So, I decided to give this blogging thing a try. Not sure if anyone will care what we are up to, but who knows? This weekend, Isaac, Ross, and I went climbing in the Addirondacks. Saturday morning, we climbed the Standard Route at Chapel Pond. As we were setting up, we chatted with another group who was setting up next to us on Empress, and they seemed to know a lot about the routes. At the belay for the 2nd pitch, Isaac tells Ross & me that he thinks the guy on Empress is Don Mellor, the guy who wrote the guidebook for climbing in the Addirondacks. This type of thing happens to Isaac all the time. When he first arrived in Vermont, he lived in the same apartment building as Mike Lee, and got introduced to John Sykes (established many routes in the Whites) through him. While climbing at J-Tree, we bumped into the guys who wrote the guidebook to ice climbing at Smugglers Notch.
There's a funny story behind this one. So, one of my pet peeves is how when first meeting someone, the first question they often ask is, "what do you do?" This bothers me on a couple of levels; first, because they are subconsciously less interested in what you do, and more interested in getting an idea of your status. Second, it bothers me because I define myself by so much more than my occupation of an engineer. So, back to the J-Tree story. We're chatting with a group next to us who it turns out are also from Vermont. They as us what we do in Vermont, and like the smart-ass geek he is, Isaac responds, "I climb". "No, really, what do you do?" they ask Isaac. It turns out, we were talking with the guys who wrote the guidebook to Smugglers Notch - Good one Isaac!
Anyway, back to the weekend. After the morning of climbing, I head back to Vermont to give my body a break and so Isaac & Ross could climb some stuff that is more interesting. I spent the rest of the weekend sewing. I created a pattern from my favorite skirt that is now too small, and I tried making it. I got as far as the hem, and the knit material kept bunching up under the foot of my serger at the seams. Far from the serger master, I put it aside and will ask local sewing expert and owner of the
best sewing store in vermont, Gayle, about how to do this on Tuesday. I made a "Taffy Top" instead and it turned out great!
Saturday night was lots of fun, with a few of the instructors and students gathering at my campsite for dinner. Pasta with veggies, olive oil, parmesian cheese, and grilled chicken. Everyone else from our clinic who was staying at the campground showed up later in the evening for campfire and various campfire desserts. There was the usual toasting of marshmallows, but we also made a treat that I learned from my friends Andrew & Marci while on a canoe trip on the Chochocouane: wrap a piece of Pillsbury Crescent Roll dough/triangle around a stick and cook over the fire, then coat with butter and cinnamon sugar.
