A Few Kauai Hike Photos

Here are a few photos from last week's Kauai Hike! From the top: Na Pali Coast view, Catherine at Hanakapai Beach, our group at the Awaawapuhi Overlook, Waimea Canyon, Egon the chick magnet, rock cairns at the beach.

More Hawaii pics to come soon! :-)

Aloha!

Aloha from Kauai, Hawaii! Steve and I are out here getting set up for the Kauai hike starting tomorrow. Very different weather from the snow and cold temps we left in Colorado!! It's warm, bordering on hot at times, and humid here. Beautiful, lush vegetation. I guess that is why they call it the Garden Island! Duh!

Here are a couple of pics from Poipu Beach area yesterday. Check out the sea turtle. It's so cute! And huge! It's hard to tell the size of them from the photo. Must be three feet long at least! We saw a Hawaiian Monk Seal hanging out on the beach. There were also humpback whales breaching out in the ocean not too far away from the shore. Pretty cool! I'll try to post more pics if I get the chance later this week.

More Chicks Pics!

Climbing with the Chicks group is intense but not intimidating. Our "intermediate" group, consisting of four gals, including myself, and Caroline George, our leader, started out by reviewing belays and working on basic skills the first day. Traverse drills using one ice tool as well as no tools helps to develop balance over our feet (see top photo).

Another goal in developing balance while climbing is triangulation. The climber staggers the tools, reaches high for placement, then works the feet up to a equilateral triangle stance beneath the upper tool. (See Francine doing this in 2nd from top photo.)

Third from top is a photo I took during Skills Day. We have 8 or 9 ropes set up with various tasks for the 16 participants, overseen by the guides. Kitty Calhoun videotapes us and gives us feedback. Sarah helps with one tool drills and mixed climbs. Margo is our speed climbing diva -- she times & encourages us to get to the top of the pitch. I was fortunate enough to belay Kim Reynolds on a fun, steep climb and get a great visual!

The last photo gives a little bit of an idea about the atmosphere of the canyon. It reminds me a lot of a giant Haffner Creek (up in Kootenay National Park, B.C.). The difference is that the Ice Park is in town and not an hour's drive away. You can't get much more convenient than that!

Back From Ouray!

Thanks for being so patient! Haven't had much of a chance to post anything this week. Busy schedule, no wifi, plus I woke up the morning of the 29th with a low grade fever and cough. Ugh! :-( I went over to Ouray anyway, deciding it was better to do *something* rather than hang out at home being sick. That, plus I had been looking forward to climbing with the gals for a long time! Chicks with Picks was a blast and a half. I met many nice gals and learned a lot! Thanks to Kim Reynolds (the Head Chick) as well as our lovely guides for making this past week special!

I'm feeling better but not quite well yet, so here's a few pics for you until I can get a few more of the details typed!