Temperance and Gus

A couple days off in a row meant the call for some form of an adventure, even if it was a little one. Therefore, I packed up my car to hopefully head up to the north shore for a couple of days of great climbing. Unfortunately, the weather up here decided not to cooperate, and my climbing partner S and I were forced to adapt our plans. Luckily, this wasn't too hard!

We were able to hang out at his Mom's gear store for a little bit, making sure that we were properly prepared for our Yosemite trip in a couple of weeks. I got a fantastic new pair of hiking shoes, and tried them out on part of the Superior Hiking Trail- up to Carlton Peak and down the Temperance River!

It wasn't the best weather- drizzly, overcast, mildly windy and temps in the fifties- but for hiking, it was really enjoyable. Not too warm, and the perfect conditions for giving my new shoes a good test.

Any of the hikes on the SHT next to the Temperance River are beautiful- the trail runs right next to the river, with great views of all the waterfalls for a huge stretch. You had to be careful next to parts of the trail, with 30-70 foot drops into chilly water and huge waterfalls. The mist was cool on the face and everything was crazy green around us!

We also got to check out the climbs at Carlton Peak- a little farther north than I normally go, and something I had never seen before. The climbs were beautiful- a kind of rock called anorthosite, a really strong but abrasive rock that had some really cool looking features and cracks. S and I ran around the bases like little kids on Christmas morning, excited about every new route we could identify.

Despite some bouts of carsickness on the way to and from, I got a ton done on Gus the Giraffe on my jaunt north.

He's got (almost) all of his major limbs, plus a tail. To be knit yet includes spots for his back, little horns, and about fifteen pompoms to attach for his mane. Honestly, I'm not looking forward to these last details. The pompoms especially are going to be a nightmare. Last time I tried to make pompoms, I ended up exploding a few of them all over the place. Yarn everywhere. I have a gut feeling it's going to be the same result this time around as well. Woohoo?

The weekend wasn't complete without abusing S's cat a little bit. Kitty (that's her real name) weighs almost as much as a baby killer whale, so we felt the teasing was warranted. We found a really large, old hex and saw what she would make of it.

Apparently it was too much effort to do anything.

She'd make a great crag cat...