June 17 (Tue) - Back at Rifle. Highs were in the mid-80's but the shade was pleasant, and the breeze off of the river making it even more so. We climbed for the morning at Meat Wall, leading three routes each: Cold Cuts (11a), Eighty Feet of Meat (11b), and James Brown Wild Ride (11b). Nate red-pointed them all, whereas I was climbing a bit more hesitantly and stick-clipped a few times. We then took a mid-day lunch break, and after that headed to Ruckman Cave on the other side of the canyon (now shady) and did a couple of projecting laps on Pinch Fest (12b). I figured out all of the moves but now need to link them together. I guess this is my first 5.12 Rifle project. It was a great first day at Rifle, of the humbling no-sending (for me) sort.

June 18 (Wed) - Nate was on belay duty for the day. I started on Eighty Feet of Meat (11b) and got a redpoint. Then we moved to Rehabilitator (11d), a classic on Project Wall. I thought this was a great route and will be back for the redpoint now that I've figured out all the moves. After a brief lunch break, I took lap on Pinch Fest (12b), my 5.12 project from the previous day, again taking several hangs en route to the anchor; I had planned to give it a second try but some kids showed up and got on it, so Nate suggested Firearms (12a)--I enjoyed this route, so add this to my growing list of 5.12 Rifle projects (at this rate, if becoming a better climber is my main goal, I'll never need to climb anywhere else). We then called it a day (thanks Nate - I owe you some belays!), and spent the rest of the day working/Walmarting/running/biking/reading/suppering.

June 19 (Thu) - Another day of steep limestone sport climbing! We decided to bike into the canyon from our campsite since we had plans to hit multiple walls and parking fills up by mid-morning. We started off by warming up on Cold Cuts (11a) on Meat Wall, and then biked down-canyon to Project Wall to give Rehabilitator (11d) a lap--Nate sent it while I one-hanged it. Next we biked further down-canyon to The Sanctuary and each gave Genesis (12a) a lap--this is one of the best 5.12a's in the canyon and I have added it to my growing 5.12 project list. Sun was now switching sides of the canyon, so we headed to the other side of the canyon to Anti-Phil Wall. I gave Easy Skankin' (12b) a lap (this is one of the best 5.12b's in the canyon--another 5.12 to add to my growing list) while Nate played around a bit on a 13a. Conditions were a bit warm for sending. We headed back up-canyon and ran into Nate's friends Brian and Josh, so we spent awhile hanging out with them at Ruckman Cave while Josh worked on a 12c. Afterward, before heading back to camp, I decided to give Rehabilitator (11d) one more try (I was itching to get the redpoint before the weekend crowds showed up, and the wall had fallen into the shade again for the evening). Success! Thanks Nate for the end-of-day belay. Another great day in Rifle.

June 20 (Fri) - Rest day from climbing. I hiked the Three Forks Trail, an 11.7-mile out-and-back trail a bit deeper into Rifle Canyon past the climbing. It was a hot but windy day. On the drive back from the trailhead, I was trapped on the road by a recently-downed tree. After awhile another gal showed up, and we used my Starlink to call the Coulter Lake Guest Ranch (up the road from the downed tree) and they organized some park service employees to come chainsaw and remove the tree from the road. After this, I did some tick surgery and then drove to Rifle to pick up some yogurt and fruit, hang out at the library, and get some water at Rifle Gap State Park on the way back. Nate hung out in his van back at camp and eventually broke down and ran his air conditioner. A full day!

June 21 (Sat) - It was the weekend, so we again decided to bike to the crags to avoid dealing with crowded parking lots. We started at Nappy Dugout and warmed up on Squawk Box (10c) before moving over to Geriatric Journey (11c, 40m), one of Rifle's longer routes where Nate's 80m rope was useful for lowering back to the ground without using an intermediate anchor.  We then walked over to Genesis (12a) and gave it another burn, gathering a bit more beta on the kneebar and clipping stances. I feel this route is within reach for me to send, so I will continue to work on it as a morning shade 12a project. The shade had now switched sides of the canyon, so we moved to the west side to Easy Skankin' (12b)--I fought my way up and eventually broke my stick-clip, and decided to lay the route aside for when I have a few Rifle 12a's under my belt. We then biked back down canyon to The Arsenal, where Nate worked on Slagissimo (12d). After this, we biked back up canyon to Ruckman Cave and I gave Firearms (12a) another try. I have figured out all of the moves and can make all of the clips safely, so this is a good afternoon shade 12a project. After this we biked back to camp. Another humbling but great day of Rifle climbing.

