Tidbits of Joy: Ladies' weekend in the Creek!

This weekend was a blast! 13 women, splitter sandstone cracks, fireside conversations, incredible moon and stars, and desert camping--life does not get much better. Stef and her friend Lindsey showed up on Thursday and we left Friday for the weekend. They really wanted to learn how to climb cracks, and this was the perfect opportunity! So, we loaded up Stef and Wes's veggie-mobile (it runs on recycled veggie oil that they get for free from local restaurants) and drove to Indian Creek, about 50 miles south of Moab. We got there late and rolled out our sleeping bags under the moon and stars, which were so bright we had to cover our eyes to sleep. The next morning, we found the rest of the crew, a large group from Durango headed by Lauren Heerschap, and hiked up Donelly Canyon to start climbing. It was about 75 and sunny, and we climbed until our feet and hands were so sore we had to quit. Back to camp for yummy tacos and a warm fire we went before falling asleep, exhausted from the great day! Stef and Lindsey were psyched at their crack climbing success, as was I. I resisted the temptation to lead anything per my midwife's advice, but had a ton of fun toproping. Sunday morning, we hiked to the Optimator Wall where Lindsey led on-sight her first 5.10--Lady Pillar, 120 feet. That was a huge accomplishment for her and only gave her more confidence to come back and try to step it up next time. That afternoon we all did Soul Fire, 5.11, which Linds toproped twice (she intends to come back and lead it next time!). Stef also vastly improved her crack skills and discovered the pure joy that comes with a schtonker hand jam. Here are some photos from the weekend (as always, they are concentrated in small areas because I always forget to take out my camera!).

Stef, me, and Lindsey--laying on the ground before bed, night #1.