Written by: Grace and Caleb
We arrived in Moab on the 28th of October, excited by the prospect of climbing that would not destroy our hands as badly as Indian Creek. We were welcomed by a furious lightning storm, and Luke and Macy rushing to our tarps to tell us to get into a lightning position. Huddled up in our tents we weathered the storm, and wondered what we would be doing during the day as we waited for the sandstone to dry– a peaceful day off to thrift shop for Halloween costumes and enjoy a lunch away from ration food at the Moab Food Truck Park.
We then did two more days of Trail Work with Trail Mix, a nonprofit trail work group on Pipe Dream, the mountain biking trail closest to town. Splitting into groups, some of us enjoyed throwing large rocks downhills while others built retaining walls and widened the trail. We welcomed our new I-Team member, Walter, on Halloween during a food shop– he showed up in full costume as an astronaut, straight from the airport. That night we all joined him in costumes for night bouldering, shining lights for each other to see holds and cheering one another on through the darkness.
For the next two days, we enjoyed climbing at the Theater and Cinema, working through various technical skill progressions with more personal choice over our individual days and areas of focus.
On another rainy day we made our way to the park for some reading. Then we spent the afternoon at a local bouldering gym. We took turns trying various problems until we were too tired to continue. The next day there were more rainy activities. We made a quick drive to a canyon trail to do everything from running to hacky sack. We split up in the afternoon for solos and bouldering.
We ended our time in Moab with a day of climbing. We experimented with pods, 5 of us going back to the Theater and the others trying a new crag. Unfortunately, our day was cut short by more rain but it was successful nonetheless. The following morning we drove back to Leadville, excited for a few days of rest before heading internationally.