June 22 (Sun) - Again we biked into Rifle to avoid parking issues and plus it is kind of just more fun. We warmed up on Bling it On (11b) at Sno-Cone Cave (this was a fun route) and then walked over to Nappy Dugout, where Nate got on Fossil Family (12a) and Family Jewels (12a) and I just climbed the latter. None were a redpoint but it was worthy bouldering bolt-to-bolt. Next I took another projecting lap on Genesis (12a), which happened to (again!) be devoid of climbers. I attempted to find some new beta to climb right of the bolts rather than do the kneebar (I can get the kneebar fine, but there is a powerful reachy move just after the kneebar that I cannot get). Then we headed over to The Arsenal where Nate got to the anchor on a 13a. Finally, we biked back up canyon where I stopped to take a projecting lap on Firearms (12a). For the first time I linked all the way from the crux to the anchor, and then under Nate's encouragement I worked on the powerful start for awhile, which was the only part preventing me from a full send of the route at this point. I think I worked out the beta and Firearms currently stands as my most hopeful 5.12a project in Rifle. Another day of strength-building bouldering where the only send was the warm-up. We earned a rest day tomorrow.

June 23 (Mon) - Nate worked in his van while I went on a bike ride on a loop of dirt roads just north of our camp. My watch stats told me it was 30 miles, 3900 ft gain/loss and took 6 hours and 12 minutes (I took a few short breaks but mostly biked this entire time at an average pace of 4.8mph--there was enough uphill and rough downhill to slow me down significantly). It was an enjoyable way to spend a rest day and I didn't see another person the entire time.

June 24 (Tue) - Nate wanted to go to town to get groceries and refill his water, so the plan was for a morning to early mid afternoon climbing session. We started out by warming up at Meat Wall (for the first time I was able to redpoint Eighty Feet of Meat (11b) and Cold Cuts (11a) back-to-back, so that was encouraging). Nate decided he was still needing a rest day so he was on belay duty for the rest of the day, belaying me first on James Brown Wild Ride (11d), which I surprised myself by redpointing on my second try of the day, and then on Firearms (12a), whose opening sequence continued to baffle and power me out....guess I am not yet at 12a Rifle level yet but I will keep working at it. Thanks Nate for all of the belays and encouragement and for going a bit later into the day than planned.

June 25 (Wed) - Nate was fighting a flu/cold, and the previous evening I had made plans to climb with Taylor Williams for an afternoon-to-dark session (I had climbed with Taylor back on Memorial Day weekend for a day). But in the morning my arm hurt to bend past 90 degrees. This was new. (I had tweaked it way back in April while projecting my first 5.12a in Red Rocks and it has flared up every time I have pulled hard with it since, but never to the point where I could not bend it.) I hoped it would loosen up throughout the day. I did a 6-mile run and some computer work, followed by a drive to the Walmart Supercenter in Rifle for mousetraps, since my car has been home to a family of mice. I'd barely slept the night before thanks to a litter of mouse babies hosting some kind of all-night rave in my front seats. And to add to the nighttime drama, a raccoon popped its head through my open side door. At 3:30pm I met Taylor at Ruckman Cave. We warmed up on Primer (11b) (Taylor led while I took a toprope since this route scares me as a warm-up with some runnout on slick holds) and then moved to Skull Cave, where we both led Pile Driver (11b) and Taylor did a project lap on Rave (12c). Next we moved to Zone of Silence, where I led Wish You Sent Here (12a), a route that is somewhat unique in that it is mostly laybacking up a bolted crack/corner until a final crux powerful sequence at the top; I onsighted 95% of the route, but had to hang at the crux to figure it out but couldn't pull the moves without quite a lot of pain to my arm; I'd like to come back to this route since I think I can get it. Finally, we moved to Wicked Cave where Taylor worked out a bit of beta on his 13d project Double Rainbows while I decided no more climbing for the day. Thanks Taylor for the fun evening session!

June 26 (Thu) - Early on in the night I heard a snap trap go off and discovered I had caught Mamma Mouse. I emptied and reset the trap. I woke up to three captured and dead baby mice. I think I caught the entire family. Nate was feeling better but still wanting to take it easy on the climbing and my arm was still bugging me, so we took the day off climbing. I went on a bike ride starting from camp and all the way down to Rifle Gap State Park and partway up a gravel road shooting off the northwest end of the lake. My Garmin watch stats recorded 30 miles, 2500 ft gain/loss. I came back to camp and iced and massaged my arm and worked on job applications.

