Road Trip Essentials - Books (At Least One!)

It can be tough to sit down and dig into a book when unfinished projects, phones, Angry Birds, Netflix instant play, Facebook, and a multitude of other compulsive habits are within arms reach. It took me an unemployed seven months to finish War and Peace.

Here are a five of my personal favorites that mesh well with life on the road. Keep in mind that many of the short story collections recommended can be found in bits and pieces online or in most libraries. While I prefer to have a physical copy to mark up with a pen, I know that buying books can be a low priority for a climbing trip.

1. Don Quixote - Miguel de Cervantes

400 years since it was first published, and it is still one of the funniest books ever written. Roam the countryside with The Man from La Mancha and his surly squire as they attack windmills, wear shaving basins as helmets, and cartwheel naked in the woods.



2. The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexander Dumas

Betrayal. Revenge. Adventure. Treasure. Pirates. Prison breaks. This book has it all, written with wonderful momentum.



3. Tortilla Flat - John Steinbeck

A great summer read. A group of friends in Monterey, California enjoying the small pleasures of life. Wine, sun, and warm sea air emanate from the pages of this quiet, yet understated novel.



4. In Our Time - Ernest Hemingway

A couple summers back I was hitchhiking may way up to San Francisco from San Diego. I had reached Big Sur, spending most of the day hiking in the sun wearing a giant backpack with a couple cardboard signs. One read North and the other had a peace sign colored in permanent marker. An American flag salvaged from a gutter flew from the top of my pack.

By the time I reached camp that night my feet were exhausted and my head hung low. When I lifted my eyes I saw a camp with a couple young guys drinking and laughing. At their feet were backpacks, a stove, and a cardboard sign that read South.

That night I traded a my copy of In Our Time for a collection of Raymond Carver stories. I knew that the Nick Adams stories, so American and full of life needed to travel, to keep the adventure alive, and as my journey was ending I knew I had to pass it on.



5. The Great Shark Hunt - Hunter S. Thompson

Jump into the deep end. This 600 page collection serves as a telling cross section of the iconic writer-turned-celebrity's development as a journalist.



I'd love to hear books that you have enjoyed on the road or off!

-BLOCHEAD

Road Trip Essentials - Patient Pants

Let's face it, things are going to go at least mildly wrong on any road trip. Boulders will toss you off and laugh quietly as you hit the pad. Gas is expensive and will stay that way. Campgrounds will charge you an arm, leg, and first born for a 4X4 square of dirt littered with cigarette butts and faded PBR cans. Children, yes children will hike your project in front of you while blasting Bassnectar through uncannily loud portable speakers.

All this and more is sure to test your mental fortitude. To combat these plagues assign yourself a pair of Patient Pants. Deep Breath Pants. Next Go For Sure Pants. Bassnectar Isn't Really So Bad Pants. Scratch that last one. Yes they are.


Patient Shorts are also totally valid.

-BLOCHEAD

Road Trip Essentials - (Tooth)brush

The quintessential don't-leave-home-without-it item. If you're a big shot dirtbag such as myself you might be able to wrestle up one exclusively for teeth and another dedicated to rocks. Until then make sure to wash your brush thoroughly before each use to avoid getting toothpaste on your project or dirt in your smile.



Note the color contrast to avoid embarrassing mix ups.

-BLOCHEAD

Changing Gears

What's with all these wordy posts? Where are the pictures and videos? I feel your pain. With under two weeks until we hit the road there has not been much to report on. Once we're in Leavenworth there will be videos and photos galore. Meanwhile, here are some words...

Before moving to Portland and practically living in a gym I climbed almost exclusively outside. One of the first things I remember about returning to plastic was that my power, both recruitment and lasting, had changed. I hesitate to say it had decreased, but it was tailored to the pace of climbing that I was used to. Full padding, climate control, and V0-V Project on the same wall were a shock to my system, and I found myself motivated to utilize the endless indoor terrain in Portland to concentrate on linking harder movements and sequences together with little to no rest. Short trips to Bishop and Leavenworth fueled the fire to train harder, and even in these final days living here I am still trying to climb as hard as I can almost every day.

In a perfect world I would assign 3 months out of the year to training on plastic, while using the remainder to chip away on projects on real rock. This seems like a good balance, keeping motivation high enough to focus on training inside, while still being able to execute on problems outside.

Even though I have found validity in gym climbing, it will never take the place of the quiet relationship with a project, the equally frustrating and humbling feelings while sitting under a piece of quiet stone, and the elation of finally unlocking an extremely specific and demanding sequence that leads to the top. No gym can ever recreate that.

-BLOCHEAD

One Year Later

Just over a year ago I started doing something even more pointless than climbing - writing about and shooting videos of climbing.

It looks like this coming year is going to see a lot of new areas and pasta dinners. There will be a sharp decrease on both the showering and bank account front, but it will all be worth it. You can rest assured that I will, for better or worse, be keeping you posted even if it means being the guy that orders two large waters from Starbucks and plops down in an overstuffed chair with a laptop for six hours.

