hueco

well, it's my first *real* morning in hueco tanks. yesterday doesn't count since i was bleary after 4 hours of sleep following twenty some odd hours of driving.

a new challenge presents itself since this is my first time on this trip in such a popular climber place. in horsepens i was the only one there for the first bit, and then i had canadian friends visiting so i didn't need to worry about other people. in tennessee i was the only one on the campground, and occasionally other people showed up.

at hueco i have walked into a crowd of climbers. this is a brand new experience - the rock ranch is in the desert so it's not like there's privacy between campsites. i'm secretly happy to be here, but overall i'm feeling a bit insecure. i've only been on the road a month and a half, and i am probably no where near as strong as these people. i feel like a noob again... i've *only* been climbing five years.

roadtripping on your own is definitely a different experience. for the past four years i've done most of my travelling with damian, so i never really needed to care about meeting people to climb with. i got to be a couple, and we kept to ourselves. if a conversation with a complete stranger didn't pan out, then we had each other to talk to, which was clearly a better option. now i'm out here on my own merit. i think the best option is to get as involved in the local climbing community as possible. volunteering sometimes has its benefits, like free camping, or anything free for that matter.

well, i'm going to be here for at least three weeks, so it will be interesting to see how things develop. no complaints at all though, since it's guaranteed 20 degree days and sunshine. i feel like i haven't climbed in a long time.

i miss Red, oddly enough. i was wondering if this would happen. maybe someone could ship her to me from tennessee? since john was visiting when we decided to make the trip to hueco, the car was packed full with him and his stuff. there was no room for red. at least john doesn't drool or smell so bad, and he did do some of the driving. when i read about the rock ranch, i thought it said that dogs had to be penned on the ranch when you went climbing... i thought it would be better for red to stay in tennessee. but no, dogs can run free here, and there are plenty of other Big Dogs so red would probably feel quite small in comparison.

darn!