I just had an epiphany: A picture is worth a thousand words. So forget about a longer report. Here are the pictures. But first, thanks F4 for hosting the delicious hotpot dinner and the one of a kind birthday gift! Thanks munge for coming out to share a couple of drinks with Mr. Mud. And thanks all who were thinking of him.

Oh, the funny thing was on our way home from the bar after Mr. Mud had a couple of “Dirty Old Man” drinks, the audiobook we were listening to, a World War II memoir, had this in a dialogue: “I’m not a dirty old man; I’m a sexy senior citizen.”

Mr. Mud is not old yet. See how flexible he is in these poses?

He was not doing yoga though. He was just admiring the beauty of these early spring flowers at Pinnacles.

Mr. Mud would not have wanted to be anywhere else.

Wish you all could have been here.

The next day, Erik also had an epiphany on our short ride, “Alcohol is not a performance enhancing drug.”

It was a smooth ride indeed, and Mr. Mud thoroughly enjoyed the USB port that even my CR-V does not have. (I’m envious.) After his techtalk podcasts, he turned to an audio book. Later, Mud claimed on the forum that the book put me to sleep. That’s not true! It was an interesting book on Roosevelt, but I only got 6 hours of sleep last night, which was 4 hour short of the desired amount!

It was really warm when we arrived and a bit muggy too. But there was a constant breeze that was pleasant. However, as soon as bushwhacking started, the breeze could no longer be felt. By the time we reached the Frog, I was soaked. That was some serious bushwhacking! Mr. Mud was seen to be looking for a path way to the crag, but I doubted there was one. It was equally heinous on the way out too.

Climbing was slow. But what’s the rush? We did Pinch Grip, Volcanic Panic, and Get A Grip (all TR for me). Mud was in such an adventurous spirit that he chose not to clip one bomber bolt. He had slung three extrusions before he got to the bolt. Get A Grip was a quality route, as fun as the famous POD on the Monolith.  Too bad that it sits on a rock that receives little visit. We became more convinced that Joe’s idea about building a trail to the Frog was a great one.

That was our little Fit’s maiden voyage to the Pinnacles. Besides the two unsightly bird droppings on the windows awaiting our return, it was quite uneventful, but at least, those were from Pinnacles’ birds!

Click here for all the photos. Below are a few highlights.

The Fit with the landmark Pinnacles restroom in the background.

It was breezy when we walked by the reservoir.

Mud saw the ridge, and I saw the bushes.

Look, a pinnacle!

On route to the Frog, we paused at a clearing looking at a rock formation nearby. Mud mumbled the rock got route potentials. When I suggested the rock should just be left alone, he claimed with the hand gestures and all, “Vision, you need to have a viiiiiiiiiiiision!”

Another rock formation that I do not have a vision for.

Looking straight up at Get A Grip.

We bushwhacked through all that below us???

A view from the top of the Frog. The photo was processed using the “I feel lucky” button. It brought the colors and contrast out.

The pinnacles’ birds left Mud some gift.

Went to the Pins today.  Fantastic weather, warm in the sun with a cool but not cold breeze.  The breeze was not strong enough or cold enough for it to be chilly while in the shade.  Still a few wild flowers out.

Wet Kiss, Big Pucker TR combo for the warm up.

Cantaloupe Death in order to get on top and setup a TR on Rocket and Future Shock.
I got Rocket on the second try and did better on Future shock than I did last weekend.  I have figure out the moves but cannot link through the crux yet.  Mudworm did quite well.  Had a few hangs on Future Shock but looked strong.

Pulled the ropes and went over and lead the Direct in order to get the rope setup on Cataract.
I took two spins on Cataract and managed to get into the crux the second time before coming off.  A big improvement over last weekend.  Mudworm is doing very well up to the crux.

Fingers were shot so we headed out.

There were a fair number of people hiking around.  A large pack of Boy Scouts and many large family groups.  Again, it would have been difficult for the weather to have been better.  A beautiful day.

Here’s to sweat in your eye

When Erik first tried to belay me at the top of Cantaloupe Death, I could not commit to the first move and had to make him to come down. But he refused to grab me from behind because he knew I could make the move (I had done it before). I finally did it — somehow knowing that he was right behind me helped. The move for me basically was lean into the wall and grab a good hold in the right hand before letting my both feet go and my body pendulum a couple of times. Once my body stopped swinging back and forth, I could look for the foot hold to start climbing. I hated that move, so I did it twice.

