Memorial Day Weekend in the Gunks

Kurt, Agnes, and I went climbing at the Gunks over Memorial Day weekend. We drove up Thursday night and staked out a camp site ahead of the crowds. The weekend turned out great, despite the weather. The rain held off Thursday night so Agnes and I slept in my tent. We set it up with tarps above and below given its poor performance last trip.

We started Friday morning somewhat early. We stopped by the visitor center around 8 AM so Agnes and I could buy annual memberships, but they didn't open until 9 AM. We headed off to the "stairmaster lot" for the strenuous hike up the stone path for which the lot is nick-named. I had hoped it would seem like nothing after the hour and fifteen minute hike to Crimson Chrysalis in Red Rock Canyon, but it was still tiring. Agnes was huffing and puffing behind me so loudly I thought a train was coming. She called it controlled breathing.

We started on Minty. Kurt had brand new double ropes so Agnes and I both followed Kurt's lead more or less at the same time. It started to sprinkle intermittently by the time we topped out and rained in earnest by the time we all finished rappelling. We packed under the cover of trees and hiked back to the car. It wasn't the worst that could happen; it gave us an opportunity to pick up annual memberships and grab a hot lunch (burgers at Bacchus). We even met up with Patrick and Sandy at the visitor center, who had arrived just in time for rain. We chatted for a bit, shopped at the gift shop, then parted ways. Patrick and Sandy were talking about hitting a climbing gym to get some climbing in, but we opted to eat and hope the weather cleared. We even stopped and Rock and Snow for some browsing to kill time. We didn't buy much, Agnes bought a new water bottle. She needs to buy something on a shopping trip.

After a few hours without rain we headed back to the Gunks. We looked for an exposed and easy climb that would be dry enough to climb and settled on RMC. The first pitch was wet and slick, and Kurt almost popped off early on. The next two pitches were dry, though that wouldn't last long. Our timing was lucky again, it didn't start raining until we were back on the ground. On the way out of the preserve we saw Patrick's Corolla at the Brauhaus so we stopped in. We had some drinks and talked about climbing, but the three of us weren't terribly hungry. Kurt, Agnes, and I split a meal and an appetizer. We also took advantage of their indoor plumbing. I cleaned up as best I could in a stall with lots of paper towels - some wet and soapy, some just wet, and a few to dry off. I felt homeless.

The rain was coming down hard when we left so we waited in the car at the camp site for it to pass. I wasn't optimistic about my tent in this weather and was trying to figure out how we could move enough stuff in the car to make room for sleeping. Kurt and I ran up when the rain eased, bringing a radio to let Agnes know how things looked at the tents. Kurt's was dry, but his cost more than $30. Mine looked OK, but was a little damp inside. I think it could have been better if I'd done a better job placing the tarps, but as it was it looked like it would only get worse in the night as the rain kept coming. I stayed in Kurt's tent and Agnes stayed in the car. The night went pretty poorly all around. There was a party in a nearby house and the stereo, screaming, and car alarms helped keep me up most of the night. I also needed to get up a twice to pee from all the liquid (including beer) I had drank. My fidgeting while awake, and snoring while asleep, kept Kurt up. Kurt and Agnes agreed it would be better if it was constant so they could tune it out, but it apparently is intermittent. In the car Agnes was too cold too sleep, her sleeping bag and pad were up in the tent with me and Kurt. She even came up at some point to try and get them but got lost in the woods in the dark and tripped and fell on the wet ground. She found us eventually, perhaps following the snoring. She thought her gear was in my tent, though we moved it the night before to keep it dry. We didn't get up early on Saturday.

Saturday

Saturday turned out beautifully. The weather had cleared and we started with Easy Overhang as two pitches. We rappelled down past Betty and were able to hop on that next for two more pitches. We wanted to climb Three Pines next, but one group was on it with another waiting when we came by. We moved down to climb Ribs instead, which I thought was fun to second but think would be a hard lead. It was a big slab with tiny holds for most of the climb. Kurt went to the GT Ledge as one pitch and we rappelled down from there. We walked by Three pines again afterward and it was available. It was around 5:30 PM when we arrived, maybe closer to 6 PM by the time we started. We brought headlamps (including a new one Agnes gave me as an early birthday present) just in case. Part of the crags near the climb was roped off to protect a vulture nest and the area smelled pretty bad. I guess decaying animal corpses tend to do that. We climbed it as three pitches. We were hoping to link some to same time but it didn't work out. The last pitch was a lot of fun because Kurt set up the ropes so that Agnes and I could try the harder, alternate route up a crack. The sun was going down by the time we reached the top. We were too high to reach the bottom in a single rappel and the sun was gone by the time we were back to our bags. Defintiely a full day of climbing. On the way out we wondered how many people were still in the preserve since we didn't hear anybody or see headlights. When we did, out of the hundreds of climbers in town for memorial weekend, it turned out to be Patrick and Sandy. We really like to squeeze in as much climbing as possible.

Kurt, Agnes, and I went to a diner in New Paltz for a late dinner. After ordering, Agnes took a change of clothes and a pack of citrus wipes to the restroom for a long sponge bath. Very long. Her appetizer, soup, and main dish all arrived and sat untouched. The waitress wondered if she was alright. I assured her she was, though I didn't mention she was probably in the middle of washing her hair at the moment. Sleeping was much better Saturday. I still shared a tent with Kurt, but NyQuil helped us both get an unbroken night of sleep. I was the only one who took some, but it knocked me out allowing him to sleep too. Agnes was in the car again, but with things set up better and a sleeping pad and bag. I helped carry her stuff down and got lost on the return trip. I ended up by some stream but managed to find the tents again eventually.

Sunday

Sunday was a short day, we had to be on the road by about 1 PM. We were up a 7 AM to break down our camp site and pack up the car. Southern Pillar was open so we took it. The climbing was great and we were fortunate to have a tree for shade at the top of the first pitch. That was good since we had forgotten the sunscreen in the car. We did it as two pitches, and the second was fun; some neat corner climbing and a tight squeeze through a chimney. The rappel station at the top was made up of a single sling and looked shady so we made our way over a ledge to the rappel at the top of Madame G's. There was a bit of a traffic jam and we were the third group of four to rappel. It is a great ride, you hang out in space away from the rock once you clear the initial roof. I remember how scary it was to start the first time I tried it, but it was much better now. I went last and stopped on the ledge that ran over the "guide wall." Kurt tied my rope onto the remainder of his (which I was rappeling on) so I could haul it up to set up a last quick top rope climb on Fingerlocks. It took a while to get set up to my liking and I just had enough equipment to build an anchor and rappel down. The climb was fun. It is a crack and I tried climbing it using only the crack for hands and feet. That was tough because I don't climb a lot of cracks and the technique still feels awkward (and sometimes painful).

Kurt drove back so Agnes could eat. I struggled to keep my eyes open on the drive back, except when we sang along to "Winnebago" by the Arrogant Worms and "Cows with Guns" by Dana Lyons. I was considering going into work on Memorial Day, but changed my mind. I wanted to get in extra hours to save vacation for the next weekend's trip to the New River Gorge, but I needed to do some chores around the house and yard and try to rest up.