New and Experienced Climbers Over 50 #11

Old lady H wrote:

Oh dear, that sounds discouraged? I hope you do, soon!!

Will this pic serve as proof I at least got the front done?

The Saturday I drove back to Boise, a week ago, they had record rain, 1". Yeah, small potatoes to some of you, but our annual is only 11". And rain before and after. Wettest June on record, only halfway through the month. The lawn was ecstatic! My potato plants in the garden are chest high! Okay, I'm short, but that's still astonishing.

Pack tomorrow, head out Monday! Super stoked! These trips are just never predictable at all, so I just go. See what happens.

After this one, I'll stay put a few weeks, I think, until one that's booked for third week in July.

Best, Helen

Oh, and Lori? I agree! Lately I've been getting around way better. It's noticeable. I'm still slow, but I tramped all over the place at City, and never even brought my hiking pole, on purpose. I'm managing well without it, and it's important to keep making all those bits and pieces keep earning their pay!

You mowed the lawn in bare feet?

Carl Schneider wrote:

You mowed the lawn in bare feet?

Yup. I was born barefoot! ;-)

Given your track record on getting lost, I’d think twice about heading out to the Wonderland without at least one partner along. It can be challenging to navigate out there and this time of year is a bad time for needing a rescue. And it’s a big rattlesnake year, so I’d reconsider those earbuds too...

Greg Opland wrote: , so I’d reconsider those earbuds too...

+1 

I never understood why people take away one of their most important senses when in the wilderness.  

Greg Opland wrote: Given your track record on getting lost, I’d think twice about heading out to the Wonderland without at least one partner along. It can be challenging to navigate out there and this time of year is a bad time for needing a rescue. And it’s a big rattlesnake year, so I’d reconsider those earbuds too...

Thank you Greg.  Of course you are right.  I had already decided the earbuds are history on my outing today.  Finally a compass is making sense to me... but not nearly enough to venture far.  I’m learning slowly to spot distant landmarks, watch for rock angles, not wander.  

Today’s outing brought another lesson. I thought if I started at 7 I’d be good for a few hours. I just wasn’t paying attention to all the inner signals that it was too hot, I was getting dehydrated and nauseous.   By 9 I realized things weren’t good.  So, New Rule: the desert wins.  If it’s too hot, get to shelter.

Things are a bit harsh here...

Methinks most of us in this thread are drawn to harsh, eh? ;-)

Lawn mowing part two in progress! Recharging the battery...and pondering lunch. I think about food a lot these days, lol!

Best, Helen

Lori Milas wrote:

Thank you Greg.  Of course you are right.  I had already decided the earbuds are history on my outing today.  Finally a compass is making sense to me... but not nearly enough to venture far.  I’m learning slowly to spot distant landmarks, watch for rock angles, not wander.  

Today’s outing brought another lesson. I thought if I started at 7 I’d be good for a few hours. I just wasn’t paying attention to all the inner signals that it was too hot, I was getting dehydrated and nauseous.   By 9 I realized things weren’t good.  So, New Rule: the desert wins.  If it’s too hot, get to shelter.

Things are a bit harsh here..

I love the summers in the desert!
To me the cold is harsh.
Looks like I am going to have to teach you some summer in the desert secrets.

.

Cosmiccragsman AKA Dwain wrote: I love the summers in the desert!
To me the cold is harsh.
Looks like I am going to have to teach you some summer in the desert secrets.

I’ll be the best student you’ll ever have.     The learning curve here is steep.  

Lori Milas wrote:

I’ll be the best student you’ll ever have.     The learning curve here is steep.  

Rule number 1; When hiking in the desert in the summer wear white long sleeve shirts, pants, and a wide brim hat. like a bucket hat.
No shorts, or short sleeve shirts. You want to retain the moisture in your body , not have it evaporate as fast. long  sleeve and long pants can act as a swamp cooler for your body.
make the evaporation work for you to keep you cool rather than let the sweat just evaporate when wearing shorts and short sleeve shirt.
You don't see the bedouins traipsing thru the desert in shorty sleeves. :-)

Cosmiccragsman AKA Dwain wrote: Rule number 1; When hiking in the desert in the summer wear white long sleeve shirts, pants, and a wide brim hat. like a bucket hat.
No shorts, or short sleeve shirts. You want to retain the moisture in your body , not have it evaporate as fast. long  sleeve and long pants can act as a swamp cooler for your body.
make the evaporation work for you to keep you cool rather than let the sweat just evaporate when wearing shorts and short sleeve shirt.
You don't see the bedouins traipsing thru the desert in shorty sleeves. :-)

I'm supposed to climb in this getup?  

Maybe I should add a white parasol just to make sure no sun touches?

How come you get to wear tie-dye?    

White is best, but Long sleeve of any color except maybe black is ok. The thing is you dehydrate faster in shorts and short sleeves.
Ditch the parasol and get one of these!

Cosmiccragsman AKA Dwain wrote: I love the summers in the desert!
To me the cold is harsh.
Looks like I am going to have to teach you some summer in the desert secrets.

I agree. I love it when it's about 100...

Lori Milas wrote:

I'm supposed to climb in this getup?  

Maybe I should add a white parasol just to make sure no sun touches?