I felt good on Future Shock and look forward to getting back on it to link all the moves together.

Cataract Corner felt harder than Future Shock. I stubbornly stuck to the left side at the crux and one move (or lack of) stopped me cold. Okay, next time, I might break down and try the right side (on the arete).

Anyway, on Sunday morning, per our brilliant plan, the two husbands drove down to Pinnacles first thing in the morning for some rock climbing. Jeanne and I went back to Santa Teresa Park to get on a couple of more bikes. She actually ended up making payment for a bike right then and there. We then carpooled down to Pinnacles and found the guys at the Monolith a little after noon. We still got a few climbs in.

We spent quite some time on Cataract Corner (5.12a). Man, it’s hard!  Following is our friend Iztok leading it.

A beautiful day. Jim, his brother Bill, Mud, and I carpooled over and arrived early (~8:10am). Saw Bruce and Clint at Moses Sprint parking lot setting up their display before they were headed to Discovery Wall for some rebolting. We spent the day at Discovery Wall climbing at a leisurely pace. Jack, a climber from DC visiting the area for work teamed up with me. We put him on Wet Kiss, Big Pucker, Stupendous Man, Broken Arrow, and the Verdict. He seemed like he had a great day. When we hiked down, the displays were already torn down, but we got to hang out at the parking lot with everyone, well, almost everyone.

A few pics from our gallery:

Blah blah blah

“Really???”

I had not seen that thread and obviously, my surprised look amused everyone. I was relieved that Charlie did not really expect an answer from me, but in the mean time, I felt a little pressure. “Am I really a wonderful wife?” “What should I do to earn it?”  Okay, it’s quite simple:

Whenever Erik wants to go to Pinnacles, I should be fully supportive; if he needs a partner, I should not only go with him but also go with my heart filled with joy no matter how far the hike is, how heinous the approach is, and how chossy and loose the climb is!

I did not have to ask to know where he wants to be on New Year’s Eve of 2008. It was a very beautiful day at Pinnacles. The hike to Neglected Valley was actually quite enjoyable. There were only two climbs, Chimney Sweep (5.10a) and Flue Fire (Brad insists it’s a 5.11), on his agenda and after those, he would only have one more 5.11 left at Pinnacles to climb. No problem, honey. Even if you don’t climb, the trip would be totally worth it. When we arrived at the base of the climb, I realized that I’d only brought one shoe. No problem, honey. Would you like a belay slave?

By the end of the day, he got the climbs without hanging or any taints. I felt happy too strangely despite not having climbed. It was a perfect way to conclude our year of 2008.

A few pics:

Chimney Sweep (bottom buldge)

Chimney Sweep (top buldge)

Flue Fire

Flue Fire crux

The best place to be on the New Year’s Eve

[Note: Also posted to the Forum.]

A party was held at F4’s place afterwards. Happy B-Day, Landshark!

Here are the photos:

Something does not seem right… The belayer wears a helmet, but the leader does not!

Oh, that’s because F4 needed the helmet to keep his head warm in the cold weather. How cold? Well, here is Debby and Mud to show you how cold it was. (We ran into Debby at DW.)

Big daddy and little baby

It’s nice to have a big daddy because he makes a pretty darn good swing

[Note: The above was posted to the forum first.]

Blog Exclusives:

• This was a “hangless” day for Mud and I — neither of us fall or hang climbing. That made us feel pretty darn good. To some extent, the cold weather helped. In the morning, I noticed that I was hanging off of some sharp holds that normally would have pained me enough for me to come off of, but today, my fingers couldn’t feel the pain because they were numb.

• Surprise, surprise! We bumped into my good friend, Debby, at DW. It was good to see her, but it also made me feel guilty. She asked me about my weekend plan earlier in the week, and at that time, I told her that we would be at a B-day gathering near Sonora for the entire weekend. So, we did not make plans together. Later, the B-day plan was changed due to the iffy weather and it was not until the weekend did we decide on the Sunday plan. I thought about calling/emailing Debby, but thought she would have made plans by then. She sure did, but I should have updated her from my end.

