25,000ft and Rising

29 Sep 201829 Sep 2018 / bens game / 2 Comments

We have crossed the first thousand mile mark and with 25,000 vertical feet of cycling uphill, and have arrived in Villa De Leyva (7000ft). I’m sat here drinking wine out of a box contemplating the next 25,000. There was a rather large pass from sea level to 8600ft that added a fair chunk to the climb, this followed a rolling ridge line with great views. So the total climb was around 11,000 feet of gain, followed by another drop to 5000ft then three thousand feet of climbing which landed us here at a nice cool 7k. Confusing but imagine two steps up, one down for every foot of elevation gain. It is the start of the Andes I guess and only gets bigger from here. We are a day or so cycle from Suesca, a nice little climbing village we visited a year ago and decided to come back by. The scenery up here is like the Lake District, my home mountains, but with slightly bigger hills.

Arriving in the town was a little of a downer, both in elevation and morale. Getting in late and tired a pack of dogs managed to rip a pannier off Karli’s bike as she was riding, it now has teeth holes pierced in the sides. The dogs aren’t all bad. Yesterday we adopted a stray dog that wanted petting and it followed us around the streets and shops as we became regular tourists for a few hours. Its quite shocking that between the two of us we can survive on about 30,000pesos a day (10dollar, or 7GBP) in most places in Colombia but soon as we join the regular tourist trail, that will buy breakfast at best. Maybe we have become complacent but it was quite funny watching ‘Gringos’ walking around with backpacks on their fronts wearing Panama hats and travel trousers. Backpacks are worn on the front to prevent pick pocketing/pack slashing in risky places. Its a wonder its done here where the locals are friendly and whole town warm and inviting, compared to back home in big cities that I would be worried about. We did find a local that wanted to show us around so dropped the panniers and trailer for the day, drank a beer then went for a ride to some small lagunas for sunset, followed by beer in the square til we were tired. (P.S we rode back in the dark with Karli at the front with one bike light, the local in the middle, no lights; and me at the back with a reversed headlight on red.)

Normally bike packing I would have a tarp sheet to sleep under, a pad to sleep on and a two season sleeping bag weighing in at 600g. Combine it with a titanium cup, a spork, a spirit-stove, a synthetic insulated jacket and spare pair of thick socks my gear would tip the scale at around 3-4kg (8lbs), plus a backpack and food. I hauled this nice light weight the length of the rockies climbing along the way and it was a blast, nice and light. This trip is a little different. The potential extremes alone covering temperatures from over 38c down to -30c (100f- -20f) requiring heavier duty sleeping bags. High winds requiring a stronger heavier tent. Cold weather mountaineering clothing combined with technical, double boots for extended duration in cold. Hauling a mix of Sport climbing and mountaineering equipment. This trip is going to push the limit of our gear. Its going to push the bikes, instead of aluminium or carbon, strong but malleable steel that can take the punishment of the extra weight. This all adds up to a spectacularly hideous weight I will not say. But anybody out there with climbing experience can guess what the weight is like. Right now this is a cold weather, high altitude expedition in a warm place. But the mountains grow around us like a waiting menace, the cold is coming. We opted for a two wheel trailer to take the brunt, it removes a lot of the strain of balancing a loaded bicycle. I suspect It will suffer a slow agonizing death over this trip, gravel road after pothole after speed bump (really popular in this part of the world). I don’t suspect much we have will survive the whole thing. So far its doing well for how roughly we have treated it.

I think the worst thing for wear will be us. Every day on the bikes our bodies get stronger, fat burns, the heart rate lowers, the reach becomes greater. But each time I look in the mirror I see an aging man staring back. Unrecognizable. Sunburned, weathered, beaten and wrinkled. I feel bad for a second, but then I look at my girlfriend and think, at least I’m not looking as bad as her. Life goes on.