As fun as it is to dream about buying a new camera, a dolly set up, and a lens, it probably won't happen any time soon. That said, as long as my trusty beast still clicks and records I'll still be making climbing videos. As far as the summer goes I'm excited to shoot problems in both Tahoe and Way Lake. There may even be a longer video in the works...

I also want to thank everyone for reading and commenting this past year. Even though we are all selfish bastards demanding spots and catches it's a community that I love and I want to contribute as much as possible.

-BLOCHEAD

NWRNVR

Two days ago I woke up and left to quit my job.

It wasn't that simple. At least I'd like to think that our decision to leave Portland was more of a drops in the bucket scenario. Hindsight tells me that it was more of a light switch.

I never usually drive to work, but that day I decided that I couldn't wait. I had done all the necessary mulling, calculating, and wavering and a quiet walk to work would disturb the whole mental balance I had carefully orchestrated.

Sunlight pierced through branches, flickering through the windshield as I drove on squinting. It was a beautiful day, but that didn't matter anymore.

Early on Portland struck me like an arrow wound. The rain, the lack of bouldering, the mold, and my job all combined to drive the arrow in deeper. I lived with the arrow, dealing with the initial pain and even forgetting that it was even there at times. But every night it wrenched itself in further, eventually becoming unbearable.

Pulling this arrow out was excruciating and messy, but it had to be done. There may not be any guaranteed income in the future, and life on the road may be a tough one, but I will live. I will live in a way that would never be possible while slowly dying in Portland.

While mentally removing this arrow as I had so many times before, I stopped behind a line of cars waiting at a red light. Peering up at the car in front of me I saw that the license plate read "NWRNVR." I couldn't help but try to automatically figure this plate out, at first thinking it was Northwest something, then possibly Newer, and finally realized that it was trying to say "Now or Never."

Yes, I agree. If you saw that in a movie it would be lame, cliche, trying to hard, etc. Real life, however, is typically a mundane drama free experience, making even the validation of a random license plate meaningful.

And with the final nod from NWRNVR I am officially leaving Portland for life on the road. The timeline is open-ended beginning in early June, and I hope to make it last as long as possible. Here is a loose itinerary:


If anyone reading has any tips, ideas, must see locations, beta, temporary job or housing leads, or anything else I would love to hear them. The plan this fall/winter is to spend the entire season guiding in Hueco, so if you are headed that way I'll look forward to seeing you on a tour!

Meanwhile I'll look forward to shooting video, stills, and potentially a short film in some of the best summer bouldering destinations outside of Colorado! So Psyched!

-BLOCHEAD

Way Lake?

Spring is slipping away faster than I had planned for. The Pacific Northwest has been a strange experience, and while there still may be more time left to finish off a few standing projects in Leavenworth I have my sights set on alpine zones in the coming months.

The first on my list is Way Lake. The setting looks amazing, the rock seems to be featured and often steep, and the range of problems is definitely enough to keep the motivation high.

There is just one crux... I have no idea how to get there!

Looking on google maps I can find Mammoth, and even guess as to a few roads, but it's guessing at best.

That said, if you have any info to offer, whether micro or macro beta, I would most definitely appreciate the help. Chumscrubber, Wave Catcher, Meadow Roof, and Crimp Ladder all look like classics so any help finding those would most certainly warrant at least a six pack, and any leads on where to stay on the cheap for a longer trip (a month or so) surely deserves a case and an infinite number of fist bumps.

-BLOCHEAD

Five Ten on 5/10

Here are a few photos from last night's shoe demo. Thanks to everyone who came out to try on the new fleet! It made for a great Five Ten Day.
So much sticky rubber.
Blackwings assemble.
A little cheesin' with the Super Moccs.

All photos by Liberty Herring.

-BLOCHEAD

Leavenworth Photos on Cruxn

Check out this and other photos from the spring season in Leavenworth featured on Cruxn!

All photos by Liberty Herring.

-BLOCHEAD

Dead Batteries & Invisible Fire

The is a small fire burning in the tip of each finger right now as I type so this is going to be quick.

Highs and Lows of this past weekend in Leavenworth:

-It was way too hot to climb Sunday, leaving the sloping crimp on God is in the Details miserable, though I did make some worthwhile progress.
-Lib sent The Footless Traverse V5 for her fifth of the grade.
-The thousands of bicep curls I do each day finally paid off with a send of Big Booty Bitch Slap V10.
-It rained.
-Soft pretzels with mustard.
-A last minute send of Goicoechea V10 that left my fingers in fiery agony.
-A dead camera battery.
-A dead car battery.
-Arriving back in Portland with less than an hour before I had to clock in and set overnight for the gym's upcoming comp.

All totally worth climbing on real rock.

Here is a video we shot of Goicoechea. Enjoy!



-BLOCHEAD