A masterpiece dream of climbing and taking whippers infiltrates my head space as a few friends and I boogie till we puke at the Squamish Mountain Festival. I had to indulge in a little offwidth climbing to work the body and test that #6 camalot, just to be sure!

Settling into the Squamish Vibe

Under the green canopy that lingers below the shadow of The Chief in Squamish, BC, I have a hard time waking up early. My whole body aching from trad climbing, sport climbing and bouldering daily, I grin in my orange sleeping bag as my pooch streched beside me. This is the life. My fingers are raw and my smile is big! This place is a paradise for many. The campsite is chalk full of climbers and dirtbags wandering the planet looking for the most beautiful lines to climb. I am one of those adventurers. Each night as we jam with mandolins and didgeridoos, I sing along in harmony. The vibe is peaceful and perma-smiles float across the lips of the passers by brushing thier teeth in unison with song.

On my last rest day, I went strawberry picking in Pemberton. The strawberry bushes, busting with red berries are a sight to see for the hungry belly. Eating as many as I could, the bucket took a while to fill. When I arrived back at camp, I was strawberried out so I shared my bucket with everyone around. Everyone loves a fresh picked strawberry!

Yesterday I climbed with Marin, a lovely lass from Winnipeg. As she lead the 10a trad crack she joked and said that she had never climbed with someone more prairie than she. She is from Winnipeg and I from Regina, who would have thought that we knew how to rock climb! It is a real pleasure climbing with ladies, they motivate me so much! and tough chicas are quite the bunch!

Sharing my life with people who have the same passion is an incredible feeling. You always feel like you can relate, no matter the race or nationality. Who would have thought that climbing a rock just to come back down again could be so much fun!

Back in Canada...

Finally we have made it. Many miles, and a few epic adventures behind us, we are now in Vancouver, British Columbia. I guess I will wait to see how long return culture shock takes to settle in. I spent the last two and a half years of my life in Mexico. Returning to a familiar culture can be daunting, especially because I have had to adopt to a whole new way of living and experiencing the world. The eyes of the Mexican culture have become my eyes. Tomorrow we are headed to the oh-so famous, Squamish, BC, home of the Chief. More climbing awaits and my fingers are itching to pull down on some sweet rock.

Arches National Park, UTAH

WOW. An incredible rarity of nature reveals herself to my eyes today. In something like an alien terrain, red sandstone monoliths protrud through the earths crust defying gravity. Our imaginations take flight for moments of awe as we hike to the Delicate Arch, the most photographed arch in the world near Moab, Utah. The dry desert afternoon is kind to us as well as the small herd of other tourists who have made this journey with us.

The same evening, monster drinks in hand, my buddies decide to drive and drive and drive and we make it past Salt Lake City to a KOA campground only to set up temporary camp at 5 in the morning. In fact, I am not sure exactly where we are, but today is the 4th of July, the celebration of American Independence. All the oversized campers in their oversized campers are decked out in red white and blue, doing belly flops in the chorinated outdoor swimming pool. The barbeque beef and fireworks await this evenings festivities, which no doubt cost millions of dollars for minutes of pleasure. That sounds about right. Dont get me wrong, I enjoy fireworks too, but when you really think about it, the little plastic explosions in the sky are both a tad ridiculous and a marvel of human engenuity all at once.

Next, we drive and drive and drive some more to Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Rifle, Colorado. Steep, Juggy Slopers.

These last few days climbing in Rifle, Colorado have been trying. The climbing here is steep and the grades steep too. After a month of no climbing, my head is having a hard time getting back into the rhythm of leading, however, I red-pointed a few hard 10's on the first day! Camping here reminds me of the crisp Canadian Wild with all its grandeur. Fresh scents of pines and wild roses waft past our noses as we dig deep into our chalk bags. A little hot olive oil spill on my leg and all over my dog had damped an afternoon charged with relief. Thank the stars that it wasn't on my foot... I would have had a tough time putting on those tiny shoes. I hope to avoid an infection in this dirty lifestyle we are living. We do have a skin numbing burbling creek near our camp sight to keep clean, it sure is a invite for the Kayak! Hmm, I think I will submerge myself this afternoon.