The New Adventure

So I realized I kept moving on with new projects and learning new things, but not doing a lot of sharing the things I learned and did. This was always a good place for that, so I'll introduce my new adventure, bring a little up to speed, and then we all follow along as I figure stuff out. Sound good?


This adventure really starts a couple of years ago when we, on a whim, decided to build a small rock climbing (bouldering) wall in our living room. Please note this was in no way a wise idea, as the house was a rental, but we went for it anyway. You can see the success of this first step here:

From projects

It got us interested in rock climbing in general, but eventually we had to move out (and thus take down our artwork). Roll ahead a couple of years, I own my own place, 12' ceilings, and almost within days of signing the paperwork we started building what turned in to this gorgeous thing we have today:

From New rock wall 2011

It has bouldering, it has lead climbing, it can even be used for some short top rope climbing to practice belay systems and learning all the proper techniques of various climbing systems and harnesses. Most of all, it's insanely fun and is a good reason to not bother to own a TV or pay a cable bill.

That brings us up to now, where some friends have decided it's time to take it to the next level: hike out to a good bouldering spot (real life bouldering, like with boulders) and make the most of it. In addition we're looking to go camping for a few days at the spot, do some photography and filming, and for my own love of astronomy I'd like to try to do some minor astrophotography. And that brings us up to today...well except for one thing...

Turns out these aspirations are generally mutually exclusive, and as usual I'm looking to bite off more than I can chew. Carry heavy camera and astrophotography gear for a long hike, along with all the stuff for camping and survival in the deep mountains for several days? Add in rock climbing gear? Can I do it? Can I make it happen by the end of November when scheduled?

I have no idea. But I'm going to try. Also, did I mention I've never done real astrophotography outside of a pre-set-up lab before? Nor have I hiked long distances? Or camped in the cold? Or climbed anywhere besides my living room(s)?

This should be [fun/insane/horrible/suicidal/painful/freezing/impossible].