Moving from Moab and into Indian Creek

It wasn't that we left Unaweep Canyon and the Fruita area so much by choice but rather rapidly dropping temperatures 'persuaded' us to move on. The cold is much less tolerable when there is no escape from it. Dinner and breakfasts were prepared hastily as pre-frostbitten fingers encouraged limited explore to pre-dusk and post-dawn air temperature and winter hats were slept in which caused the ever-irritating itchy scalp.

We arrived in Moab on a Monday- our little trick to avoid the crowds of this increasingly popular autumn getaway. Our plan proved as ill-conceived as Kennedy's Bay of Pigs invasion as the Monday in question was Columbus Day. Utah has a rich history of controversial customs dating back to the middle of the 19th century and continues this legacy, apparently, by allowing its residence a full week off from vocational obligations- to commemorate the eradication of some early American indigenous populations by 15th century Italians in search for precious metals and spices- by touring sandstone arches. In short, Moab was busy. Busy like the DMV the day before the Minnesota State Government shut down. And the civility of the town was like the San Diego Zoo on "Animals Without Cages Day," a federal holiday that I just made up (hey, if Columbus gets a nonsensical holiday, than so do I). After performing several non-lethal ju-jitsu moves on some small (but surprisingly strong) children and coming up victorious in an equal number of heated thumb wars, Juliet and I were able to secure a campsite for the night. Features of our campsite included: extremely close proximity to neighbors, even closer proximity to the highway, and the headlights of passerbys waking us up all night in 5 minute intervals. All this and more for an $8 fee made payable to our dear friends, the Bureau of Land Management.

The next day we decided to go to Arches National Park. On the north end of the park is a place called "Devils Garden" which features a 7 mile loop that promises views of a half-dozen arches. The trail is divided into two sections splitting the loop in half. The first half offers generous views of the park from a highly elevated trail following natural slickrock that winds through magnificent arches and the "other worldly" landscape of towering sandstone walls below. The second half of the loop is called the "primitive trail" which offers really nothing at all save three miles of low elevation desert sand walking where the only sight-seeing involves the illusions of your dehydrated imagination. We would highly recommend that the main trail be walked out to "Dark Angel," a looming stand-alone pillar, and then backtracked back to the trail head.

Among the more notable events to happen to us in Moab was the meeting of a couple from Alaska, Kenn and Judy, who shared stories of their travels across Canada and the US and gave us an invite to spend some time in Alaska next summer.

To illustrate one last impression of Moab I can refer to the slogan of one City Councilperson Hopeful who's campaign simply read, "Locals First." This is a town that has literally been hijacked by tourists and the businesses that offer touristy sorts of things. Nevertheless, Moab in the off-season would offer much for the traveling recreation enthusiast.

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Two days in the hustle and bustle of Moab was a bit of a culture shock and was enough reason to move on. Juliet had her sights set on Indian Creek, 60 miles south of Moab, which sports crack climbing that is described as "laser cut." These uniform, hand-wide, partitions are the only feature on an otherwise featureless piece of 20' x 100' windgate sandstone. There are literally thousands of these partitions which invite climbers from all over the world to practice the delicate dance of hand jams and body positions necessary to gain temporary immunity from the forces of gravity. While Indian Creek was more popular than we were expecting, it was a far cry from our Moab experience. Indian Creek offers little other than rock climbing and so those that are drawn to it have something in common.

Our first day in Indian Creek we decided to check out the "Scarface" wall. Climbing routes are rated on a scale that runs from 5.5 through 5.15 and can be broken down roughly as follows: 5.5-5.7 are beginner, 5.8-5.10 are intermediate, 5.11-5.12 are expert, and 5.13 and over are professional. Climbing in Indian Creek is considered "traditional (trad) climbing" because you need to place all of your own protective gear as you go. This requires an element of knowledge and abilities that reaches beyond the normal skill set required for other types of rock climbing. Crack climbing technique also requires a specialized skill set and so traditional crack climbing is vastly different from the kind of climbing that I was use to doing indoors in the middle of a Minnesotan winter. Juliet, on the other hand, had been to Indian Creek before and to say, "Juliet likes crack climbing" is an understatement comparable to, "fish like water." She flourishes at crack climbing to the amazement of onlookers.

Indian Creek is referred to as a "friendly" climbing destination. This is not so much because people are there to make friends, but the consistency of the laser cut cracks often requires redundancy in gear. A person who wanted to be self-sufficient, gear-wise, in Indian Creek could expect to spend thousands upon thousands of dollars. A much cheaper solution is to swap and share gear with others climbers- hence climbing in Indian Creek mandates a certain amount of "friendliness."

Matt and Tim would be our first taste of such friendliness (which turned into genuine friendship). Matt, a charismatic and gregarious character that would become our unofficial climbing coach, had graduated from law school, took the bar exam, and was awaiting the results. Tim, who is quick-witted enough to keep Matt honest and on his toes, is a PhD fellow at a biochemistry lab. Through a healthy dose of humor and encouragement they pushed both Juliet and I to learn new techniques and to climb to our fullest potentials. By the end of the first day, Juliet had cleaned the infamous Scarface route and worked up Annanuki. I was inspired, too, cleaning my first 5.9 and 5.10.

It was only our first day in Indian Creek when we had been "inspired" (worked to death) by Matt and Tim. We needed a rest day. We had been told of a work day put on by the American Alpine Club and the Bureau of Land Management to help clean up Indian Creek. We decided that our rest day could be eight hours of shoveling, raking, and fence building in the desert sun. While restful it was not, we did meet many wonderful climbers from all over the area and the country and it was a good opportunity to give back to the many folks that came before us that secured access to Indian Creek as an established climbing area.

We were sad that Matt and Tim needed to leave the next day, but we were able to say goodbye and hope to meet up with them someday after Matt has made a bunch of money being a corporate lawyer that tries to convince the public that smoking cigarettes doesn't kill people or that eating McDonald's doesn't lead to childhood obesity (just kidding, Matt, you'll probably be one of those good, noble lawyers that stands up for those defenceless murderers or something charitable like that). Seriously though guys, we had a great time climbing and hope to do it again soon.

Indian Creek is an amazing place that we just couldn't bare to leave. And so we didn't. We are still in Indian Creek climbing, making new friends, and taking in the desert beauty.

The fence that banked Jon and I a TON of good Karma

A very productive 'rest' day

Jon on 'The Keyhole' 5.10. He thought, "Since Juliet got it..."

The deep swimming hole that gives Indian Creek its fifth star

There is no such thing as buyers remorse when it comes to cams

As usual, Jon doing yoga before some hard climbing

In the shade on 'Renegades a Funk' 5.10 

Me feeling like a kid again on a 5.8 chimney

What a pleasure to have met Kenn and Judy

There's Jon photoshopped in front of a professional picture of an arch. Just kidding, I seriously took this :)

What a life

Resupply day

Scarface 5.11. Couldn't have done it without the encouragment (and cams) of Matt and Tim. Thank You

Matt (red helmet) + Tim (white helmet) + Dan (not pictured) = Awesome

Jon moving up in the trad world. His first 5.10