Micah's Birthday Trip

Micah has been working on a climb called "Goliath" in the Enchanted Tower climbing area, which is near Datil, NM. It is a 5.13a, so when he gets the route it will be the hardest one he's ever climbed. He has had Goliath in head as his first 5.13 since he first saw it over five years ago. Goliath is the main route on the Tower and it quite impressive to look at from the ground. It is much longer than most sport climbing routes as it's about 115 feet long. For those of you that are non-climbers, climbing a route is not just about reaching the top of the rock face on top rope. It's actually about lead-climbing (which means you bring the rope up the route with you and clip it into quick draws as you make your way up), without any "takes" (which is when you ask your belayer to take up the rope so you can rest on it), or any falls. As of today, Micah has been up the route five times to learn where the good holds are and to practice the moves, but he has yet to do it without at least one take.

Micah knew this route would take some commitment. Although it used it take about 2 1/2 hours to get to the Enchanted Tower, the access through private land has been closed so now one has to drive an extra 45 minutes on a rough dirt road to reach the area. Micah and his climbing buddies have been leaving ABQ around 6:00 a.m. on Saturday, driving over 3 hours to the Enchanted Tower, climbing for 5-6 hours, and then driving over 3 hours home so that they can be home for dinner with their families. Although it is a sacrifice on my part to have Micah gone climbing on Saturdays, I'm thankful that he is home for dinner even though half of his climbing day is spent driving. I also understand how important this climb is to Micah and that he only puts forth this kind of time and effort when he is working on short-term goals such as Goliath. Soon it will be too hot to climb at the Enchanted Tower so, although he has spent the last four weekends climbing there, he only has a couple of more weekends to go back.

Last week Monday was Micah's birthday. I asked his parents if they could come to ABQ and watch the kids overnight the weekend before his birthday so Micah and I could camp at the Enchanted Tower. It just isn't worth driving 6 hours in one day with our kids for a few hours of climbing each (since Micah and I have to take turns climbing with friends when we go there with the kids), so we don't have much opportunity to climb there together. Thankfully they agreed to come down.

We decided to camp in our 4Runner like we did pre-kids since it is much more comfortable and warmer than tent camping. We took out the car seats, put the backseat down, and created a bed in the back of the car.

We got to the Enchanted Tower just before 4:00 p.m. on Friday and we had the whole place to ourselves. Micah climbed up the route slowly, with many takes, for his warm-up while I belayed him. Around 5:30 our friend Dan and his 7-year-old son Auggie arrived. Dan and Micah have been working on this route together and, since the route is so long and one has to belay for 45 minutes or so because of the climber working out the moves and re-climbing various sections of the route, I welcomed Dan's idea of camping at the Enchanted Tower with us since it would mean that I wouldn't be Micah's sole belayer. In fact, I only belayed Micah on the first of his three attempts during our time time at the Tower, and the rest of the time I got to relax and watch!

I truly relaxed as I drank a cider while the guys climbed

It's hard to watch someone climb from the base of the climb since you have to spend so much time looking up, so I ventured down the campsite where I had a great view of the guys on Goliath. This is Dan.

The true perspective from the ground. Goliath is front and center and it definitely stands out! 

My only complaint from our trip is the flies...they were awful but at least they didn't bite

Micah getting close to the top

After the guys got in a little more climbing, Micah made dinner (he is always the cook when we go camping, which is great news for me!). Then we enjoyed sitting around a campfire before we watched part of a movie in our car. It was a great kid-free evening.

My cook

I always enjoy a good fire, and we even had mini marshmallows in the car (our car seat bribe) for Auggie to roast

We slept great, especially because we didn't have anyone waking us up in middle of the night or at 6:00 a.m. After making breakfast, Micah, Dan, Auggie, and I went up to some easier routes that I could lead and Auggie could get on too. I led three easy routes, which felt like an accomplishment to me since I rarely have the opportunity to climb outside and leading outdoors is much different than leading at the gym. Then the guys both got on Goliath for awhile and made some progress with the route.

Good morning! Goliath beckons...

We enjoyed our breakfast, and my chai, in the car since the flies were ridiculous at the campsite

Auggie

Me

A rare moment of Micah and I climbing together

As I was sitting there watching Micah work on a route that is a challenge for him, I was thinking about Grendel (5.11b), which is a route that I once attempted to lead on a whim in my stronger climbing days. It is on a slightly smaller side of the Tower, but it is still a long climb, and I am not in the best climbing shape right now so I knew it would be a challenge. I decided that if Micah was up for leading it, I would attempt to top rope it. Attempt is the right word as, although I made it to the top, I had to take three times, but I was proud of myself for doing it.

Micah taking his turn belaying Dan

Auggie spent a lot of time riding his bike on the road below

Micah belaying, Dan climbing

Micah records his attempts with a Go Pro so that he can watch it and learn the moves better. This is serious business.

Micah headed up

Micah going over the bulge

Our car is hidden between the trees below at our campsite

Micah at the top

Micah coming down

Maybe Micah really likes this route just because he gets a big swing ride on the way down...

Me heading up Grendel

Somehow I made it to the top, but I was sore for days!

We left the Tower around 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, stopped in Socorro at a brewery for an early dinner, and then headed home for birthday cake with Micah's parents and the kids. Although the kids were happy to see us, they had a great time with Grandpa and Grammy and it sounds like the grandparents had fun too!

Jack was sad that we weren't celebrating his birthday. Only a few more weeks!

Daddy always enjoys tickling the girls...look at that reaction!

Micah with his parents and the kids

On Sunday Micah, his dad, and Jack went out to eat at the Waffle House. They enjoyed talking about Jeeps and other guy things. A quote from Jack at breakfast, "Someday, I'm going to drive a Jeep, you're going to drive a Jeep (to Grandpa), and Daddy's going to drive a Jeep."

All in all, it was a great trip and the perfect way to spend Micah's birthday weekend. I think he will remember this one for awhile.