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.

Food Guy Guest Spot 2-Boulder Hike

Life out here in Denver is solidly on the not-too-shabby side. The conference was pretty good today. The session was fairly interesting, and I got some good ideas for the assessment course I'll be teaching in the spring. But, the highlight of the trip so far was yesterday's hike up in Boulder.

We snuck out of the conference a little early yesterday, rented a car, and hightailed it up to Boulder to check out the Chataqua trailhead. There were several hiking options there, and we opted for the Mesa trail, which is a nice out and back that offers great views of the Flatirons all along the trail.

Not a bad view, eh?

The trail is a nice one that offers mostly smooth single-track, with the occasional technical section. It would have been a great trail to run, and I saw 5 or 6 trail runners taking advantage of the trail's proximity to town. It's literally about 5 minutes from downtown Boulder. Weaving in and out of a forest, the trail offers some great long-range views.

There are also some really cool meadows filled with wildflowers.

One of the coolest features of the trail is how dog-friendly it is. If you take your dog into town and pass a sight/voice command test, you can get a tag that exempts your well-behaved trail partner from the leash law. I think it's a pretty cool program. I don't like keeping Yellow Dog on a leash, but I understand that some people don't really like dogs and I also have seen first-hand how rude some dogs can be. I think having a system that lets good trail dogs have some freedom is a great idea. I'll have to come back out here with the Yellow One. I'm pretty sure he could pass the test.

I managed to drag myself out of bed early this morning to get my run in, so this afternoon will be pretty laid back. I plan to watch a little Sportcenter, do a little work, and then go out for some good Mexican food. Tomorrow is the last day of the conference. When it wraps up, I'm going to meet Rob and Sandy (some super-cool folks from my canyon trip) to go to the Rockies game. Then, it's back to NC on Saturday. I'll be psyched to grab Yellow Dog and head back up to Boone.

Food Guy Travel Guest Spot 1: Denver

Hey, all. I'm in Denver for a conference this week, and I promised Yellow Dog that I'd fill in for him on the blogospehere. This trip is my first conference since I moved on from being a Doc Student, and I have to say life as a college professor is pretty sweet. I'm staying at the Grand Hyatt in downtown Denver, and the accommodations are pretty over the top. There's a freakin' telephone in the bathroom. Check it out:

I mean, seriously! Who needs a phone by the john? Totally unnecessary! You know what isn't unnessary? The gigantic TV that I've been watching ESPN on from my comfy bed:

Pretty sweet, eh? The room is pretty nice. It rained a little yesterday afternoon, but the result was a cool rainbow outside my window:

I'm telling you- I lead a seriously charmed life. My colleagues who came out here with me are so much fun. Traveling with them has been a great way to get to know them and to get the feel of my new department. I knew for sure that we'd get along great when they decided that we should go to the Rockies game last night. I've never been to Coors field, so I was way into going. It was a lot of fun hanging out with them, drinking a beer, and watching a good baseball game.

The conference has been pretty good so far. The speaker yesterday was great, and I actually learned a whole lot of cool stuff. Today's speaker was pretty lame, and I was getting pretty bored this morning. I wasn't sure what my new colleagues were thinking, but I got my answer when they said we should skip out after lunch and head up to Boulder to go hiking at the Flatirons. How cool is that? I have the best job in the world. I gotta get some sleep, so I'll save our hiking story for tomorrow.

My dad says Yellow Dog is having a good time sleeping on the couch at the lake. I'll be sure to check in on him tomorrow and give y'all an update.

Time for another Lake Vaca

After a nice little run at the Greenway trails this morning, the Food Guy and I loaded up the mobile dog house and cruised down to the lake. He has to go to a conference in Denver (yeah, I know rough place for him to have to go right?), so I'm going to be chillin' at the lake for the week. I have to say that I'm pretty excited about my little vacation. We've been going at it pretty hard since we moved up to Boone. The Food Guy and I managed to hit the trails for a run almost every day again this week and still squeeze in evening bouldering sessions up in Blowing Rock. I really do like that place a lot. There are so many cool things for me to run around and smell. And there are usually a couple of other people there who let me take rest on their crash pads with them. On Friday night we brought my doggie friend Alabama and her Food Guy (Greg) with us. She had never been there before, so I showed her all the cool stuff while the food guys climbed around on the rocks. Greg hadn't been climbing in years, but you would have never known it from watching him climb. He hasn't lost a step at all. The Food Guy didn't shoot any photos because we got up there pretty late and there wasn't much light left. In fact, it was almost completely dark by the time we got back to the truck.

We took yesterday off from running, and I laid around the house while the Food Guy mowed the grass. I was getting a little bored, so we headed up to Blowing Rock last night at 6 to get one last day of climbing in before we left town. It was a really nice, laid back evening, and I mostly just hung out and watched the Food Guy while he climbed.

I'll be pretty happy to spend most of this week on the couch eating dog bones, but I'll be ready for more adventures after my little rest. I'll try to get the Food Guy to do a guest spot or two while he's on his trip. But, he'll probably be working most of the week, so I don't know if he'll have anything fun to report. Well, if I know him he'll find some way to get some adventuring in on this trip. He's pretty crafty at turing working trips into adventures. Plus, can you really expect him to work a full week after not doing any work all summer? I doubt it. The smart money is on him finding a way to do some running and get up to Boulder to hike around somewhere.

More Pics & A Sunday Stroll

After we got back from climbing and running around yesterday, the Food Guy and Steven went to pick up some of the photos that Steven got developed yesterday. I figured I might as well add some of them to the blog since Steven is quite the photog. Check out this shot of me and Food Guy walking up to the Mushroom Boulder yesterday. Check out the cool Tigerlilly on the right side:

Pretty cool, huh? He also got a couple of cool black and white shots of the Food Guy working one of the problems we found at one of the other boulders:

These days of not having to work have been pretty fun. Today, we decided to take it easy, and just go for a short hike. Since the Boone Fork Trail was so much fun, we decided to go back and explore it a little bit more. Check out some of the cool things we saw:

The Rhodiecaves are really cool, and I think the ladders are a nice touch on this trail. I don't climb ladders, but I can find ways around them pretty easily. You know I am a pretty smart dog. I don't stagger around under the weight of my own brain or anything, but I can find alternate ways around sketchy parts of trails without any problem.

There were all kinds of cool boulders to walk around on and look down at the creek.

After walking through the caves and on the boulders, you pop out into this cool bald.

This trail is a must hike/run if you're ever in the Boone area.

It's been a nice relaxing day overall. The Food Guy and I have just been chilling this afternoon. He's been fixing some things around this crazy old house we are renting right now and watching the tour. Me? Well, I've been catching up on my sleep. Somehow, I think we'll end up going for a long run in the am before the Food Guy heads out to ride his bike. You know we can't sit still for very long.