Seventeen Months

Just over one month ago we returned home after more than 17 months of van living on our climbing road trip around North America.

When we first got back from the road trip we caught ourselves saying things like "oh, we could get ice cream because we have a freezer!" or, "isn't it great to shower?" or, "standing upright is lovely" in the presence of normal folk. People would shoot us odd looks and we would stumble over our words trying to explain ourselves. It was an abrupt transition for us when our trip came to an end, one that we are slowly adjusting to for now.

It is hard to explain and justify the passion for rock climbing, the desire to live out of your vehicle, or the will to be away from stability for so long to those not already embracing this lifestyle. There are several comments and questions we heard over and over again before, during, and after our trip. Here are a few of the common ones:

1. "Don't you get bored of climbing?"  ... NEVER!

This trip was incredible for our climbing. We climbed so many different styles, on so many different rock types, in so many different destinations. Each place we visited had its own flavour, uniqueness, community and culture. We overcame mental barriers, we dealt with injuries, and we came out stronger and braver on the other end.

Graham beefed up his climbing resume adding multiple V10 sends and a couple V11s, and pushing his redpoint limit to 5.13d. He began onsighting 5.13a and flashing V8/9. In less than 9 months, Kim went from having sent half a dozen 5.12as to redpointing 5.13c. She added over 100 routes 5.12 or above, and bumped her bouldering limit from V5 to V9.

Niagara Glen, Ontario. September 2015

"Beefcake" (V10) in Bishop, California. December 2014

"High Plains Drifter" (V7) in Bishop, California. February 2016

"Pucker" (5.13c) in St George, Utah. March 2016

"Monster Skank" (5.13b) in Red Rocks, Nevada. March 2015

"Easy Rider" (5.13a) in Red River Gorge, Kentucky. November 2015. Photo credit: Marcin Szymelfenig

Acephale crag in the Bow Valley, Alberta. July 2015

"Caustic" (5.11b) in Red Rocks, Nevada. February 2015. Photo credit: Tyler Audette

2. "You'll find out how well you really get along after living in that van" ... turns out we still get along great!

We love the simplicity of our van home. Living in such a small space teaches patience, tolerance, and acceptance. We became even more grateful of each other and our relationship, and our appreciation for non-material living deepened. Oh, and three days after we returned home from the road, we got engaged!

We're getting hitched!

3. "How can you afford this trip?" ... hard work, determination, sacrifice, and a lot of saving.

We planned the trip over the course of four years, budgeting to spend $20,000. When you think about it, between two people this only involves setting aside $2500 a year, or a little over $200 each month. The CAN-USA exchange rate hurt us quite a bit, and in reality, after adding every single penny we spent, we ended up dropping $26,331.22. We kept VERY good track of our budget, helping us to keep pretty close to it. We sacrificed a lot of luxuries, but we could have sacrificed even more. For those interested in where-the-money-goes when you're on a long road trip, we'll be posting a breakdown of our budget soon!

Prepping lunch every day in our modest kitchen

Who needs warm coffee shops when you can have this?!

4. "When are you going to settle down?" ... maybe never?

We measure our worth by relationships and experiences. By sharing things with others. By living below our means and with an open mind. Not by a job title or profession. Not by "fitting the norm". We will likely settle down eventually, but in our own unique way. In a way that honours adventure, free spirit, travel, friendships, and family. 

Also, it's tough to think about settling, when for the past year and a half our home has looked like this:

Storm rolling in to the Buttermilks in Bishop, California

The Beaver Wall at Mt Lemmon in Tuscon, Arizona

The clouds put on a show in Joe's Valley, outside of Orangeville, Utah

Our humble abode <3

5. "When are you going to find a job" ... Well, we're back in jobs now!

Graham has returned to the service centre at MEC, and Kim is off in Alberta for the summer working for the Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute. We'll be reuniting in Vancouver in September, typing the knot in October, and then seeing where the future takes us from there.

Kim on a field day with ABMI. Photo credit: Jazmine Lowther

Our roadtrip was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that we are hoping will be much more than once-in-a-lifetime. We have made friends from all over the continent and the world. We have learned so much more about our sport, each other, and our values in this life. The trip was the best decision we ever made.

