City of Rocks, Idaho
We just got back from a fabulous vacation at City of Rocks, Idaho. The weather was beautiful all week long. It was cool in the mornings, then got really warm in the late afternoons. Evenings brought the wind, which was quite chilly in our shaded campsite. However, we couldn’t have asked for a better vacation.
We left early Saturday morning and drove 10 hours to the park. Just outside of City of Rocks is a sleepy, little town called Almo. There’s a small general store, where we purchased gas from the only pump in town, which was probably 20-30 years old. Almo also has the Outpost, which is a restaurant/store. It has very tasty burgers and good beer.
When we got to the park, we were excited to see our campsite was huge and beautiful. There were two tent pads (sand-pit areas to pitch a tent), two picnic tables and a fire pit. Being surrounded on three sides by Practice Rock, the campsite was also very secluded. We went to sleep early Saturday night, just after sunset, because we were exhausted.
Sunday: As expected, we didn’t sleep too well the first night in the tent. We woke early (around 5-5:30am) and made coffee and breakfast. Having both the stove and the grill sure did make our lives easier, particularly mine as the camp chef. After breakfast, I went for a run. Wow – it was difficult running at 6500 feet and with hills. Afterwards, we climbed on Practice Rock, which we renamed Widow’s Bluff because I didn’t want to admit I was climbing on a rock named Practice. I did a very short 5.7 route on it, though it took some coaxing from Mike. I followed it by completing a 5.6 crack. Then, we hiked out to Transformation Corridor where Mike did a 10c and an 11a. The hike was beautiful and took us down into a small valley which was plentiful with nearby rock and climbers. We weren’t able to find any easier, Vicki-type climbs in the area. After returning to camp for lunch, we hiked around the camp grounds, made a water run into Almo, watched the very friendly chipmunks in our campsite try to bum food from us and enjoyed the view from the top of Practice Rock, which we could walk up from our campsite.
Due to Mike’s insistence, we had bought a camp shower. Basically, it’s a big bladder that we filled with water and left laying on the picnic table. Our campsite had the perfect nook created by rocks and trees for us to use as a shower. I give Mike full props for buying the shower because it felt very good at the end of each evening, even when the water was scalding hot. Again, we went to bed early on Sunday night but this time we didn’t make it until sunset.
Monday: It was very windy that night and we didn’t sleep too well because the tent shook so much. We cooked breakfast again, then went on a long hike. We hiked past Transformation Corridor and went to Mushroom Rock. Mike tried to set up a top rope for me on a 5.7, but the anchors were missing. Mike used another set of anchors to get down the rock, but it stressed the rope quite a bit so we decided to bail on that route. There was a great 12c route on the rock that Mike worked on. I got quite a bit of practice belaying him. On his second attempt, while he pulled on a hold with both hands, the hold broke off. A large part of the rock, bigger than a football and weighing approximately 10 pounds, came hurling at me. Luckily, my reflexes kicked in and I stepped out of the way. Mike and I continued to climb and play in the middle of the park that morning. It was great because there was no one around and we were really isolated in fields and among large rocks. What a beautiful place.
After lunch at camp, I attempted to climb a 5.7 route on Practice Rock, but succumbed to my fears. I think I was too tired. Mike and I had another mellow evening, where we drank some beer, took pictures and played with the chipmunks and weasel.
Tuesday: We rested on Tuesday. Luckily, we weren’t too sunburned because we’d been very careful, however, we were physically tired from the climbing and hiking. Instead, we hiked around the campsite area. But first, I had to go for a run. I had started acclimating to the higher altitude and felt pretty good until I came upon a herd of cattle in the middle of the road at mile 4. I had to walk behind the cattle for approximately 10 minutes. Luckily, the cowboys herding the cattle were friendly and chatty.
After I returned from my run and Mike returned from a hike with only his camera and video camera, we checked out Elephant Rock and Bath Rock, which took most of the morning. After lunch, we took a much-needed nap. I again climbed the initial 5.7 on Practice Rock as a warm up, then I defeated that 5.7 route I had problems with earlier. I felt pretty good. We went for another hike along a path by a river, just enjoying being outside and taking pictures. We had to make another water run into Almo that afternoon. Again, it was early to bed (before the sunset) and early to rise.
Wednesday: By Wednesday morning, we were starting to drag. The sun, exercise and poor sleep were zapping our energy -but not our spirits. We enjoyed every minute at City of Rocks! Wednesday morning, we went back to Mushroom Rock. Mike started on an 11b as warm-up. He worked on the 12c again, but he was too drained to complete it. Afterwards, we hiked out to Site 18, which was quite a ways from Mushroom Rock. Site 18 had mostly 5.7 to 5.9 routes. I on-sited a 5.7. Another couple was climbing the 5.8, so Mike set up a top rope for me on a 5.9. I didn’t make it the first try, but I completed the climb on the second attempt. I was soooo excited because the route was much taller than Practice Rock and I really enjoyed the climb.
We took our time returning to camp and bouldered a bit. The sun got the better of us that afternoon and we were burnt and lazy. Mike had to drag my butt to the shower. We tried a campfire for the first time, but it was just too windy. No s’mores for me. We made it to sunset that night, though just barely.
Thursday: Our energy was on empty and we had just about all the sun we could take so we decided to pack it up and go home. It was sad leaving the park. The ride home was rather grueling as we were both antsy and tired. But it sure was nice to sleep in our bed last night.
