Oddly enough, undertaking a cross country climbing road trip is not beyond the grasp of “Murphy” and in a series of unfortunate events this trip ended prematurely…
Since I had been nursing a partially ruptured tendon pulley (finger injury) which I sustained through what can only be described as sheer idiocy, back in April, my ability to climb was compromised from the outset. Our plan was to stick to easier routes which I had experience on from prior trips, in order that I would be able to follow more and lead less. After a day of climbing it became apparent that this plan was not as feasible as originally planned, so, taking weather, physical conditions and motivation into account, it made more sense to stick a fork in it earlier than later.
So...after a grand total of 4 days, 3000 road miles, a full pound of Beef Jerky, and one joyless pitch of 5.7, we arrived back in NY.
Over the last few days I have been processing what happened and it certainly is a lot harder to accept what feels like a “loss” than a “win”, especially of this magnitude, but while pride and plans took a thrashing, the good news is that pride grows back and plans are self imposed so it is far from the end of the world. My only regret is not getting to see my dear friends across the US that I hoped to visit with as a part of this excursion, including but not limited to: Josh, Collin, Brad S, Uncle Frank Sanders, All the Custer gang, Daryl S, Nick, Zeke and Seth…
Keep watching this space, however—there is plenty of climbing to be done here on the East Coast and I plan on getting after it. On memorial day, I had the pleasure of climbing Layback (5.5) with Trevor and Vanessa—and it beat the hell out of face stuffing beer-bqs—especially since my early return allowed me to get in a stout meal of ribs and brisket at Billy Joes Ribworks on the Newburgh waterfront! The weather is promising for tomorrow and I have a feeling more “upward progress” will be made…
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