How come you get to wear tie-dye?    

In the heat, we climbed in white painters pants and old white dress shirts for years.

rgold wrote:

In the heat, we climbed in white painters pants and old white dress shirts for years.

Sounds like a personal problem....  

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers!  I just got back from a week of climbing in the sport climbing area of Maple Canyon.  Such bizarre rock!  This was the rare road trip that my husband decided to come and climb.  It was the perfect place for him, 2 months out from knee surgery.  1-10 minute approaches, closely spaced bolts and the type of climbing did not require any knee torquing or high steps/press throughs.  At around 7000 feet, the weather was lovely.

M Appelquist wrote: Find shade, stay in the shade, move with the shade. Cotton in heat does not kill, it allows slower evaporation, an advantage when you need to cool. Posted on the Grand Canyon website if I remember correctly. But also have not cotton to wear when the sun goes down and the desert cools dramatically.

#SOLARSLABINTHESUMMER!

Slower evaporation is not an advantage for cooling. The more exposed skin, the greater the evaporation, thus the greater the cooling effect. The down side is greater risk of dehydration and sunburn.

If I'm out climbing for many hours in the sun (or riding a camel through the Arabian Desert), I'll cover myself in loose, light colored clothing. The strategy I've developed after four decades here in JT is to climb for a few hours in the morning or evening, following the shade around as best I can, wearing shorts and T-shirts, drinking lots of water before, during, and after climbing, then retreating home to my seat under the swamp cooler vent.

Brandt Allen wrote: Slower evaporation is not an advantage for cooling. The more exposed skin, the greater the evaporation, thus the greater the cooling effect. The down side is greater risk of dehydration and sunburn.

If I'm out climbing for many hours in the sun (or riding a camel through the Arabian Desert), I'll cover myself in loose, light colored clothing. The strategy I've developed after four decades here in JT is to climb for a few hours in the morning or evening, following the shade around as best I can, wearing shorts and T-shirts, drinking lots of water before, during, and after climbing, then retreating home to my seat under the swamp cooler vent.

Hey Brandt.  Thanks for sharing this.  I was out this morning in the requisite long pants and white t shirt and broke into full sweat at 7:30 a.m.  This is really a trial and error thing.  I prefer shorts, too.

The one value of long pants  (for me) is that I'm more willing to climb hard.  I know that long pants are not going to prevent a hard knock to the shins, but I just feel more protected than in shorts.  

 Another thing is determining what 'early' is.  I'm thinking early at this juncture might be more like 6.  It was 80 degrees and rapidly rising at 8:30 a.m.  I still have not experimented with late afternoon heat. 

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My thoughts this morning are that living in Joshua Tree is nothing like visiting it.  I realized today that I need to slow it down.  Way down.  It's going to take time to learn how to navigate the desert--pushing the learning curve has dangers.

I brought my compass with me this morning, and couldn't figure out why it was spinning.     That's because my hybrid creates a stronger magnetic pull.  (Another lesson!)  I had to step away from my car to use my compass.  But I finally determined that where I wanted to be was on the West Side of Intersection Rock.  Good start. Lots of places to build anchors and rappel. 

I am also learning that while it may be doable to climb UP a crag, I need to be thinking about the difficulty of climbing  back down.  They are not the same thing and I have realized that too late a few times.  Up and down are not the same.

I am learning to pay attention.  I don't just have a penchant for getting lost, I have a penchant to wander.  Things catch my eye, and off I go.  In no time I can lose my car, and forget how I got here.  That just can't happen.  (Wandered off here...   but this time remembered how I got there.  Progress.)

This and so much more are daily lessons.  Watermelon is really good right now.  Ice cream and afternoon movies.  Get plants out of the sun.  Deal with ants.
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Tony is close to a surgery date and we don't know for sure whether to do this back in Sacramento or here.  Suddenly 'here' has become home.     We are having fun meeting neighbors... long talk with one of my neighbors who introduced himself as "One of the last true Rednecks in Joshua Tree. We don't like Yuppies."  and it was all friendly... knowing that I probably qualify bigly as yuppie, Tony saved the day with his smack talk,  I don't drink whiskey from a bottle (but neighbor does.. A LOT), but I do listen to ZZ Top so it's all good.  We REALLY get along.  It's been so fun.    
 

When I was first climbing in JT, I always wore long pants to protect my knees. For a while I tried kneepads. Finally, I learned to climb safely enough to wear shorts without beating up my knees too badly, though I still nick them up on occasion.
Yes, it would seem that full summer conditions are upon us now. As you said, it takes time to adapt, but be assured it can be done. I've learned to be happy with couple of routes in the morning or evening.
Perhaps Russ could join us in his G-string some afternoon??!!

Brandt Allen wrote: When I was first climbing in JT, I always wore long pants to protect my knees. For a while I tried kneepads. Finally, I learned to climb safely enough to wear shorts without beating up my knees too badly, though I still nick them up on occasion.
Yes, it would seem that full summer conditions are upon us now. As you said, it takes time to adapt, but be assured it can be done. I've learned to be happy with couple of routes in the morning or evening.
Perhaps Russ could join us in his G-string some afternoon??!!

Absolutely.  I was hoping you would suggest this.  I didn't want to be gauche.