Travels and Vagabonds
When presented with the opportunity to go to on vacation – always take it, if you can. So when we got notified of my cousins upcoming wedding in the Dominican Republic (República Dominicana), we scrounged up some money and time and made our reservations. It not very often that one gets to hang out with so much family, let alone in a fun foreign environment. June came quickly and we hopped on a direct flight out of Charlotte to the DR.
Fishing and Climbing
The second days adventure included Bobby, Nathan, Tyler and newly appearing Ben. After feasting on breakfast and handing out the proper attire of the day. We all packed up and tried to find somewhere where the weather was dry. The only place that I knew of having the faintest of possibilities was Shelf r\Road. And as luck would have it as we pulled into the Galleries parking lot, the cloud broke and the sun was shining. Continue reading “Visitors to Colorado: Shelf Road to Eleven Mile”
Taylor Park Reservoir
An early weekend in August, Ben and I set off for a fishing trip to the Taylor Park Area of Colorado, which is nestled deeply behind the Collegiate Peaks and north of Gunnison. We left Friday evening and decided to cut through Cottonwood Pass to get to the park quickly. Continue reading “Taylor Park / Tomahawk Wildlife Area”
Antero Fishing
Antero Reservoir is the first in a chain of reservoirs in the middle of the high plains section of Colorado. Located south of South Park and close to the mosquito range, the lake offers some awesome views of many mountain ranges. Antero is one of the oldest reservoirs in Colorado and was formerly the location of a small lake. The lake itself is still relatively shallow. Average depth is about 6-8 feet deep and at its deepest only about 18-20 feet. The lake boasts some of the best lake trout fishing around with an average trout size of about 17 inches and 2 lbs. The lake maintains a cold water temperature year round, promoting a healthy rainbow trout population. Weather can be very volatile as with anywhere that is high altitude. During our day fishing, we had it go from calm winds to 35 mph gusts, which created whitecaps on the lake.
So its been over 1 month since my last update, and this is due to the horrible month that is August. As my mom pointed out to me, lots of bad things tend to happen to our family in the month of August and this year it was no different. However, to make the best of the month and cheer me up, the group of us went to pueblo reservoir. The entire trip was put together by Derek and Sean much props to them.
Jimmy, Z, and I got there late in the afternoon after sneaking out of work early. Well actually, I worked in the car on the drive down and Z practice his stick driving skillz. Derek and Sean had rented a boat from the Military outpost for the weekend, so we now had a way to get around the lake. The BASSHUNTER was a formidable vessel. Complete with live well, tackle compartment and swiveling bass chairs, this thing was made to slay fish. The boat was super fun to drive to drive both on water and off.
As soon we got to the lake, we all jumped on the boat and head out for some Friday evening cruising. The lake was pretty quiet and we just motor boated around. The goal was to scope out some cliffs for the next day, but we found one that we all had to do right then and now. We made harbor behind the rock in a cove and had some fun.
The next day we spent alot of time on the water. We headed directly for another cliff that we saw earlier yesterday. Sean and Derek made there way to the top, while Jimmy, Z and I monkey’d around the bottom looking for some deep water soloing routes. This cliff, which I dub “HUGE ASS SPIDER CRACK ROCK”(due to the spiders which were about the size of mouse) was lots of fun. We found some routes up and it was really deep to jump.
Afterwards, we went to chill in a cove and fish for a bit. While fishing in the middle of this cove, we got inspected by the boating police. Apparently we were over capacity for the BASSHUNTER. # of people we had on the boat = 7 ; BASSHUNTER’s capacity was = 4. After talking to them for awhile, they let us go with a warning, and that we get the extra people off the boat asap. So we made are we to the shore, but along the way we met a sweet dude name Mike was a bitch’in boat. Mike had a MOOMBA boat that was in the gravity games for wake boarding. The tower had a awesome sound system and PA. He blasted metal and rock. They just cruising for the day and we happy for us to join, we brought beer which made them even more happier. We tied up and hung out with them for most of the day. Definitely a cool group of people.
Other times we took groups of 4 out for some more jumping. Derek Sean, Z and I decided to assault “the nipple”. This was a jagged outcropping in the middle of the lake. This was the highest jump of the day (40-50 ft), as well as my most epic Deep water Solo Route. Everyone found different ways to go up, but I wanted claim the face of the Nipple. The Climb started out with 1 juggy hold and a crimp, it then move to a weird but sweet turndown, and then just handjams the rest of the way. Free climbing above water is such a weird feeling, you feel worried that you going to fall until you start falling, after that while you falling you feel super calm because you know you be ok. In the end I got the nipple twice, but was completely exhausted. I believe I can state that I have the first ascent, onsite and redpoint of this route.
Pueblo was a fun time here are some more shots from the trip.
