We are back, nature!

After two long weeks without being able to go outside because of the weather, we got lucky again this week and indulged in another rock climbing adventure. Not only did it not rain but the sun came out to greet us as well. All day was a bit cloudy but the second we made it to our climbing destination, the sun came appeared out of nowhere. That's what I call "good timing."

The drive this time was not too long. There was not enough time to entirely zone out but I was able to dream around for a bit. Because we had a huge van we didn't make it too far up the mountain and had to walk the rest. The walk was awesome because it made me notice all the leaves on the ground. Leaves on the ground have been around for a while now but it's fascinating how much they have changed since I first saw them. Not only do the colors of the leaves on the trees change but so do the leaves on the ground. In addition, it's not only the color that changes, it's the texture of the leaves as well.

Last time when I paid close attention to the leaves on the ground, most of them were yellow, some were red, even fewer were green and brown. Yesterday hiking up the mountain, 99% of the leaves were simply brown; one color. All the leaves on the ground, this time were kind of crispy as opposed to really soft as last time. Every time I stepped on them, it sounded like I am stepping on potato chips spread all around the ground. It was surprisingly loud stepping on those leaves; the noise was almost interfering with our conversations.
 
When we finally got all the way to the mountain, I started to look around the area and I realized that not too much had changed. Looking up on the trees, I saw the same variety of colors. The trees still had yellow, red, green and brown leaves. The only thing that changed was the amount of leaves on the trees. The trees are not as over-packed with leaves anymore. Now, it seems like I can see and acknowledge every single leaf without having difficulty separating them from all the other leaves. Because there were not as many leaves on the trees, the sun was much better able to shine through the trees, re-energizing us for our next climb. The leaves as well gave us a somewhat benefit to our climbing process because they made the floor much softer so that psychologically climbing up the wall felt much safer. In case we would fall, the ground would catch us softly.

The last difference to all the other times we have climbed before is the fact that we climbed for the first time at a conglomerate rock instead of gneiss. For me, that made a huge difference. It's like I was introduced to somebody new, a new friend that I from now on had to trust. Conglomerate by definition is made up of all other rocks so we didn't lose gneiss entirely. However, the climbing was a different. The conglomerate had many more holes in the wall, created by little rocks that had fallen out of the wall at some point in time. Some of those holes were big enough to be helpful for our climbing process but others were just irritating because I would stick my finger in and try to pull myself up. Most times those little holes weren't enough, they just hurt my fingers and especially made the muscles in my fingers sore.

As a whole, this trip was packed with lots of new environmental adventures so it was definitely worth going. I just hope that we will have a couple more of those climbs outside before it gets too cold.

Remembering good times!

Is that it? No more good weather this year. I am dramatizing this because I am sure there will be good weather but probably there will not be a perfect climbing day anymore as it was during our first three climbing adventure field trips.

Three weeks ago we didn't have class because Hampshire College had advising day, last week it had rained so it was too wet outside to climb and this week it was pouring rain; result: no nice outdoor climbing for the past three weeks. However, looking at the brighter side of things I can acknowledge the fact that we had time for other important things. For example, last week we practiced how to set up climbs on our own. I had no idea how to set up a climb all by myself and I am not sure if I would be able to do it today but at least I have now a better understanding about how to do it. This week we had some time for team bonding. We first went to Yankee Candle Village, relaxed, had some fun and learned each others names. I hope from now on people will know that I am Olivia, and not Sophie

For next week, we are hoping for good weather so we can get some nice climbs under our belt before it starts getting freezing cold. Keep our fingers crossed! And I hope then I will be able to talk a bit more about nature.

Third Rock Climbing Trip

Like two weeks ago, our ride was about 45 minutes through landscapes, forests, and little towns. Towards the end of the trip, the towns got less and nature started to be much more prominent. Due to the time of the year, I was excited about all the colors I saw outside the window. They changed from green to yellow, from yellow to orange and from orange to red.When we arrived at our destination we left our van behind and hiked up to the actual rock we would climb on. This time, the hike was not as demanding nor very long as opposed to our last trip. We only hiked for about 15-20 minutes and it was not as steep as last time. I am sure the fact that I wasn't carrying a heavy rope this time made a difference. Friday was the first sunny day after a series of days with heavy rain so the ground was pretty soft and a bit muddy at some places. When we entered the forest it was hard not to notice the strong smell of leaves, trees, moss and soil after they had been absorbing the rainwater for the last couple of days. It smelled refreshing and alive.

The wall we climbed was similar in size of the one we climbed last week. It was maybe a bit higher but the degree of difficult was probably the same. It had a few solid cracks and niches that enabled me to make it up the wall. The only difference was that the rock was wet. The rock wasn't entirely wet, only at the spots where the sun couldn't reach the rock; nevertheless, the wetness made the climb more difficult.

What I liked most about this site was the huge crack between the two walls that we could climb inside. It definitely made the climb more difficult in some ways because I was sandwiched between two walls and as a result had not too much room to move. At the same time, the two walls gave me more support by being able to press my back towards one wall and my feed towards the other wall and just hang in there. Fun Trip!