Spring?

Well, the weather might have finally changed for the better here in Boone. The Food Guy and I woke up to sunny skies and temps in the 60s. That'll happen when you sleep till 10 o'clock like we do whenever we can. The Food Guy started our day by taking me for a walk, then he snuck off for a training run. He thinks he's all slick by getting dressed to run and then taking me for a walk before he goes. He thinks he's fooling me, but he's not. I know it's for my own good that he's not letting me run with him right now. I don't like it though. I can't wait to get back out on the trail.

The good news is that he decided I could go climbing with him today since the hike in was only about 5 minutes. It was so nice to be outside hanging out. I like going climbing. There are always people hanging around who want to pet me. Well, I think the only reason people go anywhere is so they can pet me. I don't think that's too crazy. I mean, who wouldn't want to pet a yellow dog?

Greg and the Food Guy had lots of fun climbing. Greg's son, Lem, came with us and he knocked out a couple of routes too. I think the spring weather might be coming on with a little more regularity now. It was so beautiful at The Dump today. Check out this view:

And, I'm so glad. I like playing in the snow, but bumming around at the crag is a lot of fun too.

I hope you all had a great weekend. My leg has been feeling a lot better, and I'm hoping the Food Guy will let me go on a real adventure soon.

Another High Country Monday

You gotta stay on your toes up here in Boone because the days of the week really don't matter all that much when you've got a Food Guy with a flexible schedule. I spent last weekend kicking it at my lake house while the Food Guy was at a conference in Florida. From what I hear, I didn't miss anything at all by not going on this trip. Food Guy said it was flat, filled with people who never actually do anything, and boring. He did say he had a lot of fun catching up with his UGA peeps. I think he misses them a lot, but he sure seemed happy to see me when he got home, which is good. We rolled back into Boone late Sunday night, and some of his friends from Athens were staying at the house. Steven and Allison had been up here watching our house while we were gone, and they had planned to stay over on Monday. Being the gracious hosts that we are, we figured we'd better take them climbing.

Food Guy gave Greg a call and told him to forget about working during the day since it was going to be so nice outside. We met up at the hallowed halls of Edwin Duncan Monday morning, and took off for one of our favorite climbing spots: the Dump.

We rolled up there later than our usual 9 am arrival and the people tied in around 11, which is a respectable southern alpine start. It was a great day. I hung out with my doggie friend Alabama and rolled around in the leaves for a couple of hours.

Greg, Steven, and the Food Guy got some good climbing in before we had to leave. Son of White Trash and Homegrown were first on tap. Everyone got a chance to tie into the sharp end of the rope and get some lead climbing done.

Then, Greg decided to give Vodoo Child, a 5.11 with a desperate start, a try. He styled it while Alabama and I nervously watch Steven and the Food Guy spot him to the first bolt. He made it look smooth and then Steven and the Food Guy got in some extreme top-rope action in got to the top without any major problems. We got all of this done in time for Food Guy and Greg to stop back by the office, say hello to their work people, and make it appear that it was just business as usual in the Reich College of Education. I had to wonder if any of the other profs wondered why their hands were covered in chalk residue. Wait a minute, I guess that wouldn't seem weird since some of the classrooms still have actual chalk boards. Man, those guys have it figured out don't they?

Well, it's time for the Food Guy and me to go for a run before we head to the lake for Turkey Day.

Table Rock Adventures: Or Why Climbing is Safer Than Mountain Biking

Hey, y'all. Sorry it's been a while since I've gotten my paws on the keyboard. The Food Guy has actually started working again, so that means that whenever we are not out on adventures he's hogging the computer getting his work done.

I'm happy to report that he likes his new job a lot, and App State seems like a good place for him to work. He's teaching his classes, writing his papers, and enjoying his new colleagues. We even have some money to buy dog bones now that he's actually getting paid once a while. Good stuff.

