Cosmic Wall climb Castle Crags

The campers are gone for the summer. So Jim talked me in to climbing the cosmic wall at Castle Crags State Park. It is a 5.6 climb 800ft up a granite wall. Jonathan had climbed it before and told us it was a great climb to learn on. This was our first multi pitch climb ever.

We left the Ranch at 6:45am with all of our gear loaded into the volvo (of course. Castle Crags state park it about an hour and 15 minutes from the Ranch. Most guide books describe it as undiscovered and hidden with very good quality climbs. Jim and I have been there before to hike up the Castle Dome.

So we arrived at the trailhead by 9am and started to hike in. The hike according to the Falcon guidebook was about 2.5 hours. Our packs were heavy. We made good time to the rock but struggled for over an hour to decide where the route started. The manzanita bushes were very thick and we had to bushwack through them for over an hour to get to the rock. It was very frustrating. Finally, we found it and started climbing by noon. The pitches went by slowly. Jim lead the entire way. I had the easy job of "cleaning" the pitches meaning that I was at the bottom and did not have to worry about placing the gear. We took our time and resting at each belay point. The climb seemed to be taking alot longer than expected but it was still early and seemed like we had plenty of time. Jim ran out of water about the 4th pitch (of 6 total) and started to get dehydrated. He did a good job of pushing through it and didn't fall at all.

On the 5th pitch we rested on a huge ledge and called Mom to tell here we were alive. Jim called Vaughn to tell here he missed her. It was now 5pm, still not to late but we realized it was time to pick up the pace. We had 2 solid pitches left and then the rapell down. I really did not want to hike in the dark. I've had a few experiences I didn't want to do again with paddling and hiking in the dark. The 6th pitch went by fast and then we slowed way down on the 7th and final pitch.

Jim was still leading and had to take a route that was much tougher than the rest of the climb. Time flew by and we were still on this pitch. Finally we made it up and on to the summit. The wind started to blow fiercely while we set up the rapell. The sun set and it was starting to get cold. It was now about 8pm. I just wanted to get on the ground before dark.

It didn't happen. The rapell was 2 100ft sections to get to the ground. We had to get out our headlamps for the second section. It was now very dark. The moon was half full but did not help very much. As soon as we hit the ground we threw the gear in our bags and began the tedious hike back to the base of the climb to get out big packs and hike to the car. Sounds easy right? That's what we thought until we got lost in the Manzanitas because it was to dark to see any landmarks. Thats when the 2 hours of pure torture began. At this point we have been out of water for several hours and are starting to feel the effects of dehydration. My legs are completely ripped up from the manzanita bushes.

Finally we emerged from the Manzanita maze onto the main trail. This really took 2 hours. From this point the hike was a minimum of 1.5 more hours. We were hiking fast, ready to get back to the car. Slowly dehydration made us more and more dizzy. Fortunately, there was a natural spring 2/10's of a mile off the trail. Jim had a water purifier with him so we took time to pump water. We sat and drank water for about 20 minutes. It was now 12:30am.

I can't explain why it seemed that time was flying by so fast. From then on I didn't even want to know how late it was. I don't think we would have made it back to the car without the water, probably one of us would have passed out. The water was refreshing. We continued on

the trail for what seemed like an eternity. It took another 2 hours to reach the trailhead and the car. The volvo was a beautiful site. We climbed in and drove to Denny's in Yreka where we ate some great food at about 3am. Things were crazy at Denny's. When we arrived they were arresting 6 guys for fighting in the bathroom. It was probably rowdy there since Denny's is across the street from all of the bars in Yreka. It seemed like the whole town was on that one corner outside of the bars. We got back to the Ranch at 3:30am went to sleep and then woke up the next morning at 8am for turnover day at the Ranch (work day).

It was a full day to say the least! The climb itself was awesome. I hated the hike in and

out. Another great brother bonding experience! First Shasta, now the cosmic wall. I was sad to see Jim go today. We had a great summer on the river. I wish he could be at the Ranch for the next few weeks. There is so much more we could go do. I'm sure we will be back. It was definitely an adventure to remember. Right up there with getting stuck in our tent on Shasta at 10,000ft in a snowstorm back in April.

Today the entire staff (what is left) went to Applegate church in Oregon and then to Ashland and bowling in Yreka. It was a fun, relaxing day.