ivan

oh, i think our aid-climbing experience got used a bit too...

Trip: Rouge Rox - The Vernal Voyage Date: 4/8/2017 Trip Report: friday night frazzled as the work suddenly was set to reverse and i rambled towards the airport drunk as a lord and heavy-set to suss something out of this civilized existence before babylon burns down to the ground geoff n' the great big gawdamn gut-laff for the whole week - busting loose w/ bullshit at all hours - the desert well after dawn most days - the afghan death-loop at serious tortoise-killing speed - the dance of the drones near dark by icebox canyon crushed by sun, we seek the balm of the dark and sometimes find it - a regular pattern set, wake up n' binge a bit on the way in, searching all along for coffee n' breakfast n' what-not - do the thing, then saunter on back for more beers n' bad-tv n' a needlessly sultry thermostat day 1 - group therapy - getting our desert feet wet, we stumble-fuck down the long incline n' tangle w/ the new-fangled forest of the wasteland - fun n' games this day, until reaching the squeeze chimney near the top and rue the packs we bore - back in town we banter w/ the air b'n'b folk n' booze n' enjoy the High Life day 2 - cookie monster - the sun scorched me this day, indifferent as i was to my bastard status as the son of the north-west, wandering inadvisably out w/o sunscreen - we spent a good long while hem'n n' haw'n trying to sort out the start of the route, but get it figured in the end - a fun route, really, though it seemed improbable at first - we top out after some drama n' shoot down the cat n' the hat, me cowering in the shade wherever i can - back in town i glow w/ desert heat, even as we soak in the hot tub to return marrow to the bones day 3 - dark shadows - shockingly burnt, i bespoke meself in true lawrence of arabia style n' shamble out along the short trail to suck up the shade in the depths of pine canyon - a long conga line already established, we linger n' drink beers n' smoke all kinds of things n' enjoy the ducks n' general dimness - later on pitch 3 i lament like a little bitch at my lack of double cams (and general climbing skillz), crying n' cussing - then on p4 the skies open and it hails n' rains n' ruins everything, though geoff soldiers through and i manage to follow even as the storm surges - back on the ground the sun comes back n' we banter w/ cornell scientists w/ curious conversational styles - i reckon i gotta understand ferra-dynamics better if i'm gonna hold up my end in the future day 4 - bitch-slapped by the disappearing buttress - we wandered off the beaten path, out into the true desert, well off the afghan death-loop, seeking solace from the crowds and feeling capable of taking on the sun once more - a weird walk across the cactus clustered wasteland, cursing at every species of fuck-you our lord n' father saw fit to construct - eventually on route, things quickly soured, as the lack of crowds means the lack of a chalk highway, n' after a pitch n' a half it got shitty-shitty n' we felt compelled to call it all off n' go cruise the strip, sucking down beers n' chuckling at the electric-sensimilla suppurating through the heartland of donald trump's amerikkka - fukit, at least i got some white castles out of it day 5 - hop route n' fold out - my first venture into the icebox canyon, once again shade-bound - geoff gets the fun-ness of the first pitch of the hop route, n' later i get the goodness of the 2nd pitch of fold-out - a geriatric crew of true impressives comes up in the midst of it all - we binge on fawk'n baja-fresh this eve, n' bath in the hot-wash n' holler at the waxing moon day 6 - spiderline n' ragged edges - another new area for me, that being willow springs - our intent was a sleep-in n' a slow start (5 minute approaches also featured big-league into the scenario) - we start on the outhouse wall n' i whine at the wackiness of the 2nd part, later savoring the shade n' bouldering a bit back in the sunless parts - then we wander across the way n' get involved in the crazy crowds at the base of ragged edges before bounding up the route, me ballyhooing once again in my fear on the 2nd pitch - binge n' purged on panda express this evening and had another good soak day 7 - dodgeball - our last day in the desert, we seek something a bit bigger in the first creek canyon - raging wind just after dawn, we doubt our wisdom, loitering badly by the trailhead n' trying to pretend this shit ain't happening - doomed we doodle on down the way, though of course we must get good n' lost here and there before arriving at the right place - a fun climb this one, w/ a fun descent as well - i holler n' hell-yeah here and there - down before dark, we savor a windy shuffle out through the desert at dusk, soaking up the sin of the week n' preparing to accept the awfulness of a 4 a.m. wakeup the next morning chapped, cut, bruised and blown, i babble n' bluster and return home to my humble hovel half-past 8 a.m., determined to drink out the tail-end of this vernal vacation n' hope my wounded bits recover before the rude journey to june kicks off sure would be nice to have them thare red rox in my own backyard...