Mexico Day 2 and 3

29 Sep 201728 Jan 2018 / bens game / 1 Comment

The second day of our Mexican journey was a lot of driving. We drove from half seven in the morning until around 7 in the evening. We made two stops for fuel and one for tacos. Ben felt the tacos were over priced-even ‘American in price’. But that’s only because his good friend led on that we would be eating only 8 cent tacos during our time here. But on that note, I’d like to mention that Ben refused food for the both of us throughout the entire day. I ate half a yogurt for breakfast while he enjoyed a stale cinnamon roll. My pleas for tacos throughout the day went on unheard until around 5pm when I finally held a pocket knife to his throat and forced him to pull over along with the rest of the traveling wagons. This is how we’ve decided to judge preliminary whether or not a restaurant will be favorable or not – is whether there is a gaggle of semi-trucks blocking our way in.

Anyways.

So we made three stops. Gas. Gas. Tacos. Our bodies were feeling sore at the end of the day. Not the kind we’re used to, where the muscles are sore from exertion, but rather from being confined to a small space for hours on end.

Our destination was a small city at the base of Pico de Orizaba by the name of Tlachichuca, and despite the both of us desperately wanting to be there by the time the sun fell over the mountains, we decided to aim for a small green patch on the maps which preceded the city by 90km. Upon arriving at the mysterious green patch on the map, we discovered our path barred by a barrier and a guard, almost military like. The guard approached us and introduced us to the national park that was hiding just beyond the gate, and let us know that we would be safe camping for the evening. He wished us a good evening and raised the barrier.

The winding dirt road eventually led us to find a quaint little camping spot for us to enjoy a pot of noodles accompanied by old sauce and a can of tuna. Only one mosquito bite later, and we were bundled up in the tent.

Day 3

The day began with thick cloud cover, left over dew, mossy trees outside our mesh windows, and Ben’s continued ranting over Reeces’ promised 8 cent tacos. As I took solace in the last few minutes with my sleeping bag, I was interrupted by Ben’s manly, high pitched, screams. Maybe I should have been more concerned, but instead I took my sweet time wiggling my shoes onto my feet before I leaned out the tent to make sure he wasn’t experience extreme blood loss. He wasn’t. He just hit himself in the head with the tent poled, blaming the moisture for his accident. (ben- it really was a slick pole)

We left camp without breakfast, and high hopes to find a spot in Tlechichuca where we could prop open the portable stove and boil up some oatmeal. Pleasantly, after winding our way down the opposite side of the mountain, we were greeted by a brightly colored Sunday market. After a few laps up and down the street, we found ourselves the proud new owners of a bag of spicy peanuts and hot potato chips. We ditched the idea of oatmeal when we came across a couple of ladies serving up tacos across from where we had parked. We were delighted to find out, after our meal, that our tacos and mystery drink had only cost us 13 pesos-about 75 american cent.
We left the market and continued our journey toward Orizaba. About an hour later we found a pharmacy where Ben was able to procure an anti-malarial for the next couple of months of our journey. They were cheap (about 30 dollars for a 70 day supply) and hopefully not counterfeit. Only the next few months will tell.

interesting roadside isgn

decorative streets after the first market

Eventually we found ourselves in Tlachichuca and again, tempted by the Sunday market they had going on. This one was large enough that there was a police presence to direct the traffic and had a good friendly feel. We bought a deep fried fish with chilli powder and lime, a corn on the cob (elote) with butter, cheese, chili powder, and lime (this disgust me but Karli loved it) and ice cream to finish with some nice notes of lime and coffee. Walking around the market I couldnt help but notice i was taller than everybody else and had to stoop continuously under the tarps shading the stalls.

We departed the market and drove up the volcano. The road started well and finished poor. The mighty subaru cruised to half way on the rutted mud track but the last 2000ft of trail are steep and so far evading us. Karli gave it a whacking great try rallying up the way, till a sharp turn and steeper terrain suited to 4x4s with low gears and knobbly tyres stumped us. The car told us it was not happy with a great deal of smoke from the clutvh. We have backed down to a flat area to regroup and work out a plan of attack on the remaining 6500ft of ascent.

