10-October-2001
Alexander Chiang <achiang@nyx.net>

"Realization"

  <cue cheesy Menards-style music>

  Is drought threatening to ruin your crop this year? Has it been 6
  months since you've been able to canoe down your favorite river?
  Wouldn't it be nice to wash your car again?

  Then just call Alex Chiang! He'll solve all your problems and bring
  more rain than you can shake a stick at! Simply pick up your phone,
  let your fingers do the walking, and just ask Alex to plan a
  climbing trip. Rain will come by Friday of that week, or your money
  back!

  <cue weird old guy who can't really smile right and gives thumbs up>

  <fade to black>

Or at least it seems that way, I think to myself, as I lie in the
tent, listening to the insects chirp and buzz and whirr, and the rain
falling gently on our shelter.

My mind flits and wanders idly from thought to random thought as I
contemplate our options for Saturday. The wind rustles and shakes more
rain down upon Nate and myself, and I become annoyed while Nate
remains blissfully oblivious. If the rock doesn't start drying up
soon, then we will have driven all this way for nought. Or more
accurately, I will have driven all this way for nought.

Minutes pass, and the displeasure of being subjected to nature's whims
subsides. The few insects still calling out form a small chamber
orchestra; many shy of a full orchestra they are. I embrace the cool
wet air of the night and become content.

I have focused too closely on the tree, I realize. Completely forgot
the forest for what it's worth. Climbing trips aren't just about
getting to the top of some crag. They're about the stories you trade
with your carmates on the drive. And the laughter. And the dreams.
They're about lying in a tent snug as a bug in a rug but still feeling
a bit of a breeze on your skin and suddenly feeling like you're
actually living. They're about washing away all the distractions and 
focusing -- really focusing -- your force of being into a tight beam
that you can shine in any direction you please.

I fight sleep. Tomorrow will be gorgeous and the rock will be dry and
the moves will be solid and the gear will be good, but tonight -- now --
I simply soak up life and hoard it and cherish it and enjoy.

fin.


---------------
Postscript

  We started at the Rainy Day Roof at Jackson, where I led the 5.7
  hand crack on the left end and the 5.9 fingery layback on the right
  end.  Then we headed over to Draper's where we started off with
  Mike's Climb. Next was C, where I liberated Yosef's fixed nut.

  While I was about to make the traverse, the peanut gallery egged me
  on in an effort to convince me to try the direct variation. After
  some hesitation, I pulled the bulging section, and it was smooth
  sailing for approximately twenty feet, whereupon I ran into a
  chimney section.  Groaning, I resigned myself to the task at hand,
  and thrutched my way up. Belayed up Nathan, and then Colin who made
  it most of the way up, but got a bit pumped and wanted down.

  Finished off the day with Nosebleed, and hiked out under the light
  of a somewhat fullish moon and my anemic headlamp. All in all, a
  great day of climbing.

Cast of Characters

  Alex Chiang
  Colin Favret
  Nathan Ridley