Our "commune" from Spring 2015

Some of the rad girls from the Flash Foxy festival in February 2016

Climbing family! Photo credit: Dan Beland

Another day out, here in Rocktown, Georgia. December 2015. Photo credit: Marc Bourguignon

Smith Rock has the Best Bathrooms

This morning we wrapped up the final destination of our road trip. We spent just over a week climbing in Smith Rock State Park, Oregon – time for some decent route sampling, but not long enough for any substantial projecting. We had some rough luck with weather, which ranged from sweltering hot, to rain and thunderstorms, to good temps accompanied by frigid winds. The conditions and timing led us to figure out very quickly that we needed to drop any expectations and just enjoy climbing whatever we could. Smith Rock is both a physically and mentally challenging place. The climbing is difficult and engaging, and the run-outs are serious… it is a place that puts all aspects of the climber to the test. 

We made the most of our climbing despite the challenges we faced, and we did it with wonderful company and really above average bathrooms. We spent the week with Kirsten and Yannick, and by the weekend were joined by Dan and Nicole as well as Tristan and Mika. It was a great way to cap off the trip!

Several of the destinations we visited over the course of our road trip have limited toileting facilities. Maybe a single portapotty. Maybe “primitive” camping where cat-hole-digging is required. Maybe permanent outhouses that are so appalling you can’t go in them anyways. Smith Rock, on the other hand, has their toilet game on point. Here is a sampling of a few of the best ones…

Skull Hollow Outhouses

On this trip to Smith Rock we camped at Skull Hollow, which is a 10-15 minute drive from the park. At Skull Hollow the campsites are cheap and big and the outhouses (regular pit toilets) are the cleanest. Even on the weekend they are spic and span, fully stocked with tp, and somehow never stinky. It’s an outhouse miracle!

Bivy Camping Bathrooms

This heated structure is a treat to climbers – we greatly appreciated it on our previous trips to Smith. Flush toilets, running water and soap, showers…

Approach Trail Bathroom

This structure offers two options. (1) Good old fashioned composting toilet, and (2) Repurposed urine-diversion toilet. The urine-diversion toilet has a foot pedal that you pump to roll a conveyor belt which removes solid waste. Pretty neat!

River Trail Bathroom

These phoenix composting toilets are surrounded by incredible scenery provided by the Crooked River and the Smith Rock Group. What more could one ask for?

Other great bathrooms in Smith Rock include the flush toilets at the Day Use parking lot, and the single-stall private washrooms in Redpoint Climbers Supply. At Redpoint you can enjoy beer on tap, coffee, climbing equipment, free wifi, AND a great bathroom experience. 

***

It was cool coming back to Smith Rock as stronger and more experienced climbers than we were last time around. With so much more available to us we were able to climb many neat routes, but as always, we also had to leave a lot behind for next trip. Here are a few of our highlights:

Shep making sure everyone is in order for the shot! Photo credit: Dan Beland

Dan on his send of the classic "Aggro Monkey" (5.13b)

Kirsten warming up on "Chicken McNuggets" (5.10b)

Kim climbing the full and runout "Heinous Cling" (5.12c R). Photo credit: Yannick Neufeld-Cumming

Yannick on his onsight attempt of "Darkness at Noon" (5.13a)

Graham setting up for the dyno on "The Burl Master" (5.13c). Photo credit: Nicole Gillette

Kim on her flash of "Up For Grabs" (5.11d). Photo credit: Kirsten Hundza

Nicole cranking the burly moves on "Heresy" (5.11c)

Dan on his quick send of "Oxygen" (5.13b)

The Skull Hollow campsite

Nicole, Kirsten and Graham - chillin' in the Aggro Gully

Just a couple dudes

What's a trip to Smith without this iconic shot??

#utahisrad

Utah is a rock climber’s dream land. The state has so much high quality climbing to offer, spanning almost every discipline. We were immediately drawn into the incredible limestone sport climbing in the south west corner of Utah around St George.

We met up with Yannick and Kirsten to spend the following four weeks climbing with them. Our good friend Cory was also down for a few weeks visiting family and was able to squeeze in a week of climbing with us, and we had the pleasure of seeing Yannick’s dad, Robert! We spent our first few days at The Grail in Lime Kiln Canyon, technically part of the Arizona strip. The Grail offered a slap-in-the-face intro with its dead vertical, long (sometimes as long as 55m) routes. It was great to feel a pump again. The middle of the main wall offers the best rock quality: blue/grey stone consisting of phenomenal edges and features with often slabby feet. The area is a technical climbers’ heaven.