Our campsite this evening is an abandoned village composed of 4 decomposing cottages, a common bathroom, and some sort of lookout post. Still trying to decipher what this area was used for (ben thinks cartel post due to the watch tower, but then again, Ben thinks everything is cartel), once upon a time. I sat up in the lookout post for a bit while Ben traipsed around, discovering whatever there was to be discovered. The echoing sound of a dogs bark accompanied us for the greater portion of an hour until Ben finally decided to locate the howls. He stumbled upon a shivering and scared pup sitting at the bottom of a 10ft hole. After a few moments he shouted for me to come over.

After a few moments of discusion and with the hole being muddy we unbolted the roof tent ladder and dropped it down. Karli put on a thick jacket and padded gloves and descended. The dog was cold, scared and snappish. She spent a about 15minutes gently stroking it to calm it down, we dropped a towel over to warm him and a short while later Karli picked him up and carried him up the ladder. The poor fella hunched for a few minutes berfore first slowly getting up and walking a few paces, then a little quicker, then he ran. The last we saw of him was a small speck bolting down towards the village. Not ever a thanks (but thats ok).

camp 1 on orizaba

laptop rigged for movies to rooftent

water filtration on the road

bahhhhhh

the road up in the clouds

We are now collecting rainwater with the help of a small roof and a tarp sheet.

Acute Mountain Sickness And What Makes A Sucessful Trip

28 Sep 201728 Jan 2018 / bens game / 2 Comments

After backing down from 12,500ft in the Subara which didn’t quite have the power to go up the volcano on the 4 wheel drive track, and having a nights rest we descended to one of the lower villages knocking on doors to find the local guiding company that could give rides up to the mountain hut. I will admit Karli’s Spanish was more useful here than my charade/ hand signal language. Eventually descending right back to the valley bottom we were directed after several attempts to the mountain guides hotel. We asked the owner Roberto for a lift to the hut for a summit attempt. He gave us a great price of 1600 dollars (Mex) which is around 80 US dollars for a ride up to 14,500ft(4420m, taking around a hour or so), ride down back to 10,000ft, clean water and an extra camping mat for in the hut. This is just out of the tourist season for the peak which starts in a couple of weeks after the rainy season. The ride up was rough, the mud trail we drove down in the morning was a raging torrent of washouts and collapsed road sections getting bigger by the minute. Half way up at one of the guides houses in a small village we changed to a beautiful old maroon jeep. The kind of machine where you hear two whacking great chunks of metal smash together when engaging 4 wheel drive mode. The part of trail that stopped us originally on our attempt was more impassable with water raging down. We were glad we descended when we did in the subaru, this was definately too much for the traction control, road tyres and low ground clearance. The guide told us its normal rain for this time of year. At one point stopping the vehicle to hack tonnes of mud to create a smooth run down into a dip where previously was a road. We arrived at around 14,500ft about 5pm in the afternoon feeling good for our summit attempt beginning midnight. Quickly prepping kit, preparing the evening meal-ramen and packing bags for the early depart. Karli wasn’t enthusiastic about eating the Ramen which made me slightly concerned because a lack of appetite up that high is not good. But to be honest I wasn’t overjoyed at the thought of them either. But we did have a big box full of it we bought back in the states so it had to be used. At about half 6 we went to bed ready for our midnight ascent.

the road up

the top of Pica de Orizaba, the mountain hut is behind the black rocky ridgeline to the left, this is taken from 12,000ft

Now, for the past weeks I had been going on about Altitude sickness to Karli to the point she was sick of hearing about it and didn’t want to know. I think this changed just before setting off at midnight when I became aware she wasn’t sleeping, had a cracking headache, and felt like she was going to vomit. To partially quote her, ‘Worst hangover Ever’.

We had been talking about this mountain for weeks. We had waited a week for my package and a few extra days for Karli’s package to arrive with the sole purpose of Orizaba in mind. We had been waking up to stare at it’s snow covered peak for the last few mornings. To get there and not even start the hike to the glacier was slightly disappointing, but AMS be AMS and you can’t fight the right decision for safety.
The journey here was fun, through the laughter and anger and smoke of trying to force a car up a muddy high altitude dirt road. Of filtering tarp rain water into a small pot and waking up with wet pillows and Karli’s deliciously prepared pancakes, making fools of ourselves trying to speak Spanish in a game of charades. There was so much more to this adventure than the mountain that was staring back at us.