We have had some good adventures lately. Food Guy and Greg have a weekly "research meeting" every Friday morning at the local climbing area called "The Dump" and it's nice to get out during the week. But, this post is mostly about our best adventure in Boone yet: Climbing at Table Rock. The views there are out of this world. Check out this picture from one of the belay ledges.

A couple of weeks ago Steven, The Sams, Rebecca, and Lisa descended on Boone, so we could head out to Table Rock at Linville Gorge for some multi-pitch climbing action. The Food Guy is pretty much terrified of heights (don't ask me why he likes climbing), so Table Rock was a real head game for him. Four pitches of exposure made for a long, exciting day of climbing on Saturday. He told me that he really started to settle down and enjoy things about 3 pitches into the climb. Check out this pic of him and Sam relaxing at the final belay stance:

I think he was pretty happy when they finally topped out on Saturday.

Sunday, the crew headed back out for some top-rope action, which meant I got to come along. I had a lot of fun hiking around, and then I took some good naps while the people did some laid back climbing.

This weekend, was the start of college football season (I don't want to talk about what happened to my Dawgs), so we stayed in Boone and watched football on Saturday. On Sunday, Gregg, Karen, Jefe, and the Food Guy headed down to Wilkesboro to do some mountain biking at Dark Mountain. And, I think the Food Guy might have put his fear of heights into perspective. See, he didn't get hurt at all climbing multi-pitch at Table Rock. Mountain Biking? Well, that's different story. For all the time that dude spends on a bike, you'd think he'd have no problem right? Wrong. He came home with a broken helmet, a gash on his quad, and a dent in his shoulder. He was riding through a rock garden and decided to test his flying skills. You know what? Food Guys can't fly. He ended up meeting a rock head first on the side of the trail. There's a moral to this story: Climbing is safer than mountain biking.

Well, it's late and I'm tired. The Food Guy came home from teaching today and took me for a good run. We've been getting a good run in most every night. But, we picked up the pace today and I need to get some rest. I'll try to keep y'all posted on our travels a little more regularly now.

Another day at "The Dumps

I wasn't really sure what was going on when the Food Guy woke me up at 7 am this morning, but once he started rummaging around in his climbing pack I knew something fun was about to happen. After I finished eating my breakfast, the Food Guy and I loaded up the mobile dog house and drove up to Blowing Rock to meet Greg, his kids, and Alabama (my doggie friend) so we could get in a little climbing at "The Dumps."

I think the Food Guy really likes that place. He seems to always have a silly grin on his face while we are there.

That Alabama is one goofy dog. We have a lot of fun playing around. Check her out:

The weather was great this morning. It was nice and cool and I was loving the deep, rich smell of the earth up in Blowing Rock when I was digging around for an even cooler spot to nap while the people were climbing.

We got there before anyone else showed up, which was great because there are not a lot of easy climbs around here. Greg and the Food Guy wanted to get Greg's kids on the rope, so we needed to beat the crowd and get to the easier routes. Once we got there, the Food Guy jumped on the sharp end of the rope and got to get a little more lead practice in.

After he got the route set up for top-roping, Greg's kids all did a fantastic job of scampering up the rock while Alabama and I goofed around. The Food Guy and Greg took turns belaying the kids while they climbed.

I think all the people had lots and lots of fun. I know I was loving being outside all morning. We spent a few hours at the easy routes, and then the Food Guy and Greg walked over to another route called "Son of White Trash" to give it a go. But, it wasn't to be. There was another group there, so we'll have to go back next week.

After we finished climbing, the Food Guy and I started making the trek down the mountain to Hickory. I'm out of dog food, and nobody sells my brand of food up here. I know. Ridiculous right?! But, the Food Guy was willing to drive down to Hickory to find a place that has it. Luckily, we found a store about halfway there where the Food Guy could pick up a giant bag of my favorite food. I think we'll have to go hit up the Boone Fork trail for a run later since we saved all that driving time.

Well, y'all have a great rest of the weekend. Hope you got into something fun. We sure did.

