This entry is chronologically misplaced. Technically, Justin and I had our adventures in home canning after our trip to Seneca, WV. However, I had to upload the canning pictures for an assignment for class, and I had no such impetus for these pictures, so you are getting an account of my life out of order. I thought about just skipping it and moving on with the next post, but when one scales the face of a very high cliff, one generally wants recognition for it. Such is the case with me. I actually climbed my way to the top of the cliff you see to the right!How it works is Justin climbs first, and he puts gear in as he goes (so that if he falls the damage will be minimal...), then I follow and take the gear out as I go. The idea is to get both people and all the gear safely to the top.
Everything was going very well until my foot slipped unexpectedly. Usually when I fall, I'm well aware of the fact that it is going to happen. This time I was totally taken by surprise, and my hand was ripped across the sharp rock that I had been holding on to. I thought that I had hurt my elbow, but when I checked it, there was nothing wrong. And then I noticed that my finger was bleeding profusely. It looked pretty bad, but it was actually just a scrape.
And because I am so tough and rugged and outdoorsy, I decided that we should keep going to the top despite my damaged finger.Okay, this next part is probably totally inappropriate for the internet, and someday if I ever run for office, I will probably wish it weren't here, but it is the funniest part of this whole adventure. So right after I made it to the 2nd anchor point (it took four pitches to make it all the way to the top of the cliff), Justin decided that he would go to the bathroom. Clearly, this is much easier for a guy when you are wearing a harness and standing on the edge of a cliff. I thought it would probably be a good idea for me too, but the logistical nightmare that it represented made me think that I could just hold it. That is until Justin told me that it would be about 4 more hours before we made it to the top, and we were about to leave the tree line. This was my only chance. So I went behind the rock that Justin had been hiding behind, pulled down my pants (a very tricky thing to do while wearing a harness) and squatted. I'm not exactly sure what happened, but something went terribly awry with my squat, and I started tumbling backward. (I think perhaps my backpack weighted me down wrong, or maybe it was just m
ore of a hill than I had expected...either way, I started tipping backward). Though I wasn't super close to the edge of the cliff, I thought it would be a very sad way to go...falling off a cliff with my pants down, so I grabbed onto the rock, and noticed that there was liquid in the little crevace of the rock. And then I noticed that the liquid was warm. And then I realized, not only had I just fallen into the dirt on my naked bum, but I had put my hand into a puddle of Justin's urine. Everywhere I tried to grab seemed to be wet. Apparently, since I had said I wasn't going to go to the bathroom initially, Justin didn't attempt to localize the stream... (sorry, Justin...too much info...) So that was pretty darn funny.
ore of a hill than I had expected...either way, I started tipping backward). Though I wasn't super close to the edge of the cliff, I thought it would be a very sad way to go...falling off a cliff with my pants down, so I grabbed onto the rock, and noticed that there was liquid in the little crevace of the rock. And then I noticed that the liquid was warm. And then I realized, not only had I just fallen into the dirt on my naked bum, but I had put my hand into a puddle of Justin's urine. Everywhere I tried to grab seemed to be wet. Apparently, since I had said I wasn't going to go to the bathroom initially, Justin didn't attempt to localize the stream... (sorry, Justin...too much info...) So that was pretty darn funny.
Anyway, then came the part where I stood in a windy crevace for about two hours. This is the part of the story where I stopped having fun. It was so cold. And then when you are so cold that you can't move your hands, it makes climbing out on the edge of a cliff that much scarier. I think Justin realized that I maybe wasn't ready for Seneca when I started shouting at him that I wasn't having fun any more, and I just wanted to get off the stupid rock. (A guy who was at the top at the same time said to Justin, "Dude, I think you're in trouble. You should never take your girlfriend rock climbing." I'm pretty sure that my mom agrees with that guy.) 
Fortunately, when I made it to the top, I was out of the wind tunnel and shade of the crevace, and feeling the warmth of the sun (and the possibility of soon repelling off the cliff) made me quite happy to be there, and I'm glad that I made it all the way to the top. I am also glad that now Justin knows not to take me climbing when it is cold and we are going to be in the shade all day. Important lessons for both of us.