We went into this mountain knowing we were close to the limit for acclimatising, the past week we slowly camped higher, the previous week had been spent around 5000ft. then 7000ft, 9000, 9000, 10,000, 12,000, and finally 14,500 (the hut height), which was a 6hour stop before a dash to the summit and descend back to 10k. We hoped to have longer but with nearly 10days of delayed equipment and being stuck near the US border, the time was gone. We went in with the knowledge a turn back was likely.

Karli seemed much better by the time we reached 10,000ft, though the headache persisted for a while. Roberto had a full breakfast of three courses waiting for us when we arrived back at the base and kindly let us use his hotel showers.
On any climbing trip the safety of the team comes first. Altitude sickness can hit anybody, no matter how fit or carefully acclimatised. There are a few basic rules – If you have symptoms, don’t go any higher, If you have symptoms, descend as soon as possible. If someone has symptoms, do not leave them alone. Symptoms- lack of appetite, headache, nausea, flu like. They progress to confusion, drunken like behaviour, eventually unconsciousness and can lead to death if not handled promptly. The only way to stop the symptoms is to descend. The worst part is it’s silent, and gets worse with time so stealthily it’s hard to notice. descending even a couple thousand feet can reduce it.
It’s a reminder of just how frail the human body is. Change altitude by a few thousand feet too fast and it can kill us. The standard advice is above 8-10,000ft (the point at which sickness usually begins) ascend at a rate of around 1000ft per day, and every 3000ft have an extra days rest. If possible, hike high, sleep low.

I don’t care that we didn’t make the mountain top, this was a cracking sunrise and great fun meeting locals on the mountain. And we are both down ok.

Crossing Borders

17 Sep 201728 Jan 2018 / bens game / Leave a comment

The officer said ‘Its illegal to carry fruit and veg back into the United states, that’s your second contravention’. The first was ten minutes previous when we accidentally merged into a ‘Sentri lane’ to re-enter the United states just minutes after leaving, which carries a $5000 dollar fine.

‘Where are you heading?’ another of a series of questions begins.

‘To Argentina!!’ We both reply

‘How long is it going to take?’ , the next question.

‘Two or three months maybe, ish?’

The border officers are getting a real kick out of this.

Today we- crossed into Mexico, were let through by a green light. Did a u-turn, tried to go back to customs to get our Mexican Tourist Cards, took the wrong lane back into the USA without an option to bail out, and were told it’s up to a $5000 dollar fine. Told we would now need an inspection. Pulled into the x-ray machine, questioned, searched briefly, told the fruit in our cooler box is going bad, and is also contraband, which is a fine.

What a day!!!!! What a day. It was kinda funny, and they didn’t give us any fines I can say from the get-go. Driving into Mexico is easy, just a series of traffic-style lights. We didn’t find any opportunity to talk to anybody at the border. Immediately you are spat out onto an expressway, with signs in Spanish. Confusing to say the least. If you are staying within the tourist zone for 72 hours or less no paperwork or stamps are required, this is perfectly acceptable. If you want to go inland you require the paperwork.

This saga took most the afternoon. When we finally got back into the States we went to McDonalds’ for consolation fries and soda. We found out the office we needed to go to in Mexico was closed as it’s a holiday so now are camping free on the USA side of the border waiting for Monday morning to start fresh again with a full day for paperwork. Also giving time to pick up anti-malarial supplies for myself hopefully at a cheap price. We slept the night on a large lay-by to a reservoir supposing to be a quiet place to sleep. All night fishermen came by with trailers continually opening and closing a noisy metal gate down to the lake. This morning we were tipped off to a cool trail to a mountain top where we could camp the night.

