Moab (Climbing & Camping) February 15-18, 2018

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This was a bomber trip! One of my good friends had a sister renting a spacious condo in Spanish Valley, and he was able to hook us up for the nights we were down there. Even though all five of us that went were in school full time, it was a 3 day weekend and we were all itching to get out of town. We didn't really have a trip itinerary since we were all focusing on school. Rather, we just got together on Thursday night and piled our gear and bodies into the car and hit the road. We got into town pretty late and were still running on caffeine and excitement so we decided to hike to Delicate Arch in the dark.

Shot on my Canon Rebel.
After our midnight escapade, we crashed at the condo but were up bright and early the next morning. Friday was a full day of climbing. We started down the canyon at the Take Out Beach climbing area and eventually worked our way to a fun route called "Root Canal" (a nice 5.8).

           
Me belaying. It's cold in the shadows!
                                                                                        Starting up a 5.9


                                        


                                        
                     

After our successful day climbing, we had a nice meal at the Blu Pig on the South end of town. We went to bed at a decent time in preparation for the plans we had hatched for Saturday. We started early Saturday by driving to Gemini Bridges and checking things out. Following that, we tackled an awesome climb called "Pocket Rocket" (5.9) which had a crazy start pulling over a roof. Pocket Rocket is a couple miles up UT 279 tucked back in a small canyon. We spent most of the afternoon there and had a great time.





After getting worn out climbing, we kicked around the canyon for a while and headed back to the condo earlier than planned and. We soaked in the hot tub and just relaxed away the stresses of being in the middle of the semester. Sunday, we drove up onto the BLM land northwest of town and messed around with 9MM's and a dueling tree. Later, we drove the Gemini Bridges Road and saw Bride Canyon and one of the uranium mines.





We headed home Sunday evening, re-charged for another week of school. We packed so much in this weekend and covered alot of ground. Moab has an endless supply of popular locations as well as off the beaten path adventures.

Location: Delicate Arch Trail, Moab, UT 84532, USA

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