Mainely Rain

Last Tuesday, I drove to Maine. I was having a lot of trouble finding an inexpensive place to camp in the area where I wanted to be, so I spent the night in a Wal-Mart parking lot in Bangor. It's not the most scenic, but at least it's free.

Wednesday morning, I got a phone call from a woman named Danielle, who I had been in touch with about climbing in the area. After some discussion, we decided to meet at Acadia National Park and try to get some climbs in. The forecast was indicating afternoon showers, but it looked like they might hold off until late afternoon.

We met up around 10:30 and headed to The Precipice area at Acadia. We started at the right end of the cliff at some short climbs. Danielle led a climb called Wafer Step and then we top-roped Recollections of Pacifica. As we were finishing up the second climb, it started sprinkling. So much for the rain holding off until late afternoon. We stuck around for a while in hopes that it would stop, but it didn't. It was an unfortunately short day, but some climbing is better than none!

Wafer Step, with the rope on it. Recollections of Pacifica follows the crack on the left.

View from the top of the climbs

Before Danielle left, she invited me to "camp" in her warehouse in Morrill, Maine, about 2 hours from Acadia. I was thinking I would just camp in the park, though it is kind of expensive. I spent a little time hanging out in the town of Bar Harbor, and some time driving around the park, then decided that, given that it was supposed to rain for the next couple of days, and, if I climbed, it would probably be with Danielle anyway, there was no point in me staying in the park, so I called Danielle and drove to Morrill.

My home for the last several days

I spent Thursday and Friday hanging out at the warehouse. Thursday, the weather cleared for a little while in the afternoon, and Danielle and I went to Camden Hills, a climbing area about a half hour from Morrill to see if anything looked climbable. Everything was soaking wet. We did get a little hike in, though.

Saturday atarted out rainy, but the forecast was promising more favorable weather in the afternoon, so we were optimistic. We decided we would head to Acadia, because our best chances for quick drying routes seemed to be there. We took our time and got there around noon. We then headed to the local gear shop to inquire about the area with the best chance of dry rock, and kill some time. Around 1:00 or so, we headed to Otter Cliffs, which is an approximately 4o foot cliff right on the sea shore. The routes weren't exactly dry, but the easier stuff at least was climbable, particularly since everything there can be easily top-roped (you have to rappel in to get to the climbs).

Looking up Easy Corner (5.6) at Danielle

View from Otter Cliffs

A sea gull looking for dropped trail mix

We got in 5 top-ropes, then decided to head to the Precipice and see if anything was dry there. It was pretty wet, but we found a couple of routes in the same area we had climbed the other day that were dry-ish. I led Madamoiselle Lebois Troubled Lunge, with a variation finish. I'm not sure what the rating is exactly. I'm calling it 5.7. Everything was a little clammy, and therefore felt a little extra hard. By this time it was about 7:00, but we decided to get one more climb in. I decided to lead a climb called Crack of Senility. It's a 5.7 crack that starts as wide hands, and widens to off-width. It looked like where the crack widened, the climb slabbed out and would get easy. I spent some time comtemplating the wet crack at the bottom, but eventually, with a solid jam and good feet, pulled the move. A couple layback moves above that put me at the start of the wider part of the crack...which I didn't really have gear to protect...and which didn't really get easier like I thought it was going to. I walked up the largest cam I had...which I think probably would have held, though it was really too small for the crack, as high as I could, then started climbing the off-width. I think if the rock was dry, I could have gotten some holds on the face, but it was too wet to trust, so I shoved my calf into the wide crack, stood up on it, and then thrutched up until I could get a heel-toe jam. A bit more thrutching got me to where I could finally get a good hand hold. Phew. That was the hardest 5.7 I've done in a while.

Danielle climbing Mme. Labois

View from the top

We got back to the car about 8:30. On the way home, the engine overheated again. It seems that I have a coolant leak. I'm going to have to keep a close watch on that and get it fixed as soon as I can. Hopefully, I can hold off until I get back to St. Louis. Worse yet, the pizza place where we were going to eat dinner was closed. Oh well, it was a great day of climbing!

Sunday, we awoke to beautiful blue skies, but forecasts threatening of afternoon showers and thunderstorms, so we headed out early to Camden Hills. I led Charlotte's Crack, a cool, 2 pitch 5.7. Then, we top-roped a couple climbs, and finally I led Pandora Freeway, a new 5.7 that's not yet in the guidebook (the guidebook author, however, was at the crag to tell us all about it). After that, it started to sprinkle on us, and we headed out.

On Broadway Ledge

View of Megunticook Lake

Danielle at the top

Danielle coming up Pandora Freeway

Tomorrow, I head out for Quebec City. I'm going to spend the next 2 days doing a warp speed tour of Quebec City, Montreal, and Ottawa, continuing to Toronto on Wednesday to meet up with another Danielle, my very good friend and former roommate for a short backpacking trip before I head home to St. Louis.

Route List for May 27-31:

• Wafer Step (5.5 Trad) (TR clean)
• Recollections of Pacifica (5.9- Trad) (TR clean)
• Easy Corner (5.6) (TR clean)
• Wonderwall Left (5.7) (TR clean)
• In The Groove (5.5) (TR clean)
• Cakewalk (5.7) (TR clean) (I think I did a harder variation on this climb, but whatever)
• Crucifix (5.9) (TR clean)
• Mme. Labois Troubled Lunge Alternate Finish (5.7? Trad) (Onsight)
• Crack of Senility (5.7 Trad) (Onsight)
• Charlotte's Crack (2 pitch, 5.7 Trad) (Onsight)
• Unknown 5.7 (TR clean)
• Charlotte's Arete (5.6) (TR clean)
• Pandora Freeway (5.7 Trad) (Onsight)