June 27 (Fri) - Another day of climbing at Rifle. In interest of my arm, I decided to stay off overhanging or hard routes for awhile. We got a lazy start (11:30am) after a few morning hours "taking care of business" on the computers, and started the day at Kubrick's, where there are moderate routes. We climbed four routes: Dr. Strangelove (5.9), Redmond Barry (5.10b), Hal 9000 (5.10d), and Gunnery Sargent Hartman (5.11a). I led the first two and toproped the second two due to my arm. After a midday break in Nate's van, we headed out for our second session of the day on the other side of the canyon, at Zone of Silence, where I had my eye on a 12a called Pussy in the Sky with Almonds. But a couple of bolts into the route it became clear my arm was not liking my route choice, but I continued upward, stick-clipping just to get the rope to the top. Nate then led it, and then worked on a nearby 12d while I belayed and didn't climb anymore.

June 28 (Sat) - Another day of climbing in Rifle. We spent the morning at Nappy Dugout, doing some 5.10-5.11 warmups. My arm was still bugging me while leading the first route, so after that I just toproped. We climbed Mr. Cranky Pants (5.10a), Z Man (5.10b), PMS (5.10c), and Cramps (5.11b). Afterward we took a midday break at the shady cars and discussed what to do next given my arm injury and our plans to head to Squamish in a couple of weeks. I made plans to hike the following day while Nate worked, and then we would climb again Monday, on whatever Nate wanted to get on while I took it easy. I drove to Aspen that evening since I planned to hike near there the next day. (Aspen is just over an hour from the city of Rifle, but closer to 2 hours drive from our campsite in Rifle Canyon to the trailhead for my hike.) As a bonus evening side trip I drove up to Maroon Lake and went on a short photography hike around the lake. 

June 29 (Sun) - I hiked to Conundrum Hot Springs (click link for trip report). Perched at roughly 11,200 feet, Conundrum Hot Springs ranks among the highest elevation hot springs in the United States. Tucked deep within the Maroon Bells–Snowmass Wilderness of Colorado’s White River National Forest, the springs sit above the tree line, encircled by soaring 14,000-foot peaks. Access to the springs is via the Conundrum Creek Trail, a 9-mile one-way hike (about 18 miles round-trip) with an elevation gain of around 3,000 feet. The trailhead is located about a ten-minute drive from Aspen and lies entirely within the Maroon Bells–Snowmass Wilderness.

June 30 (Mon) - I had scheduled an afternoon physio appointment for my arm at Valley Performance Physical Therapy in Aspen (although Aspen was about 1.5 hours from Rifle, going there would work well with my plans to hike the Four Pass Loop the next day). I'd decided to lay off climbing on my arm for a few days, so after a relaxing morning in Rifle (I had driven back to keep the possibility of climbing Monday morning open and belayed Nate on a couple of pitches at Meat Wall), I drove back to Aspen. Tyler was great - he agreed with my self-diagnosis that it was the brachialis muscle (muscle behind the bicep) and did some dry needling and gave me some isometric and stretching and posture exercises to do. He recommended resting it a bit longer, especially if the muscle was torn.

July 1 (Tue) - I hiked the Four Pass Loop (click on link for trip report)—a breathtaking 27-mile route that circles through the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness. The trail winds beneath the towering Maroon Bells and Snowmass Mountain, climbing over four alpine passes: Buckskin, Trail Rider, Frigid Air, and West Maroon, all above 12,000 feet. With its sweeping meadows bursting with wildflowers, dramatic ridgelines, pristine alpine lakes, and soaring peaks, the loop is considered one of the most iconic high-altitude adventures in the Rockies. While most complete it as a 3–4 day backpacking trip, some take on the challenge in a single, demanding day, climbing over 7,500 feet in elevation. The route begins and ends at Maroon Lake near Aspen, offering unforgettable views of the Elk Mountains.

My goal was to hike—not run—the entire 27 miles, and I estimated it would take me about 12 hours. I started at 4 a.m., hoping to be above treeline by sunrise (around 5:45 a.m.). The hike unfolded just as I’d hoped. I only sat down three times—to take off and put on my shoes at stream crossings. I made a handful of quick stops to adjust layers, refill water, grab snacks, and take photos. (I ended up with 245 photos and 3 videos—most of my stopped time was spent on photography.) My car-to-car time was 11 hours and 56 minutes, pretty close to my 12 hour estimate.

July 2 (Wed) - Returned to Rifle. I belayed Nate while he climbed a couple of routes at Project Wall and Meat Wall in the morning, and then a pitch at Ruckman Cave in the afternoon. I stuck to my decision not to climb, aiming to prioritize long-term recovery over short-term temptation (I admit--it was not easy). At 4pm I headed out, to begin the long (17 hour or so) drive to Leavenworth, WA, to visit my sister for a couple of days before heading on to Chilliwack to visit parents and then Squamish to meet Nate and climb some more (with my arm ideally feeling a bit better).