this dude totallllllly put a deadhead sticker on his caddy

awww, i'm gonna get all nostalgic _____________ Come, my friends, 'T is not too late to seek a newer world. Push off, and sitting well in order smite The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths Of all the western stars, until I die. It may be that the gulfs will wash us down: It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles, And see the great Achilles, whom we knew. Tho' much is taken, much abides; and tho' We are not now that strength which in old days Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are; One equal temper of heroic hearts, Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

there is no minx there was never a minx we are all the droids you are looking for

you lose all the ambiance of seeing used needles just 6 inches below your exposed anus though...

if you start walking right now, i think we could meet you there

i never knew that...

guaranteed smoke breaks n' company dental?

there are no stupid hood questions, only stupid hood climbers

wise sir do not grieve it is always better to avenge dear ones than to indulge in mourning for every one of us living in this world means waiting for our end let he who can achieve glory before death when a warrior is gone that will be his best and only bulwark

God had outlived the Devil by a good long bit already - hopefully he took him along a bottle of booze

"failed to open stream" - sounds like a problem many an octogenarian's had

Lost count of the times been to JT. Takes more then I got left to go gorilla there. Met a hardy young fella that did though. Cold, snow, rain, wind, sun happens w/o warning, as well as, LA crowds and steady train of cars these days. The magic is still there I guess; just saying it's gone for me. Had chance years ago to meet locals at what's his names place but blew/snoozed it off. Even tried to get work at local shop but had no game compared to the kids. i meant the j-trees of red rawks, but whatevers - guess you seen one american desert ye've seen them all - at least this one has groovy n' gaudy nearby public fountains to wash yer whites in

Carthago delenda est, eh?

you could always found a nice burro to settle down w/ out in the joshua trees n' stay as long as you like

buy amerikkkan bitch!

old geoff n' i are going out to red rawks for a week the first week of april - you can carry my beer

well hell, if you're feeling better, time to jump right back into the funk w/ another song on the same theme [video:youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fdl70hZZZRc post-script - holy fuck and god damn the pope, can it be this album is 25 fucking years old already?

genius, i could use one of these meself...

though, in truth, this coulda done just as good - jeebus, why is it that the ang-lish just GET the awful ambivalence of this'er listless life? [video:youtube]

fuck boi-o, you missed the mark there, bill, i fear - larry's existential angst is more properly assuaged with this'er floyd song [video:youtube]

watcha end up doing ole'boy? i always seem to shiver or sweat down there, no matter what (though late december on the solar slab was damn near perfect...)

i can't generalize, like all, i'm largely confined by anecdotal experience - my gut tells me they're subject to pretty much the same standard distribution of dickhead vs diehard-friend-of-the-people (just like the janitors i've know) my big bro is a bio-tech ceo actually n' has a mighty nice spread down in san franny - he loves his work and puts a lot of his life-force into it, but he's hardly a monk to his family...

defining "hard work" seems rather tricky, and comparing one man's labor to another more so - both the miner and the manager labor, but their labors are distinctly different at any rate, i'm hard pressed indeed to think ceo's like this have more "skill set, vision and dedication" or are "rare as an elite athlete" in comparision to the janitor cleaning their offices