We spent an hour on another lake kayaking in a $12 per hour sit-on-top, me paddling forwards, Karli paddling backwards in a counter-productive manor. And soaking each other in the process. It was an all out war for a moment with a peace treaty that never quite stuck, it was a good kick though. Karlis’ parents will be relieved to know she has picked up a fresh supply of large sweet bags to compliment the M&Ms we have been consuming at a steady rate. (We have also been training for climbing with running etc for a potential BIG mountain in Mexico, our excuse for excessive consumption.)

After losing a couple of previous days of our two week Mexican vehicle insurance we are re-planning and streamlining the country a little bit. That’s all for now folks!!!!

Sawtooth Canyon- Sport Climbing

16 Sep 201728 Jan 2018 / bens game / 3 Comments

So, this week we have- Started climbing properly, discovered my fear of bees and wasps is very real, ran and trained in the desert heat, ripped a hold off the crag low down, rigged the little solar panel to the roof tent, and posed for lots of climbing pics.

So taking off from the last post, after discovering the parcel was going to be a week longer we drove to Sawtooth Canyon back in the middle of California where we had stopped previously. The canyon is filled with hundreds of sport routes up to 120ft and as it is free camping seemed like a logical place to be. The second day after a couple of easier sport routes to warm up on I decided on something harder and went into the 5.10s’. It was a relief that after so long off climbing I could still climb a reasonable grade. The first route over 100ft with interesting huecos (hollow features in the rock) , the second route being an awkward corner requiring a little technique again rising 100ft. After climbing we drove to town and loaded up with water and cheap tinned produce after struggling to keep fresh goods cold in the heat. This gave us a lazy afternoon sat back drinking wine, eating snacks and reading.

cool silhouette

solar panel rigged for early morning phone charging

one of the holds that ripped off while trying to climb, this was followed by loose bolts and a retreat.

sizing up the first 5.10

karli relaxing after the climbing in shade

The next day climbing was hard and very sustained around the 5.10. If I am honest it was painful, after yesterdays climbing my fingers hurt and the little crimps were not fun, nor were the cruxes or gaining the last 10ft on one route to the top bolts/chains which took several attempts to reach. We finished the morning climbing on a beautiful 5.7 route on red and white swirly rock which was a nice warm down. Climbing out here seems tiring and hot. Which it is.

The final day climbing was a fail, during the night I picked out three awesome routes that went to the highest points on some cool lines. 120ft (36m) in length being slightly past the limit of the 70m rope (you require enough rope to get up and back down on a sport route), but as the route had intermediate anchors half way, would be a good intro to multi pitch sport for Karli. After taking a while to find the start scrambling up and down little canyons, we arrived at the base. Looking at the rock I was sceptical. We roped up and I started climbing, 6 feet of the ground the first big jug hold ripped off the crag. That was disappointing. The next few holds looked of a similar manor. Cracked, flaky, hollow sounding and felt slightly loose. We decided to cut to the next route before more holds came detached. I should mention this area of the canyon doesn’t see too much traffic, being a 10 minute walk as opposed to roadside, and the rock being lesser quality. The next route I started climbing on similar looking rock and found the first bolt loosely spinning. It was a dismal feeling, well within my ability, but bad vibes coming from the route. We descended back down the canyon. Karli received a message saying my parcel had arrived. Within a few minutes we packed up camp and started the drive back.

Parcel collected, today-Mexico. Wish I could say more but there is lots to do.

A Grand Day Out

4 Sep 201728 Jan 2018 / bens game / Leave a comment

I thought the hikers diet of pop tarts was over, I thought I wouldn’t go back to that life style again, but I was wrong. If anything Karli has forced my diet to deteriorate even more. Poptarts, donuts, tornados, corndogs, really anything I can get my mitts on.