Back in Boone

The Food Guy made it back from Denver last weekend, and we managed to make our way back up to Boone. It's been a pretty quiet week around here for me. The Food Guy finally got all moved into his office on campus, so he's been spending some time working. When we lived in Athens, he worked from home all the time, but he's decided that he should probably work in his office now that he actually has a job that will pay him--eventually. Oh, and I should mention that the Food Guy scored us a brand new MacBook Pro this week. His boss twisted some arms and got ASU to kick out with a new computer for him. I really like the new computer. The keyboard is a little bigger than our old one, so it's a lot easier for my paws to hit all of the keys.

It hasn't been all work and no play for us though. We managed to get a few laps in on our favorite running trail- the Boone Fork Trail, and the Food Guy went to a couple of yoga classes. We also got some climbing in this week. The Food Guy and Greg decided to play hooky from work on Thursday to spend the day climbing at a place called "The Dumps." It's a pretty cool spot. It's one of the very few bolted "sport climbing" areas in NC. Since Greg and the Food Guy both lack all the gear needed to climb most of the "trad" routes here in NC, they have to stick to bolted routes or routes they can top rope right now. Plus, the Food Guy hasn't really done much trad climbing, so it'll be a while before he learns how to do it safely anyway. The Dumps is a pretty cool area. It's really close to the road, so I have to stay on the leash while we are there.

I don't mind that too much. I mostly just lay around and nap while the people climb anyway. I just like being outside and adventuring with people. We're laying low this weekend. The Food Guy's a little worn out on traveling at the moment, so we decided to just chill here this weekend. I'm sure we'll head out for a short hike this afternoon and we'll probably head up the boulders in Blowing Rock tomorrow. Then, it'll be back to work. The Food Guy needs to get his classes planned for the fall. He'd better do a good job because we really need the dog food money that he makes by teaching. He also needs to get his act in gear and write a couple of papers. Somehow, I doubt next week will be all work though. I'm sure we'll manage a good adventure or three. I'll be sure to keep y'all posted on the life of an adventurous Yellow Dog.

Another Adventure

Hey everybody. The Food Guy just picked me up from another great stay with my ATL peeps, Jen, Zozo, & Sug. He decided he needed a break from all his work, so he took a trip out to Utah to do a little climbing and hiking. I was a little bummed when he told me he was flying out there, which meant I couldn't go. But, when he told me I was going to stay with my ATL crew, I was pretty psyched.

Anyway, we just got home and Food Guy's cleaning all his gear, so I figured I give y'all a little update before he gets back to work. He's been grading papers all day on the plane, so I don't think he'll mind me getting my paws on the keyboard for a few minutes.

The trip sounds like it was pretty sweet. After a short hike up to a place called Ruth Lake, Food Guy and his friend found a sweet spot to camp. There was some stuff on the ground that you might call snow, but out West they say it's just some sleet. I don't know it looked pretty cold. Food Guy had to dust off his survival skills and get a little fire started using some Bear Gryls skills.

Then, he pieced together a little groundcloth out of the plastic bags he brought with them. Notice the whole in one of them?

That's 'cause he had to wear a trash bag for a rain coat. He figured he didn't need one since he was going Utah, so he left it in the truck. Not smart. It rained, then there was sleet, then some hail. Pretty crazy. But all in all, the weather was nice. Mostly sunny, cool, and not humid at all. Sounds like paradise to me. After a fun night in the Uintas, there was long trek back to the trailhead. Not really a direct route. I heard there was a little getting lost and some hitchhiking involved, but hey, not all who wander are lost, right? Food Guy got to go climbing in Big Cottonwood Canyon on Sunday. Sounds pretty sweet to me. I hear they don't allow dogs in that canyon because it's the watershed for Salt Lake City, but I'm sure if I was there we would have gone somewhere else.

Check out the view from the campsite. Not too shabby, eh? I think I would have really liked it out there. Hopefully, I'll get to go out there this summer. With a little luck Food Guy will land this job in Bozeman, Montana that he's applying for. Then, I'll get to go on all kinds of new adventures out West.