Gettin out of Dodge...

For anyone that's wondering, the most happening place in the Valley for all the cool kids isn't El Cap, isn't Camp 4, isn't the Pines, no, it's actually Bear-Box-tucky. The big dirt parking lot outside Curry Village is home to a cluster of public bear boxes, and all of us, whose presence in the park isn't completly legit, store our foodstuffs here. So, of course, we also hang out here to cook our meals, and shoot the shit about our latest big wall adventures.

But all is not well in the land of the dirtbags, for the Man is on to us. Earlier this evening, three different rangers, in two different groups, came by to say hi and ask a few friendly questions. Like "You guys have been here awhile, whereabouts you campin?" and "You are aware of the 7 day limit for camping in the Valley, right?". Now don't get me wrong, my buddy Scott and I have been legal every night we've camped in the Valley, we're just not doing it in traditional style. The rangers are sympathetic, they're climbers too, but the unspoken message they were sent to deliver was: you guys should leave, or we're gonna start harassing you.

So, we've all been talking about the Needles for a few days now, so I think the time is ripe for a change of scenery. I think tomorrow, after a short day of climbing, we're gonna roll down there and hopefully enjoy a week of no-hassel, free camping. Plus, the climbing is supposedly spectacular!

Check back soon for a backlog of photos from here in the Valley (I don't have my camera with me at the moment), and hopefully some stories of rad sending in the beautiful Needles.

Here's a nice shot I found on the web to get y'all psyched for the Needles: