We finished our great big USA roadtrip a few weeks ago and are back in Squamish starting up the summer routine. We wanted to post our final blog update a while ago but I’ve been out guiding little teenagers out in the wild for the past three weeks and haven’t had time or reception to do the necessary computer internet things.
Well, without further ado, here’s our final roadtrip blog post along with some of our top picks of the trip. Take it away Emma!
Our last week was mostly spent in Oregon, starting off with three excellent days of climbing at Smith Rock State Park. After experiencing the limited hardware on routes at other climbing destinations, Smith Rock was a welcomed change with bolted routes, and anchors at the top of every route. It felt like a beautiful outdoor climbing gym! Smith rock provided us with some top-quality climbs in a beautiful setting. We were also lucky enough to find badass babes Robyn and Claire who let us climb and hang with them! Stopping in at Redpoint, the local climbing store, we discovered $1 pints on tap! They were trying to get rid of the keg and we were thrilled to hand over our dollar bills two nights in a row. Our Smith Rock experience was capped off with a five-pitch climb, Wherever I May Roam. (Olivier here. Emma killed it, leading all the hard and scary as hell traverse pitches!!!)
After a quick stop in Portland to check out Powell’s Books (the world’s largest independent bookstore) and sample all the food, we made our way back west. The next few days were spent cruising up the coast in search of cool beaches, noisy sea lions, and easy strolls. We’re now home in Canada, and back to the grind. Before we finish this blog series, we’ve got some top 3’s for you!
Top three climbs:
· Black Magic (Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area): 580ft, 5.8
· Double Cross (Joshua Tree National Park): 95ft, 5.7+++
· Phoenix (Smith Rock): 90ft, 5.10a
Top three campsites:
· Sequoia National Forest, California (free hot spring campsite)
· Beaver Dam Wash National Conservation Area, Utah (Woodbury Road Crags)
· Willow Springs Road, Utah (near Moab)
*75% of Utah land is public, so there was no shortage of amazing free campsites. In the end, we only paid for two nights of camping during our seven weeks on the road.
Top three hikes:
· Fiery Furnace, Arches National Park, Utah
· Syncline Loop, Canyonlands National Park, Utah
· Island in the Sky Traverse, Snow Canyon State Park, Utah
*Honorable mention to the Snow Creek Trail in Yosemite National Park. Beautiful views of Half Dome, but a real slog and we did it in the pouring rain/hail/snow.
Top three meals out:
· Burritos in the Mission district of San Francisco
· NOLA Doughnuts, Portland
· Lou’s Diner, Las Vegas
