h o b b l e c r e e k

last monday after work, we tried to catch the last bit of sun up in the mountains.

we grabbed afton and her dog sam and headed to hobble creek canyon.

utah has been pretty rainy lately and nice fall climbing has been hard to find.
so on the few clear nights we head to the cliffs until dark.

we decided on a climb that we have eyed a few times on our way to other climbs.

it is over a river and the start is pretty sketchy with a lot of loose rock.
falling would mean landing on a large sharp boulder in the river.

the worrier i am, convinced casey to stick-clip.

stick clipping is a very useful safety method to use in situations where you really don't want to fall before your first bolt. it’s a technique using a long stick attached to your draw which is secured open to clip to the first bolt. you simply extend the stick up to the first bolt, hook your draw to the bolt, and yank the stick down so the quickdraw locks to the bolt. your rope is through the other side of your draw so once it's clipped, your tied in, and your belayer has you on belay, you don't have to worry about falling before the first bolt. 

see mom.... we are safe ;)

unfortunately, the climb was not  safe. 
the rock was even more brittle than we thought.
instead of sending rocks down at my head, 
casey had to down climb the wall.. never fun.

but we're safe and happy and still love climbing.
thanks to afton for the pictures. 
it's fun to have someone there to capture your happy moments in life. 

p s i c o b l o c

i think the gods were awarding me this last weekend

for something good i must have done in a previous life.

yes, my weekend was that good.

friday night we met up with amy and travis at the psicobloc competition in park city

to watch some of the best climbers in the world.

we ran into some friends, stuffed our faces with granola, and cheered on our favorites.

it was nothing short of amazing.

saturday started off lazy. i like lazy.

casey worked on the bus and when i finally got out of bed,

i ran around town with my sister.

stopped first to grab some veggies at the farmer's market,

a little shopping, and then to the blue pablano for some lunch.

i took a little nap and then casey and i went to barnes and noble, a favorite of ours.

the coffee, and browsing, and quiet... aww breathe.

casey read books on the BMW bus and i read a book on serial killers.

we decided to see a movie and 5 minutes later we were catching an early showing of 2 guns

casey made me a super romantic dinner with homemade spaghetti,

i grilled up some corn, and we ended the night with some breaking bad.

sunday we woke up late and missed our date with af canyon.

if you don’t get up there early, some of the walls are way too hot in the summer.

instead, we headed back up to park city for the arts festival and park silly market.

after chats on main street, listening to live music, and running into good friends,

we eventually made our way back up to the olympic park.

they opened up the climbing wall from the competition (easy version) to the public.

casey climbed the wall and i met my all time favorite pro climber.

just look up steph davis. 

she is an incredible climber, base jumper, and book writer.

i made an ass out of myself, having our good friend grab her so i could get my picture with her.

it was awesome. and i even got a personal invite to go base jump.
will do.

w i l d t o t a m e

my relationship with casey started fast and wild. luckily, not only was it care-free and mildly insane, it was perfect. i saw this quote a day ago and was reminded me of how different we are and that’s why we work.

what we find in a soul mate is not something wild to tame, but something wild to run with. 

robert brault

i panic. i worry. and i am hells sure I ain’t as crazy as i once was

.... probably the reason we are still alive.

he, the exact opposite. he is dedicated, sweet, and totally worry free.

he is who keeps us balanced and feeds my wild bug.

unfortunately, this whole growing up and responsibility thing manipulates us to thinking that there is one right way. we start comparing ourselves to others who have conformed to society’s “right answer” for everything. individualism is lost.

not us folk.

we let each other be our own person.

we had to learn to let each other be our own person.

sometimes it’s difficult to let you spouse do their own thing. to be their unique, wild, wonderful self. the last few weeks i have focused on letting the husband be the husband, instead of trying to force him to be who i think the husband should be. i stopped trying to force my agenda on him. we are growing together and we seem happier when we simply encourage each other. it’s strange what you can learn from someone when you stop trying to run everything.

i have also focused a lot on who i want to be. how i want to define myself. i am a working woman. i am a wife. but who am i really? i set goals for the year to keep focused on what i want. i became lazy this summer. we got busy and even more so, i pretend to be busy. i have a lot of pretty hefty goals in this life. i want to push myself in extreme sports. control my fears on a cliff side. run longer than is right. test my body, even more so my mind, to see what it can do. to see what is past the point of reason. meet new people. grow from relationships and experiences. i have found that the best interactions with people come when limits are pushed and walls are down. i want it clear i choose experiences over things. limit the things i own, appreciate the now, and put more value into living.

the amazing climber, steph davis, posted this today from backcountry.
i would dare say it will inspire just about anyone.

here, blood meets rock, sweat meets trail, and the well-worn path to a routine existence reaches its terminus. this is an invitation to feed your wanderlust, to rediscover the spark inside you and feel the strain of your muscles against the forces of nature. every second is about action—it's gas and a match fed to grit and determination. 

 so when you are ready to suck the bloody marrow out of this bone called life… we’re ready for ya.

pictures from lunch in my mother's garden.