Second day on the rock, me and the Sprinter vanners were up around the same time and ready to go climbing at 9am. During breakfast, we watched a pair of climbers ascend a 5.7 that was right behind our campsite. Michael was later to emerge, so like yesterday, we told him where we were headed…

I woke up at first light, which is not too early, just after 6am. I lay there for a bit, then decided that this was a good opportunity to see a good sunrise, so I got dressed, hit the bathroom, then head over to one of the cliffs behind the campground. I’d seen people scrambling…

Did I mention it was cold? Up this morning, first on the agenda was a shower. I felt dirty. I got some water boiling and did some rearrangement in the van until it was ready. I proceeded to spill most of the water on the ground attempting to get it into the solar shower bag…

I had my first scare of the trip last night. After I had finished dinner and was winding down for the night, another car pulled up to where I was, stopped beside me, then turned around and stayed there. Eventually they turned the engine off and I waited. I was spooked because the area I…

I was up at 6am, we had to leave by 6:30am to get to the Lake and set up the Kona stand. I met the boys in their hotel room and used their bathroom, then we went for breakfast. No questions were asked about me, I walked in like I owned the place and helped…

It was pretty cold this morning, still shorts weather, but enough to make my fingers cold during morning duties. I decided not to have a shower and settled for washing my face, still figuring out the morning routine. Cereal for breakfast, I was out of camp by 8:30am. I continued driving south through farmland and…

I’d left the side door window open for air and had minor water intrusion, but the roof rack straps had let water in during the night, creating four separate pools of water. Will have to fix that, but it wasn’t raining heavily enough to justify immediate action. I heated water for a shower and managed…

Back on the road again. This time for real. After two solid weeks of van work (more time than expected) with only weekends to enjoy myself and a solid bout of cold and sinus infection in there, I was as ready as I’d ever be. I packed the last few things in the van when…