Graham on his flash of "Vesper" (5.12b)

A rare shot of us climbing together...... thanks to Kirsten Hundza!

Kim on her onsight of "Greyhound" (5.12a). Photo credit: Kirsten Hundza

In addition to The Grail, we spent most of our time at two other crags about 45 minutes out of St George: Wailing Wall in the Welcome Springs area, and Black and Tan at the Woodbury Crags. The styles at these two walls complement each other beautifully – Wailing Wall offers mostly vertical or slightly overhanging routes 5.11+ and up, and the style ranges from sustained powerful routes, to lines with hard technical cruxes. Black and Tan on the other hand has mostly shorter routes, often with heinously difficult, steep boulder problems. A delightful combo! Some of our highlights from the month included Graham ticking the three 13c classics at Wailing Wall, “Treebeard”, “The Cross”, and “Pucker”, Kirsten sending her first 5.12a, “Jumanji” at Black and Tan, Kim finishing off her project “Resurrection” (5.13b) and climbing her 10^th 5.13, and Yannick sending “The Cross” (5.13c). Throughout March, we reunited with several other friends and met a lot of wonderful new people that we were lucky to spend our time with as well!

Kim warming up at Black and Tan. Photo credit: Bonar McCallum

Graham on his send of "Talking Smack" (5.13b) at Black and Tan. Photo credit: Bonar McCallum

Kim on "Minus Five" (5.13a) at Black and Tan, which she sent second go! Photo credit: Kirsten Hundza

Bonar cranking out the steep roof moves on "Smoking Drum" (5.13b) at Black and Tan

Kirsten sends "Jumanji", her first 5.12a!!!!!!!!

Yannick on his send of "The Cross" (5.13c) at Wailing Wall

Graham mid-crux on "Treebeard" (5.13c) at Wailing Wall

Graham on his send of "Pucker" (5.13c) at Wailing Wall

Our new friend Melissa, making use of her full reach on "Pucker" (5.13c)

Lea cranking out her send of "Dull Boy" (5.12a) at Black and Tan

Enjoying a campfire on our last night in St George

We wrapped up around St George in early April and headed north. We stopped for a day in Zion National Park, where we made use of our endurance on the long overhanging bolted routes at the Namaste Wall in Kolob Canyon. Wow! The juggy huecos on this wall were incredibly fun and pumpy to climb.

Kirsten staring down the Namaste Wall in Kolob Canyon

Graham on his send of "Namaste" (5.12a)

Kim working the crux on "Huecos Rancheros" (5.12c)

On the next day we arrived in Orangeville, home to Joe’s Valley. Knowing we would have only about a week, we got right to it, immediately climbing three days on. Heavy rain kept us inside on our rest day, and then we punched out another four days in a row before leaving. Bouldering that many days on is tough on the body, but it was worth it! Graham finished off “Worm Turns” (V10/11) and “Resident Evil” (V9/10), Yannick made quick work of the classic “Worst Case Scenario” (V9) among other goodies, Kim finished off some projects from last year like “Kill By Numbers” (V5) and “Double Delicious” (V6) and Kirsten sent her first two V5s, “Gatorade” and “Mono E Mono”! We had the pleasure of staying and visiting with our friend Nikki and her pup Stella while we were in Joes, which was super great as well. What a switch to have the comforts of a house to return to after a day on the rock.

Yannick warming up in Left Fork

Graham finishing up "Big Joe" (V7)

Kim working her project "Planet of the Apes" (V7)

Graham on his send of "Resident Evil" (V9/10)

Kirsten setting up for the throw on "Stand Up Comedian" (V5)

Yannick on his send of the super tough "Scary Monsters" (V6)

Kim on her send of the techy problem "Gatorade" (V5)

Graham warming up in the Boysize area

Kim eyeing up the final tough move on "Double Delicious" (V6)

Having spotters adds peace of mind on "Worst Case Scenario" (V9)

Graham working moves on "Battletoads" (V10)

Stella and Nikki! Stella a bit nervous in the FalcVan....

Typical weather in Joe's..... sunny and stormy simultaneously!

We had a good run in Utah, but even after six weeks we barely scratched the surface. Hopefully we’ll make it back next year to sample even more of what this state has to offer. For now though… off to Smith Rock, Oregon!

Black-throated Sparrow one morning at Black and Tan