Show Mother Nature Some Love, Go Climb!

I love trying out new things: new food, new shoes, and especially new activities. It's the little rush that you get, when expectations are high, and you're optimistic that everything will go well, and you'll love it. I started rock climbing a couple months ago, in a gym downtown called Pipeworks. I discovered that I loved it the first time I went. As much fun as climbing in a gym was though, I really wanted to try climbing outside.

After a few months of climbing in the gym, I finally had the opportunity to go climbing outside for the first time, and it was exhilerating. I thought I enjoyed climing in a gym, but climbing outside is much more fun. Being outside, in the woods, climbing on actual boulders was an unreal experience. As cliche as it sounds, I felt at one with nature, like I was apart of it. It made respect the natural beauty of Earth, and made my appreciation for nature even stronger.

My boyfriend and I went to Castle Rock State Park, which is south of San Francisco. When we got there we hiked through the woods to the first boulder we were going to climb. Castle Rock is gorgeous, filled with tall trees, beautiful trails, and friendly hikers.

Even though I have been told that climbing outside is much more difficult than climbing in the gym, I was determined to do well. The first problem I tried was a "one-move wonder". From the start there was only one move to get to the top, a move that I wasn't able to do, no matter how many times I tried. The hold was directly above my head, and just far enough out of my reach that I wasn't able to grab it. Pair that with terrible foot holds, and I was unable to get past the start.

I decided to take a break from working on that problem, and went to another one, called the "Spoon"...which is by far my favorite problem at Castle Rock. The Spoon is a great problem for me because it is just past my level of ability, so it makes me strive harder to get it. The Spoon was another problem that had a really high hold above my head, but the holds leading up to it were much better than the one on the first problem. One of the holds was deep into a crevice in the rock, so I had to wedge my left hand and arm into the crack to get a good grip, after falling a few times and hurting my wrist, I decided to take a break and try another problem for awhile.

We went to another boulder and found a problem that was easier for me to do. After struggling a little with the start, I sent it, and finally finished my first problem outside. It was a great feeling, but I was ready for the Spoon again. I attempted the Spoon a few more times, but after almost breaking my wrist, I decided to call it a day. I guess I will just have to wait to send it until the next time I'm there.

It was very refreshing to be outside, I got tired less often, and was far more determined than when in the gym. I would recommend climbing in general to anyone, but if you ever get the chance to go climbing outside, do it. Even if you struggle at it and do not do well, like I didn't, despite the cuts and bruises, you will still be amazed at how great you feel afterwards.