A few weeks ago I posted a thread about how I spent my weekend. I didn't say it at the time but basically, it was some pics from a climbing trip to Red River Gorge in Kentucky to practice and train for an upcoming climbing trip to top Devils Tower in Wyoming.
https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/break_room/165060-my_weekend_in_pictures.html
I got back today from my trip to Wyoming and I thought I share some new pictures with my good friends here on INGO.
I drove up to Chicago last Friday night and met up with my climbing partner. The next morning we sorted and double checked our gear and left early heading north and then west.
The drive out was long but uneventful. We stopped for the night somewhere in South Dakota and hit Badlands National Park the next morning. The park was pretty amazing. I though there would be more rock there, but it's basically just piles of mud. Eventually ( in thousands of years) it will all wash away.
We hiked on and off trail for about two hours in the park.
Then it was back in the car for a short(ish) hop to Mt. Rushmore.
And on to Devils Tower.
For those who don't know, it is most likely something like an underground volcanic plug that remained when the surrounding land eroded. It was also the first US national monument.
Devils Tower National Monument - Frequently Asked Questions (U.S. National Park Service)
Sadly, it's probably best known as a backdrop for the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Remember the mash potato and later dirt and rock tower Richard Dreyfuss builds? Yeah, that's it.
Anyway, here's my pics:
In the next pic if you look closely you can see a climber on the rock face. Look right in the middle about 1/2 of the way up. That should give you some idea of scale.
I won't bore you all with the climbing details, but I will say that even with a guide, it was one of the hardest climbs I've ever done in my life.
You've got to trust your life to bolts, carabiners and webbing.
On the summit.
Rappelling down:
I don't like the phrase "bucket list", but if I had one, this climb was on it. I have been wanting to climb Devils Tower for about 12 years now. And now that it's sent, I need to set a new goal.
Maybe El Cap?
El Capitan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/break_room/165060-my_weekend_in_pictures.html
I got back today from my trip to Wyoming and I thought I share some new pictures with my good friends here on INGO.
I drove up to Chicago last Friday night and met up with my climbing partner. The next morning we sorted and double checked our gear and left early heading north and then west.
The drive out was long but uneventful. We stopped for the night somewhere in South Dakota and hit Badlands National Park the next morning. The park was pretty amazing. I though there would be more rock there, but it's basically just piles of mud. Eventually ( in thousands of years) it will all wash away.
We hiked on and off trail for about two hours in the park.
Then it was back in the car for a short(ish) hop to Mt. Rushmore.
And on to Devils Tower.
For those who don't know, it is most likely something like an underground volcanic plug that remained when the surrounding land eroded. It was also the first US national monument.
Devils Tower National Monument - Frequently Asked Questions (U.S. National Park Service)
Sadly, it's probably best known as a backdrop for the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Remember the mash potato and later dirt and rock tower Richard Dreyfuss builds? Yeah, that's it.
Anyway, here's my pics:
In the next pic if you look closely you can see a climber on the rock face. Look right in the middle about 1/2 of the way up. That should give you some idea of scale.
I won't bore you all with the climbing details, but I will say that even with a guide, it was one of the hardest climbs I've ever done in my life.
You've got to trust your life to bolts, carabiners and webbing.
On the summit.
Rappelling down:
I don't like the phrase "bucket list", but if I had one, this climb was on it. I have been wanting to climb Devils Tower for about 12 years now. And now that it's sent, I need to set a new goal.
Maybe El Cap?
El Capitan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Man, I wish I could still do stuff like that, you had some awesome views that you just have to earn. Photography doesn't do that stuff justice. Rock on, man.
