MOUNTAINLESS ROCKCLIMBING TEAM

For 18 years a group of my friends have gone camping somewhere up in the Sierra's for a thoroughly debauched weekend of revelry and downright stupidity (not to mention a great deal of fun). It started in a wonderful place called Rockhouse Basin, which has long since been declared a wilderness area, and is no longer accessible except on foot. It is one of the more beautiful areas I've ever camped in, but it was just too much work for a mere weekend, especially when we knew we'd be coming out of there with some giant hangovers.

This year we went up the weekend before the beginning of summer. There were only seven of us this time (there have been as many as 12-14 several times - I can't quite remember the exact number - I'm not even sure I could have told you at the time how many of us were there but . . . that's another story.

We don't go through as much tequila as we used to, and I finally brought up some scotch - my favorite - this time, but we had a great time. The weather was beautiful, the bugs were extra light and, for the guys who went fishing, the trout were plentiful. The fisherman caught 14 trout in one short evening stint and we had trout, eggs, and potatoes for breakfast on Sunday morning. It was delicious and, just in case I didn't then, I want to thank them for their efforts and congratulate them on their success.

What follows is a collection of pictures which were taken thanks to Tom bringing up his Mavica. We took about 80 or so shots, most of which came out. Some are kind of duplicates and others are pretty bad. Since I've got the room, I guess I'll put them all on here for now. I'll try and add a little commentary where I can or where it's appropriate. Hope y'all enjoy 'em.

RICK



This is the view as we arrived. You're looking up toward Mt. Whitney which, as everyone knows, is the highest mountain in the continental United States. We used to get higher than Whitney without even climbing a lick, but those days are long gone (whew!).

This is a portion of the kitchen. Dave brought up a lot of equipment which made our stay there a lot more comfortable. We used to backpack in and couldn't take too much with us, but now we just drive to a remote spot and bring a lot of extra gear so we can enjoy some of the comforts of home.

Here's another view of the Sierra's from just above our campsite. Mt. Whitney's in there somewhere. There's a fair amount of water coming into the campsite, presumably year 'round
Here's the view if you just turn around from the one on the left over there. You're looking down toward (well, I'm not inclined to tell you exactly where you're looking). If you were there you know; if not, we don't want to run into you next year . . . sorry.

Here, Tony & Tom discuss the application of the culinary arts to outdoor cooking. I had to keep my distance from them, because I had forgotten to take my hip waders with me.
This is the view looking down into the camp from where we have to walk an entire 100 yards from the parked vehicles. It is also the sight one sees after returning from the loo with a view .

Here I am expressing my gratitude for having to cook the first evening's dinner. As you can see, I'm quite delighted with the prospect. It's always fun teetering over an open fire and placing food on a shaky grill after 8 - 10 shots of tequila.
There were wild roses growing all over the place. They are quite delicately scented, and I took a bunch of rose hips home to Linda to see if she can grow them. If she can't, nobody can.

Here's Loren playing a simultaneous game of vertical backgammon and vertical checkers with himself. The cane is used for beating people who try to give him advice on how best to proceed when he gets stuck..
Here, Mike (sometimes lovingly referred to as LT - never mind, you don't want to hear it) begins the delicate process of placing the grate over the fire to prevent Loren from falling in later in the evening. Sometimes we even use it for cooking.

Right. Here's Buzz upon his arrival, which is always after we get there. He makes up for being late by leaving early. Note he is prepared for absolutely anything. As seen at right, his preparedness came in quite handy, thank you.
Being the only one with a powerful enough weapon to drop peeping Tom's from a distance (a great distance at that), Buzz guards the latrine for us. Boy, did we have a great view while paying homage to Gaia.

Here, again, is a portion of that view I have raved about. As you can see, Buzz is still guarding the location jealously. He is scanning for Escalades and Navigators to pick off from our vantage point. We encourage this type of behavior, as it is at the root of our raison d'etre.
I thought it was quite cooperative of Buzz to oblige me with a little hands-on-the-hips, kind of exasperated look, as I was taking this picture. It will be the first time he sees it - when and if he does. I think he was trying to decide which direction he wanted his front porch to face.

Here's the gang smoking chicken. We used to smoke other shit, but mostly it's chicken, turkey, and fish nowadays; maybe an ocassional cigar. Note the giant chicken roach clip I'm using.

This picture took me quite some time to get on the web, because I had to steal it from Dave's dreams, which are always pretty strange and difficult to navigate. The fish in his right hand is the one he actually caught; the one in his left the fish he remembers catching.