• My husband tackled me today!!! He was being lowered down Buffalo Soldier, which sits above the first half of Ordeal. In order not to disturb the climbers on and below Ordeal, he moved around the arete to the other side after coming off the top half of Buffalo Soldier. Now he was 30 feet to the right of the fall line (gravity line), and he had to half down climb. Close to the ground, suddenly he came off the rock. With the rope pulling sideways, he started pendulum and I was right in his path. I had two options: either duck and let him pendulum past me, or stay where I was and stop his pendulum. I remember those two options flashed through my mind and I stayed where I was. It was probably more of an instinct, because two years ago, I shuffled my hand under a falling 27″ TV trying to stop its fall, which only resulted in a broken finger. Anyway, after evaluating some options flashing through his mind, he tried his best to turn around and came to me with his chest. Even though he tried to hug me (for the minimum impact), I was still knocked off of the boulder I was sitting on and fell into a gap next to it. (I did not let my brake hand go.) But that was enough to stop him from gaining more momentum for a brief second before he swung further and managed to stop himself when his feet touched the ground. Nobody was hurt. We got a good laugh out of it. That was exciting!

We just got done with Wet Kiss and Big Pucker at Discovery Wall. A young couple walked up from the trail. The guy had the new guidebook in hand looking left and right searching for something. “Are you looking for any particular route?” “Oh, yeah, I’m looking for Broken Arrow.” We gather from our conversation that they are from Germany. It’s wet and cold everywhere in the Europe, so they’ve decided to go a little further to the sunny California for a weekend of climbing. They flew in on Friday and will go back on Tuesday. It sounded that the guy was inspired by the pictures of Broken Arrow and Heat Seeking Moist Missile. I don’t think he recognize me in that picture of Broken Arrow because I am wearing a hat, sunglasses and a different hair style. But it doesn’t matter (and even better this way). I just thought it was interesting how a picture can inspire a person to adventure to an unfamiliar place, which reminded me how two years ago, one article in Climbing Magazine drew me all the way to Vedauwoo.

It has been a long time since last time Erik and I climbed in a party of two. So, despite a late start, we managed to get ten routes in. We went home very satisfied.

JT is a friend of mine whom I met at Lynn Hill Climbing Camp three years ago. Ever since then, we have kept in touch. He became a close friend of Lynn. Over the past couple of decades, he has climbed all over the place such as New/Owens/Red River Gorges, Veadauwoo, Eldo, Red Rocks, J Tree, England, Canada, and Italy just to name a few. So, this time, when he told me that he would be visiting the Bay Area and had Saturday free, I decided to show him the crown jewel of climbing — Pinnacles.

We picked him up at 7 from his hotel. We had thrown in an extra backpack from him. I’m glad we did because otherwise, he would have had to carry his laptop bag to the crag. On the drive down, we chatted and caught up with things.

JT is “madly in love” (his own words) with his wife. Of course, so am I with my husband. So, nobody should be jealous with this photo right?

After consulting with him, we thought some Pinnacles classic would suit him well. We first got on Portent. The top out moves seemed to have impressed JT. After that, we moved on to Ordeal. He came up amazingly fast.
JT loved the no hands rest on Ordeal

After those climbs, JT called for a siesta, so we moved to the Monolith, and Mud got on his nemesis. Well, what can I say. Today ain’t his day.

Many hikers passed by when Mud worked on the route. One particularly big and noisy family lingered for quite a while. What was funny was later when a small group of climbers we met at Discovery Wall walked by, JT acted out the chaotic scene to them leaving everyone rolling on the ground laughing. Til today, I can still hear him impersonate the father shouting in a strong Spanish accent, “Kid, come over here. We’ll go to the lake! Where is the lake? How am I supposed to know?! We’ll just go this way. We might get to the lake. Oh, look, see those holds on the wall? Oh, wow, there is a rope on the wall too! Oh, gee, see that?! There is man on the rope! Kid, don’t run that way! I said DO NOT run that way! It might not lead to the lake!…” I knew JT was one a geeky computer engineer and now a successful lawyer, and I did not expect him to have the talent to act so well. Learned something new about my friend.

On our way out, we stopped at the entrance because JT wanted to take a picture of the entrance sign. I just realized that all these years coming here, we had never bothered stopping here.

There is JT posing behind the sign

Mud’s first photo taken at the sign