 13, . One thing's for sure... all this smoke in our sky makes for some pretty wild sunsets!

Waiting for the next trip

The passenger ferry "Voyageur II" waits patiently for its next voyage to Isle Royale National Park from its dock in Grand Portage, MN. This image was taken in late September of this year as the Isle Royale boating season was winding down. The Voyageur II is a 60' aluminum-hulled ferry that has been providing mail and passenger service to Isle Royale National Park since the early 1970's. It is the only ferry that circumnavigates the entire island, making several stops along the way so hikers and paddlers can have options for hiking or canoeing/kayaking different portions of the island.