- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -here there but mostly everywhere - - - - - - - -

June 2, 2010

westtogunnison

yes, it's been a while. but this doesn't mean i've been bumming it on the couch waiting for adventure to seek me. it was the first-climbin'/campin'-trip of the summer weekend, family time x 2, and attempts at long haul climbing.
this past weekend just so happened to be a three day weekend [athankya fighters of our country past and present]. and when you work in the 9-5 world of business these little gems of free days off are glorious beyond spectacular. it means you can travel just a little further, stay for an extra night, not have to hustle back and of course pack in more action. or relaxing. or hiking. or simply staring off into the rockies. you can take your pick. we choose gunnsion with a side of laughter.
gunnison is home to western state college, a small state school that i don't know much about. it is summer time so the students have already launched into their summer plans, leaving the place a underpopulated, at least one would think. though this town was packed with people, be it bikers, climbers, babies in buggies, runners galore. we soon came to realize that there were three competition of sorts going on all in the same recreation area. splendid.
we were there to climb. the endurance climb actually. this entailed throwing your body up against conglomerate granite and hoping to the rocks gods that your shoes held on for dear life. thankfully, they did a better portion of the time. you could even go 'hands free' this rock had so much texture. it was fantastic for smearing [scientific climbing term which really just translates to nontechnical footwork gone awry.] we took on the challenge of climbing for 1,440 minutes. or 24 hours, if you wish. either way, we didn't make it and decided that once our tenacity ran dry and i took a nose dive into the dirt we best call it a night. this place, hartman rocks, is an excellent mecca for a weekend combo of climbing, mountain biking and trail running. it was inspiring to be 30 feet high on a climb and look out to see bikers moving so swiftly through the sand like texture and turns of the trail. it makes me admire and give respect to each nature loving sport. another thing that made me smile was taking part in a favorite past time of mine: getting hot and sweaty and then plunging into some body of water. the blue mesa for us which definitely deserves a trip back around to.




[hartman rocks : lovely photo by sejal]

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