Last night we dropped down into the Grand Canyon from the South Kaibob Trail. Around 5000ft of descent. During the day the temp is around 42c which makes this too hot to descend with any rational mind. I watched others hiking up in it nearly passing out carrying empty flasks, not nearly enough mid day. I felt sorry for them, but knowing I was only carrying a half litre down myself to get to the bottom, couldn’t spare any. The river at the very bottom is the only water station on this route (carrying of a filter required). We set off at 3pm, and as we went down the burning sun started to cool. I wasn’t expecting such a good trail, wide, smooth and all the things a good trail is. We initially planned (in the loosest sense of the word, we actually just walked into the ranger station and picked up a free map) to do the Rim to Rim to Rim overnight. But upon reaching the river, we became a bit lazy, justifying only one descent by saying how busy we would be in the coming days, a first.

feet up

the last few miles out the canyon

moon lit sky

colorado river

we took these sandwiches on route, by the canyon bottom they were a over heated gloopy pasty mess

about 1500feet of canyon in view

ridgeline down the first half

explorer stance

After a while chilling by the river, and as the sun set we set off back up the canyon. Most the way up the moon shone bright and there was no need for head torches which was a relief as my battery warning light was flashing. On route there were beetles, scorpions, tarantulas and other weird insects. We drove a few miles out the national park then crashed out down a forestry lane.

about half way down

2/3 the way down

Karli on Black Bridge over the Colorado River

I have a fear of wasps, not a needless fear, but they sting me every few years when I let my guard down, I am always the victim and it is never provoked. This morning I was nearly a victim again. There is a hole in the roof tent we cannot cover (this aids in the closing of it). The wasp got in through the hole and decided not to leave through the un-meshed window. I protected myself as best possible by covering myself with my sleeping bag while instructing Karli to get rid of it. Climbing yes, Kayaking yes, snowboarding yes, winter mountaineering yes, I’ll take any without fear. But these tiny merchants of doom should be exterminated, I have no place in my life nor love for them.

We are now in California now, finding somewhere to camp the night. The next few days should have lots packed in.

Cycling on the 4th July

5 Jul 2017 / bens game / Leave a comment

My 4th July started like you are aware, with McDonalds. I have to say im begining to detest the Mcmuffin but it fuelled me up. I hung about in the town till the parade, the one big surprise at the start of the parade being everyone lining the sides of the road standing to attention with hand over heart as the American flag and servicemen led the way. This was followed by ex service men charities and support groups, then the fire services, with firemen dancing behind the wagon. It was pretty hot and I wondered how enthusiastic the dancing would be by the far end of the parade. There were plenty of entertaining floats and youth clubs, cheer leaders, boxing clubs and more. One thing that stood out was the amount of advertising with dates for events displayed on the side of the wagons. Then the beer companies getting their adverts in, even some mining companies. While the parade was entertaining, it did feel like watching a commercial, all be it a very colourful one. At 1pm I set off. It was hot, with a gentle headwind drying my skin and mouth and causing frustration. It was a long climb up a mundane gravel road mile after mile. Once I reached the divide crossing it felt easier, probably because it was downhill. when I reached the bottom of the next valley i sat under the highway in the shade. It was 5pm, I promised myself I wouldn’t ride through the mid day but its all I seem to end up doing of recent. I decided to take the easy alternate instead of an infamous steep ridgeline. An evening of 18 mile road cycling with a river lunch half way was nice. I rolled into Wise River and grabbed a beer. Then a second beer, then a third beer. At which point it started getting dark. I rolled out to find somewhere to camp.

In the middle of the main road in the town a group of adults and kids were setting off fireworks. They invited me to join them and handed me a beer. This seems to be becoming a theme along the route and one I am getting used too, by nearly midnight the fireworks were over and a lovely old lady who seemed to be grandmother to many of the kid offered the back porch to sleep on, which i gladly took.

5th July- 6am- I woke dehydrated, I said the previous night I would be up and gone early to get some miles in and as promised woke early. As I went around the front of the cabin I realised about 15 yards from where the fireworks were being set off was a fuel pump, it made me laugh a little. Todays ride has been glorious, climbing a pass to 2360m (7740ft) before descending to Elkhorn Hot Springs and covering around 30 mile by lunch. Now I am deciding if I should stop the night. After glancing at the map i have realised Yellowstone is within striking distance. Finally feels like I’m getting some miles in.