Who needs "Better Settors" when you can go outside?

The psyche for plastic did not last long. After a brief upswing on Sunday, the burn for plastic has, once again, left me. If it was a country song, it would have left me with nothing and took my took my truck. Thankfully my life does not, and will not, mirror the stereo typical country songs of old times. And by old times, I mean the 1990s. Do people even remember back then? I don't. Not really.

Lines for getting on a train. What is this garbage?

It's an awfully long walk....

Today was the first day back at Mortar wanting to climb. What is it with this place? One month I'm excited to climb there, the next six I'm over it. Lately, I have wanted to be going there. And the weather could not agree with that want more than right now. 60º, foggy mornings, perfect afternoons. It seems to make the rock sticky. I put on my pad, walked from the North Berkeley BART. A quick stop at La Farine and Peet's for coffee, I made my way up through the houses and neighborhood streets to a dismal piece of rock. Brown, sharp, greasy. To most it's a pile of a place, not deserving of attention or time. For those of us who have lost a few brain cells hitting our head on the branch that hangs so low, we return all to often. It's a local area. Where's what's on, is off. And if you think it's on, guess again pal.

If by some chance you do something new, rest assured it has been done before, long before you were a glimmer in your parents eyes in the back seat of their busted car.

I called my friend Sue Patenaude to come climb there with myself. I figured since neither of us did much at the gym the day before, today would be a much better day for climbing. As I waited for her to arrive, I redid the moves on a problem I had done a couple years ago. Thinking that I didn't have much time before the humidity set in and my hands oozed with sweat, I decided to see if I could link the classic Nat's Traverse into the eliminate up problem.

Fresh out the box

Thankfully, I only needed one try as my hands and fresh Mad Rock Concepts stuck to the rock. I'm also thankful I stuck because the tree is much lower than it originally used to be (as I am told constantly by the original locals/friends of mine) that if I had fallen I would have landed butt first on the tree or broken my ankle on the rock (like the Brink of Disaster fall that almost took me out last August). While the climb is most certainly a link up of a natural traverse line into a eliminate, it's pretty up there on the fun scale (in regards to not using certain holds). There is no name for it as most of the conceivable ways up the wall have most likely been done (left of Don't Worry Be Snappy jug).


Thanks for reading!