Climbing the Outdoors

       
         What place do you go to that takes 30 minutes of endless windy roads up a mountain? For me, it's rock climbing. This week, my brother and I took a class to learn how to climb a naturally formed rock outdoors. Unlike the indoor rock climbing venues, the outdoors are full of surprises. We had two instructors who helped us throughout the day and five other companions. To get to the cliff we were going to climb, we had to hike through the woods for a mile and restlessly push through the wilderness.  The hike was full of steep declines and rough pathways. We also made sure to stay away from poison ivy and other surreal looking plants. When we reached to the top, we saw the cliff we were going to climb and how far we were from the ground. The scenery around us was breathtaking and in the far distance, we could see Monterey. There were many trees below us and they were becoming lighter as they became farther away from us. Even the sun was peeking out at us from the stringy clouds. When we sat down to rest, one of our instructors climbed the cliff called Goat Rock and attached the ropes to which we would climb and would keep us from falling if we slipped. There were two spots where we could climb on opposite sides of the rock. In between us was another group of people also climbing. Both paths were exhausting and hard to climb. The foot holds were hard to get to and the face of the rock was mostly flat. Eventually, I got to the top of both of both climbs and successfully came down. I also learned how to tie a knot which saved my life multiple times. At the end of the two brutal climbs, we stopped and had lunch. Next on our adventure was jumping of a cliff. Well, not exactly, but close enough. We hiked to another part of the woods until we came to another place called The Falls. On the way there, we came across a tree which is nicknamed the refrigerator tree. All of us were hugging it because of its cold bark compared to the terrible heat beating down on us. When we got to The Falls, our instructor tied a rope to the poles of the wooden platform and the a tree. Underneath us was a small waterfall, a stream, and a flat rock face with a 80 ft drop. From there, we would slowly let our selves down by giving away the rope slowly, which was tied to us. I was the first one to try it and I have to admit, I was scared to do it at first. Then it became really fun letting myself down. There, the scenery was also gorgeous and the view was incredible. Then, I had to climb back up, but because of the very flat rock, I couldn't go up. So, my instructor had to help me while I used the rope to climb up. We were almost at the end of our day. We were hot, sweaty, dirty, and very tired, but still I felt really good that I accomplished so much. It was a really awesome experience and I would really like to do it again. I also encourage all of you to try it and i'm sure you will like it as much as I did. Though I have to warn you... you may be very sore the next day like I was, but still was totally worth it.