Stir Crazy in The Gunks

So a couple of my co-workers wanted to try rock climbing...
Of course they really had no idea of what to expect. All I was expecting out of the day was for everyone to have a good time, enjoy the beautiful spring weather, and as always know one getting hurt. The forecast called for sunny sky's and a high in the 70's all day. I couldn't have asked for anything better.

I would expect nothing less of James than to roll out of bed and still be in his pajamas when we met at 9:00 at "Rock and Snow." Me on the other hand had been up since 6:30 and had already packed up our gear and food for the day, stopped by the "Muddy Cup" for a bagel and coffee and was waiting outside R&S for them to arrive. So next up was getting these guys some shoes and helmets. I knew that fitting them for shoes would be interesting... If you've ever worn climbing shoes you'd know that they fit extremely tight and aren't comfortable to wear for more than about 30 minutes or so. I opted for having their shoes on the looser side because I was not about to listen to them whine all day about how their feet hurt. As I would find out later, these two where not whiners and they were more determined than I thought.

And we're off!!!! I had a couple of routes in mind that would be good first time climbs. (Black Fly, Shit or go Blind) But being a busy day at the Gunks and close to the West trapps parking lot, they were already taken. So, "Boston" ended up being our first route of the day. A nice little 5.5 crack climb that I could set up by hiking up to the anchors and rappel down to where Meghan and James were putting their shoes on and attempting to figure out how to put the harnesses on.


Jim was stoked and took the leap to go first, without any knowledge of how to climb this 50 foot crack. Putting total trust in the system and me to make sure that he wouldn't be injured. OK, somethings I just can't prevent... Maybe wearing shorts wasn't the best choice. He scraped up his knees pretty good on the first, second, third, basically on every route his knees took a beating and he just kept pushing on.
I'm pretty sure that everyone has a fear of heights, at least in one form or another, and some people react differently than others. Of course, Meghans' reaction was one that I wasn't expecting. It seems she has an extreme fear of heights that I didn't know about until she completed the first route. The only reason I could tell were from the tears dripping down the side of the cliff. When she got to the top of the route she needed to let go of the rock and lean back, trusting that the rope would lower her safely to the ground. That took a little coursing, but between Jim and I we got her to let go.

Now in true trooper spirit the two of them were ready for our next route, Betty (5.2). Now I could go on and on about the details of every route we did but that would get pretty boring pretty quick. I just wanted to say that I was blessed with a great day of climbing with awesome weather and some new friends. Here are a couple of my favorite pictures from the day.

SNOW!!!!!! Finale....

Well, the last couple of days was a twofer. It was the first time we've been up to Vermont this winter and the first time I'd been able to get out in some real snow. Wednesday we got up to the cabin around 4:00 and besides unpacking, playing in the snow was number one on our things to do list. Jaedyn and I played in the snow till the sun went down and we couldn't dig anymore. We tried making some snow tunnels in the pile at the end of the drive way but it was frozen solid. Needless to say we didn't get too far. The remainder of the night we spent playing "trouble" and relaxing in front of the fire after a nice hearty dinner.

Thursday Jaedyn and I woke up early and had a protein filled breakfast and headed off to the woods for some snow shoeing. She seemed really into it at first but after about an hour she was pooped and bored. A little break was in order and luckily I'd brought just the thing, a comfy seat and some psittacosis. The break was short lived because she was still bored and wanted to go back to the cabin. Oh well, when it comes to kids in the outdoors you have to be flexible. Sometimes they can go forever but you also need to be prepared for them to be unenthusiastic and just want to do their own thing.

Friday was a snowy paradise that beckoned. After Autumn woke up I took off across the road and through the field. I followed the logging trail on the other side of the field down towards the river in town. Of course, when I have the perfect setting for pictures I forget the camera. I'll try to paint the imaginary picture for you... Frozen river, snowy morning, animal tracks to and from the river, snow covered trees and an old train bridge in the background. Yeah, that good.

So after taking in all mother nature had to show me I started to head back. Only I didn't want to take the same way back and miss calculated. So instead of coming out on the other end of the field I came out in between the two Fairbanks houses, three fields up the hill.


This is what time in Vermont is all about. Play hard during the day and relax well at night. Its hard to describe in a word or phrase but there is something that calms and recharges the soul when I've spent time there, whether its been a week or just a couple of days.

