The other day Andy & Brooke gave a buzz to see about another trip into Granite Basin. Of course I said “Sure!”
For Memorial Day weekend, it was pretty quiet at Granite Basin. Whether or not the campground there was full, I’m unsure. Today I didn’t take a ride through the camp sites, as I just wanted to get to where we were meeting for climbing.
When I arrived at the climbing parking area I found only a few other vehicles. Actually, 4 others were there. 
Pretty light for a holiday weekend! As I was waiting for Andy and Brooke one family came tromping out of the woods, 4 small children and a pup leading the way. It was only 9:30, but they looked spent.
While waiting I took a walk across the parking lot to examine a few plants. Last visit to Granite a week ago the plants were much shorter. Now I can’t remember their names off the top of my head, but thought I’d share the photos.
After my little plant photo session a Jeep pulled in with a pair of cyclists. Looked like they were ready for a fun day. Right after their arrival, my friends pulled in. We saddled up and headed to the practice area once more.
Once again we roped up two different routes. Nobody else was around, so why not have more than one spot to take a swing off of? 
Today along with Andy and I, Brooke also climbed. She’d been out with Bob before, and she’s climbed in the gym down in Phoenix. And she did really well with each of the routes! Go Brooke!
Once again I found the granite at the Granite Basin Rec area to be extra rough. What I thought was a small scratch worked out to be quite the bloody road rash. Yeouch!
Andy and Brooke did better than I did in the road rash / cuts and bruises department. I must start remembering to use pants around here! That would probably help a ton.
Climbs for the day included a 5.5, 5.6, 5.8, and finally a 5.11. I flailed on the 5.11. Andy got up with ton of work and hanging, and Brooke cruised up the first half with ease! She claimed the luck of the first timer, but I’m not so sure!
While trying the 5.11 I pulled something. I mean, I really pulled something. After hanging for a little while, trying to find places to hold and stand I finally gave up and asked Andy to let me down. I was feeling a touch uncomfortable around my left hip (the front of it mostly). Thought maybe the harness came up, but that wasn’t it.
As I stood belaying Andy the discomfort increased, and I realized I must have pulled something. By the time we left I was super sore, and glad to have the harness off. Big ouch!
We returned back to our vehicles, and headed out to have a quick lunch together. Fun. Reminded me of the times my old friend Bob & I would dine out after climbing (Bob from NH, not AZ). The one interesting issue. After sitting in the truck for the ride back things got a little stiff. I stepped out of the truck and felt like I could barely walk. That feeling has increased all afternoon.
At this moment I’m SOOOOOO sore. Whoops! Definitely no climbing for several days. No walks tomorrow either. Just some tiger balm, a few cartoons, and a relaxed end to Memorial Day weekend.
Nice to have the refuge of the Airstream after such an exhausting day! My little silver bubble in AZ is still doing fine!
Well, enjoy the rest of the photos! Thought we’d been lacking photos lately, so I’m making up for it in this post!
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Are you preparing for Spidey 4? Tobey better watch out!
That’s a nice shot of an agave — a major food crop of natives throughout Arizona. It’s also made in to pulche, an ancient beer-ish drink. If I am not mistaken, tequilla is also made from agave. You should keep your eyes on that plant — soon it will have huge blossoms.