I left Boulder, Colorado at 6:45 A.M and began my long two day drive to the east coast. The sun was just barely peeking out over the horizon and already it was in the 80’s. As I drove farther into the flat plains I managed one last glance at the Rocky Mountains before disappearing into the endless flat plains of eastern Colorado. The rest of Colorado went pretty quickly and I entered Kansas on an empty tank. I fueled up at the closest gas station and pulled out of the gas station ready to knock off 300 miles before stopping again. Five minutes into the drive my car starts acting weird. I look down to see my car overheating, the service engine light is on, and I was starting to loose steering. Immediately I coasted to the nearest rest stop and pulled over to see the damage. After waiting for ten minutes to let the car cool off, I popped open the hood and started looking for anything serious. My belt was completely off, but it didn’t seem to be damaged. I looked closer and found that my water pump was broken and there was nothing I could do. I called AAA and got a tow truck to take me to the nearest hotel and a mechanic. It was sunday and there were no shops open so I had to get a room at the cheapest hotel. I got a chance to check the weather forecast and realized it was going to be a hundred degrees for the next few days and without air conditioning it would be brutal. The next morning I talked to the mechanic and they didn’t have any water pumps in the town so I had to wait another day. Day two was extremely boring and I did nothing but watch T.V and hope the internet would work for more than 5 minutes. I went to bed early and the next morning my car was fixed and running like a champ. I left Goodland, Kansas and started on the extremely boring drive through the rest of Kansas. By noon it was already in the hundreds and with the added humidity it felt like I was in a constant sauna. The sweat became unbearable and I found myself pouring water over my head every hundred miles. I finally made it into the evening where it cooled off nicely and I was able to cruise late into the night. The next day I only had 600 miles to drive and I left in the morning and arrived in Rockville, Maryland around 7pm east coast time. This marks the beginning of a nine month long climbing trip that I have been planning for the past year. My friend Daniel Clarke agreed to join me on this adventure and I am now beginning the training phase with him. For one month we are training in the countries largest indoor gym. Then its off to the New River Gorge, Red River Gorge, Horse Pens 40, Hueco Tanks, Flagstaff, J-Tree, Red Rocks, Yosemite, Bishop, and Smith Rocks. We will be spending roughly a month in each area. I am super excited and cant wait to be on the road and climbing in some of the countries best climbing areas!
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