when i lived in chicago, i didnt have much access to the natural world.
it was city city city.
so i would go to wisconsin for some trees.
the best excuse was to climb at devils lake state park.
i would often meet other CMC members there.
i did see one tree quite often, though.
as i kept it inside for six or seven months.
i found it in an alley and took it home at christmas.
it had a sign on it, so i left that as the only decoration.
well, then one day david put his mickey's 40oz hat on the top.
so i would go to wisconsin for some trees.
the best excuse was to climb at devils lake state park.
i would often meet other CMC members there.
i did see one tree quite often, though.
as i kept it inside for six or seven months.
i found it in an alley and took it home at christmas.
it had a sign on it, so i left that as the only decoration.
well, then one day david put his mickey's 40oz hat on the top.
but i also saw all kinds of crazy shit in the skyline like this truck:
that truck is like, so weird, i was thinking.i needed to sleep outside immediately.
so i drove to wisconsin that weekend.
goodbye to the birds:
anyways, i drove to devils lake state park on a friday night.i got there at 1 or 2 am, i dont really know when.
i followed some service roads and opened a gate.
the gate was chained but not locked.
said something like 'do not block'
but it didnt say 'do not open and explore'
so i decided to see what was back there.
i parked when i got to this sign:
i look pretty stoked, hah!
it felt good to sleep on the ground again.
I woke up at first light with a wonderful view:
it was a nice sight - seeing things get gradually brighter, calmly.
i liked the world as it came alive with the daylight.
the absence of the busy sound of modern life was refreshing.
i decided do pack up my sleeping bag and get to the rocks early.
so i left my restricted army area bedroom.
it was early and the light was still low.
here is that gate i was talking about:
i had a good morning by the side of the lake.
eventually i met up with my pals and we climbed.
it was a beautiful day!
we spent the morning practicing multi-pitch routes.
we were building trust for our canadian outing in tonquin valley.
you can see the lake in the background below:
the lichen is amazing, this is very solid quartzite:
its nice to have a drink after a day of good solid outdoor exercise.
i played some guitar.
i put up my tent at the CMC campsite for the night.
the Chicago Mountaineering Club owns a piece of the park.
so being a member, you can stay for free anytime.
its wonderful because of the details, like these flowers:
and this frog:
we climbed some more the next morning.
this is olef, he is 69 now, i believe.
he literally wrote the book on climbing at devils lake.
he is one of the founding members of the CMC.
look at olef's old school harness.
its awesome that its from rei and its just basically sewn webbing:
lots of people come out to just be outside and share good company.
and climb, of course. the CMC is amazing!
view looking up along a climb on that awesome baraboo quartzite:
we set up a bunch of top ropes and climbed here for the day.
we practiced catching falls and finger crimp techniques.
heres one of me:
can you even believe oleg is still in such great shape?
look at how healthy and in control he is on that slab! at 69!
the nice thing about climbing at devils lake is.. ..the lake!
in the following pictures, you can see the quartzite bluffs we climb.
they make up the perimeter of the lake.
the baraboo range of quartzite was formed by precamrian seas.
then, a glacier carved them in half, leaving devils lake.
indeed, it is a geographical anomoly in the midwest.
this is where i would take my swim, usually:
it always feels so good to get in a natural body of water.
i would do this for sure each time i was done climbing.
i love my jeep and almost always take photos of it where ever i go:
one more view of the rocks above the lake:
well, time to go back to Chicago, its Sunday afternoon.
even the ditches are beautiful here:
ha-ha, damn strait:
i enjoyed the drive through the farmland.
it always reminded me of my earliest memories from iowa.
especially these blue silos framed by corn and deciduous forests:
these last two photos illustrate the contrast.
'leaving devil's lake':
'entering chicago':
well all in all, thats all!
it felt good to sleep on the ground again.
I woke up at first light with a wonderful view:
it was a nice sight - seeing things get gradually brighter, calmly.i liked the world as it came alive with the daylight.
the absence of the busy sound of modern life was refreshing.
i decided do pack up my sleeping bag and get to the rocks early.
so i left my restricted army area bedroom.
it was early and the light was still low.
here is that gate i was talking about:
i had a good morning by the side of the lake.eventually i met up with my pals and we climbed.
it was a beautiful day!
we spent the morning practicing multi-pitch routes.we were building trust for our canadian outing in tonquin valley.
you can see the lake in the background below:
the lichen is amazing, this is very solid quartzite:
its nice to have a drink after a day of good solid outdoor exercise.i played some guitar.
i put up my tent at the CMC campsite for the night.the Chicago Mountaineering Club owns a piece of the park.
so being a member, you can stay for free anytime.
its wonderful because of the details, like these flowers:
and this frog:
we climbed some more the next morning.this is olef, he is 69 now, i believe.
he literally wrote the book on climbing at devils lake.
he is one of the founding members of the CMC.
look at olef's old school harness.its awesome that its from rei and its just basically sewn webbing:
lots of people come out to just be outside and share good company.and climb, of course. the CMC is amazing!
view looking up along a climb on that awesome baraboo quartzite:
we set up a bunch of top ropes and climbed here for the day.we practiced catching falls and finger crimp techniques.
heres one of me:
can you even believe oleg is still in such great shape?look at how healthy and in control he is on that slab! at 69!
the nice thing about climbing at devils lake is.. ..the lake!in the following pictures, you can see the quartzite bluffs we climb.
they make up the perimeter of the lake.
the baraboo range of quartzite was formed by precamrian seas.
then, a glacier carved them in half, leaving devils lake.
indeed, it is a geographical anomoly in the midwest.
this is where i would take my swim, usually:
it always feels so good to get in a natural body of water.i would do this for sure each time i was done climbing.
i love my jeep and almost always take photos of it where ever i go:
one more view of the rocks above the lake:
well, time to go back to Chicago, its Sunday afternoon.even the ditches are beautiful here:
ha-ha, damn strait:
i enjoyed the drive through the farmland.it always reminded me of my earliest memories from iowa.
especially these blue silos framed by corn and deciduous forests:
these last two photos illustrate the contrast.'leaving devil's lake':
'entering chicago':
well all in all, thats all!
No comments:
Post a Comment