Hueco Tanks - rest of the trip

We left Hueco Tanks.
We left the desert.
We left the cactus plants and the tumbleweeds.
We left the very hot days and the freezing nights.
We left [arguably] the best climbing area in the country.





I miss it already.

March 16 – This was Dan’s birthday. (Happy Birthday, Danno!) After our rest day in town, we returned to the park where we set up camp. We were picked up by our friends to party at the rock ranch. (The park closes the gates at 6pm and we wanted to celebrate Dan’s birthday at the rock ranch, so we escaped and walked back and hopped the fence later.) It was a really good time.







I don’t remember all the details about the next few days but I do remember what areas we climbed at:

March 17 – We climbed at North Mountain. I made progress on my new project, See Sharp, v6. I will send it next trip for sure! I also attempted to start Power of Silence, v10. WAY harder than it looks! Check out these pics that Elodie took. The first one is See Sharp and the next two are Power of Silence.






March 18 – We tried to get in to East Spur but the tour got canceled. We waited for North Mountain passes and eventually got in. We went to an area of North Mountain that we hadn’t been to before. We all weren’t climbing the best, but we were still having a blast. The funnest climb I did all day was a climb called Melon Patch. Check it out:










smelly shoes! =)


There was a beautiful sunset that night. Check it out:


March 19 – We got a tour and climbed at East Spur. I worked on a v7 called New Religion. It was totally anti-my style which made it fun to work on! This will be a long term project for me, I think! I got on many more climbs throughout the day. I worked on a v9 called “This is your brain on drugs.” I think I can do it someday. It is another project on my list. I HAVE SO MANY CLIMBS TO COME BACK FOR!!!






We went to the market for the last time. LUCKY ME, they were having a sale on all my favorite fruits! The mangos were 50 cents each! The grapefruits were 6 for a dollar! It was awesome! I bought 23 mangos! =)

March 20 – Woke up, ate, hit the road. It was so sad leaving Hueco!

March 21 – Arrived to Nashville. Where are the cactus plants?

On a raw food note, it was really easy to stay raw on this trip, despite being in the desert. There was a food market very close to the climbing area. I loaded up on bananas, papayas, grapefruits, mangos, cucumbers, and a few avocados. A few days into the trip, the local market started carrying my favorite kind of mangos! I loaded up and basically survived on them. The papayas were really good too. I had both the best and the worst fruit here. (Some of the fruit was totally rotten even when it appeared perfect on the outside. I had to throw out many mangos, a papaya, bell peppers, an avocado, and grapefruit.) On the contrary, many of the mangos and papayas were better than I have ever had before! Everything worked out in the end. =)I was able to bring a blender and make a couple smoothies where electricity was available. I felt funny making a smoothie in the middle of the desert. But hey, it works! There was an outlet when we stayed in the park. We also made smoothies one day at the ranger station. Tim and Max cooked a lot, including outside of restaurants.... which i find humorous. Here are some food-related pics from the trip:

packing some bananas:


blending bananas at the ranger station:










don't leave bananas in a visible window in a car; they might get sunburnt!


Hueco Tanks is my new favorite place. I can’t wait to go back! I had just enough days to get used to the climbing and the area. Next time I go I will climb harder. This trip was a perfect eye opener to what is really out there. It allowed me to get used to a powerful style of climbing. It motivated me to train harder. I will probably be returning in November and definitely in December. I CAN’T WAIT! This was the best spring break ever!