Earth Day @ Pinnacles National Monument
A trip back to Pinnacles before it got too warm...too late.
The heat was incredible but the climbing was decent.
So we warmed up on Corona and Dos Equis on the West side of the park on Machete Ridge.
I belayed Toni from above to show her how to clean an anchor and rap down.
We then hiked over to Citadel Canyon to get Toni on her first lead. Loren and I chose Costonoan as a perfect climb. It was a 5.4 and seemed as straight forward as they come. Unfortunately we...I was wrong. To start, the hike was almost a death march in that heat. Luckily we found a shady spot for lunch and a waterfall to dip our heads in.
The problem was not only the 30 or 40 feet in between the first and second bolt but the realization, as I got to the top, that the route took a 70m rope.
In the end, the mini epic was resolved and we scrambled up some boulders to enjoy the afternoon sun.