In
which the ill-equipped adventurers encounter blobby boulders and
massive mountains and can
climb neither!
Vedauwoo
(pronounced “Vey-dah-voo”) is a climbing area in southeastern
Wyoming known for big, nasty, off-width cracks and chimneys. We
hoped that there would be a few climbs we could tackle with our
little Gunks rack, but there were very few trad routes we could
protect. Folks, bring doubles of #4-#6 and maybe a Big Bro or three.
Also a box of tape and kneepads.
 |
| the nautilus |
So, we spent a
half-day sport climbing at Beehive Buttress. The cliff is big,
blobby, curves of rock, with lots of slopers and smearing at the
bottom, finishing with a shorter, overhung, juggy section. A good
way to break up the drive to California, but definitely not the
climbing that makes Vedauwoo famous.
 |
| cleaning some climb, don't remember which |
We took
advantage of the dispersed primitive camping around Vedauwoo at an
awesome site strewn with boulders and lit with the most beautiful,
golden, desert sunset.
Medicine Bow
Peak in the Medicine Bow National Forest is a sweet dayhike and had
been on our radar back in Ithaca. Driving up-up-up into the
mountains, temperatures dropped 25 degrees, and we started noticing
large piles of white flowers (euphimism for SNOW).
The trailhead
looked like this:
 |
| nope |
Needless to say,
we were not equipped for this climb, either.
We camped off a
forest service road at a lower elevation, but at 8,000-something
feet, it was still chilly. I love the availability and accessibility
of public lands in the Western states. Drive down a dirt road and
you're likely to find an established campsite.
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