Cold Water Kayaking

Today started like most of my days do. Jaedyn wakes me up and we both struggle to get ready and get out the door by 8:30 to get her to school. On a rare occasion I'll I have time to actually put barrettes in her hair or pull it back into pig tails or something. Not today. It was "here, put this hat on, lets go!"

So after dropping her off I left the YMCA parking lot on my five mile run down towards the beach and back. It was approximately 24 degrees when I started and I think that might have contributed to me getting a 38.59, a personal best time. I figured the faster I run the warmer I'll get, and it worked. I just kept the pace going after that. My best time up until today was a 40.50 and that was the Thanksgiving day turkey trot race.

Now ever since I received a new kayak for Christmas I've been using my dad's 7mm wet suit to get in some cold water kayaking this winter. Needless to say it's too big and really warm. So I've been looking for a suit of my own that would not only keep me warm but not restrict the movement of paddling. I found that in the NRS Farmer John 3mm wet suit. Today had to be my coldest day out yet and the suit held up beautifully. I wish that I could have been paddling all day but I feel that if I was out on the water longer than 3 hours I would have gotten really cold. I don't say this because of the wet suit but because of the jacket I was wearing. The columbia wind breaker just doesn't have the water proofing abilities of a paddling splash jacket. (next on my wish list) Although the search for the perfect jacket is still a W.I.P. (work in progress)

Air Temp: 24 degrees
Water Temp: 33 degrees
Water conditions: Calm ocean waves
Trip type: Day

Although I know Autumn would never allow it but I found the cutest little wet suit for Jaedyn so she could come with me. O.k. maybe not when its this cold but in the spring or fall when its still cool it might be a good idea. I figure if I start working on her now, Jaedyn will have one by spring time.

They're after our nuts...

O.K. they're not nuts, but seeds didn't sound as funny.
I believe it was Wednesday when Jaedyn and I made pine cone feeders. It was kind of a "twofer," both a rainy day project and lunch. The hardest part for her was not licking her fingers until we where done. After she had finished smearing the pine cones in peanut butter and rolling them in sunflower seeds we hung them in the old Christmas tree on the deck.



After "lunch," and the rain had stopped, we took a hike up at devils den before her doctors appointment. I almost forgot, I had kept Jaedyn out of school that day because of this rough cough she had had for several weeks. We had tried a dehumidifier in her room at night and she was drinking hot lemon honey water a lot, but it never really went away. Good thing we did take her because it turned out to be bronchitis.

Anyway, I thought a nice hike and some fresh air might do her some good and loosen things up a bit. We took a trail that I don't believe I have ever been on before. It goes south off the Pent trail and follows a stream down towards a river. Any time Jaedyn and I have gone for a hike in the winter she always loves breaking the ice, wether it's with her feet or throwing rocks and watching them plunge through. In the case of the picture below she was the one plunging through.

Today, while Jaedyn was in school I took the kayak out. I figured since it was close and I couldn't go for that long I would drop the boat in at sasco beach. Not exactly the prettiest place to go kayaking but it was good to get the blood flowing. Considering the tempetures today I definatly needed the blood flowing, air temp: 28 degrees, water temp 37 degrees.
Oh, and how can I forget the thieves that stole our seeds. I came home after kayaking to find that the squirles had taken a liking to Jaedyn's homemade bird feeders. One was streched from the trunk of the tree to the pine cone, another came in from above and was pulling the pine cone up, but the funiest had to be the little guy who was pulling the mission impossible move hanging up side down.

Kayak Maiden Voyage

Well, my Christmas kayak had it's first taste of sea water today. I dropped the boat in at the Connecticut state boat ramp underneith I-95 and paddled up river past the Boston Post road bridge. Next, continuing up to the first small water fall where I had to carry the kayak over the shore and back into the river. Further up stream there was a second water fall which seemed to be holding a resevior behind it. A nice little spot for a snack break. I only wish that I had brought the camera. It doesn't seem like a spot that gets a lot of people back there, besides the nieghbors. There were a lot of geese, ducks and even a couple swans.

Everyone felt bad about giving me the Kayak for Christmas and not being able to use it during the cold winter months. Feel bad no longer... I solved that problem with a wet suit, which actually kept me very warm.

Specs:

Water Temp - 40 degrees F

Air Temp - 51 degrees F

Departure Time - 10:30 A.M

Trip Completion Time - 1:30 P.M

Trip Type - Day

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